I didn’t get very far with any of the heart rate training approaches to running, and now that I’m trading in my Garmin 225 with wrist-based heart rate monitoring (let me know if you’re interested — I’ll make a deal!) for the Garmin Vivoactive with no heart rate monitor, I guess I’m all but giving up on heart rate training. Still, I’m interested in seeing how hard my heart is working during different activities, and especially my cycling heart rate versus running heart rate. 
Here’s my heart rate during a typical indoor cycling class:
Here’s what my heart rate looks like on a typical bike ride:
For even more contrast, let’s look at my heart rate on a relatively flat long run:
And my my heart rate on a somewhat hilly long run:
Look how hard I was working during the Lawyers Have Heart 10K:
Even though my average heart rates are similar, that hilly long run felt much easier than the race.
All this heart rate data is much more interesting when I draw these comparisons than it would be on its own.
[Tweet “Cycling Heart Rate, Running Heart Rate #runchat #bikechat”]
Training data is just one example of where we can gain insights by looking at thinks in juxtaposition–which is today’s Wednesday Word.
Do you try to gain insights by comparing your training data?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
oooh, nice take on this tough word prompt! I used my HR monitor this winter when I did all that indoor cycling. My goal was to make sure I was in my target range. I don’t use my HR monitor when I run but it would be interesting to compare that, since running feels so much harder than cycling!
Running doesn’t feel that much harder to me – I guess I am just used to it.
I’ve never tried heart rate training but i’ve been very interested in it. I wonder if I would see a difference in my runs or in the way I feel during a run? I do compare data for my runs when I log them in my journal but do I use that data to make changes? Probably not!
That’s my problem. I’ve got all this data and don’t really put it to good use.
I tried to do HR training a few times and kind of gave up pretty quickly. I always think it’s interesting that biking has a lower HR usually but I feel like I burn more calories. Maybe it’s because I am able to bike for so much longer.
This all look very familiar to me! I run very close to what you typically do, and cycling is always lower unless I am doing my hills!
I have been doing better about getting more orange zone on my runs, today I almost split it even again with red.
Same here. I’ve gotten better at keeping my HR up on the bike. One reason is I never coast. I change gears and never not pedaling. That helps. But yeah, those stops ruin everything!
I don’t coast much, but sometimes I need to catch my breath before the next hill!
I’ve never tried true heart rate training. I could see it being very beneficial, though.
Thanks for linking up!
I have never done any HR training/monitoring. I ran about four miles early this morning (in the sweltering humidity), but I think my hour-long ride tonight felt more difficult. For some reason, the hills seem so much harder on a bike than on foot. The humid air makes it difficult to breathe effectively, so that’s probably a big part of it LOL
I tried to monitor my heart rate a couple times but the strap around my chest was too tight and I felt I was suffocating. Also, it was wear my bra sat. So yeah, that didn’t last long…
I found the above comparisons very interesting though. I didn’t think there would have been that much difference.