High heart rate at end of NYC

Ha ha, "hobbyjogger."

I come from a background in weightlifting and only got into running in recent years. I'm 48. Just call me soft or a pus*y for slowing down. :)

I actually did have some heart irregularities checked out recently, so that was definitely ringing in my head when I saw my watch go off.

I'm going to get a chest monitor and see how that works out.

Countdown to 3rd NYC has begun!

I've experienced these HR surges for years. A few times per month or so. I might be running easy pace (140 BPM) and all of a sudden I see the heart rate hitting 180. Similarly, on higher tempo my heart rate can hit 210. My max is about 190, which I know from races.

The funny thing is hadn't it been for the HRM I would probably be unaware of them, as they don't cause me to slow down, breathe heavier, feel dizzy, etc. Until now I've just been running through these episodes. Over the years I've learned to detect the onset of these surges. Sometimes I can feel a brief "suck" in my chest the second before it kicks off.

I'm actually thinking of getting myself checked up. From what I've read I believe it might be supraventricular tachycardia.

I just thought I'd share my story since a lot of people claim that you would definitely *feel it* if it happened to you. Not necessarily, I'd argue.

I used to believe that it was bad readings due to a poor chest strap connection, but then I got a wrist sensor and guess what, it showed the same behavior!

I saw these huge surges too. They were caused by electrical interference, not by heart arrhythmia. Millions of people have seen the same thing; the reading surges because of a malfunction in the sensor.

If you really thought it was your heart, why didn't you stop and check by taking your pulse?

If your pulse is wildly high then yes you have an arrythmia, seek medical attention. If not, it's a computer malfunction.

Mitch P. wrote:

Did my 2nd NYC Marathon and ran into an issue that never cropped up in any races or training.

At around mile 18, my HR went as high as 200 and my watch alerted me. My first thought was wondering if my new gels had caffeine in them, but I knew they didn't.

I didn't feel out of breath or like I was overly exerting myself. Just the normal leg fatigue at this point in the race.

Worried, I decided to slow down until I was back in the green zone. Then, I'd speed up until in the red. Then, slow down, etc. I did this until the end.

This ever happen to anyone? This has never happened to me.

I guess just more training can help avoid?

Look... if you are not a troll.... if your HR shoots up that much you would feel it straight away..... change your sensor... wrist HR sensors are unreliable. ...

This is like one of those threads when the HR is too high because it tends to lock onto the watch cadence..... Technology is killing you....

medical condition or computer malfunction? think it through wrote:

If you really thought it was your heart, why didn't you stop and check by taking your pulse?

I did. The HRM readings were correct.

If you get a pulse spike, you can try the Valsalva maneuver to bring your heart rate back down again.

Also, in contrast to what everyone here seems to imply, it doesn't have to feel like a hammer in your chest. Read the wikipedia page I referenced in the previous post. Quoting it:

Often people have no symptoms. Otherwise symptoms may include palpitations, feeling lightheaded, sweating, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Episodes start and end suddenly.

Yes wrote:

medical condition or computer malfunction? think it through wrote:

If you really thought it was your heart, why didn't you stop and check by taking your pulse?

I did. The HRM readings were correct.

If you get a pulse spike, you can try the Valsalva maneuver to bring your heart rate back down again.

Also, in contrast to what everyone here seems to imply, it doesn't have to feel like a hammer in your chest. Read the wikipedia page I referenced in the previous post. Quoting it:

Often people have no symptoms. Otherwise symptoms may include palpitations, feeling lightheaded, sweating, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Episodes start and end suddenly.

If you are really worried you have a condition stop running and seek medical advice.... either way you are a tool....