I was a terrible runner. I've always tried to 'push' in my every run and my legs get sore just from a 3km run. I almost gave up and believed I can never run for a half marathon. I somehow got to know about zone 2 training and like the video said, drop your ego and keep your heart rate and that's all that matters. And I don't focus on the distance i'm running. I focus on the duration and heart rate. I start to run 30mins at zone 2 and ignore my pace. I had to walk and run like a snail at the beginning and everyone was running past me. It hurts and you might feel inferior. But this is a training for yourself. It just you and you. My running form was poor due to the low cadance and my knees started to hurt. I then start to take shorter steps and up my cadance since i'm running slow and it reduces the impact of each step. It really helped. I increase my run by 3min each week and now i'm running 42min everyday, around 6:30min/km pace and my legs aren't hurting. Running slow and steady really helped built my stamina and I'm running a half marathin at the end of this year. I'm feeling confident about it.
Getting knee pain from running too slow is something that isnt talked about enough. I was doing the Z2 training and got knee pain constantly, now that I run faster, probably high Z2 or low Z3, I can run farther and pain-free. So my training now is most likely not the most optimal in terms of heart rate, but it is way more enjoyable
I've been overstriding for years without knowing it. Been a high level athlete most of my life, but got into distance running later in life. I couldn't fathom how people that seemed less fit than me by quite a bit were equaling or even beating my pace... Now that I've adjusted my stride correctly, and started doing Zone 2 training, I've improved significantly.
Jogging uphill has given me incredible confidence. it has literally taught me that no matter how slow and tired and fatigued I run uphill and how exhausted I feel, once the uphill segment is finished and I continue on level ground, my heart rate drops without me stopping or walking, and my body recovers while still jogging. All you need to do is practice and take it slow with small strides but consistently. Jog with your heart. Find the heart pace and do not go out of it until your physique has mastered the effort. Let your ego out of your equation and just enjoy the runner's high. No sprinting. No accelerations. Get rid of smart watches. Forget calculations. Just go jogging for fun but respect your weaknesses at first, making sure they become your strengths. After some months, you will discover your body is capable of more. Once you conquer hills you can take on any challenge.
I started low heart rate training in May.. now end of Aug, ive improved my low HR run from about 9’30”/km to sub 8’/km.. my aim is to be able to do sub 6’/km pace in low HR
@@TylerJTube The aim of low heart rate training is to improve endurance by limiting our heart rate within zone 2. By doing so we can improve our aerobic capacity, reduce the intensity of the workout and improve our mileage. These will in turn improve our endurance in the long run. On the other hand if your HR is always elevated, i.e. above zone 2, it will mostly improve only your anaerobic base and not your aerobic base. As long distance runners we need to include about 80% of low intensity zone 2 easy runs to improve our endurance.
@@TylerJTubealso anaerobic workouts put more stress on the body, increasing risk of injury and time to recover. Though not a risk by doing a high percentage of your workouts in zone two allows more frequent runs. ect increasing milage. ie you should get more efficient and turn what would of been you zone 3 or 4 pace into what almost feels like a casual very sustainable pace for an extended amount of time/distance.
Low HR running is great for starting runners but will only get you so far. I've done it for a few years, so I speak from experience. It will indeed keep you injury-free. But you'll get good at running long and slow. You're not really working on improving your Lactate thresholds and VO2 max because you don't even touch that intensity, and the physiological response to the harder runs (threshold, tempo, and intervals) is very different from easy miles. I believe it's best to follow the 80/20 rule (80 easy/20 hard runs) and develop your body and form holistically. Since I started focusing on LT2/threshold runs, all my racing times have improved dramatically.
started brand new to running with the MAF method 3-4 months ago. was in a really bad shape and couldent "run" quicker then 17min/mile to not blow my HR limit. now my PB at maf HR is around 12min/mile, so meaning ive improved by 5min/mile since i started, and feel great about it. low heart rate training dosent only work, but it works really well. on another note regarding the fat burning portion of the video. when i started out, and my body learned to use fat as fuel, the result was that i got a much more stable blood sugar during the day, and my overall hunger lvl went way down, and as a result of that i started eating way less, and felt overall less hungry as well so kinda weird combination. as a result of that, ive dropped about 40 lbs since i started running, and feel great about it.
I do the watch trick, except my screen is HR and distance. I started around august last year and took around 6 months to adapt, but I did start losing speed, but a few months later started getting faster, and now my parkrun times are around 23min which is a speed increase of maybe 5min. I do strides at the end of a long run as well for the last k, and still achieve over 90% zone 2 on Strava. And, I’m nearly 50 and weigh 100kg, so if I can do it anyone can!
I like how you are honest about fasted running. Actually your advice is very relevant for people that combine running with strength training like me. Keep it up!
Good advice, my resting heart rate is 48 bpm sits around 147bpm when I'm running. I gas out if it goes above 170bpm for too long so I sit back and concentrate on slowing my breathing down. Before the smart watches I used to use Basic watch with HR monitor to manage pace by keeping eye on heart rate. It was the best way to keep steady pace.
Hi James, I thought I’d share my last 10 weeks with you and your audience. I’m an experienced runner over nearly 30 years and a regular faster too. For various reasons including injury, I’ve been largely away from running for almost 3 years and in that time I’ve added about 15kgs in weight!! I decided to do something about it. I decided to follow my garmin daily workout suggestions and focus on making sure any base or long runs were firmly in Z2. My first “runs” were mainly walks, as my HR spiked very quickly out of Z2. I was completing the workouts in 13min miles, worlds apart from my old days of 7:30 in Z2. That was a shock! Garmin was slowly building up the time on feet from 31 mins to 56 mins today. After about three weeks I was able to run the whole duration at Z2, albeit slowly 11-12 min miles. This week I’m around 9:50 miles and Garmin has thrown the odd threshold run in too, which is actually quite nice. I’m just over 6 Kgs down and much of that is due to running most workouts at least 16 hrs fasted and using my smart bathroom scales it would appear that most of the weight is fat loss, but there is a little lean tissue loss too. I’ve corrected that by upping my post run meal with extra protein and added some kettle bell workouts on my rest days from Garmin. Because I run typically at 1700hrs, I’m well hydrated (with electrolytes). I’ve got probably another 6kgs to lose, but that can burn off slowly now. In conclusion, Z2 works well if you give it a proper go and workout in Z2. Too many use a number like MAF and it’s still fast. I wouldn’t recommend fasted running unless you’ve already adapted to it. It can leave people exhausted and basically cellular starved. I know it works for me because after a run, I’m not hungry or craving sweet foods. Also my bathroom scales are ok, I don’t really believe the numbers like fat, hydration, muscle and bone, but I follow the trend in these numbers. Finally my VO2 max is beginning to increase up 4 points since I restarted. Oh and I nearly forgot my overnight resting HR has dropped from 58 to 49/50 I love for you and the audience to give me some feedback and questions on my short journey back.
Never considered myself a running guy, did my jogs once in a while. 6 years ago, I never have run further than 12km. The last 6 years, I did not run at all. Out of a whim, I started running 4 months ago and built up: couple of 10 km, then 3-4x 12-14km. My goal was half marathon distance, which I successfully did couple of weeks ago (sub 1:50h). Now I am looking into the zone2 runs. Following your advice to not neglect running form: To stay inside the zone2, the running form is beyond evil, I would not even call it jogging, it is more a "rocking over the ankle to kind of making it look like running". I can literally walk faster and stay in zone2. But whenever I try to actually "run" (or jog), I am instantly in zone3. I ended up under the impression that it is the vertical movement of my body that causes my HR to go up that easy. Any advice here? Or does it come down to leave the ego at home and just go walking, walking and walking?
Stick with it. Take walking breaks as necessary to keep that z2 heart rate. It will take a few weeks, even months, but you’ll start to get faster and faster in zone 2. It’s very satisfying!! Underrated components for zone 2 training… sleeping 8 hours a night, staying hydrated with water and electrolytes on runs (especially in the summer), nasal breathing during runs, and PATIENCE
stick with it, and you should see the improvement quick. started brand new to running 3-4 months ago with the MAF method, and starting out i could only do terrible 17min/mile to not blow my HR. now its still slow, but at better 12min/mile, so a good improvement for me in those 3-4 months. same period my resting heart rate dropped from around 80bpm down to 55 or so as well, witch is mindboggling to me
Yeah you are not supposed to be bouncing up and down. There should be no vertical component to your body's motion. That's wasted effort. That's why your heart is working harder than you need to. Up/down motion for legs but only forward motion for the body. You need to run with your shin angle at a diagonal to the ground, so the up/down motion relative to your torso is pushing you horizontally relative to the ground, so the move has a pure forward propulsion, and not launching you into some off-axis direction. You can do this by bending your legs more, or by slanting forward slightly, like the hill-climbing exercise. Actually climbing a real hill or incline is really good for feeling the quality of your leg drive. If you feel torque and steadiness as you climb you are doing good. If you feel you lack power and you wobble as you go up the incline then you don't have a good stride, and you need to work on your power stroke, so that it's consistently pressing you forward. Your oubliques and core are actually fairly important for running and getting the most power out of your leg stroke, so make sure you incorporate activation of your core muscles, especially down the sides of your torso. If you aren't doing that already, you should feel an immediate improvement. Hope that helps.
