I have a fitness watch (TomTom Spark 3 with heart rate monitor) and I’ve used it for the last 6 months when cycling, walking, hiking etc. I now include running as part of C25K and to my alarm it reported a very high heart rate (bpm) for the first minute whenever I started the first run of a daily batch (although it settled down into normal peaks and troughs from the second jog onwards - but still a bit high). I felt perfectly fine btw and have no known conditions except age (61) and weight (bmi 31.5 - started SW this week!)
Research showed all kinds of alarming stuff but buried away in the detail were 2 items - infection and caffeine.
I have had a bad cold for the last 2 weeks but also start every morning with 2 mugs of percolated, caffeinated coffee just before the run.
Today I have no cold but also swapped my regular coffees for 1 mug of percolated decaffeinated coffee.
Wow- dramatic difference to heart rate - peak was 30 bpm lower(!) than before and average was 25 bpm lower. I blame the caffeine more than the cold and will not have it before runs in the future.
I plot my heart rate traces for the same runs and compare to assess my fitness levels And... it's obvious to spot any artefacts (erroneous spikes) in the trace - wrist based monitors often spike and can 'lock' onto your foot cadence. So if you're foot-striking at, say, 180 spm, then your HR might show as 180 bpm when it's actually 145.
I have managed to save the traces as a GIF or JPEG but can't paste them into the reply and can't even find the "User Help" section on this forum to see how!
My stride rate isn't tracked by my app (pace is) - it only shows an average stride rate for the whole session and it is 135/min so maybe a run could cause a peak?
You can only post images (Post Photo) if you start a new post/subject. Doesnt look possible when replying to someone. The peak won't necessarily be caused by what speed you're going - it could easily be a glitch by the watch.
I'm very well thanks. I'm on the comeback trail after a 5 month lay-off after the London Marathon - the training and the race left me a bit broken (small tear in Achilles and a couple of infected toes and lost toe nails) and I needed the break. But I did NO exercise at all for 4 months and the fitness is now shocking - I'm way off where I was. But at least the Achilles seems fully settled now. Just been out for a gentle 10k which took exactly 60 minutes. Not bad.
Well done in doing the programme. Watches can do this sometimes, you feel OK? then don't worry about it, you're just doing c25k, so don't be concerned with heart rates and graphs.. only follow the times of the programme, slow and steady, that's all you need to do at the moment..
there we go... cadence lock. Had this issue with my TomTom Cardio Runner and recently with my Garmin FR 235. I've now bought a cheap chest-strap monitor and it's very reliable to far - no spikes at all.
I've found the chest strap reliable on my old FR110, it's just that I can't turn the watch off! have tried everything regarding resetting so have to keep making sure the charge is up, have hinted about a new one from the wife for Xmas😁
I was wondering if caffeineated coffee or tea was causing my mild headaches, but then think I'd have to drink a lot, does 12 mugs a day sound a lot? Thinking of trying decaffeinated..
12 mugs a day would give me a headache, palpitations, twitchy eye syndrome and sleepless nights! - but it is down to how your body processes the caffeine so some people can handle it. I have heard you can get withdrawal headaches if you give it up and go cold turkey. I usually go more decaf as the day go by
Fitness watches are not that accurate, however you can get ones with a chest strap that may be helpful. If your worried see your doctor who will advise and reassure you. Don't dwell on it as that will lead to anxiety. Your fitness will improve as your muscles develop meaning you don't need to work so hard.
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And... it's obvious to spot any artefacts (erroneous spikes) in the trace - wrist based monitors often spike and can 'lock' onto your foot cadence. So if you're foot-striking at, say, 180 spm, then your HR might show as 180 bpm when it's actually 145.
Week 3 & high heart rate 
High Heart Rate on a 5k Run
High heart rate when running slowly
Heart rate
Mmmmmm heart rate increased.
