Why Running Slow is SO HARD

There are a few good reasons why running in heart rate Zone 2 is so difficult for many of us runners. Once you know why your heart rate is hard to control, you can make the small changes that will help you to run with a low heart rate, and make the most of your heart rate training.

🔴 WATCH NEXT

➜ Secret to Running Faster with a Low Heart Rate:

➜ Low Heart Rate Training, Simplified:

➜ How to Run with a Low Heart Rate (RUNNING SLOW TO RUN FAST):

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ABOUT ME: I'm James Dunne, a runner, sports rehabilitation therapist (similar to physical therapist) and coach based in the UK (Norwich and London).

Since 2007 I've been working with athletes focusing specifically on helping distance runners and triathletes overcome injury and improve performance through developing their individual running technique.

Running biomechanics and physical therapy are real passions of mine. I love to help runners run strong and stay injury free.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included in the description above are affiliate links. If you purchase a product with the links that I provide I may receive a commission. There is no additional charge to you, and is an easy way for you to support the channel. Thank you!

#Running #JamesDunne #Fitness

[markb]

What heart rate is zone 2 as on my watch aerobic zone is 3

[rayamos]

Slow running, especially zone 2 when you start out, is a skill that has to be learned. A frustrating, hateful, skill that is easy to lose patience with and give up on. But like most skills, the more you do it the better you get at it, and after a couple of years it just becomes natural.

I've been zone 2-ing for over two years and have lost count of the number of events where having a strong aerobic base has helped me either get PBs or strenght I didn't know I had. I've done 2 hilly marathons (Midnight Marathon - 5hrs 3 - and Andover Trail Marathon.- 4hrs 20) in the last 3 months (which has doubled the number of marathons I've ever done!), and while I'm never going to win a race, as someone who averages just 35 miles a week almost entirely zone 2, I'm absolutey certain that it's the aerobic base I've built up which makes me able to get out and jog 26.2 in a single go.

Learning to slow down enough and to not get frustrated was so hard, but it's so rewarding once things click.

[jonnygspot]

It's taken over a year of regular zone 2 running to finally believe in it's benefits. I've been carrying various injuries and not been able to do much Vo2max, threshold or tempo runs so been mainly doing zone 2 easy runs of late. Finally pretty much injury free now so did a 10k race today without having done hardly any training other than easy runs but managed a pb. There was all the proof I needed that easy zone 2 training does work.

[bilgyno]

Great insights, both in the video and the comments. I think the main thing is to not expect instant miracles. The other: turn off the ego and don't worry about pace or other runners.

[rhodaborrocks-dyfb]

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve joined a gym to hit the running machine to build my zone 2 as in my mind that rules out a lot of the variables that put you out of zone 2

[mckonal]

"feel the run, do not just measure it." nice

[theOmKumar]

A stationary spin bike is really helpful for maintaining a consistent heart rate .

[laurenceegan]

I split my zone 2 runs between treadmill and outdoor runs with little elevation. All else being equal, my HR for outdoor runs should be almost exactly 5 beats higher (something I put down to wind resistance and other weather conditions).

But the one thing that catches me out more than anything else the longer I'm running outside, is incremental increases in pace.

My zone 2 runs are between 8:05 - 8:30/mile, however, if I run 7:50/mile during stretches without noticing right away, my HR will peel away. This is something that happens a lot when running in the dark.

Do that a few times, and I'm on the cusp of zone 3, and it won't come back down.

[MortimerDuke]

I just got back from A zone 2 Run and this video drops #coincidence. I noticed that when my heart rate creeped up, deep breathing would help to bring it back down. No idea about the science behind or even if it was just the placebo effect but it seem to work.

[Fernandez]

i don't follow your channel as much as others but i do sub. for long time i didn't see myself getting better with running. i would sprint weekly but wouldn't see results. i can run pretty fast top speed not pro level but around 16-17mph. anyways. also my stamina was not very good. i was running out of breath after 1/4 of a mile. new strategy that took me forever to realize: progressive overload.

I would usually run 8mph without noticing. it's hard to tell how fast you're running when you are outside, not on a treadmill, without a smart watch. so, i started running a bit slower and if i ran out of breath i would still run slower. i did this consistently. i would do this for 1 mile, then 3 miles and now i'm at 5 miles. everything has gotten stronger. I've checked my weight and it's stayed about the same give or take a few pounds. My sprint is stronger. My stamina is better. Consistently progressively overloading your system in doable increments. It's almost as if micro-goals is a strategy that extends everywhere in life. I don't believe it's much of a stretch to think that.

consistently progressively overloading. balance.

[gb]

I play a 'game' where I listen to my body and try to guess my heart rate. Any time there's a hill I allow my effort to intensify and make another guess and then check (I am 95% of the time in zone 2 on long runs, but I am not strict with it, especially as I live in a hilly area). Then when the ground levels out I slow down to get my heart rate back to what it was before the hill. All by feeling first and checking after, so that becomes a learned behaviour.

[tatjanakueth]

Currently in Japan on Okinawa and went for an early run at 27° and ridiculous humidity. I was surprised my HR was actually ok despite going all out. But clearly began to creep up by the end of the run.

[yolandacroes]

Does this mean that for people like me, who live in the tropics where it’s hot and humid all year long, zone 2 training is essentially unattainable?

[runskicakesleep]

The other day I went out for my run at my usual easy pace and within 200m my heart rate shown on my watch was 140bpm, and by 400m was 150bpm. This was not reflected in my feels or my breathing rate. Absolute confusion as to why it shot up, then I realised I didn't have my chest strap on. Run abandoned, I went back home, collected my chest strap and started over again, with much more expected indicated heart rate. Basically, I find the optical sensor reads my cadence, so I guess it locks onto the pulse signal from my leg muscles. So dodgy equipment readings can also be a factor.

As for the point about heat, when the temperatures get to 20 and above, I can find my heart rate can be as much as 10 beats higher.

[goldenburrr]

Such a great informative video! Keeping that heart rate in that sweet spot can be quite difficult!

[-esox-]

For me, having started running regularly this spring, zone 2 running works like a charm. Only I need to "switch through the gears" wenn running on hilly terrain- no problem about it though.
Though I am not a heavy person and also still in my 20ies.

[peterconrad]

Nice video, again. But : if you see the cardiac drift set in too early, you´re not in zone 2 anymore. You´re basically too fast already, since you should maintain a constant Heartrate

[MyMattinthehat]

I've been trying to get into the zone 2 thing for a few months now. I nearly need to turbo speed walk or slow jog to stay in that zone and it feels WAY harder than my typical half marathon pace where I can easily breathe through my nose but says im in high zone 4. Maybe my heart is busted

[pquirk]

On long, slow runs (10K or more) I usually wear a hydration vest with a couple of Gu electrolyte tabs in 32 oz of water. I have my watch setup for an alert every 1km, at which point I take a few sips and do a form check. I can easily run a half-marathon distance in zone 2 this way. In contrast to my faster runs where my music playlist consists of 180bpm songs, my accompaniment for the slow run is slow ambient music, usually Moby's Play: B Sides: Play, and Ambient Hotel.

[sergy]

Well, I have an opposite problem. I can't run cos of prosthetic knee, so I do brisk or power walk aiming at Z2. After ~15min my HR often suddenly goes down to Z1 and no matter how I try to walk faster (already 6.5-7 km/hr) or carry extra 5-10 kg, HR doesn't return to Z2. Treadmill with incline would perhaps help but I don't like exercising indoors.