I just started this about a month ago and have been teaching my son this concept since he runs XC. The hardest for me right now is being over weight and my claves and legs feel the extra weight, but I have already noticed it is easy for me to keep in zone 2 without a huge flux in pace. I also try to focus on my running technique to be more efficient while learning HR running. I believe once my son really finds his correct running form (from another of your videos), he will have a better understanding of his HR and body compared to other kids his age. Not saying he will be that 15 minute 5k runner, be he will know how to be competitive. I am trying to learn what I can so I can at least stay with him for the 1st 100m. I like the mention of not everything has to be running. I have been focusing on zone 2 on the elliptical. I decided to try out a zone 3 to see how that felt and it was easier to stay in zone 3 than zone 2. That told me that staying the course is working. I used that as my Tempo training for the week.
i started running a year ago. i was getting too worried on my stats and kept on being disappointed. i can't keep my HR low even i run very very slow (9:30-10:00/km). and on my first day i can't even run 1 minute straight. so my recommendation if you are a beginner, just go outside and start running slow and walking without thinking about numbers, just listen to your body when to run and walk alternately. don't push yourself TOO hard. and running will hurt you ONLY in the beginning. the key here is to be consistent at least 3-4x a week of running. after few weeks/months of just running slow/walking by yourself, when your body adapted, that's when you'll start to search for trainings like interval, tempo, long runs, and other details or data you wanna learn about. i actually loved that time when i just start running without thinking about the results, that time just i go out and run. before, my HR sky rockets 1-2 mins of running not even sprinting, now i can maintain zone 2 for about 45 mins to 1 hr.
There's no way someone should overthink things that much when they're absolute beginner. Just do interval training, starting with running for 1 min, 2 min walk x 10, for 4 days every other day. Third day tends to be the hardest. Increase running time per walking time until you'll eventually be able to run 30 min. You'll be able to run a 5k then!
Good advice for beginners. I started the same way, 1min jog 1min walk around 10x, 3 times a week. Slowly increasing the running time. Once I was able to jog 1km my performance increased rapidly. Then I made the mistake of running always too fast. The rest is history ... plenty of youtube videos, Garming coach programs and self guided training.
One of my most important observations during my training for long distance marches (e.g. 100km+ in 24h) was that as soon as I put the earplugs in and listened to music, my heart rate was about 5 beats higher for the same physical effort. So it was easy to decide whether to use those 5 beats for exercise or for sound.
I've tried zone 2 running exclusively before. It did work. Heart rate getting lower on the same slow easy runs. However, it did makes me a slower runner when it comes to tempo, threshold run. So, I did what most articles told me. Started doing 80% zone 2, and 20% hard weekly. I found that doing hard sessions regularly also hugely helps to cut your HR down on easy runs. I train 6 hours / week including 1x strength training / week btw.
Good video. Another point about fasted running. Doing this in a calorie deficit won’t help preserve lean muscle tissue. Less muscle equals less storage for available carbohydrate. Two places carbs are stored as glycogen in the body - the liver but mostly in skeletal muscle. Runners (unless they’re hybrid athletes) are notoriously poor at strength training, which builds muscle. They also don’t consume enough protein (body breaks down muscle tissue in calorie deficit). Injuries occur when load exceeds capacity, another reason to strength train. Most runners don’t train weights whereas gym bunnies hate cardio! 🤷🏻♀️
See that's almost me right there ATM. Although, I am decent at strength training when it comes to utilising form correctly, I don't do enough of it. I do a lot of pull ups, push ups, and sit ups though. I'm good at them not only with form, but with frequency. With food, I'm not too sure where I'm at with it. I'd say i eat a decent amount for someone of my size. I'm like 47.7 kg, eats loads and doesn't affect my weight. Good amount of protein I take in but at the same time, it's not completely "healthy food" lol. Running wise, I'm OK, need to improve more. Naturally fast, need to do more slower runs for endurance. Getting OK st them now, nearly there to my sub 20 min 5k time 🙃
@@FatRaccoon-eh9igYou already sound like in decent shape if you're say youre decent at strength doing those military exercises everyday, and workin on a 5k. I can do 50+ pushups @ 220lbs in 2 minutes, but my running is traaash rn 😭... I was at a place where no running was allowed for 3 months. Lost mad gains.
@aShamelessHigh yeah, I guess, haha. I have ran since I was a kid but only took ot more seriously around my late teen years. Yeah, pushups, pull ups, and various crunches, I found ro ne naturally good at them. Weights, I suck 😅 I can't lift heavy... also, good on you, bro. Keep up the good work. Also, that does suck that you weren't able to run... yeah, running helps with gains even for gym bros. Hopefully, you're able to run again.
I agree that low hear rate training is definitely a good idea when starting out as new runners always go waaay too fast and over do it. But if you are seasoned and looking for the best bang for the buck its certainly not low HR training. Especially if your a competitive runner and looking for wins or PR's. I find so many videos here on youtube that grossly over complicate training, and I absorbed it all up and did the many different types of runs all week long for many years. As I got older just the volume of running usually would result in an injury before I ever made it to the race. I stopped listening and did my own experimenting, you don't need long runs, you don't need X amount of miles per week. Its very simple, do an exercise that induces a high amount of stimulation in the shortest time possible. Most never recover enough before each run and just stack one on top of the other. I tested so many different types of training blocks, and always the best results are short(20min ish) sessions of intervals. I found HR based intervals are better then time based. So the hard efforts are up to 80-90% of max HR, and try to reach this as fast as possible. Then easy jog until HR is back down to 50-60% of max and repeat 3 or 4 times. That's it... no other running required. Do this about 4-5 times a week, you will feel like your not training enough and many would say you can't run a fast half or full marathon with only 20min training sessions, my answer is really? did you ever try it?
I run ultras and marathons and people always ask me how to run farther, and I always ask them if they're out of breath when they run. People always say yes, and I always tell them to slow down. If you have to run 13 min miles to keep from feeling winded, fine. Go 13 min miles.
At 40's, it's complicated to remain on low heart rate, a couple of days ago I was able to pull a 21K at 7'30 pace, however that is not optimal, now I understood that I needed at least 6 months of low rate training, 5 or 6 years ago I was able to do it in less than 2 hours, but then again, training and training is needed to achieve the low rate, thanks for the tips!
@@aphotic3181been doing it for 3 months doing it twice a week. It's painfully slow in the first couple weeks that I thought I was doing something wrong.
I run for the amount of calories I plan to eat for the day. That way, my default calories just to maintain target weight are all negative. Money in the bank 😊
The video discusses the concept of low heart rate training and how it can enable runners to run faster and longer while minimizing fatigue and pain. The speaker shares personal experiences of struggling with endurance during races and discovering the benefits of training at a low heart rate. Key points covered in the video include: 1. **Understanding Heart Rate Zones**: The speaker emphasizes that heart rate, rather than pace, is the primary focus for effective training. Staying in zone two (a specific heart rate range) is crucial for enhancing aerobic capacity. 2. **The Process of Adaptation**: With consistent low heart rate training, runners can progress from walking to running at lower intensities while maintaining their heart rate in the appropriate zone. 3. **Pace vs. Heart Rate**: The speaker advises not to focus on pace during training. Instead, monitoring heart rate helps to avoid pushing too hard and compromising the training benefits. 4. **Variety in Training**: To keep training engaging, the speaker suggests incorporating short bursts of speed during long, slow runs to maintain neuromuscular coordination and improve running form. 5. **Fat Utilization vs. Fat Loss**: While low heart rate training helps in burning fat for fuel, the speaker clarifies that this does not correlate to fat loss unless an overall calorie deficit is maintained through diet. 6. **Avoiding Injury**: Runners should maintain proper form even during slower runs to prevent overuse injuries and to ensure efficient running mechanics. 7. **Cumulative Effect**: Consistent, longer runs at lower heart rates build endurance, with a recommendation for incorporating longer sessions (over 2 hours) into weekly training. 8. **Listening to Your Body**: The speaker stresses the importance of resting when necessary and finding alternative exercises, like cycling, if running leads to pain. Overall, the video promotes low heart rate training as a beneficial method for improving endurance and speed while emphasizing the importance of patience, discipline, and body awareness in training.
Based on a recent VO2 max test, I learned that my zone 2 was not 60-70% of heart rate. It was lower, so runs that I thought were in the upper end of zone 2 were actually in zone 3! I was burning through my carbohydrate stores… even depleting them at times. My zone 2, based on my ideal fat-burn zone, is at 54-64% of my max heart rate. I would highly recommend learning your ideal hr zones based on a VO2 max test if you are planning to do a lot of fasted training.
@@Jasonallansmith I may get myself a test. My heart rate seems high when running. Threshold probably 172, my slowest running will still get it upto 145+
@@chrism589 Those stats sound quite similar to mine, minus maybe 3-5 bpm. Curious to know what your current fitness level is. My current 5K time is 21:35 which i set running about 13km/week (avg HR 160 consistently). However I have currently progressed to 30km/week (avg HR 145ish) and haven't tested my 5K time yet, waiting til my race late September.
Just started low heart rate training following Boudicca Way Ultra. Going to stick to this for the next 6 months to see what happens. I'll still do parkruns hard plus have another couple of races this year to do. But the rest or just at this low intensity. Thanks for the video
My max hr is 195 bpm. September last year I ran 2.4 km 7'15"/km with avg hr 171 bpm. Now early of october I can run 13 km 6'28"/km with avg hr 159 bpm. 🎉
Started training long elliptical sessions staying in zone 2 and it translates well to running for me. It’s the key to running long distances without getting tired
Yeh replacing my long easy run with a longer (strict zone two) bike allows me to recover well and get better quality sessions in when I'm running. That's not forever, but good when trying to keep injury risk low when pushing pace or building mileage.
