Help. The heart rate information Garmina is providing is quite disturbing. To train at 9:30 – 10:00 minute miles, my heart rate stays around 180. Is this good? Should I worry? Am I going to die? That 220 minus the age thing puts my max heart rate at 185.
___________________________
A good dog.
Any dog that willingly allows a human to stick a tube in his urethra is a good dog. Rowdy goes back to the internal med specialist on Friday for more tests. He’s on a low protein diet right now and has lost 75% of his kidney function. There is just not a way to express how special Rowdy is – I wish there was. I will update more after his vet visit Friday.
Have no idea about the heart thing…I’d ask the Swordsy Girl as she can look these things up.
I’m so sorry about Rowdy. He really is the best dog ever.
Hope Rowdy is feeling better. I know how you feel. I’ve been through some real tough times with one of my cats and his kidneys/liver.
Oh man…I am so sorry to hear about Rowdy. Just know that I am thinking of him and you and your family right now. This must be such a hard time. How is Kenza taking it?
220-age is sort of mumbo jumbo/voodoo. It’s like saying that all people who are 5′-7″ tall will wear a size 8 shoe! You have to have testing done (or do it yourself) to actually find you MHR. I’ll see if I can dig some info. up and email it to you!
Flatman is right. While 220-age might work for the majority of people, it could be completely off for you. Unless you know your particular numbers, HRM training is not really going to tell you anything.
The problem with finding your HRmax is that you have to run hard, like 3 x 800 meters or hill repeats, to find it. If you’re just starting marathon training, those aren’t really the ideal workouts to be doing.
You need to run and determine the heart rate maximum for you. Basically do my puke test. You have to run 4-5 minutes hard with the last minute all out and should be close to tossing your cookies. At that point you know you have your max heart rate.
Heart rate is affected by sleep, training, weight, diet etc. I would have to see the consistent Hr to know if that was your normal or just an exception.
Have fun! Remember to test it has to be hard running.
Su,
do you feel your heart pounding madly when you are running? Are you breathing heavily? If is neither, then I wouldn’t worry too much about your heart exploding.
Since you dont’ have a black out, I think u are fine. I train with my LT so I don’t know the test to determine your max HR.
What is “Garmina”?
Anyway, As the other yahoo’s pointed out – forget 220 minus age. I’m 45 so my “theoretical” max is 175 right? My actual max is around 200 – which I prove regularly!
I agree with Cliff – if you are running comfortably at 9:30-10:00 pace, then thats a good pace for easy distance runs.
Regards,
Chris
What a good dog….we’re thinking good thoughts for him over here. It is so hard to watch pets go through that kind of stuff.
220 – age is a guideline, although I do use it myself.
I suppose whether it’s good or not depends very much on how long you’re training at that heart rate. I read somewhere that rowers’ hearts can go up to more than 200bpm in competition. Ask Andrea (andreavalois.blogspot.com)
My 5K runs (the quick ones, at least) have been done at 190bpm, my theoretical MHR.
My best wishes to Rowdy our brave scout. I remember one day you wrote that your Garmina is fragile. I am angry with my one. It is not accurate, for example she/he/it measured the same lap 9.99 km (6.2 m) and the day after 9.72 km.(6.0 m). I don’t understand what I have to do. I think I will complain to the dealer and the Garmin Co.
Susan, do you have Stefano’s problem with Garmina? I was thinking of getting on the G bandwagon but if that’s the case I’m jumping off.
ooh the pressure of being refered to by alvin!!
haha…well from what I know from my training (which is rowing specific but might still be helpful?) i don’t think you have anything to worry about. As everyone pointed out… first look at the more immediate signs: if you are struggling to breathe comfortabley, feeling faint..or just “uncomfortable” at all (and i don’t mean the good “oh yes this hurts” kind of pain that comes with a good workout) then thats not good.
Personally when i do any training, even the longer stuff (over an hour) I’m definitely sitting high over 180 and holding it. But I don’t put too much stock in measuring my heart rate…I go much more based on feel. But then again, when erging i do have a monitor that gives very sport specific feedback that I rely on to push myself properly.
if its not uncomfortable, then i wouldn’t worry – thats my moral. But yes 220-age is too simplistic and these kinds of things are so individual. on the plus side, your heart muscles are definitely being strengthened which will make you a better athlete overall 🙂
Our coach always tells us to not put TOO much stock in those kinds of measurements. Your heart won’t explode, do what’s comfortable and if thats over 200 beats per min, then thats ok! – You have a time/distance goal in mind so you know what you have to do to get there, and the heart will do what it needs to do to help you 🙂
As Flatman and others said, 220-age is a generic “ecuation” to find the HR max, but it doesn’t work for every body. I think the best way to be safe is to do an “EFFORT TEST” in a cardiological center. On a treadmill you have to run in different speeds and inclinations and on the same time your HR is monitorized. So doctors can determinate your HR max and on the same time know how responds your heart during the effort. I think every body who wants to run a marathon should do one every year. In Spain you can do that in a private center for 60$.
