Most of you reading this article probably know just as much as I do about heart rate. For the small portion that don’t, here’s an introduction. Heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a certain unit of time. (Usually minutes) Heart rate is measured in three stages.

The first stage is resting heart rate. Resting heart rate is the stage when you’re not doing any activities. This consists of sleeping, lying on the couch, reading a book, etc. The next stage is Active heart rate. Active heart rate is when you are participating in daily activities like playing sports or going for a jog. The final heart rate is maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is when you’re moving as fast as you can. It’s the fastest your heart can pump before producing lactic acid and making your body inefficient. The maximum heart rate formula is 220- your age, although, a well trained athlete will perform much better than this. This formula is controversial and doesn’t always work. A more accurate formula is 206.9 - .67 x your age.

To become a faster runner you have to do what is called heart rate training. Heart rate training is training to make your heart more efficient. Before you start heart rate training you may run a mile in a certain time at a certain heart rate, although, after proper heart rate training, you can find yourself running faster at that same BPM, (beats per minute) or even exceeding your previous maximum level. To exceed your maximum level you don’t need to run fast everyday. You should find yourself doing speed work about 1-3 times a week. The other time should be occupied by endurance running, which is running long distances at about 65-70% The other time should be spent doing tempo workouts, which is a mix between the two. Tempo workouts are workouts at a moderate distance, going at about 80% of your max.

To get more research I interviewed Iron man racer and All-American athlete Claire Geiger.

Did you wear a heart rate monitor during your training?
CG: I wore my HR monitor for some training. Not for all. I wore it during testing pieces (5k runs, 8 mile bikes) and more often on the bike than the run. Mostly because I found it uncomfortable on long runs so I only wore it when I really had to. I often also went by perceived exertion.

How did your resting heart rate change over your training?
CG: I didn\'t really keep track of my resting heart rate. I mostly just used it when I was ready to get going on a workout

Did your maximum heart rate change as well?
CG:I tested two 5k runs during training and both times my max HR was about 213.

What did you do to improve your maximum heart rate during run training? bike training? and swim training?

I think for all of them it\'s important to include speed work to get your HR up, hold an effort, and then let it come down again. It strengthens the heart and allows you to increase speed and the amount of time you can hold that effort


I usually had a speed session in every discipline about every week or every other week. I did track workouts pretty consistently every week on Wednesday mornings and speed work or higher intensities on the bike on Tuesday mornings.

What is your maximum heart rate at the beginning of your training? and at your peak?

As in #3, for the two tests it was about 213 I think. However the first test was when I was much more rested. The second came at a pretty high point in my training when I was more tired and fatigued.


For example, sleep, nutrition, or hydration.
I think all. I think training is really about balance. Everything contributes to a successful workout. I can usually still manage good workouts on not a ton of sleep but even that will eventually catch up to me. Especially during the summer, I know hydration was huge and I really tried to keep fluids with me at all time. Also, I was eating pretty healthy then as well. My body would crave fruits, veggies, protein and everything that seemed to help me excel with my workouts as well.

During your race, how did you keep hydrated and fueled? did you have a game plan?

Yes, Craig and I worked out a plan for nutrition. It was the one area that I think I actually struggled with most and think could have potentially caused me the most trouble. I knew I was set for the swim, bike, and run but for an entire day, if you get behind on fluid or fuel, it can cost you your race. I got up at 3:30am and had a 750 calorie shake and then had a water bottle with me pretty much the whole time before the start. On the bike, my goal was to get in about 1500 calories. I ate a Power bar towards the beginning of the bike and then took in mostly liquid calories after that. I had two water bottles of Carbopro (600 calories each) but I dropped one at the beginning so I made a conscious effort to figure out how much I would have to pick up on the course. I tried to drink water in between as well. It was a pretty warm, sunny day so I knew the weather would take its toll on me if I didn\'t. On the run, I couldn\'t really stomach gels anymore so I just drank the Gatorade and water on the course at every aid station. If they had Coke, I always chose that but they ran out pretty quickly. Even though I was sick of the sugary mix, I knew I needed the calories to keep going. For the run, the plan was to get in about 400-500 calories. I kind of stopped counting and just drank as much as I could/felt like and tried to get to the finish.

In an 11 hour Iron Man, what was your percent of max for swimming? biking? and running?

I didn\'t wear my HR monitor during the race. The swim was smooth and a warm up for the day. Nothing too hard. Probably 60% or so. Mostly just trying to avoid people. For the bike, it was long and steady. I biked to be able to run. Didn\'t push it too hard but felt good. The run was probably pretty high. While I was trying to control it, I always have a pretty high HR when running. (170s-180s at least) I\'m guessing I was in the 190s and towards the end probably up in the low 200s just from heart rate drift and simply going for so long. At one point though, Craig asked me a question and I was able to answer him in a very calm, relaxed manner, barely even breathing hard it seemed. I think a lot of that was in my head. Every time I felt anxious or thought the HR was starting to get really fast, I just talked myself down and knew that staying calm would help me more in the long run than letting it go out the roof.

You passed everyone else on the run to come out in first. Obviously, you weren\'t burning lactic acid like everyone else, why do you think this is?

