I decided this morning to do a Zone 2 run. Itโs not often that Iโve had the determination to do this for the whole run! What usually happens is that I start off with good intentions and as soon as my heart rate increases, I donโt try and get it under control again - so the run ends up like all my other runs - increasing pace throughout the run.
I want to get back to running for longer though - and the best way to do this is to focus on the time spent on my feet with an easy effort. The fact that itโs still humid out there was the deciding factor!
So off I went on my warmup walk. I turned round and glided into a run. I think I stayed in Zone 1 for the first kilometre! I know that on this route there is a slight incline. I did encroach into Zone 3, but I slowed down and went back into Zone 2 again. Splits, of course, were all over the place! At the end of the 50 minutes I was close to 5K so I just ran on a couple of minutes. When the run was over, I wasnโt even out of breath and just glided into my cool-down walk.
Itโs not so easy to do an easy run ๐คฃ. If I donโt watch the zones I naturally increase pace and before I know it, Iโm running in Zone 4. Garmin confirmed, though, that it was an easy effort!
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Jools2020
Graduate10
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I have my watch set up to tell me which heartrate zone Iโm in. For easy effort, I like to stay in zones 2/3. Hard effort - Zone 4. Zone 5 I canโt sustain for long! Also - you can look at the stats afterwards. I could write pages ๐คฃ but probably best if you do some research if or when you think it might be useful ๐
Hereโs a snapshot of the zones in my run this morning, from the Garmin app.
Thatโs a great idea. How do you check your zone level? I only have the poverty model ๐ Garmin Forerunner 45 and only see zone levels after saving at the end of the run.
I have the heart rate zones set up on my watch (Vivoactive 3). I can swipe the screen to see the full display - but I also have it set up as a decimal readout on the main screen of my watch face. So โฆ. If Iโve just gone into Zone 3 for example, it will read 3.1. I seem to remember it took a long time to get my head round it!
It can be hard and some days, for whatever reason, my heart rate is really difficult to get back down again. I canโt always do it. Sometimes it seems easier. There are so many different factors at play. If I canโt do it I just stop focusing on it and carry on with a steady run.
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