5/06/2016

A scientific approach for Mt. Whitney hiking (6) ~ Packing based on heart rate

From Summit



Pacing with the heart rate
One thing I started doing in hiking is pacing with the heart rate value.   This is a concept which is a similar as heart rate based training for running and other sports.  Because I think it can be applied to hiking especially walking higher altitude like Mt. Whitney trail.   The first time I tried this was a hiking to Mt. Whitney in 2014.  Then I felt like it might work, so that I also tried the next year, in 2015.
Originally, I used the same number as when I run the full marathon, which is to limit the maximum heart rate up to 170~175bpm (beat per minutes).  This is a number I was using to run a full marathon based on daily training record.   To be honest, I did not have a logical way to get this number from the data.   But based on my training log, this is a good number to challenge in a race.
The number somewhat worked.   But I felt the maximum heart rate might be a bit higher for hiking.   In a race, I may be able to push me to close to my limit.   However, it might not be a good idea to push myself to close to my limit during the hiking.   Although it was not easy, it was achievable.   So it worked somewhat and I felt it was a better feeling then the worst one which was a case in 2011.
Based on the experience in 2014, I set the maximum heart rate to around 160bpm in 2015.  
In an experience for the hiking in 2015, it works much better than 2014.   The number “160bpm” is still a bit high as the maximum heart rate.   But I think it is close to optimal value.  Overall, I did not feel “exhausted” during the hiking.   It was comfortable overall, but the total spending time for each section is very close to my best case.   So I think we have a way to optimize the walking speed for more efficient way to hike around 14,000 feet elevation.


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