Race HR question

I've been running for many years but have more recently started to dedicate more time and effort to it.  I'm curious as to whether I'm trying hard enough.

I'm in my early 40s. 

My resting HR is 50 - 54 bpm

My max HR is 160 bpm

My VO2 max is 61

Half marathon time is generaly about 1.30. 

I used to do 20 - 30 miles a week and when I was doing that would do 10k at about 6.20 a mile with my heart rate at about 145.  I'm ramping that distance up currently to see what I can achieve.

My question is this....how close to their max HR do people "cruise" at when racing?  If I was to run a 10k, should I aim to keep it at 152 - 154?  I always seem to ease back, ticking along at 135 - 140, I think through fear of imploding.....or possibly as I'm a bit lazy and unwilling to suffer.

Just wondering what other people do.

I think you're where you should be.  If your max is 160 I think it's almost impossible to hold 152-154 for the duration of a 10km. 

How did you test your max?  I would guess it's higher than 160 if you're thinking your should be cruising at 154 OR your max is accurate and a 140 rate during a 10km race is a good range to be in.  (Notsure how long ago you were doing your 6:20 miles at 145 butif it wasn't that long ago you should try and get your HR there and race feeling a little uncomfortable)

Personally my max is 190 and I know I can hold 170-175 for 20 minutes....but to go higher I would blow up on a 10km.

Elstead. I'm 44, been running for 5 years or so. MHR is 179, RHR is 40. VO2Max is 65.5

For a race under HM distance I will average around 167bpm or 93% of MHR. I can peak in a race around 98% but that's got to be near the end. Generally I will control the pace not to go so high mid race because it's really tough to recover from there. In a marathon I can sustain about 89-90%

In your case, 154 out of 160 beats is 96% and I would say that this is not sustainable beyond a couple of kms if that. The point of going faster is not purely about being able to sustain higher heart rates as you reach a very hard limit and ultimately can do a lot of damage to the heart.

By good training, you seek to reduce your lactic profile so that for the same energy burn (lactic acid being the byproduct of glycogen and oxygen burn), you are able to go faster. So you'll benefit more by focusing on running around your lactic threshold, around 90%, than trying to increase your VO2Max which is already very good for your age and will show little sign of improvement compared to your LT. Good luck.

Run a 5k flat out and work out race times off that?
Don't look at the hrm - it's just a flat out race.

Then work to pace rather than hr. 160 seems a little on the low side ? Its possible though.