Update: I did another test today. Knowing my own fitness background in regards to low intensity vs high intensity volume, I thought it unlikely that a test at a significantly lower HR would bring me closer to finding an answer. So I did my test today at a faster pace (second test was 10:00/mile, this test was 9:30/mile) and I believe I’m getting closer to finding my aerobic threshold. Here is the workout. PA:HR for the whole workout is 4.22%, and if you just select the last hour eliminating the first bit while my HR stabilizes it’s 3.29%. Are these numbers close enough to 5% to set my Zone 2 upper limit at 161 or should I wait until I get a result even closer?
Thanks everyone, I was under the impression I had to maintain a constant heart rate for the test. Maintaining a constant pace will be much easier and hopefully will get me results that make a bit more sense to me.
Thanks for the insight Scott. The first test that resulted in 1.5% drift was at 132bpm, and the second test I did today was at 145bpm. Given that I’ve got a thru hiking background with ~5,000 aerobically easy miles in the past couple years, and I can easily nose breathe at these paces, do you still think I should test again at 80%, or 116 bpm?
