Anyone want to attempt Zone 2 running with me?

[USAUSAUSA]

So after 15 years of mediocre running, I’ve started taking an interest in heart zone training and thought I’d give it a bash. Pretty much all my runs I am at max within 2 minutes and run at max the whole time (clearly don’t know this for 15 years but it was a bit of a revelation to me when I started looking into it). Started reading about the benefits of zone 2 running and (especially as I am getting older and I like the idea of training in the fat burning zone) I thought….lets give it a go!
Anyway…first 5k this morning in zone 2 and it was SO hard…I just couldn’t run slow enough. Ended up getting about 79% of my run in zone 2 but that was about 50/50 walking and slow jogging. It took 54 minutes as opposed to my usual 30.
I am intrigued to see if this is going to work…I didn’t even break a sweat so I can probably do daily zone 2 runs although I was initially planning for 2 a week plus a fast 5k and a moderate 10k. Anyone any tips, advice or want to join me? It feels like a bit of a long haul commitment so would be good to have some company along the way as I suspect it would be too easy to give up on.

How long before we see results you reckon?
I have actually got slower since my last post haha

This is my Strava for a regular loop I do - you can see the change in the times since January. It's got warmer as well and usually that makes quite a difference and makes it harder for me to keep effort low

It's definitely enough for me to keep going with it.

i think it’s a long haul….25 seconds in 6 months is near enough a minute over a year @SuncreamAndIceCream!

That said my 2nd comparable run this morning my pace was about 15 seconds slower than last week. Admittedly I haven’t run this week due to illness and had a little wine last night so probably not a fair comparison 😊

I'm contemplating doing my Saturday 10k in Z2….the only thing that is putting me off is it will take forever!

Yes exactly @USAUSAUSA

It did take a month before I started to see the trend downwards, have to be honest. But if it keeps going, I can't imagine running sub 7 min km in z2. That's a dream to me. I'm in a hilly area too now, I moved last Sept.

My easy runs are my podcast listening time so in some ways the longer they take the better!

I did a heart rate run then other day where I had to keep my HR under 146 and stay in zones 1 and 2. It was so hard, I had lost the will to live really early on but I surprised myself and did it for 5K as instructed by my coach.

I think I'll have a lot more of these runs coming up too. They are meant to really help your fitness which seems mad to me but I'm no coach so I do what I'm told.

Yes and fascinating to see what that sub 7 in z2 translates to on your faster runs! I’m just treating the whole thing like a big science experiment that requires a LOT of patience (which I am not known for 😂). It’s a good discipline though I think. I like the idea of listening to a podcast…music would make me run too fast. I usually don’t like running with devices but in this case it might be a good thing to help slow me down and remain in zone

Join the gang for moral support!

it does feel a little bit like walking a tightrope…too little…too much…getting in the “just right” zone is much harder than you would imagine especially if you’ve spent the last 15 years trying to run as fast as you can (Me!)

I saw results within 2 weeks. My zone 4 run got a lot faster

How is everyone doing with their z2s? I was away on holiday for 3 weeks and did zero running but daily hikes…lots of hills. I came back and did a couple of mediocre 5ks then my first z2 today on my usual route. I was pretty pleased that on the hill section of my route I was able to keep running the whole way and stay in zone…normally I have to slow it down massively or walk to stay in zone. I think the hiking must have really helped. Overall pace was consistent with my z2 pre holidays so that has inspired me to get back to it and give it a proper go again.

It’s going well! Just saw my last post was a month ago and there is a definite improvement since then. 4 minute improvement in my 10K in zone 2 time and my 5K time is getting faster as well

@StuffCanDoTwoThings that IS a big improvement in a month! I’m going out tomorrow now too 😁

It makes me so happy that this is working for you all!!!

How's everyone getting on?

The warm weather lately has not been great for easy runs, but I went out early this morning and did my usual circuit plus a bit more - and it's my fastest z2 pace yet. Only a couple of seconds in it but after a couple of months of feeling really sluggish in the muggy weather that's a nice boost.

@SuncreamAndIceCream sorry for the delay! Well done on your progress! Just back from hols with some new resolve (after too much wine and not enough running). Kids go back to school and things get very much back to normality now so I’m interested to see what a long stint of consistency will do. I’ve also been tinkering a bit with intermittent fasting and trying to combine the two…so trying to max out my fat burning potential. knocked 5 seconds off my z2 5k pace this morning so am pleased with that!

How does that work if I can hit zone2 by walking. (and not my fastest pace walk, either)
Do I just walk to be in Zone 2?

My running pace will always be terrible. I don't think fast walking/slow runs can make a diff.

Totally not an expert but if you can hit zone 2 just by ordinary walking (ie not up a big hill or run walking) then it might be that your zone calculations are out a bit? Zone 2 you should be able to just about manage to hold a conversation but no more. Sometimes I have to walk to keep in zone (particular on the hills) but on the downhills I’m running pretty fast.

I don't think fast walking/slow runs can make a diff.

I think that’s the theory we’re trying to either prove or disprove 😁. Training in a lower zone means your recovery time is quicker and you should therefore be able to run more frequently without risking injury. It also has the bonus of burning fat as opposed to glycogen that you start burning z3+. It’s trying to make your running more efficient while minimising risk of injury. Apparently all the elite athletes run 80% of their training runs in zone 2!

I was run/walking to stay in z2 at the start but now I run it all. Are you using a Garmin? I think their zones are off

Really well! Can’t believe I never did this before, so satisfying to see the gradual progress rather than before when I used to get disheartened and think I was just bad at running

My theory about "running slow to run faster" methods (Z2 or Maffletone etc) is that it works by increasing stamina. That makes sense for people who find speed easy (the naturally athletic). They gravitate to speed training instead, over years, so then they need a disciplined programme to work on their stamina.

For people like me who are naturally athletically declined... stamina is (was) always the only thing we could work on (out of skill, strength, speed, stamina). I had especially hopeless chances of improving the other 3. I don't need to work more on my stamina. I might benefit from doing intervals, though.

Strength is a bad one for me to work on because I'm prone to every RSI there is and as for skill.... you must be having a larf. Talk about the most demoralising activity ever.

It's easy to fall in the trap of wanting running to be (relatively) fast, especially if you experienced newbie gains, then getting dispirited when they wear off.

Since I started doing more structured running sessions, my variation of pace has widened. I can go slower and run more consistently for longer, and my faster paces have increased too.

When I did marathon training, I kept the pace at 7min/kms while running when jeffing my long runs, but kept the pace up at parkrun, and when recovered managed a fast parkrun time. My parkrun pbs have usually been post-recovery after a longer distance race which ties in with the principle of run slow to run fast.

The benefits of brisk walking can often be underestimated too, and it's often worth working on walking pace- it's good for cadence. I sometimes strategically use walking as part of my running plans. It's great for covering distance if not at full power or bridging a distance gap if training hasn't been smooth, and catching up to running a distance might be over-doing it (bearing in mind I keep cycling around a base of 6-10mi through the year so rarely train something completely new)