[Karen]

Hi. I have found The Uphill Athlete and the Evoke Endurance podcasts to be a revelation – thank you! I am a self-diagnosed aerobically deficient hiker. I have been training in Zone 1/Zone 2 for five weeks and am now up to 8 hours a week of outdoor hiking/walking. I sense some positive change already though I expect to be doing this training for many months. I know I should have done a heart rate drift test 5 weeks ago. However I am going to do it  now! (hopefully on a treadmill but, if not, on a nearby level field).

Here is my question: I cannot find anything in the test instructions or forum about how to choose the most appropriate pace for the test. What am I aiming for? The fastest pace I can go while nose breathing, with a stable HR, and what I think I can do for 60 minutes? Or a pace that is near the top of my Zone 2 (based on calculations and my experience so far)? Wouldn’t the amount of drift depend on pace – if too slow, it would skew the test, surely?

Thanks, Karen from New Zealand.

 

• This topic was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by Karen. Reason: Forgot to sign off

[Seth Keena]

Hi Karen,

Thank for writing in. The reason you can’t find anything in the instructions or forum about choosing a pace is because you shouldn’t 🙂 A target HR is often the beginning point for the test. During your warm-up, get your HR to a MAF estimate HR (180-age) or the average HR you see for your ~60+ minute hikes form the past 5weeks. Alternatively, you can can target the upper limit of your nasal breathing capacity. Either way, like the test instructions say, slowly build up over ~10min until you are at one of these targets. At this point pace remains constant, along with inline, for the remainder of the test and HR is the observed variable.

Same is true for outdoor test; pace is an outcome of the test and should not be forced. You begin by targeting a HR. Outdoor test observes the relationship between pace and HR (Pa:HR) to determine AeT.

Best,

Seth

[Karen]

Hi Seth. Thank you so much for clarifying how I should do the test. I’ll probably have to do it outside but I now feel confident about how to do that (and why).

Best wishes, Karen

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