The best way to run faster is to....run faster. There's just no way you're going to go out and do 10+ mile runs at a 10:00 pace for a year straight and then magically go out and run a 7:00 pace half marathon. You have to get used to regularly running the paces you intend to hit (and even faster than that) if you're going to properly train your body to hit them. I've found the people who preach low and slow, usually run sub 8:00 miles as their "easy" pace already, or are new runners, and yes, if you go from not running at all to running several times a week of course you'll be able to run further and somewhat faster over time. That doesn't mean Zone 2 works, just that you're seeing the expected benefit of an active lifestyle. But low and slow on its own simply does not develop the range of motion, strength, or stamina needed to sustain faster paces.
I started running in February. Normally I run three times per week. So I did 6 times a 5K. A couple of weeks ago I did some sprints after an easy run and I got two muscles strained. I see now that I lacked strength training. Thank you for this video. God bless you richly.
I’m afraid to say but what you say doesn’t make much sense and will take everyone ages to get there. To drop your heart rate while your pace is high a good planed training is required. Is not only about doing your usual daily road or cross country runs, you improve with interval training where you need boost your heart rate regularly. You need to use the track, you need to push your pace over zone 2 , use short intervals recovery and repeat. You are contributing to increase your VO2 intake. If you can, use altitude too as it will increase your lungs captivity to store and use oxygen. Other tip is to add other activities such as cycling and swimming where you use other muscles while you still use peaks of your heart. What this guy is saying does not have to do with running fast with low heart rate.
I think the sentiment "run slow to run faster" is a bit disingenuous, you run slow to build endurance, better emdirance increases your capability of running faster for longer, but running faster is done by...running faster, speed intervals, threshold work. You run slow to endure running faster.
does running faster on all my runs not help me endure running faster more?i feel like this videos concept takes away from “working harder than everyone else will get you more progress than anyone else”
@@acidre4perz75 it probably does, it's just the long, least progressive way to do it. Short fast to improve speed. Long slow to improve endurance. Threshold to mesh the two together. The point being activating and building different muscle groups, using both aerobic and anaerobic levels of workouts, to make you a faster more efficient runner. Speed intervals are hard, they make running easy feel really easy, speed intervals make running easy, faster.
Thanks for sending the link for this through in a BPR email 🙏 I'm restarting after a 10 month break so it's all slow easy running at the moment (NHS Couch to 5k) - low heart rate sounds like a great idea & I like the 'focus on form' tip - strides are great fun 😊👍🏻
I'm, 59 years and started low heart rate training 10 months ago, based on "Outlive" book. Before that, I've always trained in Z3-Z4-Z5 during five years and my PB in marathons was 4h06m, at Buenos Aires, 2023. This year, my time in Paris was 4h35m. Last week I finished NYC marathon 2024 in 4h49m. I am stoping low heart training right now, because it doesn't improve my speed or endurance. And not even modified my likelihood to injuries, since I didn't injury myself for the last three years. Low heart can be good for beginners or professionals who runs 150/200km per week. For the rest of regular amateurs, like me, running 40km/week, is not effective.
lots of stories about peoples improvement doing z2/maf. but could they have had a bigger improvement if they didn't force themselves to run slow? do a test run in zone 2 at the start. then do the training. someone in z2, someone in z3 or 4. whatever. would someone doing the same mileage or time improve more if they ran at a higher hr? how would heart rates compare at the end of the training period, when doing another z2 test run?
There’s a large gap in my numbers. I’m 48yrs old, been running for years without much knowledge - recently used the Garmin LT test and got 185 MHR- so now my Zone 2 using MHR at 60-70% is 110-129, for HRR at 60-70% is 127-141, LT at 80-89% is 133-148. Why is LT at 80-89%?? And what should I use??? I’ve been running for years but just ran my first marathon at 4:05 in Knoxville. Should I run the lowest and increa There’s a large gap in my numbers. I’m 48yrs old, been running for years without much knowledge - recently used the Garmin LT test and got 185 MHR- so now my Zone 2 using MHR at 60-70% is 110-129, for HRR at 60-70% is 127-141, LT at 80-89% is 133-148. Why is LT at 80-89%?? And what should I use??? I’ve been running for years but just ran my first marathon at 4:05 in Knoxville. Should I run the lowest and increase weekly volume or will I be running too slow for my fitness level?
Pushing those short bursts switches your metabolism, pulling less from fat and more glucose. This takes some time to recover from. It’s best to reserve those bursts for the end of your exercise.
15:00 I'd say, for optimal fat loss ... increasing your bmr by increasing muscle mass is probably the best possible way to lose body fat. In order to do that, you have to be doing some kind of resistance training + Zone 2 aerobic exercise. Then again, it depends on your goals. In either case, nutrition is 90% of the work, meaning it's the most important part of any athletic journey. Edit: As for protein, I'd say take your bw and multiply it by .7 and then by .9. This is a very good range to stay within and add in creatine if you really want to. I also personally never go above 65 grams of fats in any given day. So, for me, carbs are a huge part of my diet although it's very clean carbs as I am a vegan. I have not noticed any significant muscle loss doing endurance running since I started doing this principle. I also only lift 2 times per week, 1 day upper body, 1 day lower body (stabilization and pure strength of lower body and core). I also do a core workout every day.
I always take 40g of protein vis whey 30-60mins prior to the long run with carbs and electrolytes on hand for intra fueling. Not fasting but definitely not completely fed. Not as catabolic though.
Peter attia talked about this two years ago. I adapted this method called 'zone 2' training for over a year and my vo2 max stayed relatively the same and got fitter but not faster. If you want to get faster do a rotational training program do slow, fast, short, and long runs. Change it up, or you will live the hard way like i did. You don't want to plateau or flat line in your running or you won't achieve improving yourself.
While I agree with you, you should vary your workouts and runs, it sounds like you weren’t in your true zone 2, Peter Attia and other zone 2 proponents recommend getting a true VO2 Max test to learn where your zones are relative to your heart rate. James even mentions it in this video. Everybody’s zone 2 is different I recently watched a video where a guy found out his zone 2 was almost non existent after taking a proper test and that played a major part on his training going forward
The best running advice I ever got was to embrace that power, strength and form and build upon it and leave the mental concerns out - if i need to work on heart, form, stretches, strength - i do that outside the run. Breathing exercises and strength training (basic calisthenics) did a Lot more for me and my enjoyment than those people turning on alerts on their watch that their heart rate is out of zone 2. I don't care if i bump in and out of 2 or 3 - the same conditioning over time has greatly improved my running and i've far surpassed my peers who are zone 2 absolutionists.
Do you account for heart rate drift when low HR training? I'll start out low/mid 140s and settle in, but 10-20 minutes later, for the same perceived effort (and pace), my HR will be in the low 150s. How should you ignore the drift and always target the HR? Do you take perceived effort into account?
I believe slow running is very helpful…. HOWEVER… Like you I believe you should never run slower than what you can do and still hold good form. If you can’t then walk. Mix in strides/intervals once a week and a fast run at 1/2 your goal distance.
Hi James, useful tips. I found link to this video thru’ BPR email. I’ve been trying to slow down but it hasn’t worked for me. Slowing down caused my running form to suffer and the ITB pain became so bad that I had stop for a week or two. I’m back to running at my normal pace but really looking forward to strike that balance between running slow without losing running form.
James, love the channel helped me loads, is there really a point to walking to keep heart rate down? If it’s easy but the heart rate is higher because you lack conditioning, what disbenefit comes from just pushing through ? I’m a 37 min 10km runner, 1:23 hm with a max of 186 (42min 10km pb a year ago but have had 9 months no injury just working at it), there is no form of running where my heart rate isn’t below 140 which would be 75% of HRM (zone 3), but could do that pace forever. If I’m not getting injured why slow down?
18:10 There's a PARADOX here. To run low HR, i need to have low cadence because if my cadence high, my HR also spikes. Because higher cadence needs more energy. I did pace 9;15/km with 130 HR and 155 steps. If i increase my step to 170, yes my pace also increase to 8;45/km but my HR goes 160 and it is not a low HR anymore Any solutions on this?
What would you say is the minimum time requirement in a zone 2 session to create a proper stimulus? Doing two sessions a day due to time constraints (or otherwise) might be an interesting experiment
I’ve been trying to get my heart rate down and for it to work for me I’d have to stand still. I just don’t seem to get it I’m constantly in the red zone no matter how I try. I start in zone 5 end in zone 5 it dose not matter what I do how slow or fast. Ok I am 71 but I’ve been running for 10+ years now and I’ve run race to the stones ultra at 70 and my heart rate never alters so I can’t see where you are coming from with heart rate training. 15:47
@@JamesDunne I was in Costa and I thought “that fella looks like James”. If I had been 💯 I would have knocked on your window and said hello. As I left I let you back out, I was the fit running looking bloke 🤪 in a Tesla Model S. Hope you have had a good day.
That's actually really funny - I remember as I made a comment about "Tesla guy" (you!) to my wife in the passenger seat as we pulled away. We'd been talking about a friend who had been wronged by a man driving a Tesla recently. I said maybe that was Tesla guy, or something to that effect 🤣
Frankly, it's does not work for everyone. Tried it for 6 mths, did the test every mth on the track as suggested in MAF. I didn't lose any fitness but neither did I gain any. Just stay the same. Felt I have wasted all my time. How nice if it's true, train very slowly and race fast. But it remains a fairy tale for me at least.
Did you not notice your ability to handle weekly mileage and the length of your runs increase? That's the exact benefit this is going to give in terms of performance. Converting that base into quicker pacing is a different approach. If you didn't get faster it's probably because you already had a decent aerobic base built from what you were doing prior. A bit of speed work would probably make a difference for you.
