# Racing Heart Rate



## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Hey fella's do any of you race with your hear rate monitor.

If so what % of your pace do you find yourself racing at? I know this is subjective and can vary from person to person, race to race......but is there a general range you find yourself performing at for the duration of a race?

In my case my Max HR is 177bpm and im finding myself doing some interval work lately with a HR of 162bpm for 10 minutes. Currently i could not imagine running 160bpm for a 46 mile race; yet i could imagine going 155bpm.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

It depends on the race and what's going on.

At times...my HR is 125-130 bpm
Chasing breaks...my HR may be in the high 160's
Going on a break once settled in...my HR may be in the low 160's
At the end of a race...my HR may be in the low to high 170's

For an average though...Usually in the mid to high 140 range for a 2.5 hour race, but a lot of time is spent in the 130 BPM range. My max is around 178 BPM. If you look at the charts, you will be surprised how much time is spent at endurance pace during races.

This is why we do intervals


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

10 years ago, I used to be able to hold 170-172 in a 40K and max out at 188-190. Now that I'm "really" old, I have trouble holding 160-165, and max out in the mid 170's.

Everybody is different.


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## benInMA (Jan 22, 2004)

It's been a while since I raced but my experience was as follows.. (and I don't think this is terribly different then a hard group ride.) 

Key thing is do you know you Lactate Threshold Heart Rate... mine is 169.

IF I'm in shape to be competitive:

In the pack I would be in Zone 1-2 - HR is going to be in the 130s on flat, maybe going up some on the hills or if the pace ramps up into the 140s-150s.

Attacking - would be way high

Off the front - eventually it's going to average out to around LTHR if I can stay off the front (basically a TT)

Really difficult climbing - going to go over LTHR

IF I'm not sufficiently strong to be competitive everything is going to get bumped up.. if I start creeping up towards your LTHR just sitting in and not climbing I would assume I'm going to get shelled, probably on a climb.

As Mr. Grumpy said our #s are meaningless.. everyone is different. But it would probably serve you well to try and figure out your LTHR based on a 30min TT (take the average of the last 20min HR) and then you can assess where you are in a race/ride in relation to that... you know you're going to blow up if you exceed it too long.


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

benInMA said:


> But it would probably serve you well to try and figure out your LTHR based on a 30min TT (take the average of the last 20min HR) and then you can assess where you are in a race/ride in relation to that...


Except that in my and many others' cases, the stress and excitement of racing adds 8-10 bpm to the heart rate seen at equal power in training. In other words, riding at threshold power in training, I might maintain a heart rate of 175 for 30 minutes, but during a race, the same power would elicit a heart rate of 183-185 over that time. If I limited myself to 175 bpm in a race, I would be seriously under performing.

Not that I would let any number control my performance in anything but a time trial. In a mass start race, the pack, tactics, and strategy control the effort.


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Thanks guys, more so i should have asked this question better.

In a 40 mile race distance how close to LT and for how long are you running that rate? I have a sense that my LT is right around the mid 160's........that said would be safe to say i would spend a good deal of the distance a little shy of this.....say 155?? (not to be exact but in the idea).


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

Rugergundog said:


> In a 40 mile race distance how close to LT and for how long are you running that rate? I have a sense that my LT is right around the mid 160's........that said would be safe to say i would spend a good deal of the distance a little shy of this.....say 155?? (not to be exact but in the idea).


It would be highly unlikely that you spend a good deal of the race at a heart rate around 155 unless you are off the back and in control of your effort (in which case it is most likely too low). If you are off the front for a good portion of the race your heart rate will most likely be over 160 if you're riding at threshold pace due to extraneous factors. If you're riding in the pack, your heart rate will fluctuate from well under to well over 155 depending on the dynamics of the group. 

Race the race. Heart rate will take care of itself.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

My racing HR is unreliable, atleast for crits. It sits at 140 at the start line and then ramps to 160ish no matter what. Hard efforts tend to peg it at 180, and sprints and primes hit 196 to 200. 

But in training, my HR is only 130-145 for zone2/3, 150-160 for 93% of FTP, and about 170-175 at FTP. 105-120+% typically only tops out at 185. Even on the hamer fest rides, I rarely see it go above 187. 

I guess it just shifts up for racing (for me atleast).


