I Don't Seem To Have a Zone 1 or 2 ? | GTN Coach's Corner⁠

i find these videos immensly encouraging. not only because they answer questions i also have but also because it makes me feel like my struggles are more common than i maybe thought.

When I decided to start zone 2 running last year, it took me two weeks to not have to walk in between. Then it took some months for it not to be awfully slow (and I'm not a fast runner to begin with). But now I'm at the point where my zone 2 is about 2 minutes faster, and harder efforts feel much easier. So for me, the time investment was definitely worth it.

I used to be able to run 'easy' at 170bpm and 5min/km. my parkruns would often be about 19:30 and I would max out quickly at 200+BPM. I then started to train zone 2 under 154bpm for most of my running and the fastest I could go was 7min/km or walk. I stuck with it form then on and every 2 months would do a 'test run'. 60mins at exactly 160bpm Avg to see how far I could get. My first test run was 10.1km. and I found these tests to be the best way to see my progression. 2 years later and my 60min test had improved to 15.1km at 160bpm at 3:58/km. Zone 2 training sucks at first, but just stick with it and it will pay off

Even if you feel like you have answered the same question multiple times we all appreciate the advice. I have been trying to pick myself back up from an injury hiatus, so coming back to this is a big mental mood boost.

My HR was also around 155 all the time while trying to do a zone 2 effort, even while my Garmin said that that was deep into zone 3. After being frustrated about that for a few months I got a professional measurement. The results were very encouraging: a HR of 155 for me simply was a zone 2 effort. Turns out that my years of training at a slow pace had extended my zone 2 so much that my zone 2 ends at 77% of maxHR, instead of at 70% at where Garmin by default put it AND my maxHR was also well above the 220 minus my age. So i highly recommend doing the professional VO2max measurement if you are well trained and seem to struggle with staying in zone 2.

I started running about two months ago and this title hit me exactly. The first 4 ish weeks I only had two speeds. Walking and exhausting. Over the past couple of weeks I have just now started to have what I think of as a third gear. Hoping with more time and easy runs I can earn those other zones!

At first I was bummed that Z1 was so close to walking pace, and then I realized I could wear jeans and wander over to the cafe/playground/library/interesting construction site etc. etc. etc. for a Z1 workout. Result! If you want to suffer, by all means, go ahead and suffer. But if you want GAINZZZZ, maybe relax and smell the flowers a bit.

I think when beginning with training it makes not really sense to start with zone training. For the first months (or longer...) you will improve no matter how you train. Much more important than looking at zones is to avoid injuries, e.g. doing with long runs too early (been there myself...).

As a triathlon coach and PE teacher myself… this is an amazing content you share with all of us. It’s very useful, formative and right to the point. Congratulations… and thank you very much, from Spain. 🙌🏾

Thanks for answering the question in my head. I kinda know the answer but a fresh reminder every now and then helps immensely!

A Heart Rate Drift Test helped me find a good heart-rate for my Z2 running. You can do it without very fancy equipment. Maybe something for the channel to demo?

Just a thought, but when I used to really struggle to stay in zone 2 it was down to my HRM, not my heart rate! Wrist mounted heart rate worked great for me at normal activity levels, but as soon as it crept up it seemed to lose track, before you know it 155/160 bpm and hardly trying. Switched to a chest strap and boom, Z2 no problem at all.

I been doing a lot of zone 2 and I could run a lot more kms every week. Went up to 45 really fast and now I do 60-70km a week. And I even run faster on my intervals with same effort. It was terrible in the start because everyone overtook me, but I feel amazing now!

Having started my triathlon journey with zero running experience or technique, I’ve found that it takes A LOT of patience and discipline to develop Zone 2 efficiency. There will be times where it feels like you are running way too slowly, but keep at it. Over time, you’ll start to notice improvements in efficiency and pace. As with any heart rate-based training, you should consider daily variables such as weather conditions, route, and personal state of recovery as these factors will influence your heart rate.

Amazing channel, your great content over the years helped develop my Triathlon game quite a bit. Question: does the "shakeout run" really exist and if yes, what is the evidence of it being superior to just plain rest. Thanks!

I was in a similar position to the second last question asker in that my zone 2 running pace was down close to 8min/km. I trained a lot and didn't see much improvement, then I tried walk-running at a higher pace (30 seconds higher than my zone 2 pace something like minute on/minute off keeping my HR below zone2) This worked so much more effectively for me. I think the problem is that 8min/km pace was way too inefficient (for me) and was basically reaching the pace where fast walking was more efficient for me. This meant that I had been stuck in a sort of grey zone running at 8min/km where I was training my cardio system ok but my running economy wasn't improving as my body couldn't figure out if I wanted to walk or run. Once I switched over to walk/running, I was walking efficiently and running efficiently and my running economy improved way faster and I'm now running at a zone 2 pace of 6min/km.

10:18 Tess: my 5K is 24 and change (not saying that's fast or anything) and I still do most my easy runs at 8:30/km or slower. Im not in my 20s anymore so Id rather avoid injuries and stay healthy. Or as Peter Attia would say, JFW (just f*ing walk)

May I suggest for those trying to identify their HR at Z2... just run/bike breathing through your nose for 5-10min... the fastest pace possible... but always breathing through the nose. At that point, take a look at your HR . That would be your target HR for Z2 then. :-)

Thanks for the answer James! I have been doing ALOT of zone 2 training, but it’s true I don’t know how accurate my zones are.

If you can run and recite song lyrics or other multi sentence phrases etc without panting you are in zone 2... use HR as a secondary metric especially with cardiac drift