I don't follow your logic of 'burning fat to fuel your exercise doesn't equate to losing body fat". Where does the fat that you are burning come from then? On a side note, I don't agree with the calories in-out model as it incorrectly assumes that human beings convert macro nutrients into thermal energy (calorie is a measure of thermal energy) when it is well understood that macro nutrients are converted into chemical energy (ATP). For reference, I am a 180lb guy eating a 0 carb diet, I can eat above 3500 calories with no exercise and I lose body fat. The reason of course is because my insulin remains low, therefore restricting the ability of the body to dump excess energy into fat cells.
I disagree with the calorie deficit theory for loosing weight. It’s actually which food groups your calories come from. I can eat over 4000 calories per day without training and without putting weight on but I can actually loose weight. Reducing the carbs make a huge difference and focus on fats and protein. If it was as simple as calorie deficit how do you explain the weight loss whilst on the Keto or Atckins diet? I swear by eating natural (primal), no sugar, grains or processed foods.
I have tried this approach for a long time now and it really have not worked for me. I can walk fast enough that I'm in fairly high physical pain, about 8 out of 10, with a HR of 115 and when I try to run as easy as possible and I shot right upp to a HR 180-190. I have been using this approach on the bike also and it works wonderfully for me there but I just can't transfer it to the running and I really want to improve my running because I'm pretty bad at it.
When you say to do several 2+ hour runs during the week, is that something you recommend only during race training, or also during maintenance training year-round? I have tried zone 2 running and not seen much progress, so I wonder if more medium/long runs throughout the week would help, of course building up to that gradually. However, I don't want to do that if it would be unsustainable!
I can literally run 10k in z2 130 or so heartrate then week later humid/hot/weather run slower but screwed asthma and starts at 160 lol. So zone 2 I try sometimes works 😂
I don't have to have slides in videos.. If interesting video, I remember what was spoken.. If I would've needed slides of a video, I write down notes myself.. and guy might be a busy guy.. slides takes several minutes to make, 10 min. - 20 min. per slide?
I have a question about the 2+ hour runs. Can this include time in zone 2 from elevated treadmill walking or stair climber workouts? Or strictly zone 2 running?
This is a very interesting idea! Is this a case of there is only a benefit if all your running is in zone 2 or can you mix it up? I’ve been really enjoying some interval workouts, would be a shame to not do those. Thanks for the great informative vids!
It's really hard for me to understand what's a good running form. My knees hurt everytime after a long run and I also got an IT band problem after running a 10km in slow pace D: I feel like when I step, it's always my toes that hit the floor first... idk how to fix it, I tried stepping on my heels first but I feel like it makes my knees hurt more... Anyone else have the same problem?
You will have. I did three months of zone 2 runs and my VO2 went up by 4 points, from 48 to 52. But I did strides after most runs to keep my fast twitch fibres primed and I feel that that prevented me stagnating at that zone 2 jog level that feels hard to break sometimes.
Hi James, a question, my Resting HR has decreased from 65 to 54bpm in the last 1 month after starting on HR training. Should I be recalculating my zones HR with the new RHR?. I use the karvonen method of calculating. Thank u in advance.
@JamesDunne for Zone 2 training is it better to run a flat course or hilly course with walk/jog breaks to control heart rate for Zone 2 or mix it up or it doesnt make a difference
New runner, can you guys keep your cadence high while jogging in zone 2? Im just doing couch to 5k and im in zone 3 or 4 at every jogging split Not sure what I should focus on tbh
Cadence will be a bit slower for zone 2 runs, that's normal. I honestly wouldn't get too hung up on the zone thing. Use the conversation test instead: if you can talk for a few sentences while jogging, you are definitely in the right zone, no matter what your watch says. If you can talk, you won't be full of lactate. And thats the key to building your base, staying below the lactate threshold so you can maximise your physiological adaptations from the gentle runs.
I got away from this method, and I’m at 5 min/km in a 10k race. It doesn’t work for everybody. Maybe more beginners. I hope it does lead some people down the right path though.
I like to stride at the end of a long run. I use a Garmin watch paired with Strava. As Strava results have a 400m distance in its “best efforts” list, I made my last 400m a recognised segment on Strava website. It’s a bit of fun but I can compare the results. Sometimes I don’t challenge it, it depends how I’m feeling at the end. I’m not altogether sure about “building” this aerobic base. When I’ve “built” this base, is further zone 2 work needed just to maintain it? If so, is it still 80-20 or can it be maintained by less zone 2 work? I mean, I’ve had a few weeks off at times without seeming to lose performance once I get back to it. There seems to be a reserve which needs less topping up than it did to build it in the first place.
@JamesDunne do half my runs in a fasted state. Have done for a few years. Sometimes struggle to get breakfast for an hour after my run too. By the sounds of it perhaps I should avoid this. Unfortunately it's the only time I get to do my midweek runs so a bit stuck. Any advice. Aged 57 and following the BPR work.
This video is obviously geared towards new runners. Meanwhile, typical of UA-cam runners, you use lingo that can and is probably ambiguous to them and they're lost on it. Phrases like "zone 2" or "strides" deserve just as much attention to being defined as "max heart rate" which you also didn't define. Specifically zones these days, you need to be clear about what zone system you're using. There's heart rate zones, power zones, 3 zones, 5 zones, etc.
Hi Adam. Valid points - thank you! I probably should have signposted these recent videos of mine in the video description: ▶️ I Tried a Max Heart Rate Test to Set My Training Zones: ua-cam.com/video/KSq0EfyMHzg/v-deo.html ▶️ Low Heart Rate Training, Simplified: ua-cam.com/video/T_RebqRBLXg/v-deo.html Hopefully others seeing this will find those helpful.
i didn't run for 2 years but started again 2 months ago. i had very painful shin spints as well, they are slowly getting less and less. taking a break from running helps to get rid of the pain. i increased my cadence from ~150 to ~170 spm. that feels much better. 180 would probably be good although it obviously does vary a bit. doing some rope jumping could also help strengthen shin muscles. music helps a lot to increase cadence, paticularly songs with a very obvious beat. and try to increase cadence at the same pace.
I have this. I bought a pair of max cushion shoes, that helped a bit. Then I tried to land more on midfoot and forefoot rather than heel, and that felt a bit better. Than just tried to reduce the vertical impact on every stride, so to run slower and higher cadence, I'm still trying to improve this, I run 10m per mile pace with 165 cadence atm which isnt good enough. That helped, I can still feel it after a run or when I run too fast, but I think it is getting better from a few months ago when I just started.
Low heart rate is a nice theory, but did not work in practice. I wasted my time and fitness on this. I like to run at paces and distances which feel good.
@@Procoffeiev I run for fun and test my fitness in distances from 3k to marathon. Other distances are fine but I have not finished marathon strongly for years. I still do zone1-2 training, but not 80-90%, more like 50-60%. I think with the 80-90% you need to really run a lot to get decent amount of faster running.
I was a terrible runner. I've always tried to 'push' in my every run and my legs get sore just from a 3km run. I almost gave up and believed I can never run for a half marathon.
I somehow got to know about zone 2 training and like the video said, drop your ego and keep your heart rate and that's all that matters. And I don't focus on the distance i'm running. I focus on the duration and heart rate. I start to run 30mins at zone 2 and ignore my pace. I had to walk and run like a snail at the beginning and everyone was running past me. It hurts and you might feel inferior. But this is a training for yourself. It just you and you.
My running form was poor due to the low cadance and my knees started to hurt. I then start to take shorter steps and up my cadance since i'm running slow and it reduces the impact of each step. It really helped.
I increase my run by 3min each week and now i'm running 42min everyday, around 6:30min/km pace and my legs aren't hurting.
Running slow and steady really helped built my stamina and I'm running a half marathin at the end of this year. I'm feeling confident about it.
Also go look at inlays for your shoes. For me that was the change. And then i do not mean inlays from the shop but from a specialist.
This encouraging, thank you for sharing your experience
How many months of zone 2 training did it take you to get to 6:30/km
Getting knee pain from running too slow is something that isnt talked about enough. I was doing the Z2 training and got knee pain constantly, now that I run faster, probably high Z2 or low Z3, I can run farther and pain-free.
So my training now is most likely not the most optimal in terms of heart rate, but it is way more enjoyable
I've been overstriding for years without knowing it. Been a high level athlete most of my life, but got into distance running later in life. I couldn't fathom how people that seemed less fit than me by quite a bit were equaling or even beating my pace...
Now that I've adjusted my stride correctly, and started doing Zone 2 training, I've improved significantly.
Jogging uphill has given me incredible confidence. it has literally taught me that no matter how slow and tired and fatigued I run uphill and how exhausted I feel, once the uphill segment is finished and I continue on level ground, my heart rate drops without me stopping or walking, and my body recovers while still jogging. All you need to do is practice and take it slow with small strides but consistently. Jog with your heart. Find the heart pace and do not go out of it until your physique has mastered the effort. Let your ego out of your equation and just enjoy the runner's high. No sprinting. No accelerations. Get rid of smart watches. Forget calculations. Just go jogging for fun but respect your weaknesses at first, making sure they become your strengths. After some months, you will discover your body is capable of more. Once you conquer hills you can take on any challenge.
I started low heart rate training in May.. now end of Aug, ive improved my low HR run from about 9’30”/km to sub 8’/km.. my aim is to be able to do sub 6’/km pace in low HR
I really appreciated the video. However, I have one question. What is the harm in letting your heart rise during a run or during any activity?
