-marathon race pace. Sample session: 1.5 miles at 60%, then 15-20 mins at exactly 85%, then 1.5 miles at 60%.85-90% Approx 5K-10K pace. Sample sessions: 6 x 800m peaking at 90% in each rep; 5 x 2000m peaking at 85% in each rep. 95% Peak heart rate at 400m rep

every few minutes as you're running, to get a general idea of your rate throughout the session. You will probably find that, even if you maintain the same pace throughout, your heart rate will rise by 5-10 beats over a period of 30 minutes

If you are new to running, or only want an approximation of your maximum heart ate, you can use the formula of 214 – (0.8 x age) for men and 209 – (0.9 x age) for women. Unfortunately for 5-10 per cent of the population, this figure can be wrong

receivers let you record a certain amount of heart rate readings – every minute for 30 minutes, for example. Others store the heart rate throughout, for subsequent recall; most have varying recording intervals such as five, 15 and 60 seconds.At the top end

, but your new training paces might come as a surprise too. Before you get started, work out the right benchmarks to work towards by finding your maximum heart rate. If you're a complete beginner, start off with this very approximate formula: 214 - (0.8 x

heart rate that you're aiming for (eg 60 per cent for an easy run would be 150 x 0.60 = 90), and add it to your resting heart rate: 90 + 56 = 146. The final figure is your working heart rate. Sample Sessions: 60% Recovery run - this will feel slow

with an HRM, in 4:05. One year later she'd improved to 3:47, now boasts a best of 3:31 and is aiming to run under 3:15 at the Abingdon Marathon in Oxfordshire this October. "I've graduated from base training and now know all the heart rates I need to train

should be focused on heart rate," says VO2 Max. "But honestly how many people do you hear lined up for an event saying 'I want to run this at 150 bpm'? None. Those of us who train for races/events train to run at certain speed (eg 'I want to do the 10K

, because it's hard to raise your heart rate early on in a session using reps of just a minute, your readings would be quite low to start with. As a result, aiming to reach, say, 170 for each rep, you would probably start working too hard too early

When you go on holiday, you'll no doubt want to take your training with you. After all, you are off to enjoy yourself. However, this will often mean running in conditions that can affect your heart rate quite dramatically, both at rest