VegasJen

I was in Vegas again yesterday, and I almost always bring a bike with me when I go into Vegas. It's a good opportunity for a change of scenery. Yesterday I was in the SE end of the valley (Henderson, for those of you familiar) and there are some well maintained MUPs I ride when I'm there. One route I ride has what is called locally "the three sisters". They are a series of three hills that, depending on the direction you're traveling, get progressively higher. Of course, I want to be a bad-ass, so I always go up the hills. These hills are fairly close together and there is a total of almost 300' of elevation gain in just about a mile. That includes several descents as well, so it can mean going rapidly from high gear to low gear in just a couple hundred feet, and it's not just 300' over a mile. It's more like 100' up, then 60' down, then 80' up, then 40' down, you get the idea.

Anyway, yesterday, I'm on my ride. I'm already about six miles in before I hit the Sisters, so I'm plenty loose and warm. I get to the top of the first Sister and I'm winded but I'm OK to go. I get to the top of the second Sister and I stop for some water and let my heart rate and breathing catch up. I get to the top of the third Sister and I stop again. My heart is beating maybe about 130bpm, but every beat feels like someone is whacking me on my chest. I rest for about a minute and my heart rate and intensity settle down to what I would expect for the effort. I continue on my ride, about another 20 miles and all is fine.

This is not a new thing. I've done this ride about a dozen times and it happens pretty much every time. For the record, a lot of people cannot make it up the third Sister on the bike, many have to walk it. I refuse to walk. I'll start back at the bottom and go again before I walk.

Not really looking for medical advice. I'm fairly well conditioned for my age. Just making an observation about my experience.

discuss.

superdex

130bpm is zone 2 for me. So, um, I got nuthin. Discuss what?

PeteHski

Me too, but it varies massively across individuals and isn't related to fitness.

Zaskar

Not sure I'm following. Are you wondering why your HR was so low after a hard effort?

terrymorse 

My guess is that VegasJen is doing short anaerobic sprints on these little hills. So short that heart rate doesn't rise very much.

A better indication of an anaerobic sprint effort is breathing rate. That rises more quickly.

VegasJen

At my age, 130 is probably at least zone 4, maybe zone 5. I can't really say as I only have a very cursory understanding. More than anything, I'm just noticing the force of the heart rate. My heart could probably beat faster, but I seriously doubt it could beat any harder. I certainly don't recall ever experiencing this kind of force when I was younger.
It was certainly a short anaerobic sprint that pretty much maxes me out. I do have to stop and catch my breath when I get to the top, and I couldn't do many more like that after that effort, at least not in a row. Maybe what I will start doing is making laps. Shortly after the last Sister, there is a short cut back to the main road. In total, it would make about an 8 mile loop. I figure I could do three "laps" like that and it would be one hell of a work out.

Maelochs

If you think this is a health issue, see a doctor.

I am not a doctor. I am an afib patient. I know I ignored health issues for a long time because I thought I could work my way out of it, and when it go so bad I couldn't ignore it .... i was just in time.

No idea why your heart is pounding. I do know that after one extreme effort my heart pounded Very hard .... and then skipped several beats. I truly do not recommend that experience.

Otherwise .... since you are paying attention and have a lot of experience for comparison .... consider your future course of action and let us know how it goes, please.

rsbob 

You may want to follow Maelochs’ advice. This chart is from the American Heart Association. At 68, my max is 190. 130 is Zone 1 (easy) for me and I am no trained racer.

znomit

You stop for water?

thin_concrete

Do you ride mostly in flat areas? Do you do any interval training?

VegasJen

Generally no. I didn't even really stop for water then. I just took the opportunity to drink a little bit when I stopped to allow my heart to recover.
No. Flat areas here are pretty scarce. But there is a difference between the mild sloping hills I normally ride and these thigh blasters.

And, yes. I do interval training. Mostly when I run, but occasionally, I'll do 3 mile sprints on the bike. I have a route that is reasonably flat that's about three miles (it's about the only three miles out here that you could consider flat), so sprint one way, cruise back, sprint, cruise, rinse and repeat.

VegasJen

And speaking of, earlier today I did a 32 mile ride. Something like 300ft of elevation change in this ride, but it was spread out over 4-5 miles. Completely different animal. I got my heart rate up, but it was nothing like the other day. 32 miles, 1:52, 17mph average.

rsbob 

To add perspective. I did a continuous 750’ climb with a heart rate of 160 (again, I am 68 with a max of 190). The graphic shows the elevation gain in the center-most peak in light gray along with my corresponding HR. I was not gasping for breath either.

If you are dehydrated, your heart rate will be faster since you will have less blood volume to transport oxygen. Drink a full bottle every hour. I have a timer which chimes every 10 mins reminding me to drink since I am not the best at hydrating.