@@TylerJTube The aim of low heart rate training is to improve endurance by limiting our heart rate within zone 2. By doing so we can improve our aerobic capacity, reduce the intensity of the workout and improve our mileage. These will in turn improve our endurance in the long run. On the other hand if your HR is always elevated, i.e. above zone 2, it will mostly improve only your anaerobic base and not your aerobic base. As long distance runners we need to include about 80% of low intensity zone 2 easy runs to improve our endurance.
@edu1113 how many days/km did you do per week in zone 2 to improve your pace?
That's awesome! How often and for how long did you train easy runs?
@@TylerJTubealso anaerobic workouts put more stress on the body, increasing risk of injury and time to recover. Though not a risk by doing a high percentage of your workouts in zone two allows more frequent runs. ect increasing milage. ie you should get more efficient and turn what would of been you zone 3 or 4 pace into what almost feels like a casual very sustainable pace for an extended amount of time/distance.
Low HR running is great for starting runners but will only get you so far. I've done it for a few years, so I speak from experience. It will indeed keep you injury-free. But you'll get good at running long and slow. You're not really working on improving your Lactate thresholds and VO2 max because you don't even touch that intensity, and the physiological response to the harder runs (threshold, tempo, and intervals) is very different from easy miles. I believe it's best to follow the 80/20 rule (80 easy/20 hard runs) and develop your body and form holistically. Since I started focusing on LT2/threshold runs, all my racing times have improved dramatically.
started brand new to running with the MAF method 3-4 months ago. was in a really bad shape and couldent "run" quicker then 17min/mile to not blow my HR limit. now my PB at maf HR is around 12min/mile, so meaning ive improved by 5min/mile since i started, and feel great about it. low heart rate training dosent only work, but it works really well. on another note regarding the fat burning portion of the video. when i started out, and my body learned to use fat as fuel, the result was that i got a much more stable blood sugar during the day, and my overall hunger lvl went way down, and as a result of that i started eating way less, and felt overall less hungry as well so kinda weird combination. as a result of that, ive dropped about 40 lbs since i started running, and feel great about it.
Is amazing how the body works. Keep going. Don't stop blessings
I do the watch trick, except my screen is HR and distance. I started around august last year and took around 6 months to adapt, but I did start losing speed, but a few months later started getting faster, and now my parkrun times are around 23min which is a speed increase of maybe 5min. I do strides at the end of a long run as well for the last k, and still achieve over 90% zone 2 on Strava. And, I’m nearly 50 and weigh 100kg, so if I can do it anyone can!
I would probably do the strides after the shorter or medium runs just to reduce the risk of injury.
I like how you are honest about fasted running. Actually your advice is very relevant for people that combine running with strength training like me. Keep it up!
Good advice, my resting heart rate is 48 bpm sits around 147bpm when I'm running. I gas out if it goes above 170bpm for too long so I sit back and concentrate on slowing my breathing down. Before the smart watches I used to use Basic watch with HR monitor to manage pace by keeping eye on heart rate. It was the best way to keep steady pace.
Hi James, I thought I’d share my last 10 weeks with you and your audience.
I’m an experienced runner over nearly 30 years and a regular faster too. For various reasons including injury, I’ve been largely away from running for almost 3 years and in that time I’ve added about 15kgs in weight!!
I decided to do something about it. I decided to follow my garmin daily workout suggestions and focus on making sure any base or long runs were firmly in Z2. My first “runs” were mainly walks, as my HR spiked very quickly out of Z2. I was completing the workouts in 13min miles, worlds apart from my old days of 7:30 in Z2. That was a shock! Garmin was slowly building up the time on feet from 31 mins to 56 mins today. After about three weeks I was able to run the whole duration at Z2, albeit slowly 11-12 min miles. This week I’m around 9:50 miles and Garmin has thrown the odd threshold run in too, which is actually quite nice.
I’m just over 6 Kgs down and much of that is due to running most workouts at least 16 hrs fasted and using my smart bathroom scales it would appear that most of the weight is fat loss, but there is a little lean tissue loss too. I’ve corrected that by upping my post run meal with extra protein and added some kettle bell workouts on my rest days from Garmin. Because I run typically at 1700hrs, I’m well hydrated (with electrolytes). I’ve got probably another 6kgs to lose, but that can burn off slowly now.
In conclusion, Z2 works well if you give it a proper go and workout in Z2. Too many use a number like MAF and it’s still fast. I wouldn’t recommend fasted running unless you’ve already adapted to it. It can leave people exhausted and basically cellular starved. I know it works for me because after a run, I’m not hungry or craving sweet foods. Also my bathroom scales are ok, I don’t really believe the numbers like fat, hydration, muscle and bone, but I follow the trend in these numbers. Finally my VO2 max is beginning to increase up 4 points since I restarted.
Oh and I nearly forgot my overnight resting HR has dropped from 58 to 49/50
I love for you and the audience to give me some feedback and questions on my short journey back.
Great and honest advice!
Never considered myself a running guy, did my jogs once in a while. 6 years ago, I never have run further than 12km. The last 6 years, I did not run at all. Out of a whim, I started running 4 months ago and built up: couple of 10 km, then 3-4x 12-14km. My goal was half marathon distance, which I successfully did couple of weeks ago (sub 1:50h).
Now I am looking into the zone2 runs. Following your advice to not neglect running form: To stay inside the zone2, the running form is beyond evil, I would not even call it jogging, it is more a "rocking over the ankle to kind of making it look like running". I can literally walk faster and stay in zone2. But whenever I try to actually "run" (or jog), I am instantly in zone3. I ended up under the impression that it is the vertical movement of my body that causes my HR to go up that easy.
Any advice here? Or does it come down to leave the ego at home and just go walking, walking and walking?
Stick with it. Take walking breaks as necessary to keep that z2 heart rate. It will take a few weeks, even months, but you’ll start to get faster and faster in zone 2. It’s very satisfying!!
Underrated components for zone 2 training… sleeping 8 hours a night, staying hydrated with water and electrolytes on runs (especially in the summer), nasal breathing during runs, and PATIENCE
Make sure that you have calculated your HR zones correctly. Your zone 3 might actually be zone 2 if they are not setup right.
@@rubarb1275I think I have this issue. Doing my zone 2 running in zone 3. Problem solved 😅
stick with it, and you should see the improvement quick. started brand new to running 3-4 months ago with the MAF method, and starting out i could only do terrible 17min/mile to not blow my HR. now its still slow, but at better 12min/mile, so a good improvement for me in those 3-4 months. same period my resting heart rate dropped from around 80bpm down to 55 or so as well, witch is mindboggling to me
Yeah you are not supposed to be bouncing up and down. There should be no vertical component to your body's motion. That's wasted effort. That's why your heart is working harder than you need to.
Up/down motion for legs but only forward motion for the body.
You need to run with your shin angle at a diagonal to the ground, so the up/down motion relative to your torso is pushing you horizontally relative to the ground, so the move has a pure forward propulsion, and not launching you into some off-axis direction. You can do this by bending your legs more, or by slanting forward slightly, like the hill-climbing exercise.
Actually climbing a real hill or incline is really good for feeling the quality of your leg drive. If you feel torque and steadiness as you climb you are doing good. If you feel you lack power and you wobble as you go up the incline then you don't have a good stride, and you need to work on your power stroke, so that it's consistently pressing you forward.
Your oubliques and core are actually fairly important for running and getting the most power out of your leg stroke, so make sure you incorporate activation of your core muscles, especially down the sides of your torso. If you aren't doing that already, you should feel an immediate improvement.
Hope that helps.
I just started this about a month ago and have been teaching my son this concept since he runs XC. The hardest for me right now is being over weight and my claves and legs feel the extra weight, but I have already noticed it is easy for me to keep in zone 2 without a huge flux in pace. I also try to focus on my running technique to be more efficient while learning HR running. I believe once my son really finds his correct running form (from another of your videos), he will have a better understanding of his HR and body compared to other kids his age. Not saying he will be that 15 minute 5k runner, be he will know how to be competitive. I am trying to learn what I can so I can at least stay with him for the 1st 100m. I like the mention of not everything has to be running. I have been focusing on zone 2 on the elliptical. I decided to try out a zone 3 to see how that felt and it was easier to stay in zone 3 than zone 2. That told me that staying the course is working. I used that as my Tempo training for the week.
i started running a year ago. i was getting too worried on my stats and kept on being disappointed. i can't keep my HR low even i run very very slow (9:30-10:00/km). and on my first day i can't even run 1 minute straight. so my recommendation if you are a beginner, just go outside and start running slow and walking without thinking about numbers, just listen to your body when to run and walk alternately. don't push yourself TOO hard. and running will hurt you ONLY in the beginning. the key here is to be consistent at least 3-4x a week of running. after few weeks/months of just running slow/walking by yourself, when your body adapted, that's when you'll start to search for trainings like interval, tempo, long runs, and other details or data you wanna learn about. i actually loved that time when i just start running without thinking about the results, that time just i go out and run. before, my HR sky rockets 1-2 mins of running not even sprinting, now i can maintain zone 2 for about 45 mins to 1 hr.
There's no way someone should overthink things that much when they're absolute beginner. Just do interval training, starting with running for 1 min, 2 min walk x 10, for 4 days every other day. Third day tends to be the hardest. Increase running time per walking time until you'll eventually be able to run 30 min. You'll be able to run a 5k then!
Good advice for beginners. I started the same way, 1min jog 1min walk around 10x, 3 times a week. Slowly increasing the running time. Once I was able to jog 1km my performance increased rapidly. Then I made the mistake of running always too fast. The rest is history ... plenty of youtube videos, Garming coach programs and self guided training.
