When I began my own journey in endurance sports, I quickly came to realise that going out and “thrashing it” every run and cycle ride was not going to be an effective way to train for hours upon end. The reality that in order to go longer I had to go easier, was well and truly sinking in. For endurance efforts like triathlon and ultra running, the secret is to create a really good aerobic base typically referred to as “zone 2”.
What is Zone 2 and why do you need to train it?
Zone 2 is typically calculated as a heart rate zone, and there are many different methods which can calculate what your heart rate should be to stay within this zone. There are problems with every method, and as we are all individuals our bodies have fluctuations daily with hormones and stress as well as environmental factors. Unless you were to be lab tested daily before every activity, finding your exact aerobic threshold is unlikely. Therefore find a calculation you feel confident in and try to stick with it, the body is a master of adaptation so if you’ve not got the number 100% you’ll likely adapt to it anyhow, however I recommend if you’re stuck between calculations, opt for the lower number. Personally I use the maffetone method, which in its simplest form is 180-age. So a 30 year old would leave zone 2 and enter zone 3 at 150bpm. There are some additional calculations within the maf method, but on a whole I find it quite true for myself and the athletes I coach.
So once you know what your zone 2 is, how do you stick within it?
chances are you’ve worked out your aerobic zone, tried to run in it and quickly got fed up with having to walk? If this is sounding familiar then it wouldn’t be surprising to know many athletes become quickly frustrated with zone 2 training. You feel like you’re shuffling or stopping every few minutes and you question how you can ever run fast when you’re running so slowly. My top 3 tips for training your zone 2 are as follows;
Be patient and stick with it. Adaptation happens, but it is slow and can take a few weeks before you’re able to complete your normal easy run without walking. Your newfound cardiovascular developments will start shining through at this point and you’ll be able to go much further for longer at this point. However it can take anything from a few weeks to 6 months, so patience is really important.
Breathing techniques. When your heart rate creeps up to the top of zone 2, having an arsenal of breathing techniques available to control it and bring it down is extremely handy and can mean the difference between constant walking breaks or managing to slow your heart rate down as you run rather than walking, that will take time though.
If you walk, recover fully before running again. It’s quite typical that once you start walking and get immediately under your threshold you want to run again, however you’ll find that if you wait until you’re 10-15 beats under your threshold you’ll feel much more recovered and you’ll be able to sustain a lower heart rate for longer that way.
Zone 2 training is worth pursuing and continuing with, it’s essential for triathlon and ultra running training. If you don’t want to train with a heart rate monitor then zone 2 can be found by running at a pace where you’re able to speak in a conversation, with full sentences and no breaking words up with breaths. Once you tap into your zone 2 you won’t go back and you’ll come to love it.
For More Information Click Here Jen Coppock – Triathlon Coach
