Hi all,

Recently got a HR monitor and it's raised a few questions. I'm 32, my resting HR is 41, max HR seems to be somewhere between 185 (as high as it will go if I'm going flat out up hill in normal conditions) and low 190's - which it will go to if I hit said hill say an hour into a race and attempt to push it, although it feels extremely uncomfortable and like it skips or almost pauses whilst it changes gear!

Anyway, some strange things I've noticed:

-Even a gentle jog is 150bpm and I get there in under 30 seconds (before I even change my breathing pattern at all). If I trot up a small hill at conversational pace, it will jump again to 160-170.

-I did a long slow run (conversational pace) the other day for a little over 3 hours. HR average of 160 with spikes over 170 when going uphill.

-I raced a half marathon (on trails - 600m elevation) at an average of 178. The first hour at over 180. I was completely wiped out afterwards.

Walking is around 70bpm, so it's like my heart knows how to function in 40-70 and 150-185 but nothing in the middle. Heart rate recovers in normal time but often feels like it's beating very hard (rather than fast) for a few days after a big effort. I had it checked out last year after it started feeling odd, doc said the ECG looks strange but all scans show a healthy, if large heart.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon of jumping over all the lower heart rate zones and being able to hold onto higher ones at a low perceived effort? I'm wondering if I've built too much anaerobic capacity on top of a poor aerobic base so my heart's not really sure how to function there.

Your thoughts/feedback/experience are very welcome.