I'm not really sure how to use the heart rate training zones anymore.
When I started running I measured(polarH10) my Max HR several times(on a small hill) and clocked an average of 188bpm and my rest HR is about 50bpm(well rested and fit it goes in the 40'ish) my 10km time now is 43:20 with a average HR of 172bpm. When I go over 175bpm during a run I feel a tipping point and have to slow down a bit(heavy breathing and my legs starting to fatigue)
With several time based calculators i got these times:
Easy run: 5:30-6:00/km *(HR=148-134bpm)
Tempo run: 4:40-4:50/km *(HR=164-160bpm)
Threshold: 4:27-4:33/km *(HR=172-168)
CV: 4:15-4:22/km *(+172bpm)
*My HR during these runs.
HR zones based on HR reserve(50-188bpm):
Zone1:<133
Zone2:134 147
Zone3:148 160
Zone4:161 174
Zone5:175 188
So far so good right? Well here comes the part that confuses me a bit. I did a lab test out of curiosity in 2021 and had these results:
RestHR 38bpm
MaxHR 170bpm
VT1 at 134bpm
VT2 at 160bpm
Lab test zones:
D1 121-134
D2 134-156
D3 156-164
As you can see my maxHR is way lower than my field test and my VT2 is at 160bpm. By feeling the zones without the lab test feels right during a run, but according to my lab test i should slow down a lot. My beginning of zone2 becomes the end of zone 2(VT1 134bpm) at the lab test(134bpm) and my Threshold run(vt2 160bpm) is a Tempo Run with the lab test zones.
This is my training schedule based on HR resevere:
Mon: 10km easy zone2
Tue: 5x2km(14km) Zone4
Wedn: 5-10km easy zone2
Thur: 10x1km(14km) zone4
Fri:10km easy zone2
Sat: +-90min easy zone2 or 10x400m, 5x1km or hill reps zone5
Sun: Rest
Depending on how I feel I change the pace(HR) on my easy days.
Should I keep using the pace and HR zones from my HR reserve calculation, or should I slow down to my lab test zones? The pace and HR is quite slower than what I can do and what feels right. When I did this for a while I felt like my progress was stagnating so I'm not sure what to do anymore :(
Thanks