VegasJen

Ya. I already know I'm pretty horrible about staying hydrated. I mean, really horrible about it. I always take water with me, but rarely actually drink anything on my rides. I'm trying to make myself get better about it. I really feel it when I do my triathlons. Not so much on the bike, but on the run, and by that time it's too late.

jaxgtr

Shoot my HR avg 130 today in stupid 20+ winds, in some more open areas got to 150 and this is on flat terrain, and this was over 25 miles, but a 130 avg is not unusual for me. I am 58 and my resting HR is about 40, and just checking my watch, my HR is 54. The Water thing is huge, my wife has that same problem and it drives me nuts. I have to constantly remind her to drink water every day. I finally got her the water bottle that has the hours listed on it and it sort of re-enforces the effort to drink water. She has gotten much better about it though, but on the bike is still a problem.

As mentioned dehydration will screw up your body, so if you have a garmin, set the alarm to drink every so many mins, I do that on mine to tell my wife to drink something every 10 mins. Its a pain to nag her about it, but your body will reward you with better performance.

VegasJen

Ya, my resting HR is pretty low too. Not quite 54, but typically high 50s or low 60s. Last year, I had a minor procedure in the hospital. It was really minor, but it was late in the day so they decided to keep me overnight just as a precaution. A nurse woke me up about 3am to make sure I was OK. Telemetry showed my HR dropped to 35 while sleeping. I know it drops into the 40s when I sleep but I think a little bit of that was attributed to residual effects of anesthesia.

I'm not far behind you, I'm on the wrong side of 50 too. And I'm a little overweight (don't ask). But I need to break my addiction to sugar. Since I like sugary drinks, water would be the best first step. I swear, that's my one addiction.

merlinextraligh

As your own example shows, that chart and the 220 minus your age formula are just about worthless. At 63, I still the high 180’s occasionally. HR is so variable by individual that guessing max hr by age tells you just about nothing.

rsbob 

Absolutely, which shows that maxing out at 130 is cause for concern and possible medical intervention.

jaxgtr

Mine is ice cream, in fact, I am having some as I type this. I not going to give it up, and I am too old to worry about it at this point. If that is my only vice in life, so be it. I don't drink, smoke, eat a lot of crap, don't drink soda or sugary drinks, my only bad in the big scheme of things is ice cream, so cheers .

Maelochs

I gained a ton of weight when I got a desk job and a car and a wife (I blame the wife) but the doctor said it wasn't the weight ... for some reason the nerves in my heart just decided not to work properly. I don't think a few extra pounds (or even half a human's body weight, in my case) are necessarily the cause of the OP's issue.

Vegas (Nevada generally) is pretty dry. Dehydration seems more likely, or maybe something else ... if trouble persists, see a doctor.

I know more than a few riders with sizeable aero-bellies who can kick out high speeds over distance ... their legs, lungs, and hearts are fine, and they enjoy food and beverages as well. Not a bad life. My lungs and heart are not fine, so the weight is an issue, but for some folks ... go for the gusto. Never saw an epitaph saying., "I wish I had enjoyed desert less."

VegasJen

Don't get me wrong, or read too much into this post. I don't think there's anything wrong with my heart. It was an intense interval and I could feel it. As stated before, I think my heart could be faster, but it didn't need to. It's a strong muscle, doing exactly what I'm asking it to do.

If anything, I'm just noticing how conditioned I am. I remember when I was much younger, how strong and fit I thought I was. And maybe for a time, I actually was. Then life came along, I got busy and I let my physical health slip. I thought I was still in pretty decent shape but I know now I really wasn't. I also know now that I am in much better physical condition than I was just 10 years ago. Sadly, I also know now that as strong and as fit as I am now, it's all relative. I'm on the wrong side of 50 and I'll never get back what I had (or could have had) 20 or 30 years ago. I'm sure I could be in even better condition, but at this point, I'm a lot closer to that limit than I was half a life time ago.

But this isn't about looking back. It's about looking at where I am and planning to maintain that for as long as I can.

Maelochs

Sorry if I misconstrued your post. Glad to know you are winning the battle to reclaim lost fitness.

I have been losing that battle but ... every day is a new chance. I will take your posts as inspiration today.

VegasJen

I assume you mean overall, not just in the home setting? I vary my routine. Because of arthritis and degrading joints, I only run one day a week. I ride 2-3 days a week, I still skate as well. And it's legitimate exercise, I do 500m and 1000m sprints at the local school parking lot. I also have an elliptical in my garage for inclimate weather. And one or two days a week I do an abs/arms routine with 200-300 crunches, pushups, shoulder presses and bicep curls.

Iride01 

I don't stop for water either. But I do take a few gulps of water every ten minutes while I'm riding. Usually 25 fl oz bottle lasts me for 50 minutes. I normally carry two or three bottles. Sometimes four.

If the OP hasn't got a heart doctor, I recommend one. Much better to know that your heart is in good shape than it is just to imagine it's in good shape.

jaxgtr

There was a group ride I would do on occasion, generally 35 to 50 miles based on which sub group you stayed with. There was a guy that did the inline skating and he would roll with the group and would do his time at the front of the pace line like everyone else. The first time I saw him, I was like WTF....but he was super strong and kept pace very nicely. We generally avg 20-25 mph.