Are these runs the same as running at my AT?
I've been reading that a HRmonitor helps.
I have a pace maker, will this inerfere or skew my results of a VO2
to find out my AT and is the AT the same as my LT? If not how do I find my LT to run at for 30-35 min. tempo runs?
Thanks!

Brooke

The AT and LT generally occur at roughly the same point, but depending on the (somewhat widely varying) definitions, they can be a bit apart, AT occurring where respiratory quotient first reaches a value of 1, meaning 100% carbohydrate is used for fuel, and LT occuring where the rate of lactate accumulation is beyond a certain value. A vo2max test will tell you where the AT is and a blood lactate test will tell you where the LT is. For the most part for training purposes, you can use them interchangeably. I'd be very concerned about taking a vo2max test with a pacemaker, but I'm not a medical professional. It would seem as though pacemakers would not be designed for absolutely maxing out the heart rate, but this is purely a guess on my part. It would seem to me that you would at least need to be sub-maximal (which would be good enough for many of the associated data points). Without having a vo2max test or a blood lactate test, there are many online formulas to estimate LT. The simplest is to run about a 10 mile race at your best performance and select roughly your heart rate about 1/2 way in or roughly your average pace (pace is only good to use if you are at the same fitness level when you use it and if the conditions are the same, such as heat and humidity). Generally speaking the LT pace is somewhere between 10k and half marathon race pace.

Another method for getting your LT roughly figured out is to run for 30 mins warm up then run as hard as you can for the next 30 mins, hit your lap counter on your HRM after the first 10 mins of the hard run and your LT will be roughly your ave HR for the last 20 mins.