Another cracking video packed with golden nuggets of advice. Thanks!
One of my most important observations during my training for long distance marches (e.g. 100km+ in 24h) was that as soon as I put the earplugs in and listened to music, my heart rate was about 5 beats higher for the same physical effort.
So it was easy to decide whether to use those 5 beats for exercise or for sound.
I've tried zone 2 running exclusively before. It did work. Heart rate getting lower on the same slow easy runs. However, it did makes me a slower runner when it comes to tempo, threshold run. So, I did what most articles told me. Started doing 80% zone 2, and 20% hard weekly. I found that doing hard sessions regularly also hugely helps to cut your HR down on easy runs. I train 6 hours / week including 1x strength training / week btw.
Good video. Another point about fasted running. Doing this in a calorie deficit won’t help preserve lean muscle tissue. Less muscle equals less storage for available carbohydrate. Two places carbs are stored as glycogen in the body - the liver but mostly in skeletal muscle. Runners (unless they’re hybrid athletes) are notoriously poor at strength training, which builds muscle. They also don’t consume enough protein (body breaks down muscle tissue in calorie deficit). Injuries occur when load exceeds capacity, another reason to strength train. Most runners don’t train weights whereas gym bunnies hate cardio! 🤷🏻♀️
See that's almost me right there ATM. Although, I am decent at strength training when it comes to utilising form correctly, I don't do enough of it. I do a lot of pull ups, push ups, and sit ups though. I'm good at them not only with form, but with frequency. With food, I'm not too sure where I'm at with it. I'd say i eat a decent amount for someone of my size. I'm like 47.7 kg, eats loads and doesn't affect my weight. Good amount of protein I take in but at the same time, it's not completely "healthy food" lol. Running wise, I'm OK, need to improve more. Naturally fast, need to do more slower runs for endurance. Getting OK st them now, nearly there to my sub 20 min 5k time 🙃
@@FatRaccoon-eh9igYou already sound like in decent shape if you're say youre decent at strength doing those military exercises everyday, and workin on a 5k. I can do 50+ pushups @ 220lbs in 2 minutes, but my running is traaash rn 😭... I was at a place where no running was allowed for 3 months. Lost mad gains.
@aShamelessHigh yeah, I guess, haha. I have ran since I was a kid but only took ot more seriously around my late teen years. Yeah, pushups, pull ups, and various crunches, I found ro ne naturally good at them. Weights, I suck 😅 I can't lift heavy... also, good on you, bro. Keep up the good work. Also, that does suck that you weren't able to run... yeah, running helps with gains even for gym bros. Hopefully, you're able to run again.
@@FatRaccoon-eh9ig
Try this.
3 rounds
Pushups
Reverse plank hip raises
Mountain climbers
low heart rate run uphill or flat for .10 of a mile
I agree that low hear rate training is definitely a good idea when starting out as new runners always go waaay too fast and over do it. But if you are seasoned and looking for the best bang for the buck its certainly not low HR training. Especially if your a competitive runner and looking for wins or PR's. I find so many videos here on youtube that grossly over complicate training, and I absorbed it all up and did the many different types of runs all week long for many years. As I got older just the volume of running usually would result in an injury before I ever made it to the race. I stopped listening and did my own experimenting, you don't need long runs, you don't need X amount of miles per week. Its very simple, do an exercise that induces a high amount of stimulation in the shortest time possible. Most never recover enough before each run and just stack one on top of the other. I tested so many different types of training blocks, and always the best results are short(20min ish) sessions of intervals. I found HR based intervals are better then time based. So the hard efforts are up to 80-90% of max HR, and try to reach this as fast as possible. Then easy jog until HR is back down to 50-60% of max and repeat 3 or 4 times. That's it... no other running required. Do this about 4-5 times a week, you will feel like your not training enough and many would say you can't run a fast half or full marathon with only 20min training sessions, my answer is really? did you ever try it?
I run ultras and marathons and people always ask me how to run farther, and I always ask them if they're out of breath when they run. People always say yes, and I always tell them to slow down. If you have to run 13 min miles to keep from feeling winded, fine. Go 13 min miles.
At 40's, it's complicated to remain on low heart rate, a couple of days ago I was able to pull a 21K at 7'30 pace, however that is not optimal, now I understood that I needed at least 6 months of low rate training, 5 or 6 years ago I was able to do it in less than 2 hours, but then again, training and training is needed to achieve the low rate, thanks for the tips!
My zone 2 running at the start was 10 mins per KM but it's now 7 mins per KM so does work eventually 🏃♂️
how long did it take to reduce the time?
@@aphotic3181been doing it for 3 months doing it twice a week.
It's painfully slow in the first couple weeks that I thought I was doing something wrong.
how long did you take
@@aphotic3181it's depends on how active u are
I run for the amount of calories I plan to eat for the day. That way, my default calories just to maintain target weight are all negative. Money in the bank 😊
The video discusses the concept of low heart rate training and how it can enable runners to run faster and longer while minimizing fatigue and pain. The speaker shares personal experiences of struggling with endurance during races and discovering the benefits of training at a low heart rate.
Key points covered in the video include:
1. **Understanding Heart Rate Zones**: The speaker emphasizes that heart rate, rather than pace, is the primary focus for effective training. Staying in zone two (a specific heart rate range) is crucial for enhancing aerobic capacity.
2. **The Process of Adaptation**: With consistent low heart rate training, runners can progress from walking to running at lower intensities while maintaining their heart rate in the appropriate zone.
3. **Pace vs. Heart Rate**: The speaker advises not to focus on pace during training. Instead, monitoring heart rate helps to avoid pushing too hard and compromising the training benefits.
4. **Variety in Training**: To keep training engaging, the speaker suggests incorporating short bursts of speed during long, slow runs to maintain neuromuscular coordination and improve running form.
5. **Fat Utilization vs. Fat Loss**: While low heart rate training helps in burning fat for fuel, the speaker clarifies that this does not correlate to fat loss unless an overall calorie deficit is maintained through diet.
6. **Avoiding Injury**: Runners should maintain proper form even during slower runs to prevent overuse injuries and to ensure efficient running mechanics.
7. **Cumulative Effect**: Consistent, longer runs at lower heart rates build endurance, with a recommendation for incorporating longer sessions (over 2 hours) into weekly training.
8. **Listening to Your Body**: The speaker stresses the importance of resting when necessary and finding alternative exercises, like cycling, if running leads to pain.
Overall, the video promotes low heart rate training as a beneficial method for improving endurance and speed while emphasizing the importance of patience, discipline, and body awareness in training.
Based on a recent VO2 max test, I learned that my zone 2 was not 60-70% of heart rate. It was lower, so runs that I thought were in the upper end of zone 2 were actually in zone 3! I was burning through my carbohydrate stores… even depleting them at times. My zone 2, based on my ideal fat-burn zone, is at 54-64% of my max heart rate. I would highly recommend learning your ideal hr zones based on a VO2 max test if you are planning to do a lot of fasted training.
@@Jasonallansmith I may get myself a test. My heart rate seems high when running.
Threshold probably 172, my slowest running will still get it upto 145+
@@chrism589 Those stats sound quite similar to mine, minus maybe 3-5 bpm. Curious to know what your current fitness level is. My current 5K time is 21:35 which i set running about 13km/week (avg HR 160 consistently). However I have currently progressed to 30km/week (avg HR 145ish) and haven't tested my 5K time yet, waiting til my race late September.
@@JayceSyn 5km time around 22:15
Just started low heart rate training following Boudicca Way Ultra. Going to stick to this for the next 6 months to see what happens. I'll still do parkruns hard plus have another couple of races this year to do. But the rest or just at this low intensity. Thanks for the video
love the variety of information…very helpful! I will put of this into action!
Great video and advices! ❤
My max hr is 195 bpm. September last year I ran 2.4 km 7'15"/km with avg hr 171 bpm. Now early of october I can run 13 km 6'28"/km with avg hr 159 bpm. 🎉
Started training long elliptical sessions staying in zone 2 and it translates well to running for me. It’s the key to running long distances without getting tired
Yeh replacing my long easy run with a longer (strict zone two) bike allows me to recover well and get better quality sessions in when I'm running. That's not forever, but good when trying to keep injury risk low when pushing pace or building mileage.
The best way to run faster is to....run faster. There's just no way you're going to go out and do 10+ mile runs at a 10:00 pace for a year straight and then magically go out and run a 7:00 pace half marathon. You have to get used to regularly running the paces you intend to hit (and even faster than that) if you're going to properly train your body to hit them. I've found the people who preach low and slow, usually run sub 8:00 miles as their "easy" pace already, or are new runners, and yes, if you go from not running at all to running several times a week of course you'll be able to run further and somewhat faster over time. That doesn't mean Zone 2 works, just that you're seeing the expected benefit of an active lifestyle. But low and slow on its own simply does not develop the range of motion, strength, or stamina needed to sustain faster paces.
Saw this through email. Just started running. Lots to consider here. Trying to start off slowly though.
I started running in February. Normally I run three times per week. So I did 6 times a 5K.
A couple of weeks ago I did some sprints after an easy run and I got two muscles strained.
I see now that I lacked strength training.
Thank you for this video.
God bless you richly.
I’m afraid to say but what you say doesn’t make much sense and will take everyone ages to get there.
To drop your heart rate while your pace is high a good planed training is required.
Is not only about doing your usual daily road or cross country runs, you improve with interval training where you need boost your heart rate regularly. You need to use the track, you need to push your pace over zone 2 , use short intervals recovery and repeat. You are contributing to increase your VO2 intake.
