Running "all-out" in a race (Read 747 times)

I can't think that racing with a v high HR can damage your health! Probably the opposite! (you just don't want to be doing that in training all the time!). BTW - why the dip in hr just before your push for the end? Were you psychologically preparing yourself for the final sprint? Interesting.

First of all, no worries about sustaining the high heart rate. As far as what heart rate you'll see in a race, it does depend on the distance. If your race was a marathon, you'd be in a bit of trouble if you started out at 90+% (you'd be going out too fast). If you were racing a mile, you would be underperforming at 90~91% (since an all-out mile should really get you close to 100%). As it turns out, the 90~92% range is just about right for 10k. But here's the thing -- heart rate can be skewed high by heat, dehydration, the amount of sleep you got, and lots of other factors. So if you try to race purely based on heart rate, any one of these factors could make your heart rate be higher than it should be for your pace. You could end up slowing down to match your HR, and underperform. It's tricky and takes racing. They key is to run lots of races at different distances. You'll start to develop a feel for your pacing -- you'll know at the end a race whether you still had some in the tank, or if you coasted in on fumes, and you can use that knowledge to your advantage down the road. Focus on learning how the paces feel, rather than what heart rate they elicit.