baseline training

[chickwhorips]

My first question would be have you done a max hr test? If you are using someone elses hr zones you may not be getting the workout that they are suggesting.
Doing zone 2 base training is a good idea and it will feel very slow and easy, but your zone 2 may be quite different from somone else's.

the max i have seen my hr is 192, not sure what the highest would be. i think i figured out my max by the 220-age thing. how else do i find my max?

so far things haven't seemed hard or easy. just a good normal pace.

[Fredwina]

How did you do feel when your at 192? If you were huffing and puffing and thought your lungs were going to explode, I would think you were near your max. You can get a test done to be scientifically accurate.
As is being discussed in another thread, The 220- your age is only an estimate. I'm 45, and I get still get a reading in 190's if the hill is steep enough and Long enough.
Zone training - it does work(from my view), but take some patience not to want to exceed the limits.

[chickwhorips]

i was huffing and puffing with a red face. legs got tired quick at 192.

[Eden]

Yeah - the 220 minus your age thing can be way off - that would put me at 186 and my measured max is 211. I'm not sure how you do a max for running and I've heard that cycling zones and running zones are usually different.

For cycling the easiest way is to do it on a trainer
warm up for about 15 min
then increase your effort by 10% every 2 or 3 min until you feel you can't go harder - then stand up and sprint all out - you should reach to or very near you max.