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

asgelle said:


> Race the race. Heart rate will take care of itself.


Pretty much.


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## heathb (Nov 1, 2008)

165 to 192 for crits and I spend a good deal of my time at LT and above. 

Road racing however I spend much less time at my LT, unless it's state championships and then it seems I'm at LT for almost an hour and I'm cooked for several days after.

My max hr is 194 if I'm in good shape.


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

CX races are pegged at LT for everything but the first 20 seconds 

My last road race (two weeks ago)
Max HR: 165
Avg: 138
My Max HR: 172

Race earlier in the year where I did a ton of work. 2:15 min race. I don't like averaging 166 for that long but got in some breaks and chased down several.
Min: 149
Max 171
Avg 166


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## Ghost234 (Jun 1, 2010)

It depends highly on the race and conditions around whats going on. 


My LTHR is 187, with a max of 199. 

My race 2 weeks ago was 90 minutes long and I averaged 182bpm, I crashed out early and chased for the rest of the race. It was raining, and was very cold. 
Today the race was 90 minutes and my heart rate was about 170 bpm and I was at the front for 90% of the race. It was chilly, but fairly decent overall.


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Thanks guys.
I was a very competitive runner for a good number of years...a good while ago. Unfortunately i do not have that "sense" of my HR and such back just yet. I am relying on my tool; the monitor. In fact im finding that "sense" while running is much different than on a bike due to a good deal of factors.

anyhow.........

I ask this as i don't want my mental competitiveness to get in the way of what i can physiologically do. The last thing i want to do is get all ramped up and sustain a HR at my LT early on because im all geeked in the race......and 4 miles down the road i blow up and am completely dropped. I don't wanna be "that guy" who takes off way over his head.

Until i rediscover that "sense" of what pace i can hold on the bike im hoping i can use the HR monitor as a "dummy meter" ahahah. In the event that i get caught up in the excitement I can look down and see 168 or 172HR....and though mentally i may not be feeling the burn just yet due to adrenaline and all the fun.......when i see that number i would know i can not hold that for very long and unless the group eases up....i better or i won't finish.

*Again, thanks for all the input everyone. I am completely newbie green to this sport. It is great to get all this advice. I was not aware that the groups speed would vary to such an extent during the race.*


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Just remember that road racing is unlike running in the sense that you do not get to dictate the pace, other than time trials. Unless you're off the back, it's generally much more pertinent to be watching your front wheel than your heart rate.


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## DesnaePhoto (Jun 11, 2009)

My first race of the year I had 2 goals 1) stay upright and 2) not get shelled. Made those goals but did not push hard enough to wear myself out. I put the HRM away and just rode the race. As I am just now getting the ability to record HR, I will do that during a race. But I will not look at it -- that info will not be on the screen. Ride by feeling.

If you overdo yourself during a race, what is the worst that can happen? You get dropped? So what ... it happens. how else are you going to learn what your body can do?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

DesnaePhoto said:


> If you overdo yourself during a race, what is the worst that can happen? You get dropped? So what ... it happens. how else are you going to learn what your body can do?


When the field makes accelerations, you don't really have a choice but to try to match the pace. If this is beyond what you can do, then you'll get dropped. If not, you hang. If you can close gaps without going into the red, even better. Unfortunately this isn't always the case.


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Well a CAT5 field of 35 riders. I would suspect it will split into multiple groups over the distance; approx 40 miles.????


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

Rugergundog said:


> Well a CAT5 field of 35 riders. I would suspect it will split into multiple groups over the distance; approx 40 miles.????


I would revise your thinking. Don't think of the field splitting into multiple groups. There's the pack. That's like par in golf. It's the standard against which other riders are measured; i.e., over par (off the back) or under par (off the front). If you're in the pack, you're average. You have to decide whether to stay there or take a chance at going off the front. If you stay in the pack and it comes down to a field sprint, how well will you place? Out of the money or top 3, is the same as last in a pack sprint.

Then there are riders off the back. One group or multiple, it doesn't matter; they're off the back and as long as they stay there, they're irrelevant. If you find yourself off the back, you have to figure out if there's any way you can get back to the field. Being off the back, you have nothing to lose so anything that might work is worth the risk.

