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Bumpy Drift Test

  • Creator
    Topic
  • December 5, 2020 at 9:37 am #47884
    CodyDigital
    Participant

    Quick question on the AeT testing…

    I did what for me felt like a decent workout but not overly exerting trail run/jog that I want to use to determine my heart rate zones. Total distance was just over five miles and only 300 or so feet of elevation gain which took me 1 hour and 3 minutes. I did include in my recording my “warm up” so that cuts the distance down to 4.5 miles or so when my heart rate seems to stabilize. My Pa:Hr Drift in that segment is 3.88% so that would seem to be right in line with how the test should go.

    My question however is that when I watch the video on the test the examples used have much smoother looking charts than mine. I am not sure if that is just a result of not smoothing the line enough or if I am too all over the place to use this data reliably? I have attached some screen shots below any insight would be great! Thanks!

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  • Creator
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Posted In: General Training Discussion

  • Participant
    Rachel on December 5, 2020 at 12:20 pm #47887

    Can you post a public link to your workout on TrainingPeaks?

    Participant
    Rachel on December 5, 2020 at 12:21 pm #47888

    it does look like you had a really big HR range though. Were you limiting pace or HR during the session? When I do an outdoor AeT test I try to keep my HR in a 5 beat range (it does go up or down a bit more than that but probably the range stays within 10 beats). But if you are on a treadmill or keeping a steady pace your HR may vary more.

    Participant
    CodyDigital on December 5, 2020 at 12:55 pm #47889

    Hi Rachel! I wasn’t paying super close attention to my HR just more trying to keep a pace that felt like I was working but could sustain. I may indeed need a redo with more focus. the link is here….

    TP Drift Test Link

    Thanks!

    Inactive
    Anonymous on December 6, 2020 at 5:43 pm #47917

    A bumpy HR graph like this either indicates a lot of terrain variation of that you were struggling to hold a constant pace. You mention this being a run/jog so that pace variation seems likely to me. Especially if you are not used to running or running this slowly. While this is kind bumpy I think you can still use it for setting Z2.

    Scott

    Inactive
    Anonymous on December 9, 2020 at 8:00 am #48050

    This test had a lot of variation, so you should test again in a more controlled setting to confirm it. A track and a 5-beat HR range would be ideal.

    For example, in this session, there was over 100m of elevation gain. Also, your starting HR was 66 and was 144 within five minutes. And your peak HR was 186.

    To do the test, warm up gradually over 15 minutes to (what appears to be) the mid-140s on a flat track. Then hold that HR within five beats for one hour.

    Participant
    CodyDigital on December 10, 2020 at 7:41 am #48123

    Thanks Everyone for the help, I re-ran the test last night on my treadmill (not ideal because it was inside) but I tried to make it much smoother. Link to the TP Workout is below I would love some feedback.

    TP Drift Test 2

    I did catch a piece of my warm up still at the beginning but got up into the mid-high 140s as suggested and tried to hold there, I know with the treadmill you ideally don’t want to adjust the pace and I felt fine for the hour at the pace I was at but I did find myself constantly checking my HR wondering if I was messing it up and should slow it down. What I ended with excluding the bit of warmup is:

    (roughly)
    Average HR 1st Half: 151
    Average Workout 2nd Half: 159
    HR Drift: 5.2%

    Inactive
    Anonymous on December 11, 2020 at 1:04 pm #48150

    After you warmed up, did you maintian a constant speed? The link looks like the speed varied.

    The goal with a drift test is to keep one variable constant: either pace or HR. The good thing about using a treadmill is that it’s easy to maintain a constant pace.

    Participant
    CodyDigital on December 11, 2020 at 1:35 pm #48155

    Hey Scott! I did maintain the same speed, there are a couple a drops on the chart that I think I stepped off the treadmill to tie a shoe or something. I also notice that with my watch when I am looking at it a lot it sometimes drops the pace and when I am inside on the treadmill there is no GPS data to reconcile that. But I am confident that I held pretty close to the same pace for the run.

    Inactive
    Anonymous on December 11, 2020 at 2:07 pm #48159

    Okay, great. If the speed of the treadmill wasn’t adjusted then it should be okay. I’m surprised that your HR went so high and then lower at a constant speed. Was this measured with a chest strap or just the wrist monitor?

    On your next test, the best approach will be to warm up for 15′ to find your target heart rate and then keep that treadmill speed for 60′. Testing without a warm-up will skew the results.

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