The Big Problem With Your Running Pace

Training Zones sound mysterious but they don't have to be. They're actually quite simple. And the great new is, that if you train in the right place at the right time you will absolutely maximise every single session. So let's break down the zones, what they are, how you train in them and improve you as a runner!

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[Jess-Rabbit]

Zone 3 rocks. A big part of my marathon training plan has included having chunks of a long run at goal race pace and its helped me so much.

[EggsForDessert]

I will be honest I think heart rate zones and training has hit my love for running. After years and years of running my family gifted me a Garmin watch for Christmas. At first I loved it, all the metrics and for the first time I was having my heart rate measured. But I increasingly found my heart rate to be too high and this led me to worry about my runs being too hard on my body. In an attempt to find that 80/20 ‘optimal’ zone I slowed down..a lot. Despite this even my easy runs my heart rate sits around 155. According to my watch that’s the top of zone 3 even with my heart rate adjusted accordingly. As someone who is average bmi with an active life style and a lean body I find it all very disheartening.

[rubarb]

I think this approach works well if you are already someone who can run long distances and quick paces. I’m a slow runner, and tried this approach for about a year and it didn’t work. I’m finding much more benefit by training on how it feels rather than trying to stick religiously to a certain heart rate. Mix in strength training, and for me I’m seeing good progress now.

[nberkel]

Great advice for all. I do agree that Z3 is one of the best areas to train for long distance events. Can't stress enough how important it is to have the mind familiar in dealing with what that pace/effort feels like for long periods of time.

[Aeronwor]

Z3 is where the fun is. That is really important for sustainability.

[TheGetawayMan]

Lots of people don’t get it. Heart rate and zones tell you how hard you’re working. If you’ve calculated them incorrectly, you’ll have problems. Too many people get it wrong, then complain about it. The science of it isn’t wrong, how you’ve applied it is.

The vast majority of people don’t really need to know much to make progress. Easy should feel easy, hard should feel hard (including hills and weather). Easy runs are better feeling overly easy so you feel fresh the next day. Run more to learn the nuances.

[RobertGalbo-ey]

Definitely guilty of drifting from zone 2 to zone 3 by keeping same pace

[georginafronda]

Wow wow brilliant… now I know why I my legs and feet burn at 30k during a marathon and struggle… not enough zone 3 and 4 training

[kevinsloan]

Great vid, I have trouble slowing my pace down and seem to be borderline threshold for the majority of my runs!

[mimi_micha]

Checking on „the Norwegians“ and found plenty of „in the middle“ intensities upper and lower end of z3.
btw: I am always running at given HR and slow down my pace when fatigue hits.

[stevebailey]

Hi Ben. I enjoy your videos. Regarding this one, I like to use hr the first 45 mins or so of any easy run (zone 2) to make sure it stays below the upper limit of zone 2. After that, I use perceived effort even if my Hr creeps up. I read that cardiac drift occurs once you start sweating enough to reduce your blood volumn...meaning your heart has to beat faster to move the same amount of energy. I read this (on average) begins around the 45 min mark...which is in line with my experience. What do you think?

[marathonmimmi]

The problem with this is just to determine the zones. You used a high percent of max hr to define the end of zone 2. This is the way to stay in zone 2!

[saintsaens]

Just ran a 19min 5K of which 17min were in (Garmin) zone 5. Not fun!

[trevor]

Slow runners like myself need zone3 and zone5 running in order to develope running ability. Zone1 and zone2 are also important, but it is hard and unbeneficial to run so slow. Crosstraining is good for base building.

[ishanparekh]

Is it still better to run strictly in zones like zone 2 for beginners?

I have been running for a couple of months and I still cannot run without frequent walk breaks to keep the hr in zone 2

[galotta]

Am I understanding this correctly: Zone 2 means that I’m running at a pace where I can still hold a conversation. That would mean my heart rate is around 135 beats per minute. Am I still in Zone 2 if my heart rate is at 165 (according to Polar, that’s Zone 4) but I can still manage to hold a conversation???

[jonburnell]

But what if you live in a massively hilly area that's it's difficult to do zone 2. You hit a hill and your heart rate soars. If you slow down to below walking pace to keep it down it really hurts your knees.

[ssppo]

Respectfully, this chart @1:10 is a bit of a mess. What are the tick marks on the x axis?

[karlbratby]

Think it would be beneficial to equate your HR zones with your energy sources, fat burning, glycogen and lactate, how, when and where you maybe using/dipping into the various fuel the bio engine provides. Zone 3 is NOT a zone to fear as many state as long as understand your body as a bio engine.

[HS-fmkv]

First off- calculate your zones properly- chances are you haven't- particularly if you rely on your watch and / or 220- age....