superdex

fify

Maelochs

LOL .... yeah, that version actually makes some sense. Thank you.

genejockey 

I would add to this, for the OP, that 1) learning how to grab a bottle, take a big swig, and put it back without looking or wavering from your line is a useful skill worth learning and practicing, especially if you live in a desert, and 2) some people really don't like plain water. My older son is like that. If that's part of not drinking while riding, I'd suggest finding something you don't mind drinking.

VegasJen

Ya, that's pretty stout. I can do about 25 in a sprint but no way could I hold that pace for more than maybe 500m. Maybe when I was younger, not now though.

Iride01 

And I need to practice that skill too!

When riding in a paceline, which I don't do often enough, I am a little hesitant to take a gulp and a bottle lasts me almost 90 minutes instead of 50 minutes. So by the 3 hour mark I'm feeling the effects of not having drank enough fluids. On three hours rides solo or with just a few other's I get plenty to drink and have no issues.

The charity ride I did near the end of last summer is a good example of this. But I'll spare y'all the long story!

Koyote

I agree that learning to drink from a bottle while riding (and while riding in a paceline, if that's something you do regularly) is useful, the other option is a hydration pack.

terrymorse 

And before you try it in a paceline, make sure you are able to manage a drink without dropping your bottle. Wayward bottles can be dangerous -- I lost a good friend to a dropped bottle.

genejockey 

I rode solo almost exclusively, but I still strive to hold my line, keep pedaling, retrieve and return without looking. If you're going to ride in a group, it's something best practiced A LOT on your own first.

That, and spitting straight down so you're not spitting on the rider behind you, so that you hit the road instead of your shoe.

Carbonfiberboy 

High HR for effort means one's dehydrated, definitely not the opposite. She's not going to get dehydrated in a short ride like that anyway. Normal HR at top would depend on time from bottom to top, which we don't know. If I stopped suddenly at the end of a Z5 power effort, I would expect my HR to continue rising briefly. Fortunately, I've never done that. A better procedure in the OP's example is to keep riding over the top, descending while pedaling quickly at low effort. Best to keep the legs pumping blood - they do that quite nicely and it takes load off the heart. Yes, I would worry about the low HR combined with hard beating. But more likely low blood sugar than anything. Frequently eating sweets will do that, not insinuating that's her practice.

Females usually have smaller hearts than men and have higher max, resting, and cruising HRs. So 130 after an anaerobic bit is a bit unusual at her age, statistically speaking, but of course "everyone's different." If you haven't eaten anything for a few hours before a ride, have a cereal bar or something like that. I'd be curious about that highest HR the OP has seen recently during a long full gas effort. My max at 77 was 147 last summer, on a group ride chasing men much younger and stronger than I. I had to be towed home.

Ice cream is the best mid-ride food there is. It has all three macros. I'll take a Dove bar, thanks. Though on really long rides, I'd rather have a Hostess Fruit Pie - 450 calories in 5 minutes..

Koyote

Assuming the OP has no hidden heart problems, 130bpm is nowhere near her max HR. Either she's not measuring it properly, or she's not even remotely close to a max sustained effort -- or both.

seypat

Just read the first (OP) post. So wer'e clear here, was it the heart beating wildly, or were you struggling to catch your breath? 2 different things. As I remember, you do the occasional tri. Does the same thing happen in the water where your ability to breathe is restricted? As someone else noted, it sounds like you're going anaerobic trying to make it up those hills and having trouble getting enough air to your lungs. It happens to me a lot, particularly in the water. Can't seem to get enough air. Does your nose ever start bleeding during one of the hard efforts?

VegasJen

Nope. The only time I ever get like this is these very short max effort bursts. I wasn't really out of breath, I was breathing hard but not quite to EPOC. It was more just to let my heart settle down. I could have kept going down the other side, but the hill down is pretty steep and not completely straight. Especially after my tumble last year, I just don't have the courage to go straight into a 30+mph down hill that's a little curvy.

And just so we're clear, the 130bpm is just a guestimate. I have no idea what my heart rate really was, beyond elevated. Could have been 120, could have been 140. Can't say for sure, but I don't think it was more than that though. Maybe.

Carbonfiberboy 

Oh. Try using a heart rate monitor. Those which use a chest strap transmitter are very accurate and reliable. Pretty hard to figure out what's going on without one. A power meter tells you how hard you're working. A HRM tells you how your body's responding to that effort. If I could only have one, I'd pick the HRM.

PeteHski

Was that guesstimate based on what you know your max HR actually is? I could probably guess my HR fairly well when near the limit, but only because I know what my max HR actually is. But if I didn't know what my max HR was, then I wouldn't have a clue in guesstimating it. Hope that makes sense!

VegasJen

Just a quick extrapolation of 7 beats in about 3 seconds. No idea what my max is.

mschwett 

try and measure over a bit longer period, at 3 seconds the rounding error could mean you’re anywhere from 120 to 180 bpm! i do 10 seconds and multiply by 6, if not wearing a HRM.

VegasJen

Ya, that really wasn't the point of my post. I'm not trying to diagnose anything here. Just a comment on the intensity of the work I was doing.

mschwett 

so, the intensity of the work you were doing was somewhere from "hardly at all" at 120 to "very very" at 180. got it

genejockey 

Heart hammering in your chest at the top of a climb? You're doing it right!

But I'd suggest an HRM if you're going to do any sustained climbs, like 30-45 minutes. It'll help you even out the effort, and avoid either blowing up long before the top, or getting to the top feeling like you could have gone harder. Sure, a power meter is better, but it's also about 5-10x more expensive!