I’ve got a 22 mile race coming up, what heart rate zone should I be shooting for during the race to know that I’m working hard, but not going to run out of energy?

Ben, whereabouts unknown

On the one hand, knowing which heart rate zone you should be in when you are racing is kinda sorta the golden ticket to finishing your race without blowing up too early. On the other hand, this is a complicated answer so stick with it…here goes.

The short answer to your question is that you want to stay under your anaerobic threshold when you are racing a distance race such as your 22 mile race. This would put you in your middle to high zone 3. Avoid going in to your zone 4. Remember, the upper limit of your zone 3 is your AT.

The long answer is that you can only use the short answer if your fitness will allow you to use it. If you take your question to the extreme you will see what I mean. For example, lets say you told me you would like to race a 100 mile race. My answer would be the same – stay in your zone 3. That is your racing zone. The problem with that answer is that normal human beings cannot stay in their zone 3 for hours on end. We all have a limited time we can stay in zone 3 during a race. That limiter is our fitness.

How long can you stay in your zone 3? Racers who are experienced with 22 mile races can race the entire race at zone 3. If, however, you are used to doing 5 mile races and this is your first long race, chances are that you wont be able to hold zone 3 for the entire race. There is a good chance that you will get tired and blow up by the end of the race.

The take home message so far is that you should stay in your zone 3 IF AND ONLY IF your fitness allows you to do that for the entire race. Remember, your training improves your fitness and the more fitness you have the longer you can stay at race pace.

Races, however are not,, generally, static events. You will need to go faster at the start, sprint for the finish or around a buoy, paddle hard to get in the bump, sprint up to someone to get in their draft, etc. In these cases you will need to temporarily cross into your zone 4. Your fitness will determine how many times you can do this. In racing we say that you “burn a match”each time you put in a zone 4 maneuver.  Athletes with more fitness and more experience have more matches to burn. Remember, every time you burn a match you are using energy you will need to maintain your race pace once you settle back down. Nobody has an unlimited book of matches.

The take home message so far is that you should stay at your highest heart rate level that will allow you to finish the race but you must consider how many times you will need to “burn a match” to get to the finish line.

The last thing you need to consider is your mind-body connection. We know of athletes who show up on race day with essentially no training, destroy themselves,  and put in a good race. These athletes can keep a high zone three and burn matches left and right because their mental game allows them fill in gaps in their fitness. We know other athletes who train extensively and have oodles of fitness but when push comes to shove on race day they cannot maintain even their zone three for the entire distance. Some crack mentally because of the pressure.  Some just cannot take the physical pain of endurance racing.

All of this brings us to our final answer. Your goal should be to race at your mid-high zone three but keeping this pace for 22 miles will take training and experience. Your actual pace will depend on your fitness at race day, your mental fortitude to withstand hours of submaximal racing, and whether or not you need to burn a match or two along the way.

P.S. Good hydration and nutrition will extend the time you can stay at your zone three pace but we figured you already knew that since you have the book.

Roch