heart rate and racing question (Read 4122 times)

Heart rate question for all you heart rate monitor users. What percentage max hr or hrr do most people run 5k, 10k, half and marathon at? I know it will vary person to person but will give me an idea during training of what my races will feel like and also give me an idea of when I have started off way to fast during a race. I have some races coming up soon and want to do my best but not run myself into a hole early in the race. Thanks, Mark

I originally got my monitor to keep me slowed down during my training runs, but I've since found it to be a great aide during my races. I don't necessarily let it dictate my pace, but I can tell at a glance whether I'm going to be having trouble later or need to pick it up a notch now. As you race more you'll find out what numbers work for you, but just to give you a point for comparison here's the numbers I use: Max HR seen at end of 5k race: 172 (I use this as my 'working' HRMax) 5k race: Generally try to keep it around 165 until the last mile, then slowly pick it up to 169-170. 10k race: ~160 half-marathon: target 155 for first 6.5 miles, then slowly let it build up while trying to maintain the same pace. marathon: I've only done one two years ago, but I think I would probably start out doing ~150 and see how I was feeling as the day progressed [Edited to add:] In light of people's comments about "training" heart rates not predicting "racing" heartrates, I just wanted to point out that except for the marathon number, the numbers above have been determined pretty much in actual races - particularly the 5 and 10k numbers. If I stay somewhere around them (there are fluctuations for hills, etc), I generally find that I still have enough left to have a strong finish, but I still don't feel like I've left anything out on the course.

I agree that there are too many variables to really make this work well. Time of day, how rested you are, temperature, humidity will all affect your heart rate. Also, during the initial phase of your race, your heart rate will lag behind your effort ever so slightly, meaning that if you go out too fast, your heart rate won't reflect it until maybe it's to late. I like Nick's idea of tracking it during races without being glued to it. It's good to have benchmarks. One other thing. For what it's worth, lactate threshold occurs around 82-88% of HRR (though you'll see anywhere from 80-90%). Lactate threshold pace is about 10-15 seconds per mile slower than 10k race pace. So you can sort of ballpark your 10k pace that way. I've also seen that 10k and 5k racing will put you around 90-95% of max, with 5k being at 95% for most of the way. However, bear this in mind: From Pfitzinger

Training heart rate does not predict racing heart rate. During competition, your heart rate does not increase logically with your running speed. So many other factors affect your heart rate while racing, that it is not a good indication of how fast/hard you are running. If you measure your heart rate at your desired race pace during training, and use that heart rate to determine how fast to run during a race, then you will run quite a bit slower than planned, because with the excitement of the race, your heart rate will be elevated. You could account for the increase and still use your heart rate to accurately select your race pace if the increase in heart rate due to racing was consistent. Unfortunately, how much higher heart rates are at a given pace during racing compared to training has been found to vary greatly from person to person and from race to race.

I agree with Nick and others that there are a lot of variables to consider. I found this as a rule of thumb: Race Distance 5-K 95-97% 10-K 92-94% Half-marathon 85-88% Marathon 80-85% I've never actually raced by HR but I've read some very interesting race reports from marathoners who did (sort of like "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express"). On the longer distances, it may make more sense to limit your heart rate for the first half and then let it rise so that you're maxing out effort to the finish. On my 10 miler last fall, I was pushing above 90% for most of the race and was able to hold on to the finish. I don't think I could've maintained that effort much longer though.

Thanks all. This is exactly the information I wanted. I fully intend to use it as a guideline only but having not "officially" done a race yet I wanted to have a guideline of when then omfg I need to slow down or I will never finish this race On the other hand i also don't want to go out like a turtle and leave to much on the race course. Now I have a good idea of usual ranges for people.

I understand the percentages mentioned here and I understand the factors that can also dictate otherwise, but you have to have been training pretty well to handle a 90% heartrate for 6 miles or 80-88% for 13.1 miles. I just ran my 3rd half marathon and my mesured max is 200. This half was a PR for me and my average for the whole race was a 170. The last 5 miles, the averages were 171, 172, 174, 177, 179. So really I fell below what people are throwing out here. BY no means am I a fast guy and I am not argueing the numbers, but just saying it takes some darn good training and mental strength to go run a 10k at 90=% of max heart rate, etc. I hope I can get there some day.

my race heart rates are very consistent. after about 1 mile, my heart rate stays within a few bpm, sometimes just +/-1bpm, for most of the race. hills, changing winds, hot temps alter that... but for flat cool races it holds. over the course of 6mo i raced distances from 4k through half marathon. i plotted my median race heart rates, and found that they varied as the log of the race distance. the fit is very good. my most recent marathons have also fit this relationship, about 154 bpm average. there are some outliers, like my last 10k, two weeks post marathon, was at 165bpm, about 3bpm above what this fit line predicts. but i've been amazed at how well it describes my race heart rate. my max is 178. so 5k=92%, 10k=90%, hmar=88% and mar=86% the fit to my race data is flatter than fits i've seen in other references. i should note that a friend of mine showed me his ridiculous data where his 5k heart rates are slower than his marathon heart rates. so understand that my data may not describe your experience at all! as an example of a race: here's my latest marathon from january. i slowed badly after 20mi, but my heart rate stayed pegged.