Is Better Form Causing My Heart Rate to Spike?

Picture of screenshots of time in heart rate zones, heart rate over time, and tabular data with pace, heart rate, and maximum heart rate. All depict a higher than normal heart rate.

I’m temporarily converting to using my Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) rather than my Heart Rate Reserve Percent (HRR%) heart rate zones as I continue to work on running with better form. There are two reasons for this change. I am unsure how much is grounded in science, but it makes sense for now. Once I get used to the better form, my heart rate will decrease on my easy runs, and I can return to HRR% zones.

I have a theory that I am engaging more muscle fibers when I run with better form. I am unsure how I ran three marathons with poor form, but I believe I am recruiting more muscles in my glutes, calves, and quads. I assume these muscles need more oxygen, and it’s one of the reasons my heart rate is spiking at an easy pace.

When I run with better form and a slight forward lean, my cadence increases. I’m lifting my legs more. The increase in cadence makes my muscles move more than they would at a slower cadence, which also increases my oxygen demand.

Putting these two ideas together, I believe I understand why my heart rate has been higher in the past few weeks. I assume that I need to blast through this “wall” with better form, and when I come out the other side, my heart rate will return to my former zone for easy runs.

In the meantime, I will continue to build my base slowly. I feel the fatigue setting in my glutes in my five-mile runs. In my last marathon training block, I felt cumulative fatigue emerge around mile 15. Since I am limited to about five miles these days, I will slowly ramp up the mileage until I can get up to a double-digit long run. Hopefully, my heart rate for my easy runs will have returned to normal by then. It’s been challenging mentally and feels like a step backward, but I remind myself that better form will be better in the long run (pun intended).

I’m not a running coach or a physiologist. If you have any advice or something you have learned about changing form and heart rate increases, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

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