Excuse me, I forget, my best wishes to Rowdy.
I’m actually a little envious of your HR. I can’t ever get mine above 160…doesn’t matter how intense the workout. I think every human body operates a little different…you might have a baseline tacchycardia…or you might simply be getting the most out of your workouts. As long as you’re healthy and monitoring it I wouldn’t worry. What’s your resting HR?
There is a lot of information that gives women 226 minus age as the formula plus 10 if you are fit.
We are hoping for the best for Rowdy.
it’ll be a pain, but i’d take a few measurements when you wake up before you rise. … when the only thing you’ve done is switched off the alarm…. unless you’re late for a meeting. so get a few resting heart rates to know where you are to start with. you might find you have a higher resting heart rate than average. do you have an irregular heart beat? i can’t really use them because i have premature ventricular contractions. when they are going on, my HR monitor will read 10…. then 150…. then 59… and if you look at the HR and then start panicking, that won’t be helping you either. get those resting heart rates first.
and we’re really pulling for rowdy. please keep us posted. i cyber scratch his ears!
yea… i don’t know much about the heart rate issue, but i wanted to say i hope that rowdy is doing better. also, i just finished reading a great dog book: marley & me, by john grogan. it’s a must read for dog lovers…
flatman is right it’s ore of ahh guideline rather than a rule.
hope rowdy gets well real soon.
Susan,
We talked a little bit about this over email, but I think like others have said it’s important to know what this is in comparison to. If you race all our at 180 and train at 180, that may be counterproductive? Then again, if you train at 180 but race at 190-200ish, that seems a little more normal?
I think a max HR test and maybe an LT test would help you determine where your training HR zones should lie. Send me an email and I’ll see if I can dig up some more resources for you on those.
Mugsy and I are praying for Rowdy! Hope all is well.
oh! your poor puppy. i’m thinking good thoughts for him. dogs in pain just make me cry…
HR – Forget the max #, so long as you can still breathe. It’s all relative anyway, right? When you run easy the number is lower than when you run hard. Everything in between is a matter of degrees.
I’m still learning this stuff myself. But mine was out of wack at first. I discovered the problem was a faulty monitor. I looked inside and the battery area was all corroded. They replaced and now mine is reasonable. So check your battery and check your profile settings.
A friend also sent me a great article on HR. I’ll share, just email me.
yes i meant to post again but forgot and got distracted… but i second the virtual scratch-behind-the-ears for the puppy. even i wouldn’t let another human stick a tube in my urethra!
Susan:
For those of us that have animals that are truly 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th kids (as in my case) we know how special Rowdy is to you. Hoping everything goes well for him on Friday.
Re: heartrate: that number seems very high. As you train more and more with the heartrate monitor you will be able to determine where you should be. If your heart rate is in the 180s, it might be a good idea to slow it down. To get a pretty accurate max hr, go to the track, do a warm up run and then sprint for several minutes. Your highest reading is your max hr. cool down afterwards.
Wow, good luck to the Rowdy miester. I just took our friends dog to the doctor and he had a catheter. He didn’t skip a beat. I cold see it in his eyes though.
As for the heart rate thing, that can’t be right. Do you have a friend that owns a heart rate monitor? Yours has to be giving false readings. Is it a wrist pulse watch? Those are notoriously innacurate. If you have a friend with a monitor, take it for a run and compare them. Also, do you need to moisten the sensor on your watch or chest strap? Most need the chest strap to be moist to work correctly. Well, that’s all I got. Hope it helps.
Benny
Well, I can’t read thru the bazillion comments you already have, so I may be redundant here. the 220-age is bogus… don’t rely on that. Whether or not 180 is “good” depends on you as an individual. Have you not trained w/a HR monitor before? How do you feel at this pace…what is your perceived exertion? Can you carry on a conversation?
If someone has already addressed all this, feel free to not respond to me.
My best thoughts go out to Sir Rowdy. 🙂
Best wishes to Rowdy.
Also currently dealing w/ the HR dilemma in New England…
clueless on the HR. hope Rowdy gets better soon. poor guy.
Poor Rowdy. And poor you guys – you love him so much! It must be so hard to go through that. I’m sending my best wishes and hugs to you all.
Btw, I’m super sensitive when it comes to pets so if I don’t make any more comments, it’s only ’cause I’m crying and not ’cause I don’t care. I still get choked up at the loss of my first dog when I was 13!
Regarding the 180 rate, that does seem a bit high for the pace you are referring to. But, the best way for you to find out is to have a Vo2 max test done (I did one) from an exercise physiologist. I’m sure your local doctor can recommend one or you can Google one in your area.
After getting your results from the Vo2 Max test, then you will feel comfortable knowing your limits and not sweat any increase in beat.
By the way, if my heart rate was 180, I’d be scared but then again, I can’t seem to get my heart rate past 140 very often since I run so slow.
Good Luck to you.