2011 First Light Half Marathon Race Report–FAIL

“The middle is part of the race” – running legend Jim Coll

As I have mentioned a couple of time, the volume portion of my running plan is over. I have switched to the intensity phase. I had a solid tempo run on Thursday – 6 @ 6:31 pace. That was strong for me. It was a hard effort but not a race effort. My heart rate for this tempo run averaged 174 BPM. For reference, my heart rate at the Steam Whistle 12 (7.45 miles) the prior weekend averaged 176. In addition, at the Ole Man River Half my heart rate also averaged 176 BPM.

So, at the First Light I can only ascertain that I did not want to run fast. My heart rate averaged 170. Not only that but I lost this race in the middle. I had been running hard and losing ground and then just gave it up at about 8. If you look at the chart below I was actually within 9 seconds of my PR race at the Ole Man River at mile 8. However, I felt like I was over extended and fading. This is where I gave up the race.

Chart of running paces at Ole Man River and First Light Halfs.

As you can see, at mile 8 I gave it up.  I though the race was over. 

I just wanted to finish.  I allowed my heart rate to drop. 

I turned this RACE into a training run – FAIL.

 
 

Chart of heart rates at Ole Man River and First Light Halfs.

My heart rate does not indicate that I should have felt like

I was running as hard as I thought I was.  The wind did slow the pace,

however, I was simply not running hard enough – FAIL.

I thought that the PR was out the window and I hurting. I had been running into the wind and this had taken a toll. At this point I was caught by my friend Neil. He had started much slower than I.  He had also maintained his paces. After a few miles I regained my composure but was still not running to my abilities. Miles 8, 9 and 10 each hovered around 7 minute miles.

I was able to pick it up a little bit at the end but the PR streak is over. I will have to tabulate how long it lasted but it was at least a half dozen 5k’s, 2 12k’s, 7 half marathons and various other races.

As a proviso, I think I could have run this race smarter and chipped away at my half PR by a few seconds, maybe. However, I really wanted to knock a big chunk off the PR – I wanted a 1:26:20. Oh well, there will be other races. My eye is still on the prize – sub-3 marathon at Mardi Gras. I will have to have a perfect race and the run calculators are still snubbing their noses at me.

Oh yeah, this race is not chip times.  My offical time was 1:30:00 - my Garmin indicated a bit quicker.  It is funny, that would have been a solid race last year but this year it is 10 seconds per mile slower - that is HUGE.

2010 Ole Man River Half Marathon - the PR streak continues – barely (1:27:30)

The conditions were perfect. There was a little bit of wind and the temperature was in the mid thirties. It was cold standing around before the race but once we started it was perfect. I am sure it is from the volume but my lower legs, shins and calves were aching horribly for the first 3 or 4 miles. It was painful. I had serious thoughts of shutting everything down and ending this race. I have never been in that situation. The negative thoughts just flooded my mind. I had already started writing this blog post, “FAIL FAIL FAIL – DNF at ole Man River!”

I was running with an older guy who seemed strong. We were talking turns leading into the wind. I took my turn up front and then I hear this noise off to the side. I thought he had fallen off the road. I looked sharp right and he was actually ahead of me off to the side of the road. He was incredibly quick and fluid. My last sight of him was him pulling down his pants in one motion and aiming his back side at a tree. My head swiveled and snapped back. I had seen enough. He was having a worse time than me.

The race stayed hard but I was able to settle into my groove. I got caught by one of the lead women of the race. She was being led by an awesome pacer. He was obviously running easy at our pace. She was trying to run at or around a 6:40 pace. I had started out trying to run a 6:35 pace so I decided to settle in behind them. My pace actually improved and I started to accept the pain. It was so much easier to run with a group. I was able to keep the pace. At mile 11 the there were 4 of us running together. We were in no man’s land. The second or third place girl was just ahead. The pacer told the girl that he was pacing that it was time to pick it up. She told him that he needed to remember that this was just a marathon training run for her. The pacer did pick up the pace and left us. Then another guy that was running with us pulled away just a little bit. I stayed back with the girl. We did pick up the pace a little bit. My last 3 miles were all in the mid 6:30’s. I was hurting but feeling strong at the same time. With a quarter of a mile left I looked at my watch. I saw it tick from 1:25 to 1:26. I knew that I needed to sprint hard if I wanted to improve upon Baton Rouge. I passed the girl and gave it everything. You have to enter a stadium at the end of this race. Fortunately you don’t have to run a complete lap – more like a quarter lap. I crossed the line completely spent. I thanked the pacer and the girl for pulling me along. I needed it!

