Heart rate observation

I have just bought a miband pulse (like a Fitbit but budget) and have set it to vibrate when my heart rate exceeds a certain level. At the start of my run my heart rate shot up to about 162 then after I had got into it my heart rate settled at about 142 ish. Is this the usual pattern as your brain realises what your doing and gets your heart beating more efficiently or did I just slack off? Didnt feel like I did! Did consciously go slower than my w4r1 effort and only covered a little less distance so must have been walking faster in between. I think the key is not to have extremes of pace.

[Rignold]

"Ah heart rate. I'm something of an expert at this, " said Daddy Pig.

"Then why do you break so many heart monitors?" asked Peppa.

"Oh, " said Daddy Pig. "Oh dear"

That;s perfectly normal. The heart accelerates to cope with the new demand then settles once it has decided how much is being asked of it. It is a very clever self-regulating peice of equipment.

Most of the time.

[AndyD Graduate]

Also... "During long-duration exercise, your heart rate may gradually increase, even if you maintain a set pace. This "cardiovascular drift" occurs as you lose water through sweating and as your heart directs more blood to your skin in order to cool you down. Your heart rate will increase because blood is being diverted from your working muscles, and therefore, it has to pump more often to keep your muscles supplied with oxygen and energy"

[Hidden in reply to AndyD]

Thanks for the replies!

[MarkyD Graduate]

Technical answer: as you warmed up and got sweatier, the optical sensor made better contact with your skin (stickier) and provided a more accurate reading. Somewhere I have a great heart rate trace from a run when I ran from sunshine into freezing fog. Skin temperature dropped, blood flow in my wrist changed & OHRM recorded it all beautifully.

[Realfoodieclub Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Being a Stats girl I would find that sooooooo interesting. 😀. I love being a running Nerd.

[MarkyD Graduate in reply to Realfoodieclub]

I'll see if I can find it. Hmm, January 2015 maybe???