Heart Rate Monitor Running

Running And A Heart Rate Monitor Go Hand In Hand

Use your heart monitor to track your progress when running.

This is exactly what a heart monitor is for. If you are out for a run, knowing what your heart rate is at helps you determine what type of effort you are doing.

Let's say you are out for a long slow distance run.

If you are trying to keep a consistent pace for over an extended period of time, then you can easily monitor how your body is responding by keeping track of what your heart tells you.

Here's a scenario, you start your run and after a few minutes your heart rate settles in around 140 beats per minute. If you want to keep up the same effort - not necessarily the same speed - then watch your monitor.

It's easy to think that for a long distance run, you need to keep the same pace. In fact, keeping the same effort is what is important.

What is likely is that you will slow down during your run if you keep your pulse beating the same. Once you hit the "wall", your heart rate will increase even as you slow down. That's probably the best time to call it quits for the long run.

If instead of a long distance run, let's say you are doing some interval training on the track. Running with a heart monitor on gives you instant feedback on how close to your maximum capacity you are running at.

Of course, this assumes you know what your maximum heart rate is. If you are a serious athlete - or even if you are not - this is useful information.

Back to the interval training scenario, once you finish your first interval and glance at your monitor, you immediately know how close your are to your maximum output level.

Before you start your next interval, check to see if your heart rate has returned to a predetermined level. In the good old days - before we had these fancy-pantsy monitors that you strapped across your chest - you would simply put two fingers up to your neck or wrist and count the number of beats for 10 or 15 seconds. If you were cognizant enough, you would multiply the results by 6 or 4, respectively, to determine what your heart rate was at.

Now you can take a quick glance at your watch to see where you are at.

Once you have returned to the predetermined level, it's time to start running again.

Once you find that your heart rate is not returning to the level you want within a reasonable amount of time, then it's time to call it a day.down during your run if you keep your pulse beating the same. Once you hit the "wall", your heart rate will increase even as you slow down. That's probably the best time to call it quits for the long run.