I’m a casual runner. Not very consistent. In 2022 I was running more and aimed for speed for 1-4 miles usually. But my heart rate was always in zone 5. 180+. Some runs were 90% in zone 5; obviously not safe.
So lately I’ve gotten back into running and I’d like to get close to what I was doing 4 years ago, but with a safer heart rate. I’m assuming I can simply run very slow 11-minute miles and keep my heart rate below 160. But perhaps you have some experience or advice on how to maximize efficiency? I’ve seen experienced runners doing sub 8 minute miles for 10 miles with an average of 140bpm. That’s so out of reach for me right now. I’m 36 and my max HR is currently 194 based on recent activity I guess.
So normally just doing more cardio should lower your resting heart rate but resting HR can be very different from HR under load.
One of my colleagues is super fit, regularly does marathons etc, but when she’s at pace her heart rate gets up to and exceeds 220bpm. She’s seen several doctors about this out of concern and they noted that so long as she feels fine while it’s doing this (no pain, not feeling faint etc, she experiences no ill effects) then it’s fine. They said her body will let her know if she needs to slow down, it’s just how her body is. They had no tips for how she might lower it.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned and that you should definitely see a doctor if you are concerned, but if you feel fine while running with the rate you’re running at then it might be okay.
There is no quick fix. This is something that takes years to train and develop. You can see progress in months, but it will be slight, and requires commitment. You won’t see significant changes in days or weeks, regardless of what you do. Low heart rate training, zone 2, and increase volume gradually. You need to be consistent and committed.
Challenge accepted. It’s only been one week so far… I guess my ideal plan right now is two days on, one day off. Every 6th run will be a higher intensity run and the rest will be zone 2 minimum 5 kilometers. Aside from noticing a slow change in my workouts, my average resting heart rate should hopefully consistently decrease.
yeah, you should see your resting down to mid 40s after around a year of consistent training. if you maintain zone 2 and 5km runs, you’ll notice they take less time as the condition of your body and cv system improves. Only thing you have to worry about going from minimal training to high volume is injuries. You will, and i mean actually will get an injury if you just increase the volume of your running. If you arent doing serious strength and conditioning training on your legs and body, then a tendon will pop. I know because i did this in my late 30’s. Went from just doing a run a week to going to a run or 2 a day, doing zone 2 5km each time, and my Achilles went.
zone 5; obviously not safe.
Those posts about your heart and shins exploding if you go above zone 2 are just memes.
Unless you have some congenital heart defect, there is nothing unsafe about sprinting around in z5. You’ll just get tired quickly, but not unsafe. Your brain will shut you down before you hurt yourself.
Anyway, your original question… as you get fitter, you’ll just get faster for a given heart rate… i wouldnt think of it as lowering your heart rate. (6m/km @ 150bpm, vs 6m/km @ 140bpm)
Think of it as getting faster at a given effort (6m/km @ 150 bpm then running 5m/km @ 150bpm)
you get faster by putting in more miles, mainly. Sprinkle in some fast days, but mostly just lots of slow volume.
My partner runs ultras. She is a slow runner. Longest race 100 miles. I get safety notifications from her fitness watch in the middle of the night that her heart rate is dipping into the high 30s.
Isn’t below 40 dangerous?
For most people, that’s why the alarm goes off and notifies me. But, I think it’s normal for some runners.
Ah, maybe endurance athletes are pumping enough blood still (due to stronger hearts) that it’s not an issue, i giess?
Yeah, exactly. And it’s during sleep.
I don’t think that’s how HR works. You’re trying to optimize a proxy.
Keep running the slow miles, building base takes a lot of time, and you’ll build a better base with more volume and a few intervals thrown in.
My partner has been heavy into running as cardio support for cycling over the past year, and all the studies she has read basically point to the above (plus better fueling of course).
Ah yes proper fueling is something I never actually do on purpose. Definitely need to come up with a routine that includes that. It definitely does feel counter intuitive that slow runs help you run farther faster.
I’m not much of a runner, but am a backpacker/hiker and so/so cyclist. Learning fueling for cycling changed things massively for me in hiking. It took me a long time to realize I was bonking from lack of calories vs cracking from lack of stamina or muscle.
I aim to keep my workout rate at between 140-160. I’m 42. This has reduced my resting rate and bp by a good bit. My runs average 30 minutes, when I get above 160 I’ll walk till it’s down to 120
Like what others have said: lots of slow volume over weeks/months. It is also about your VO2 max. Purposefully only breathing through your nose (restricted intake, basically) can help with the adaptation like being at altitude. Last time I came back to running, it took like 12 weeks of consistent slow volume to begin to see the HR dip.
To begin with, make sure your max HR and zones are all reasonably correct. You say your max is 194, but it’s not uncommon for the real max to be a decent amount higher than what you see in regular runs, unless you truly pushed yourself the absolute limit.
I’d use lactate threshold heart rate to calculate your zones, if your hardware/software supports it. Prefer a proper strap over a watch as well if possible.
Beyond that, you’re just going to have to run slower than what you are used to, to stay in the lower zones. Try to do it with good technique and reasonably high cadence. If you can’t run slow enough, throw in some walking in between to get your HR down.
Yeah I’m sure my real max is higher. Going by my age, it’s 184. But pretty sure I can hit 200. So I guess I should make it 200, but i haven’t hit that in a long time. Figured using 194 is better than 184.
I have an Apple Watch so cant do the lactate threshold thing.
Sounds good. Just did another 5K keeping my average at 148bpm. 10-minute/mile pace. Relatively fast cadence. My main method of slowing down is lowering my stride but I think I’m keeping the same cadence as my faster runs. I guess time will tell if this is working.
Does it support heart rate reserve? If so, use that. Beyond that as long as your runs roughly feel like they should for each zone it’s okay as it’s not an exact science.
EDIT: Reading your original question more carefully, high HR isn’t really dangerous if you don’t have an underlying health problem, it’s just not an effective way to get faster if that’s all you do. Most people gain improvements from a mix of short, high intensity interval sessions, and longer low intensity runs. The general rule is 80/20 in favour of “easy” runs in terms of distance, but this matters more for people who are doing very large volumes. Nevertheless, you should be doing a greater volume of slower runs in terms of distance over a given period.
The reason is that people generally can’t tolerate huge volumes at high intensity. Since high volume is a big part of improving fitness, a mix of the two intensities is important.
Never move, stay inside, drink lots of milk.