Then there might be riders off the front. They matter a lot. If you're off the front, you have to figure out where you are in relation to the pack and others who might be off the front and what you want to do about it. If you're in the pack and riders are off the front, the question becomes do you try to get up with the riders up the road, do you try to bring them back to the pack, or do you just sit in passively and hope for the best. Winning the field sprint when there are riders off the front works like the pack finish. If you're not in the money, first is the same as last.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Rugergundog said:


> Well a CAT5 field of 35 riders. I would suspect it will split into multiple groups over the distance; approx 40 miles.????


More than likely, but not like a true breakaway. Hills will often be the place where the weak riders are simply shed. 

Cat 5 races are largely unpredictable. Expect random (and pointless) attacks, the accordian effect, more attacks only to slam on the brakes, etc.


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## Cableguy (Jun 6, 2010)

For 50-110 mile races my heart rate tends to average out to the high 80% range of my max HR, usually 85-88%. Towards the start my HR will be spiking and recovering a lot as the pace surges, sometimes even touching my actual max, then towards the end of the race it'll level out and become more constistent as I enter sort of a fatigued state where I can't recover my HR yet at the same time can't get it very high either. For shorter distances I've seen higher averages, in the low 90% range.

/rant on

Ok, why do people always just post their actual BPM numbers when talking about their heart rate? Max heart rates vary greatly, saying something like "ya I ride at 140 bpm when racing" could be >90% of max HR for one person and <70% max HR for another. Even worse, sometimes the person will not even mention what their max HR is. Wow, really? ... REALLY?? lol  

/rant off


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Alright....all this talk has i think convinced me to go get my damn ass racing, ahahaha. I intended to hold off for a month further into spring to train for summer races.......but man i gotta get out and give it a whirl.

Ill be dead honest; im no sprinter. If i have a chance at anything it will be by pulling away from a pack or just finishing with them. I can run a pretty solid pace for my experience....but i don't have "power" to sprint.

Thanks for all the tips guys......gets me motivated.


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## petalpower (Aug 10, 2009)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> 10 years ago, I used to be able to hold 170-172 in a 40K and max out at 188-190. Now that I'm "really" old, I have trouble holding 160-165, and max out in the mid 170's.
> 
> Everybody is different.



I'm about where you used to be.  

OP: From my last race (crit) I was at 170bpm for most of the race, and spiked to 190 for the sprint.


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## Zipp0 (Aug 19, 2008)

I have been wearing my HR monitor more this year and it seems to offer valuable insight into my fitness level. A few weeks back I was sitting in the pack in the local training race and my HR was right around 140. (My LTHR is 172.) At that time I was pretty fit (for me) and able to bridge a decent gap, follow attacks, recover quickly from efforts, etc.

Then I had some family issues that kept me off the bike quite a bit for about 2 weeks. Next time at the training race my HR in the pack was a quite a bit higher, and when it came to crunch time with a few pushing hard at the front, it shot to 186 and I was OTB in a couple minutes.

Anyway, if I can glance at the HR monitor in a chasing pack and see that I am at or below threshold, I know I can hang. If it is quite a bit below threshold, I can bridge a gap or attack. If it is over threshold I can prepare to look at a pack riding away from me.


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## nyvram (Apr 11, 2002)

asgelle said:


> I would revise your thinking. Don't think of the field splitting into multiple groups. There's the pack. That's like par in golf. It's the standard against which other riders are measured; i.e., over par (off the back) or under par (off the front). If you're in the pack, you're average. You have to decide whether to stay there or take a chance at going off the front. If you stay in the pack and it comes down to a field sprint, how well will you place? Out of the money or top 3, is the same as last in a pack sprint.
> 
> If you're not in the money, first is the same as last.


While I get what you're saying, the term "average" here is really rubbing me the wrong way. I get the comparision to a par in golf but there's alot more to racing and being 'in the pack'.

Heavier riders will never stay with the pack on courses with major climbs. Period. By the same token, these heavier riders often tend to be the best sprinters and the hill climbers can just get out of the way when it comes to the end of the race and these guys crank out the watts.

I wouldn't want to run into Magnus in a dark alley and tell him he's subpar. ;-)


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## spastook (Nov 30, 2007)

I can use a heartrate monitor for time trials but in a group start I'm so nervous that my rate is spiked before I clip into the pedals. And I'm no rookie, I rode my first USCF event in 1980.


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