Originally Posted by
bikerjp
...did I simply get closer to my true max? I'm guessing the latter.
I'd say this also. I'm 41, and the highest so far is 192. However, the other day was on a hill pushing pretty hard. Got up to the 192, but felt rather OK, so it probably could've gone a bit higher.
As long as you're in good health, and don't ignore obvious warning signs, I wouldn't worry too very much about max HR. It is what it is.