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Using a HRM is an untapped utility in racing. You can turn
yourself into a Race-Bot
by figuring out how to use one. It is very similar to the pacing
procedure used above.
First you have to know your HRmax. Then many factors go into
using a HRM
efficiently. As I stated before when I first started using a HRM
I was very confused
about all the information on using one. It didn’t make sense. So
I started using a
HRM during my races and workouts to really figure out what was
happening. I ran
the best races I could based on the Smart Running principles and
I plotted the
progress of my races to see if there were any trends.
Above are my HR progress for a 5K, 8K and a 10 mile races. Each
plot was analyzed
closely. I saw that for each race there were four distinct
phases (three of which are
discernible in the graphs): (1) An Initial phase lasting about 1
minute fairly independent
of the race length, (2) Transition Phase lasting 8% to 50% of
total race time depending
on Race length, (3) Race Phase for the core of the race, again
relating to Race Time
and Distance and (4) Kick Phase for the tail-end of the race.
Each phase is discussed
as it relates to my personal experience with using a HRM in
different race differences.
• Initial Phase: The Most Important
Notice that the Initial phase has the greatest change in HR for
a given time,
while the Transition Phase is less so and the Race Phase has the
least change
in HR over time. A big part of the KEY to doing racing with a
HRM is not
messing up the first two phases, especially the first phase! It
seems that
regardless of race distance, this phase always lasts between 30
and 120
seconds which corresponds to the first 200-400 meters of a race.
Remember
what I said earlier about marking off the first 300 meters of a
race? This is why.
You can DESTROY your race if you make this first phase too fast.
In all cases
that I measured, the Initial phase lasts between 30 and 120
seconds and the
HR reached is remarkably almost always the same, about 85%
HRmax! No
matter what the race is, your HR at 30-120 seconds of the race
should be close
to this! Below is a table for finding the time length for a
given race for the Initial
phase. Again, your HR at the end of this phase should be about
85% HRmax.
For Instance for a 5K in 18 minutes, your Initial Phase will
last about 90 seconds (8% of
18). While for a 10 mile in 70 minutes, it will last about 2
minutes (3% of 70). During this
phase, you should feel like you are going ungodly slow! But
please be patient with it,
you will make up for any “lost” time in the second half of the
race.
• The Transition Phase: Getting to Race Effort
After the first minute or two, you can start inching your way up
to the low end
of HR that will be used for most of the race. Below is a table
giving the
relationship between Race Distance, % of time in Transition
Phase and
%HRmax at the end of the Transition Phase. To be safe, I would
suggest
always shooting for the low-end (90% HRmax) if you haven’t used
this type of
training previously. For example, for a 5K in 18 mins, the
transition period
ends about 3 mins and 36 sec (20% of 18) after your Initial
phase has ended
(total time to this point is 1.5 minutes + 3.5 minutes = 5
mins), and your HR
will be about 92% HRmax.
• Race Phase
In the phase, you actually keep your pace the same as you ended
the
transition phase until about 5-10 minutes left in the race. Your
HR should drift
up.
• Kick Phase
The last phase lasts about 3 to 15 minutes, if done right. Your
HR for all races
should be about 94-96% HRmax before you start the final kick in.
For
instance, for a 5K in 18 mins, about the last 5 minutes (25% of
18) should be
moved to the next level and your last 2 to 3 minutes of the Race
should at
your HRmax!
If you have been doing the calculation for the 5K in 18 minutes,
you will see that the
Race Phase, actually only lasts 8 minutes; difference between 18
minutes – (Initial +
Transition + Kick).
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