If you can, use altitude too as it will increase your lungs captivity to store and use oxygen.
Other tip is to add other activities such as cycling and swimming where you use other muscles while you still use peaks of your heart.
What this guy is saying does not have to do with running fast with low heart rate.
I think the sentiment "run slow to run faster" is a bit disingenuous, you run slow to build endurance, better emdirance increases your capability of running faster for longer, but running faster is done by...running faster, speed intervals, threshold work.
You run slow to endure running faster.
does running faster on all my runs not help me endure running faster more?i feel like this videos concept takes away from “working harder than everyone else will get you more progress than anyone else”
@@acidre4perz75 it probably does, it's just the long, least progressive way to do it.
Short fast to improve speed.
Long slow to improve endurance.
Threshold to mesh the two together.
The point being activating and building different muscle groups, using both aerobic and anaerobic levels of workouts, to make you a faster more efficient runner.
Speed intervals are hard, they make running easy feel really easy, speed intervals make running easy, faster.
Thanks for sending the link for this through in a BPR email 🙏 I'm restarting after a 10 month break so it's all slow easy running at the moment (NHS Couch to 5k) - low heart rate sounds like a great idea & I like the 'focus on form' tip - strides are great fun 😊👍🏻
I'm, 59 years and started low heart rate training 10 months ago, based on "Outlive" book. Before that, I've always trained in Z3-Z4-Z5 during five years and my PB in marathons was 4h06m, at Buenos Aires, 2023. This year, my time in Paris was 4h35m. Last week I finished NYC marathon 2024 in 4h49m. I am stoping low heart training right now, because it doesn't improve my speed or endurance. And not even modified my likelihood to injuries, since I didn't injury myself for the last three years. Low heart can be good for beginners or professionals who runs 150/200km per week. For the rest of regular amateurs, like me, running 40km/week, is not effective.
lots of stories about peoples improvement doing z2/maf.
but could they have had a bigger improvement if they didn't force themselves to run slow?
do a test run in zone 2 at the start.
then do the training. someone in z2, someone in z3 or 4. whatever.
would someone doing the same mileage or time improve more if they ran at a higher hr?
how would heart rates compare at the end of the training period, when doing another z2 test run?
Exact thing for cycling. Zone 2 is boring at first and seem worthless, but you are building a base and eventually your Zone 2 is your old Zone 3.
There’s a large gap in my numbers. I’m 48yrs old, been running for years without much knowledge - recently used the Garmin LT test and got 185 MHR- so now my Zone 2 using MHR at 60-70% is 110-129, for HRR at 60-70% is 127-141, LT at 80-89% is 133-148. Why is LT at 80-89%?? And what should I use??? I’ve been running for years but just ran my first marathon at 4:05 in Knoxville. Should I run the lowest and increa There’s a large gap in my numbers. I’m 48yrs old, been running for years without much knowledge - recently used the Garmin LT test and got 185 MHR- so now my Zone 2 using MHR at 60-70% is 110-129, for HRR at 60-70% is 127-141, LT at 80-89% is 133-148. Why is LT at 80-89%?? And what should I use??? I’ve been running for years but just ran my first marathon at 4:05 in Knoxville. Should I run the lowest and increase weekly volume or will I be running too slow for my fitness level?
Pushing those short bursts switches your metabolism, pulling less from fat and more glucose. This takes some time to recover from. It’s best to reserve those bursts for the end of your exercise.
I’ve forgotten what it’s like to run pain free!!! I’ve had to pretty much go back to basics and restart!
15:00 I'd say, for optimal fat loss ... increasing your bmr by increasing muscle mass is probably the best possible way to lose body fat. In order to do that, you have to be doing some kind of resistance training + Zone 2 aerobic exercise. Then again, it depends on your goals. In either case, nutrition is 90% of the work, meaning it's the most important part of any athletic journey.
Edit: As for protein, I'd say take your bw and multiply it by .7 and then by .9. This is a very good range to stay within and add in creatine if you really want to. I also personally never go above 65 grams of fats in any given day. So, for me, carbs are a huge part of my diet although it's very clean carbs as I am a vegan. I have not noticed any significant muscle loss doing endurance running since I started doing this principle. I also only lift 2 times per week, 1 day upper body, 1 day lower body (stabilization and pure strength of lower body and core). I also do a core workout every day.
Did my first 6km run this week. Been on average at 174 bpm. Going to try Low heart rate training now cause that high rate has been quite unconfortable
I always take 40g of protein vis whey 30-60mins prior to the long run with carbs and electrolytes on hand for intra fueling. Not fasting but definitely not completely fed. Not as catabolic though.
Peter attia talked about this two years ago. I adapted this method called 'zone 2' training for over a year and my vo2 max stayed relatively the same and got fitter but not faster.
If you want to get faster do a rotational training program do slow, fast, short, and long runs. Change it up, or you will live the hard way like i did. You don't want to plateau or flat line in your running or you won't achieve improving yourself.
While I agree with you, you should vary your workouts and runs, it sounds like you weren’t in your true zone 2, Peter Attia and other zone 2 proponents recommend getting a true VO2 Max test to learn where your zones are relative to your heart rate. James even mentions it in this video. Everybody’s zone 2 is different I recently watched a video where a guy found out his zone 2 was almost non existent after taking a proper test and that played a major part on his training going forward
The best running advice I ever got was to embrace that power, strength and form and build upon it and leave the mental concerns out - if i need to work on heart, form, stretches, strength - i do that outside the run. Breathing exercises and strength training (basic calisthenics) did a Lot more for me and my enjoyment than those people turning on alerts on their watch that their heart rate is out of zone 2. I don't care if i bump in and out of 2 or 3 - the same conditioning over time has greatly improved my running and i've far surpassed my peers who are zone 2 absolutionists.
Do you account for heart rate drift when low HR training? I'll start out low/mid 140s and settle in, but 10-20 minutes later, for the same perceived effort (and pace), my HR will be in the low 150s. How should you ignore the drift and always target the HR? Do you take perceived effort into account?
how do i establish my ideal heart rate? how do i establish distance? is it a matter of just feeling comfortable when moving?
I believe slow running is very helpful…. HOWEVER… Like you I believe you should never run slower than what you can do and still hold good form. If you can’t then walk. Mix in strides/intervals once a week and a fast run at 1/2 your goal distance.
I use pace to help me maintain my Z2 heart rate. Right now its about 4.9mph,
I want to run Berlin Marathon next year and I'll take this video as base fundamental of my goal.
Hi James, useful tips. I found link to this video thru’ BPR email. I’ve been trying to slow down but it hasn’t worked for me. Slowing down caused my running form to suffer and the ITB pain became so bad that I had stop for a week or two. I’m back to running at my normal pace but really looking forward to strike that balance between running slow without losing running form.
James, love the channel helped me loads, is there really a point to walking to keep heart rate down? If it’s easy but the heart rate is higher because you lack conditioning, what disbenefit comes from just pushing through ? I’m a 37 min 10km runner, 1:23 hm with a max of 186 (42min 10km pb a year ago but have had 9 months no injury just working at it), there is no form of running where my heart rate isn’t below 140 which would be 75% of HRM (zone 3), but could do that pace forever. If I’m not getting injured why slow down?
18:10 There's a PARADOX here. To run low HR, i need to have low cadence because if my cadence high, my HR also spikes. Because higher cadence needs more energy.
I did pace 9;15/km with 130 HR and 155 steps.
If i increase my step to 170, yes my pace also increase to 8;45/km but my HR goes 160 and it is not a low HR anymore
Any solutions on this?
What would you say is the minimum time requirement in a zone 2 session to create a proper stimulus? Doing two sessions a day due to time constraints (or otherwise) might be an interesting experiment
I’ve been trying to get my heart rate down and for it to work for me I’d have to stand still. I just don’t seem to get it I’m constantly in the red zone no matter how I try. I start in zone 5 end in zone 5 it dose not matter what I do how slow or fast. Ok I am 71 but I’ve been running for 10+ years now and I’ve run race to the stones ultra at 70 and my heart rate never alters so I can’t see where you are coming from with heart rate training. 15:47
The advice at 20:40 is priceless!
17:30 not just muscle burning, but tissue degeneration as well, resulting in Injury’s such as Plantar Faciitis, which is a pain in the ass to heal.
It's so much easier to stay in zone 2 on the bike than while running. It just takes time and practice I suppose.
Top content again James and back on it this week. It’s gonna be tough in Lowestoft today 💨💨🌬️🍃🍃🌬️
Now how did you know I was in Lowestoft this morning?!
@@JamesDunne I was in Costa and I thought “that fella looks like James”. If I had been 💯 I would have knocked on your window and said hello. As I left I let you back out, I was the fit running looking bloke 🤪 in a Tesla Model S. Hope you have had a good day.
That's actually really funny - I remember as I made a comment about "Tesla guy" (you!) to my wife in the passenger seat as we pulled away. We'd been talking about a friend who had been wronged by a man driving a Tesla recently. I said maybe that was Tesla guy, or something to that effect 🤣
Ok, so explain this to me as a 45 year old man that has been running since I was 17, plus I’m at 6,200 feet elevation average…!!
Frankly, it's does not work for everyone. Tried it for 6 mths, did the test every mth on the track as suggested in MAF. I didn't lose any fitness but neither did I gain any. Just stay the same. Felt I have wasted all my time. How nice if it's true, train very slowly and race fast. But it remains a fairy tale for me at least.
