Zone 2 Training

[Matt G.]

I think I may be suffering from ADS. For last 2 or 3 years I been doing mtntough and then my runs were typical at the high zone 3. I don't think my issue is severe, as I can go for light jogs and sit at 135 bps. I been trying to have that hybrid mindset and full body functionality.

A few questions, should I completely stay away from hit workouts for now and vo2 max and hill sprints? Or is it OK to keep 1 of those per week?

When working on base zone 2 runs, dies it matter where I sit in the zone or should I sku towards the bottom.

Garmin watch training has my range set between 126 and 150 bpm. TIA

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

 

[dwhite0622]

I think I may be suffering from ADS. For last 2 or 3 years I been doing mtntough and then my runs were typical at the high zone 3. I don't think my issue is severe, as I can go for light jogs and sit at 135 bps. I been trying to have that hybrid mindset and full body functionality.

A few questions, should I completely stay away from hit workouts for now and vo2 max and hill sprints? Or is it OK to keep 1 of those per week?

When working on base zone 2 runs, dies it matter where I sit in the zone or should I sku towards the bottom.

Garmin watch training has my range set between 126 and 150 bpm. TIA

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

It’s worth it to do an aerobic threshold and an anaerobic threshold test to see where you’re at. If the gradient between them is 10% or less, you could benefit from threshold work and sprints. If it’s greater than 10%, it would be worth it to spend a block in Z2. Here’s a helpful article from uphill athlete on the subject.

Aerobic Self-Assessment for Mountain Athletes

Aerobic and Anaerobic Threshold self-assessment is important for all mountain athletes—to correctly define training intensities for different workouts.

uphillathlete.com

 

[P Carter]

I think I may be suffering from ADS. For last 2 or 3 years I been doing mtntough and then my runs were typical at the high zone 3. I don't think my issue is severe, as I can go for light jogs and sit at 135 bps. I been trying to have that hybrid mindset and full body functionality.

A few questions, should I completely stay away from hit workouts for now and vo2 max and hill sprints? Or is it OK to keep 1 of those per week?

When working on base zone 2 runs, dies it matter where I sit in the zone or should I sku towards the bottom.

Garmin watch training has my range set between 126 and 150 bpm. TIA

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Everything is on a spectrum. I don’t think one high-intensity session a week “matters,” in the big picture. But overall you ll get “better results” if you focus on one thing at a time. (I use these in quotes because goals are so different…surely there’s an optimal way to train but we’re not Olympic athletes here.) I suppose id say: if you like one high intensity session, keep it, but if you want to replace it with a longer slower run for, say, 6-8 weeks, that would be best for working on z2. Then add it back in.

I also don’t think it much matters whether you’re at the bottom of z2 or towards the top. The zones aren’t like light switches, but rather a gradual scaling up of the relative percentages of each energy system being used. I’d say maybe start at low zone 2 and your heart rate will float towards the top during the run.