Discussion: HR

I think only an athlete could understand your response to that elevated HR episode. I've done the exact same thing. Having never really been considered normal I can't say what one of them would do.
You must have an awfully hi max HR. I can't get mine over 175.
Have you tried sportstracks frome zone5 software? it works great with the Garmin. There's even an Attackpoint plugin.

being a tech no-hoper, i would struggle to try such software :-). But will give it a go. I just got the Garmin recently and am still trying to figure out how to make the best use of it. One of the first things that was beneficial was a reality check on how fast I train - there I was thinking that I was cruising around at 4.30min/km, whereas I was nowhere near that (closer to 4.45-4.50). So the Garmin now keeps me a bit more honest in my training efforts. Will see how that goes opver the medium term.

As for the HR, I have had a lot of problems in recent years with an irregular heartbeat / arrythmia occurring under stress (but not predictably). Quite scary and feels like what I imagine a heart attack might start out like. Heart rate goes up to 220 and back down. Docs say it is nothing to worry about, but stops me in my tracks if it occurs in a race (as in teh French Champs last year).