HR ZONE ? setting after a “break”

Willy,

Thanks for checking in and using our plans.

First, the Maintenance plan might be a bit too much for you coming of of 8 weeks of nothing. It’s designed for athletes in shape who need to maintain that shape. But, you can modify the plan by removing any Zone 3+ intensity for the first 2-3 weeks, all Zone 1-2 is just fine until you get some of your fitness back.

To answer your HR question, can you confirm for me:

– your threshold HR
– how you determined it
– when you determined it
– what is your pace when you hit the top of Zone 2.

The short answer is: don’t use HR. Use Pace or Power. HR is full of problems. But, we still might be able to figure out the issue you are having anyway.

David

Your LTHR is very unlikely to be 164 bpm. Garmin’s estimate is an estimate, and often a bad one. Sometimes it is right, but so is a broken clock twice a day. You need to formally test a firm LTHR.

If you follow our threshold testing protocols in Intensity Guidelines for Running and then apply your 80/20 zones per the document Understanding Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan your Zone 2 will align with your true LTHR.

David

Ha, yes, this confirms my suspicion and reinforces my position on the futility of threshold estimates (including estimates from Garmin, Stryd, TrainingPeaks…). The “threshold” Garmin estimated was 164. LTHR is the maximum intensity you can maintain for an hour. You maintained 166 for almost 2 hours in your HM, so your LTHR is way higher than 166. I’d estimate your LTHR is at least 175, placing your upper Zone 2 at 158, which is very consistent with your easy run Zone 2 run at 155.

Your formal test will confirm my estimate.

David