Wrong HR zone defined for me?

Training
1

Hello,

My info: 48 years old, enthusiasm cyclist, first year in racing, not very good :smiley:

I did a race last Saturday (55km, 1h30 long) and I’ve got this time spend in HR zone:
image.

I’m surprised by the time spent in the anaerobic zone.
Do you think my max HR (but I never exceeded 196) or my threshold HR are wrong?
Or is it normal in case of “Give everything” race?

For information, here is the time spend by power zone:
image

Thanks.
Alexandre

2

Just go do some tests.

1 Like
3

Something’s obviously amiss since power is weighted towards the lower end (half an hour in recovery) and HR the upper end (over half an hour z7!). Surely these should somewhat align regardless of the exact zones, but they look almost inverted.

4

Thanks for your answers.
I’ll do some tests.

Alex

5

Doesn’t look like there is much amiss to me.
New to the sport. Likely poor aerobic conditioning. Consequently HR is not going to plummet while coasting etc or when there is a lull in the race. All looks normal to me for someone new to this game

1 Like
6

So someone can spend nearly 50 minutes in Zones 1-3 power, but barely register 6 minutes in Zone 1-3 heart rate?
That’s interesting I would never have thought that, my poor brain can barely compute! :grin:

7

Entirely possible

Race 1
image
image

Race 2
image
image

2 Likes
8

Wow, interesting. Shows how little I know and still have to learn!

Kudos to @Alexcous for the race effort then. I’m 51 so similar age and don’t think I could go that long at those HR %'s.

9

Race ‘excitement’ and stress to keep your position in the peloton will drive HR up without noticeable increase in power output.
Heat and poor hydration will also result in higher HR, but that’s not only during racing.

10

Thanks Guys.
I note the weakness in aerobic condition that can explain that graph. I will explore that.

11

I do think something’s amiss with both zones, but my first question is - do you trust both HR Monitor and Power Meter?

It would be a very rare 48 year old enthusiast who’s HR would allow them to spend over 34min in the 186-196 range from a 90min race. Alexcous - do you know your max HR?

While HR is possible, it should be impossible for anyone to get getting 11min threshold, 11min VO2, 13.5min anaerobic, and 9.5minutes neuromuscular in 90min. That’s half the time at or above threshold, including significantly above threshold. Imagine putting 9.5min neuromuscular (>150% FTP) alone into a 90min workout.