Did you not notice your ability to handle weekly mileage and the length of your runs increase? That's the exact benefit this is going to give in terms of performance. Converting that base into quicker pacing is a different approach. If you didn't get faster it's probably because you already had a decent aerobic base built from what you were doing prior. A bit of speed work would probably make a difference for you.
I don't follow your logic of 'burning fat to fuel your exercise doesn't equate to losing body fat". Where does the fat that you are burning come from then?
On a side note, I don't agree with the calories in-out model as it incorrectly assumes that human beings convert macro nutrients into thermal energy (calorie is a measure of thermal energy) when it is well understood that macro nutrients are converted into chemical energy (ATP). For reference, I am a 180lb guy eating a 0 carb diet, I can eat above 3500 calories with no exercise and I lose body fat. The reason of course is because my insulin remains low, therefore restricting the ability of the body to dump excess energy into fat cells.
I started training first running and now on the stationary bike, I can't get my hr to go lv 2 stuck in warm up but I'm running it's skips right to lv3
I disagree with the calorie deficit theory for loosing weight. It’s actually which food groups your calories come from. I can eat over 4000 calories per day without training and without putting weight on but I can actually loose weight. Reducing the carbs make a huge difference and focus on fats and protein. If it was as simple as calorie deficit how do you explain the weight loss whilst on the Keto or Atckins diet? I swear by eating natural (primal), no sugar, grains or processed foods.
Would rucking with say 30lbs be equivalent to slow running?
How to breathe? I'm strong enough to run long but I'm dead after 2 km because of breathing
I have tried this approach for a long time now and it really have not worked for me. I can walk fast enough that I'm in fairly high physical pain, about 8 out of 10, with a HR of 115 and when I try to run as easy as possible and I shot right upp to a HR 180-190. I have been using this approach on the bike also and it works wonderfully for me there but I just can't transfer it to the running and I really want to improve my running because I'm pretty bad at it.
I just cannot do it. I feel like I'm going so slow but my heartrate is at 160ish. I can have a conversation at 150-160. What is wrong with me?
I tried zone 2, still on 150/160 heart rate. I was so slow, can't get it why the high bpm.
What is zone 2? Running in 1.6 is zone 2 or 2.8 for example ? (In garmin terms zones)
When you say to do several 2+ hour runs during the week, is that something you recommend only during race training, or also during maintenance training year-round? I have tried zone 2 running and not seen much progress, so I wonder if more medium/long runs throughout the week would help, of course building up to that gradually. However, I don't want to do that if it would be unsustainable!
Can I train zone 2 on an elliptical. And will the progress I make on the elliptical, transfer back over to running when I'm done nursing an injury.
I can literally run 10k in z2 130 or so heartrate then week later humid/hot/weather run slower but screwed asthma and starts at 160 lol.
So zone 2 I try sometimes works 😂
use slides, pictures whatever. If you want your adience to remember the main points, use slides
^^this^^
It's a 28 minute video. Raw dogging it like this is insane. At least a summary slide at the end please?
It's youtube
Do you think he wants his audience to remember? Or come back and watch it multiple times...
I don't have to have slides in videos.. If interesting video, I remember what was spoken.. If I would've needed slides of a video, I write down notes myself.. and guy might be a busy guy.. slides takes several minutes to make, 10 min. - 20 min. per slide?
when do you take in calories during these long runs?
I have a question about the 2+ hour runs. Can this include time in zone 2 from elevated treadmill walking or stair climber workouts? Or strictly zone 2 running?
when I run on 6 pace for 5k and I dont feel uncomfortable, but my average heart rate is 165, is it nornal?
This is a very interesting idea! Is this a case of there is only a benefit if all your running is in zone 2 or can you mix it up? I’ve been really enjoying some interval workouts, would be a shame to not do those. Thanks for the great informative vids!
3 times a week zone 2, once a week 4x4 run workout for vo2max
It's really hard for me to understand what's a good running form. My knees hurt everytime after a long run and I also got an IT band problem after running a 10km in slow pace D: I feel like when I step, it's always my toes that hit the floor first... idk how to fix it, I tried stepping on my heels first but I feel like it makes my knees hurt more... Anyone else have the same problem?
My bpm is 170-180 each time!!! Im really trying to find zone 2 or 3 and it’s been impossible. I go from 0 to 150 immediately….
Try fast walking
You look good, sir!
I wish I had kept up with sprinting when I was doing MAF, I feel like I did lose a lot of fitness by only running slow.
You will have. I did three months of zone 2 runs and my VO2 went up by 4 points, from 48 to 52. But I did strides after most runs to keep my fast twitch fibres primed and I feel that that prevented me stagnating at that zone 2 jog level that feels hard to break sometimes.
Hi James, a question, my Resting HR has decreased from 65 to 54bpm in the last 1 month after starting on HR training. Should I be recalculating my zones HR with the new RHR?. I use the karvonen method of calculating. Thank u in advance.
How do you find your heart rate??
I think most runners use a smartwatch
Started walking incline for 9 months
@JamesDunne for Zone 2 training is it better to run a flat course or hilly course with walk/jog breaks to control heart rate for Zone 2 or mix it up or it doesnt make a difference
Bro you said you would link a program for low hr training but you didn’t link it
Hi James… are you a heel striker?
New runner, can you guys keep your cadence high while jogging in zone 2? Im just doing couch to 5k and im in zone 3 or 4 at every jogging split
Not sure what I should focus on tbh
Cadence will be a bit slower for zone 2 runs, that's normal. I honestly wouldn't get too hung up on the zone thing. Use the conversation test instead: if you can talk for a few sentences while jogging, you are definitely in the right zone, no matter what your watch says. If you can talk, you won't be full of lactate. And thats the key to building your base, staying below the lactate threshold so you can maximise your physiological adaptations from the gentle runs.
I got away from this method, and I’m at 5 min/km in a 10k race. It doesn’t work for everybody. Maybe more beginners. I hope it does lead some people down the right path though.
I like to stride at the end of a long run. I use a Garmin watch paired with Strava. As Strava results have a 400m distance in its “best efforts” list, I made my last 400m a recognised segment on Strava website. It’s a bit of fun but I can compare the results. Sometimes I don’t challenge it, it depends how I’m feeling at the end.
I’m not altogether sure about “building” this aerobic base. When I’ve “built” this base, is further zone 2 work needed just to maintain it? If so, is it still 80-20 or can it be maintained by less zone 2 work?
I mean, I’ve had a few weeks off at times without seeming to lose performance once I get back to it. There seems to be a reserve which needs less topping up than it did to build it in the first place.
Wonderful video.
Found it in my email inbox
@JamesDunne do half my runs in a fasted state. Have done for a few years. Sometimes struggle to get breakfast for an hour after my run too. By the sounds of it perhaps I should avoid this. Unfortunately it's the only time I get to do my midweek runs so a bit stuck. Any advice. Aged 57 and following the BPR work.
I also do the same but never had issues. I do take something some mornings but it's very rare.
@@jjndz3782 I need to maybe pack some recovery bars etc to eat immediately after.
This video is obviously geared towards new runners. Meanwhile, typical of UA-cam runners, you use lingo that can and is probably ambiguous to them and they're lost on it. Phrases like "zone 2" or "strides" deserve just as much attention to being defined as "max heart rate" which you also didn't define. Specifically zones these days, you need to be clear about what zone system you're using. There's heart rate zones, power zones, 3 zones, 5 zones, etc.
Hi Adam. Valid points - thank you! I probably should have signposted these recent videos of mine in the video description:
▶️ I Tried a Max Heart Rate Test to Set My Training Zones:
ua-cam.com/video/KSq0EfyMHzg/v-deo.html
▶️ Low Heart Rate Training, Simplified:
ua-cam.com/video/T_RebqRBLXg/v-deo.html
Hopefully others seeing this will find those helpful.
running slow is so boring to me :( i like to push myself
how to improve running form? I'm running from 2-3 months but always get shin splints. I am not lifting my heel backwards.
Hello mate, you can banish the shin splints with certain exercises. Check out "knees over toes guy".
i didn't run for 2 years but started again 2 months ago. i had very painful shin spints as well, they are slowly getting less and less. taking a break from running helps to get rid of the pain. i increased my cadence from ~150 to ~170 spm. that feels much better. 180 would probably be good although it obviously does vary a bit. doing some rope jumping could also help strengthen shin muscles.
music helps a lot to increase cadence, paticularly songs with a very obvious beat. and try to increase cadence at the same pace.
I have this. I bought a pair of max cushion shoes, that helped a bit. Then I tried to land more on midfoot and forefoot rather than heel, and that felt a bit better. Than just tried to reduce the vertical impact on every stride, so to run slower and higher cadence, I'm still trying to improve this, I run 10m per mile pace with 165 cadence atm which isnt good enough. That helped, I can still feel it after a run or when I run too fast, but I think it is getting better from a few months ago when I just started.
@@liu-river Lately i run a mile in 7 min. If i improve my running form i can easily cover a mile under 6.30😔
The background music is kinda distracting
Has anyone ever said your like Carl Froch
Im Watching this while having a huge pneumonia.
Low heart rate is a nice theory, but did not work in practice. I wasted my time and fitness on this. I like to run at paces and distances which feel good.
What's your goal? If slow paces and long distances aren't your thing, maybe that isn't what you need to focus on.
@@Procoffeiev I run for fun and test my fitness in distances from 3k to marathon. Other distances are fine but I have not finished marathon strongly for years. I still do zone1-2 training, but not 80-90%, more like 50-60%. I think with the 80-90% you need to really run a lot to get decent amount of faster running.
Going fast will always be cooler, though.