Zone 2 Endurance

shinsplint

I've read conflicting opinions on the optimum heart rate percentages for base endurance rides... and need to get to the bottom of it, before I potentially waste any more time out on the road.

Up until now i've focussed on working at 65-75% of my max heart rate, on 3 hour + zone 2 endurance rides. I wouldn't like to think these many hours in the saddle have been a waste.

I've just read in another thread that Zone 2 rides should be at about 85% of your max hr.

What do you think?

FWIW i'm doing about 10-13 hours a week, which include lots of 25-35 mile commutes, and one, sometimes two endurance rides a week. My last ride was an all out flat out test to see how well I coped towards the end... my speed dropped in the second half (36 mile ride) which makes me wonder whether im still lacking endurance performance (after 2+ years at it).

Any advice much appreciated.

SBezza

For 3 hours I would be around the 80% mark if not higher (though I do train with power these days), less than 70% for me is a recovery ride.

If you ride flat out, you might have gone off too hard, this can happen to anyone no matter how fit they are. Anyhow speed is a poor measure of fitness, could have been you had a headwind for the last part, even a little headwind will cause a drop in speed.

amaferanga

Are sure that it's not 85% threshold HR as opposed to 85% HRmax?

For rides of about 3 hours I'd typically average around 70-75% HRmax (putting me in L3 territory for normalised power), but that's heavily skewed by long-ish descents where my HR drops right down and stop-starting through the city twice. Maybe if it was fairly flat with few interruptions then I'd get nearer 80% HRmax, I dunno.

I don't average 85% HRmax even in 2 hour road races with most of that time spent working hard in a break so for me at least that 85% figure wouldn't work.

SBezza

Actually looking at some data from a recent ride, it was just below 80% MaxHR for a 3 hour ride for me, power was towards the top end of L2

5/6 hour ride normally ends up being around the 70% mark, again looking at historical data.

For a 2 hour race I would average over 85%, but then again HR is not always a go indicator. Just shows how much I actually pay attention to it these days now I have a PM.

shinsplint

Cheers guys,

I think i'll stick to around 70-75% then, which to be fair isnt much (if any) higher than what I have been doing.

"Anyhow speed is a poor measure of fitness, could have been you had a headwind for the last part, even a little headwind will cause a drop in speed."

I don't normally judge my fitness by speed, but in this instance there was little wind. Its a regular route of mine, and I wasn't just basing it on speed loss, I could tell that I was generally less powerful in the latter stages.

I think you may be right in that I probably went off too quick... something I tend to do a lot, I have done this in a few sportives which has resulted in me blowing outta my arse later on. :oops: It should be an easy thing to address... but sometimes adrenaline takes over I guess.

Next time I do this route i'll make a point of starting steady and building up, and see if I do any better.

ozzy1000_0

ShinSplint wrote:

Cheers guys,

I think i'll stick to around 70-75% then, which to be fair isnt much (if any) higher than what I have been doing.

"Anyhow speed is a poor measure of fitness, could have been you had a headwind for the last part, even a little headwind will cause a drop in speed."

I don't normally judge my fitness by speed, but in this instance there was little wind. Its a regular route of mine, and I wasn't just basing it on speed loss, I could tell that I was generally less powerful in the latter stages.

I think you may be right in that I probably went off too quick... something I tend to do a lot, I have done this in a few sportives which has resulted in me blowing outta my ars* later on. :oops: It should be an easy thing to address... but sometimes adrenaline takes over I guess.

Next time I do this route i'll make a point of starting steady and building up, and see if I do any better.

i have a tendancy to not pace properly unless i'm riding with people that slow me down. i try and keep an eye on my HR, if i feel like l'm drifting into the "grrr!" zone i just try to keep peeking at heart rate... with time you start to notice what heart rate you can tolerate for long periods. i'm fine around 75-85% but if i start drifting much higher without a decent reason i know its going effect how long i'm going to be able to keep a good pace.