I was proud of myself for toughing it out. I refused to succumb to the race. When the negative thoughts entered my mind I acknowledged them. I then evaluated these thoughts. And finally I shot them down. I am sure that the real time spent doing this exercise was very small but at the time it was a real struggle. I had to make a decision. I just needed to tell the legs to SHUT UP.

I was able to chip away at my recent PR achieved at the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon – but just barely. I finished in 1:27:30 (9 seconds faster). My GPS watch had me at a little bit faster pace (6:38 compared to 6:41) but it was very close. Looking at my heart rate between the past two half marathons I can see that Baton Rouge was a much better race. I am not sure if it was the fatigue of the high volume or the bruised from mountain bike riding that hurt my legs so much (I know, it was both – not smart stuff – as a side note I went mountain bike riding on Friday before the race and decided to put a pair of my old road bike clip less pedals on the mountain bike – for the first time. I crashed 3 times and put a nice bruise on the top of my right foot as well as a couple on my shins. I cannot recommend this in your taper).

Baton Rouge (blue) shows a smoother heart rate progression.  I raced a better race two weeks ago.

My next race is the Steam Whistle 12k (that is about 7.5 miles). In this race I ran hard. I am sure that it was the hardest race ever) and won my age group with an average pace of 6:40 minute per mile – right at my current half marathon pace.  Last year's Steam Whistle 12k Race Report - here.

LTHR Training Zones - Cycling

So we have been talking about heart rate training zones. I prefer the field testing method to determine heart rate training zones.

One interesting aspect regarding setting your heart rate training zones using LTHR is that they will vary by sport. How is that?

Well, I have been using the term LTHR very loosely. Other terms are anaerobic threshold, aerobic threshold, and maximal lactate steady state. I am simply trying to find the heart rate that can be maintained for an extended amount of time without dipping into the red – without blowing up. This heart rate is difficult to maintain. However, once this has been determined you can train at this level. The goal is to increase your LTHR or get faster at your LTHR or hopefully both.

So I just happened to do a cycling time trial yesterday morning. It was an impromptu challenge that was scheduled the night before. There were 5 of us who would do the ‘race of truth.’ I looked up my best TT from last year and this would be my mark.

I wanted to race a good solid hard effort to determine my cycling LTHR. The time trial consists of an 11.83 mile out and back. I had the data from last year. My average heart rate for the entire 30:40 was 172 BPM at 23.0869 MPH. (Well, looking back through my blog – that is why I write this dang thing – I’m wrong. My PB for the TT was June of last year (before I used the gps watch) with a total time of 30:26 – furthermore my blog states that my average heart rate was 162 – something is fishy here – I will have to pull up the data and take a look).

Anyway, during yesterday’s effort I clicked the lap button on the gps watch 10 minutes into the TT and kept pushing hard. I finished the TT 3 seconds slower than last year – the one from July. The average heart rate for the entire time trial was 171 BPM but the average for the second 20 minutes was 174 BPM. Using this value I can now determine my heart rate training zones for cycling (notice that the percentage values are slightly different from the values used to calculate the running heart rate zones.

