runner20 wrote:
I’m a female college xc runner, and lately on really easy runs (8:30-8:40 pace) my average HR is only 120. I noticed it on my gps watch and then checked it manually and sure enough it was only 120. For example I went for an easy 3 mile run today and my heart rate didn’t exceed 130 and averaged 122 bpm. I feel like this is way too low and am kinda concerned. Is this normal?
Be curious to know what your 5k time is. Assuming female college runner then common range here would be 16:xx-18:xx. For someone like that, 8:30 pace is well into recovery territory.
In general if you're a 190-200 typical max HR near end of races kind of person, that's towards the lower side, but still recovery is recovery. If I had to guess, and you spend large portions of races above 190bpm and are running recoveries like this I would guess you're a 16 or 17' gal for 5000.
If you're someone who tends to only max 150-170 then it's still normal, but usually indicates closer to an easy pace rather than a hard pace. If you're this kind of person, I'd be expecting 18'-20' fitness.
Either way, 120bpm during an easy run is a very normal thing.