Life lesson learned.

[Tom-cat]

Having run a 10k each of the past 5 weeks, plus 2 additional 5k's each week, I deluded myself that this was getting easy. Last night, following 4 days of a particularly heavy cold, I ran a 10k with two others. That cold had really given me a beating. Not a particularly challenging 10k. A rather sedate pace by our standards. But wow was my heart racing! I found it real hard graft. When I analysed the result from my Garmin watch later, I found my pulse rate over the 10k averaged 172 bpm. At times it hit 180 bpm. Using the accepted formula of 220 less your age as being your maximum heart rate, mine should have a ceiling of 157. A training rate should be 70% to 80% of that maximum. Running for in excess of an hour at more than 10% more than your maximum heart rate, I can assure you, does not feel good. I was completely drained. If it really hurts. It's time to relax......

[John_W Graduate10]

I have good news for you.

Your Garmin was telling you porkies. Even if the 220-age estimate was wrong by 10 beats, there's no physical way you would be able to run above or at your HRmax for an hour.

Your maximum heart rate is a called that for a reason - it's the limit of what you can push it to when exercising. It's what it might reach if *sprinting* of the finish of a 5k race for example or running up a steep hill several times. But being at maximum for an hour? No, not possible. Over it? Your device is simply giving you erroneous info. It's understandable that due to the advertising, the brand name, the cost, etc., that we automatically trust the numbers that these devices gives us. But when it comes to HR in particular, you should be aware that wrist-based HR measurements are notoriously unreliable.

It's likely your Garmin was experiencing 'cadence lock' , i.e ., It was struggling to get a good signal from your pulse on your wrist and instead was locking onto your cadence instead.

What was your average cadence?

To back to the reality of your run and your 'life lesson learned' - it sounds to me like your body still wasn't fully recovered from your cold . That's all.

[Oldfloss Administrator 60minGraduate]

Not sure what was happening there...as John_W suggests... maybe a glitch? I had similar when my Garmin was not on the pulse spot...Not withstanding, listening to our body at any level is the thing..it speaks the truth! Hope you feel better now.

[tmbtrain Graduate10]

Bodies are both amazing and strange!