Zone 1: Overdistance, strength = 113 - 139
65% - 80% LTHR

Zone 2: Endurance, strength = 140 - 155
81% - 89% LTHR

Zone 3: Endurance, strength = 156 - 163
90% - 93% LTHR

Zone 4: Intervals, hills, race/pace = 164 - 173
94% - 99% LTHR

Zone 5: Racing, speed = 174 - 185
100% - > 106% LTHR

So, my Zone 4 heart rate training range for the RUN is 175 – 184 and for the BIKE it is 164 – 173. These are my tempo zones for my hard efforts. These areas are challenging. Funny how the old rule of thumb is that biking heart rates will be about 10 BPM less than running heart rates at the same intensity.

These calculations are mostly based off of The Cyclist's Training Bibleand The Triathlete's Training Bibleby Joe Friel.

I also found this great excel spreadsheet at sisu-multisport.com - download here.

LTHR Training Zones - Running

Another method used to determine your heart rate training zones is based off of your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). LTHR is the intensity that lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood stream. Exercise below this threshold and lactic acid is flushed from the blood stream.

Your LTHR can be measured in the lab by taking blood samples as exercise intensity increases. This is an intrusive test and not readily available to everyone. However, your LTHR can be estimated with a field test. You can test this value with swimming, biking or running.

The test consists of a warm up followed by the fastest pace that can be maintained for 30 minutes. This is a time trial and it is all out. These tests are very difficult and take a lot of mental and physical stamina. At 10 minutes into the 30 minute session hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor. Continue to push hard until 30 minutes has elapsed. At that point end the session. You should feel very relieved that the session is complete. Your estimated LTHR is your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the session.

You may need to do multiple LTHR tests (separated by several weeks) in order to get your best results. There is a skill to performing well at time trials. With this LTHR value you can determine your training zones. Although I have not done an all out 30 minute LTHR test I do have the value from the pump and run race. In that race I averaged 185 BPM. Using this value I get the following heart rate zones. The numbers in parenthesis are from the MHR (max heart rate) calculations yesterday (using the Karvonen method).

Zone 1: Overdistance, strength = (136 – 152) 139 - 157
75% - 85% LTHR

Zone 2: Endurance, strength = (153 – 160) 157 - 165
85% - 89% LTHR

Zone 3: Endurance, strength = (161 – 168) 166 - 174
90% - 94% LTHR

Zone 4: Intervals, hills, race/pace = (169 – 184) 175 - 184
95% - 99% LTHR

Zone 5: Racing, speed = (185 – 200) 185 - 196
100% - > 106% LTHR

These are different methods to determine heart rate training zones. As you can see, in the lower and upper heart rate zones the numbers are fairly close. However, zone 3 and zone 4 numbers diverge. For example, Zone 4 is where the LTHR is supposed to take place. There is an enormous difference between the lower ends of this zone (169 BPM compared to 175 BPM). For me, running at 169 BPH is much easier than running at 175 BPM.

I guess after all of the math you still need to use feel to determine where you should be training.

NOTE:  One quick proviso – these zones might be a little high considering that this was a 20 minute all out effort and not the average of the last 20 minutes of a 30 minute all out effort.

New Heart Rate Zones

So my MHR (maximum heart rate) is higher than I thought it was – so what? Well, my heart rate training zones are now off by a fair amount. It is time to recalculate them. On a side note, there are other ways to determine your training zones that do not employ your MHR but that it for another time. The formulas that I am going to take a look at each require an accurate MHR. You can obtain your MHR from testing, observation or by estimating. Like I mentioned earlier I have recently seen a new MHR from the pump and run race a couple of weeks ago. FYI – resting heart rate is your heart rate taken early in the morning before you get out of bed. This value can be one parameter in quantifing fitness.

I am going to use the following values for the calculations: MHR (max heart rate) = 200, RHR (resting heart rate) = 40, HRR (heart rate reserve = MHR – RHR) = 160, Age = 47.

