[vizsladog]

I was a weekend warrior for years. 10-12 miles sat and sunday. Did a race last year,blew up, got destroyed.

I got a road bike in the fall and started training saw results and entered same race. Pre rode it the course weekend before at almost race pace and felt great and kept heart rate around 156 or so except for hard efforts where i would get it back down.

Come race day my heart rate was 125 on start line and i never got it under 165 or so. Adrenaline? The start is a mass start with a small dirt bike pacing you. Its a open race 25miler.

Got 29th outta 93,but i was hurting and puked after the race. Lol....

Any thoughts? Yes,i got beat by some crazy fast kids. The race was one big loop.
http://goneriding.com/images/pdfs/hammerhead/results/14hh.pdf

My strava of the ride. I did a sprint finish for 29th! There was some double track fire road mixed with some tech with some slow,fast, medium singletrack.
Mountain Bike Ride Profile | Hammer head sprint finish for 29th near Ocala | Times and Records | Strava

 

[Ryandurepo]

I am the same way, i recently started doing criteriums and i can preride the course and hold about 20mph and have my hert rate be about 170. on the warmup lap i can be doing 16 and my heart rate is 165, once the gun goes off i never see my heart rte under 180 again. itll be interesting to see how this is on my mountain bike (race season hasnt started yet) but i can tell you i think adrenaline is the main factor.

 

[vizsladog]

Thanks. Wonder if there is some breatbing tech. To do?

 

[Walt Disney's Frozen Head]

Got 29th outta 93,but i was hurting and puked after the race.
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Then you did it right! Great job!

 

[Poncharelli]

I got a road bike in the fall and started training

Yes!! Riding lots usually does the trick (regardless of bike). Ride often as possible, ride with good volume, but don't kill it every single ride (I usually ride hard 2-3 out of 6 weekly rides; I'm old).

Just be careful out on the roads. Florida has highest per capita bike deaths in the US. My mom lives outside Clearwater, so one day I hope to take my bike there during a visit in the winter. They are building much more bike paths and such, which is good.

 

[vizsladog]

I only do an occasional group ride,but i do solo rides on a paved greenway on my road bike.

 

[xterrafreak]

Re: Did my first xc race after atually trainging...got a question

My HR is the same. A really, really hard training ride and I might average 170-175 BPM, but come race day I'm at 180-185 BPM. My racing strategy is, go as hard as I can from start to finish so that might contribute to the high HR!

Nice job, BTW!

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

[vizsladog]

Thanks!! It was a great learning experience. Enjoyed the race. Ill do a couple more layer in the year that will have a age group for me to race in.

 

[xgjokax]

great job!
As for getting your HR down pre-race, I always try to show up at least 10 mins before and usually will take up conversations with other racers. Seems to relax me and bring it down.
There is nothing worse then looking down and seeing your HR going up before you even started!

 

[FNFAL]

First, congratulations on stepping up your game. That's a great accomplishment.

And the only thing I've been able to do to get my HR down slightly is make stupid jokes at the start line. Other than that, I'm a ball of energy and nerves from the moment I wake up on race day.

And it only gets worse the bigger the race. I remember my first endurance race ever, an Olympic distance triathlon. I slept for maybe 4 hours before. My first running marathon? 4 hours sleep. Tour Divide? What's sleep?

 

[eness215]

I'm in a similar boat...my heart rate usually skyrockets once my warm up is done and I'm sitting at the line. Like FNFAL, I try to talk with people or make jokes. Typically there's a sprint during the prologue which I try to just hang somewhere mid pack/front. When we hit the singletrack is where I calm down a bit. Once I'm in the heat of the race I usually sing in my head. I know it sounds weird, but it helps keep my heart rate down and keeps me loose on the bike.

 

[Rod]

I think your nerves would have your heart rate so high, especially after the last race. I'm a parts junkie so I look around and see what everyone is using and normally make small talk with the guy on the old steel bike. Last race I did this guy won. Definitely try and make small talk so you relax and don't let your nerves get the best of you.

 

[leejonathan]

Nice job on the race! That is the cool part about racing. Doesn't matter if you are first or last, if you give it your all you can be satisfied with that.

This is a prime example of why heart rate is such a bad indicator of form/fitness. It is so heavily influenced by external factors, and most especially when it counts most, race time. In the end, heart rate, when compared to power, doesn't have as solid of a connection to output.

I have found that HR (heart rate or human resources, whichever you prefer data is effective in identifying general fitness trends over time. Once again, certainly not as accurate as power, but potentially valuable nonetheless.

 

[vizsladog]

Thanks for the great in depth replies. I got the race bug now and am gonna do a few more this year. Ill take your imput and give it a whirl.

This is the sprint finish. I'm in the blue jersey....

Guy at work was asking why the other guy was smiling...lol,i said dude,hes not smiling hes sucking wind trying to breath. We were sprinting for 50 yards or so.....i got him by half a wheel. He was a nice guy,he gave me a fist bump afterwards and i took a pic of him and his buddy

 

[FNFAL]

How did you beat him? His wheels were bigger!

Thanks for the great in depth replies. I got the race bug now and am gonna do a few more this year. Ill take your imput and give it a whirl.

This is the sprint finish. I'm in the blue jersey....

Guy at work was asking why the other guy was smiling...lol,i said dude,hes not smiling hes sucking wind trying to breath. We were sprinting for 50 yards or so.....i got him by half a wheel. He was a nice guy,he gave me a fist bump afterwards and i took a pic of him and his buddy

 

[vizsladog]

Lol....only 1.5 inches bigger!!