I’m in the final week of my training plan with the event coming up at the end of the week. Half way through this week I’ve noticed my heart rate being higher (about 10-12 beats) than during training at the same intensities. Is this normal? My overall fatigue has decreased a lot and legs are feeling ready but the elevated heart rate has me a little concerned.
Could also be a sign of freshness! Athletes will experience lower heart rate while fatigued and in a big training block. Harder to hit high numbers and peak heart rate.
Other contributing factors to elevated heart rate can include but limited to: caffeine intake, heat, and stress.
The best thing to do is use power, heart rate and perceived exertion all together. If two of the three are good don’t worry so much and you’re all good. Sounds like power and perceived exertion are as expected so don’t let it bother you or put too much thought into it.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the info Jake! Hitting my peak week power numbers easily and feels easier than during training so not gonna worry about it. The fondo plan definitely made me stronger. Looking forward to crushing the race this weekend!
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I’m a data geek that has been tracking my HR and power for over 4 years now and I can say you are right on the money with this comment. After a good recovery week, it is very easy to get my HR up and keep it up there. Then, as you pointed out, as the 3 week build progresses, my resting and working HR will start to come back down as I fatigue.
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I’m just off a rest week and feeling fresh but notice my heart rate doesn’t show any higher than 127bpm although I know I’m hitting 136-137 &more. Any reason for this? Use Garmin hr belt for indoor and outdoor.
Sometimes it can take a day or two for your HR to get back to normal after taking some time off. I would also check your HR batteries, once they start to get low it can cause the readings to get a bit wonky!
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