I was going to go into detail and list several different ways to calculate heart rate zones based on MHR, however, I have decided to only list the method that I prefer – the Karvonen method. This method uses your RHR to help determine your fitness level. Since most athletes have lower resting heart rates the zones are calculated higher. The formula is as follows:

Zone 1: Overdistance, strength = 136 - 152
Lower Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .60 + Resting Heart Rate
Upper Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .70 + Resting Heart Rate

Zone 2: Endurance, strength = 153 - 160
Lower Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .71 + Resting Heart Rate
Upper Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .75 + Resting Heart Rate

Zone 3: Endurance, strength = 161 - 168
Lower Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .76 + Resting Heart Rate
Upper Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .80 + Resting Heart Rate

Zone 4: Intervals, hills, race/pace = 169 - 184
Lower Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .81 + Resting Heart Rate
Upper Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .90 + Resting Heart Rate

Zone 5: Racing, speed = 185 - 200
Lower Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * .91 + Resting Heart Rate
Upper Limit = Heart Rate Reserve * 1.0 + Resting Heart Rate

So what does this mean? One of the main training zones that I use is Zone 4. Previously this was calculated with a MHR of 194 and gave the spread as 163 – 178 BPM – about 5 beats per minute less than the new calculation 169 – 184 BPM.
This zone is where I like to do tempo runs, most of my triathlon runs and my half marathon runs. This is my hard effort. Over the past year I have noticed that I am able to run hard at or around 172 but if I let my heart rate drift up around 175 or higher the effort is greatly intensified. I can only manage a few miles when my heart rate drifts much higher in this level. I think the zones calculated with the new MHR make since. I had already adjusted my paces northward but the math reinforces my observations.

New Max Heart Rate?

There are several formulas for determining your maximum heart rate. Most are so generic that sometimes they are not even in the ball park. They are generalized for the entire population.

Let’s run through a few with my numbers (these are from wikipedia) – Age = 37 (MHR = Max Heart Rate)

MHR = 220 - AGE -> 183

MHR = 206.3 – (0.711 * AGE) -> 180.4

MHR = 217 – (0.85 * AGE) -> 180.0

MHR = 208 – (0.7 * AGE) -> 182.1

The following are from Sally Edwardsand for me seem to be the most accurate - (although a few years old her Heart Zone Trainingbook is very good).

Males: MHR = 210 – (AGE * .5) – (WEIGHT * .05) + 4 -> 187.5

Females: MHR = 210 – (AGE * .5) – (WEIGHT * .01) + 0

Max heart rates vary substantially from individual to individual. I have known blazing fast runners whose heart rates never got out of the 150’s and I have also known people with sky high heart rates. Also, maximum heart rates do not vary much over time. This is a genetic determined value. In addition, as long as you are fit your maximum heart rate will not decline as you age.

Furthermore, maximum heart rates are sports specific.  I cannont come close to my running max heart rate while biking.  There is about a 10 BPM difference.

Also from Sally Edwards:

Max HR is genetically determined; in other words, you're born with it.
Max HR does not reflect your level of fitness
Max HR is a fixed number, unless you become unfit.
Max HR cannot be increased by training.
Max HR does not decline with age.
Max HR only declines with age in sedentary individuals.
Max HR tends to be higher in women than men.
Max HRs that are high do not predict better athletic performance.
Max HRs that are low do not predict worse athletic performance.
Max HR has great variability among people of the same age.
Max HR does not vary from day to day, but it is test-day sensitive.
Max HR testing requires the person to be fully rested.
Max HR testing needs to be done multiple times to determine the exact number.

I have observed 194 BPM several times at the end of all out efforts. These were always race situations with an all out sprint to the finish. If you remember, my last 5k race (the Pump and Run) ended in a no holds barred straight away slug fest with Board Shorts. This was the hardest that I have ever sprinted – period. Further examination of the race data shows that my maximum heart rate is actually higher than the value that I have been using. The reading towards the end of that race showed 200 BPM (on garmin connect and 199 on sporttracks - either way it is about 5 beats per minute higher than I have ever seen).

I believe it – there were no power lines or other means of interference. On top of that I had to sit down at the end of that race. I guess that I had just not been in a situation to really push to the limit. Now I need to reevaluate my training zones.

Pump and Run Heart Rate profile

FYI - DC Rainmaker is giving away a really cool scale!