Oh, I think I was burning lactic acid like everyone else. I just think I was able to push through it more. Going into the race, I had no fear that I wouldn\'t finish. I knew I had been so well prepared by Craig that there wasn\'t a doubt in my mind that I wouldn\'t have my best race. The last two hours of the run were the hardest thing I\'ve ever done. My legs hurt so badly with every step, it was the only thing that I could feel. I didn\'t notice the chafing or the fact that every toenail was black and I had blisters all over my feet. But I had pushed myself a lot to a similar point during the summer. Never to this extreme and never for such an extended period of time but I went into the race knowing it would be hard. But I also knew it would be worth it. Craig and I had talked about goals and what I would need to do to get through those times and I knew what I wanted. I\'ve always told myself \'you will walk away. No matter what you\'re doing and how hard you think it is, it will be over and you\'ll walk away. If I had given up then or walked, I knew I would regret it. At that point, mental toughness is just as important as physical toughness. I had so many people there that I wanted to make proud, the lactic acid and pain was all worth it.

How do you keep up with your fitness in the off season?

It\'s tough thinking about the next race not being until May and there are not a lot of triathlons before then that I can do. I took a bit of time of to recover physically and mentally and just kind of tried to stay active with what sounded like fun. Then I started training for the Disney marathon which was a week and a half ago. It was good to keep me running and keep me pushing to those same levels just not in all three sports. I still incorporated speed work and hills and got some good long runs in to keep the fitness up. This was good because I was still able to run outside whereas biking and swimming weren\'t possible outside. It also gave me a shorter term goal to look forward to and push towards. I had last week as a recovery week and now we\'re going at it strong for Texas in May. And while I trained for the marathon, there were many circumstances that weren\'t ideal but the fact that I could just go and run a marathon and qualify for Boston really shows that my fitness is where I need it to be and that the training Craig has me do is right on. i couldn\'t be happier about where I am going into this season.

Any other tips?

I think racing how you feel is especially important. Aiming too much towards numbers can be tough when taking external factors into account. you never know what it\'s going to be like out or who\'s going to show up. I raced my race at Ironman. I knew I wasn\'t first out of the water and I had two girls blow past me on the bike. But I also caught a couple girls on the bike. I knew I wanted to be able to get off and run the whole marathon. The marathon is where it happens. So on that run, I just did what I could and reeled them in one by one. I never wore a watch, I never checked my time. I did what my body would let me and let all the training I had done pay off. Once I made it into 1st place, I knew I would do anything I had to not to let that next girl catch me. I just worked to increase my lead and secure that Kona slot.

In February I interviewed Claire’s personal trainer, and youth swim coach at the McGaw YMCA, Craig Strong. In my interview, Craig told me had Claire do heart rate and speed training about four times a week. Craig also stated that he made it very important that he kept Claire hydrated during speed training. He gave Claire water and power bars every 30 minutes during her speed workouts. He also mentionedstaying away from drinks like Gatorade and Powerade. Craig also stated that on speed work days the volume was intensified, he made Claire push as hard as she could in each workout, he also had more water and protein during speed work days. Something that I found interesting was that Craig had Claire do swimming workouts to increase heart rate, become faster, and strengthen core. The pool definitely increases strength and stride. Craig said that hydration was the most important part of Claire’s speed workouts.

If you do not stay hydrated, he consequences can be dire.

Margaret Bradley was a supreme athlete and a top qualifier for the Boston Marathon, with a degree in biological geophysical sciences from the university of Chicago. On July 8th, 2004, Margaret and a friend went for a deep hike into the Grand Canyon. Not knowing how hot it was going to be, Margaret didn’t bring nearly enough water. About 15 miles in, Margaret and her companion found themselves lost in the Grand Canyon. Margaret and her friend decided to separate. Margaret’s companion was to trying to make it back to Flagstaff, while Margaret was to find Phantom Ranch. Margaret’s companion made it back to Flagstaff and survived. Margaret was found dead shortly after during an ariel search. Margaret died of dehydration, which elevated her heart rate to dangerous levels and causing cardiac arrest. The moral of the story is that even if you are a supreme athlete,dehydration can damage your heart.

In April, 2011 I hiked the very same trail. I noticed that the way down is easy, and it can give you confidence and you go faster than you should. But then on the way up your heart is tired if you go down too fast, and your heart rate can spike too high. That is why you see people stopping resting on the way up.

This past May I attended the Y-me 5k race against cancer to volunteer. I gave out medals at the finish and watched people come in. After watching my mom race I interviewed her and talked to her about her recorded heart rate.

Knowing that you ran abut 9 minute miles and your heart rate was around 175-180 how would you evaluate yourself?

LM: Back when I was doing speed work on the local track and swimming regularly I could run a 5k with 7 minute miles at that heart rate. Now, life is different, I work full time and I only get to run 2 days and run no more than 6 miles, with no speed work. To run 7-minute miles I was doing speed work on a track once a week, and running about 30 miles per week.

How did you feel throughout the race?

LM: For the first mile I was dying at 175. Everything hurt, although, I started feeling better about halfway through. Unfortunately, with the reduced training, running at that heart rate only gave me about 8:45 minute miles. Just before mile 3 I got very tired because to do well you need to go farther than your race distance in practice, which is something I had not done. I have a race in September, so this is a good benchmark for me. I know to go below 8 minute miles I have to up my mileage and do speed work weekly.

Overall, this shows that to succeed on race day, you need to be able to exercise in all of your zones in practice, and always keep track of your heart rate.