Bill,

 

Sometimes the HRM takes a bit to latch in due to a lack of perspiration or contact fluid. I have this happen expecially on cold days. What it really brings forward is the need for a good warmup. Dr. Phil advocates a good 10 minutes to get your HR stabilized. I'm not as good about this for my daiy runs but am now being more disciplined for my MAF tests. A proper warm-up (and cool down) are very important. So chekc your HRM for solid contact and perhaps warm-up a little longer.

 

Oh and welcome. You've found a great little corner of RA.

 

Thanks!

 

 

When I start off should I absolutely keep my HR under the MAF level?

 

Is the high heart rate a detriment to my training?

 Well now you have hit on an oft discussed topic but let me provide you my take (Jimmy our maf maven will most likely be able to explain it much better than me ). If you are base training, you should keep your runs below MAF. A blip here or there won't do any harm but running workouts where a significant portion is over MAF will reduce the pace of progress. You won't lose anything but you have moved your body from burning one fuel vs. another and it will take time to reset and get it back to using fat as a primary fuel. The general idea is to build a aerobic engine that steers towards buring fats vs. short term fuel while building stronger muscles and oxygen transport.

 

I'm assuming your question on the high HR refers back to the initial spike. Since it's my thought this is both warm up and HRM related, I would say no. But it would be best to have a good warm-up routine to ease into your training runs.

 

My HR does the exact same thing you describe and I am also using a 301. I have limited time during my lunch break so I don't warm up very well. I've also noticed it happens more frequently now that its cooler outside.

 

I will start out with a slow jog, watch my monitor and listen to it start squeeling at my that my HR is too high. I write it off as some bad readings because I know very well how hard I'm working at the HR numbers its dispaying and I'n nowhere near that type of intensity. I begin to walk and after about 5 seconds of walking, my HR drops instantly to under 120. I start to slow jog again and boom, it reached 160+, so I go back to walking. Five seconds later it drops to 125 or so and I start to jog again.

 

Two or three times it will spike, then drop after a very short walk, after that, it usually settles in to correctly display my HR and I'm off and running. it skews the first miles average pace a little, but thats okay with me. If I'm performing a MAF test, I would take the extra time to warm up properly to avoid the erratic behavior or the readings.

 

I also upload to a program called "Sport Tracks" and use a function called "edit tracks" to edit the HR data and remove the spikes and valleys at the beginning of my run that I know are erroneous. By doing that, I can get better and more accurate average and MAX HR numbers.

Almost every time I use my HRM, I apply some liquid soap to the contact area.  Just a very little bit.  I have never had incorrect readings when I have done this.

 

The very few times that I did not apply the liquid soap, I would have high, incorrect HR readings during the first mile.

Sounds like a contact problem. Once you are sweating enough the transmitter will get solid readings. My Garmin does the same thing, especially on colder days (like Norm). Here's a few ideas:

 

--put your transmitter strap on a bit sooner before the run. I find if I do this, I usually don't even have to wet it.

--make sure your strap is tight enough, it shouldn't be moving

--liquid soap does work, but gave me a rash after a few weeks

--wet it with a little water or spit or heart rate monitor cream

--clean it from time to time

 

Warming up with a brief easy walk beforehand can help you sweat a little.

 

It must be noted that a few people in the past have been going along and suddenly have gotten a very high reading that woudn't come back down. They stopped and took their pulse and realized their heart was racing out of control. So, if it happens during the run, it may be wise to stop and take your pulse. One of the benefits of the HRM is that it can sometimes cue you into a real problem.

 

-Jimmy

 

--liquid soap does work, but gave me a rash after a few weeks

 

Same thing happened to me when I started using a HRM strap for the first time.  I broke out in a rash all around the strap and underneath the strap.  I assumed it was the strap that my body was not used to and did not think about the soap causing the problem.  Eventually, that issue went away.  Maybe my body got used to it.

 

On a related topic, speaking of breaking out in a rash.  Last summer, when I first started doing long runs, I did one in a light rain.  So, my clothes got slightly wet, and the constant running movement caused the wet clothes to rub on my skin.  By the end of the long run, I broke out in a rash everywhere where my clothes came in contact with my body.  It went away after an hour or two of being dry.  But, it was uncomfortable.  And then after that, on my long runs, I was breaking out in rashes in the same way just from the sweat.  Thankfully, this did not continue and the problem went away.  All I could think about was, of all the reasons to not be able to run, this would have really been disappointing.  I also thought, boy, can you imagine this happening during a marathon or something?  Again, I think my body just got used to it and stopped reacting that way.

Electrical conductivity for the contacts works fine for me now if I just wet the skin and the contacts with water first (before working up a sweat.)  If water doesn't work, "ultrasound gel", which is conductive, should do the job - in fact, a local HRM supplier also provides this for those who need it.