Training in heart rate zones
simonwbooth
Posts: 16
in General Chat
I'm currently reading 'Be iron fit' in preparation for training for Roth next year and got to the effective heart rate training chapter where he says that training in zone 3 is junk miles and you should only really train in zone 2 and 4.
I do most of my run training in zone 3, have I been wasting my time or is he being a bit simplistic on this point?
When training for VLM earlier this year my training plan said to do the long run at an easy pace, but I find it very difficult to run that slowly, do I need to just get used to training at a slower easier pace in the knowledge that it will be better for me in the long run?
I do most of my run training in zone 3, have I been wasting my time or is he being a bit simplistic on this point?
When training for VLM earlier this year my training plan said to do the long run at an easy pace, but I find it very difficult to run that slowly, do I need to just get used to training at a slower easier pace in the knowledge that it will be better for me in the long run?
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Re your running in Z3, you do need to try and slow down. When i first started training to HR, i was going too fast, and it took a lot to slow down, but i believe there were benefits to it eventually
Ironman is about long event efficiency which requires you to burn fat - you have no option in this.
Zone 2 training allows this to occur.
Good article in 220 this month on this.
It's a good program, and it does work, but it'll feel slow to begin with. Good thing is the slow stuff is during the winter and spring, when the weather os crap and it's dark, and you don;t want to go out an beast yourself
[code:24iymqgl]
Zone Bike Run
Low High LT=155 LT=165
----------- ------- -------
Z1 65% 75% 101-116 107-124
Z2 75% 85% 116-132 124-140
Z3 85% 95% 132-147 140-157
Z4 95% 105% 147-163 157-173
Z5 105% 163 173
[/code:24iymqgl]
At the weekend I ran for 2hr30 at 150bpm average, which is bang in the middle of zone 3. But my RPE was 6 (working but sustainable, able to talk in full sentences). In fact I can run at 155bpm for several hours.
I have to question do the formulas hold as you move into middle age?
But zones are calculated from LT not maxHR. My understanding of calculating LT HR is that you do a 30 min TT and take the average HR for the last 20 mins. Or a 1 hour TT with the average over the last 50 mins.
Another point re 'Be Iron fit' is the long bike on a Saturday and long run on a Sunday bit. I remember reading the article by Joe Friel http://www.220triathlon.com/train/conqu ... man-part-1 which says that you shouldn't do the long run the day after a long bike and if you have to do them consecutively it should be the other way round with the run on the Saturday and bike on Sunday.
Has anyone experienced any problems with niggles or injuries doing the Bike on Saturday and run on Sunday or is this ok?
Although joe seems to know his stuff so maybe there is something to that? not sure - what was his reasoning?
fyi I used http://mile141.co.uk/triathlon/calculator.aspx . As I didnt collapse in Menorca I suspect my absolute max is probably a bit more, around 180bpm in a lab; and resting hr = 42.
Personally I try to seperate my long run and long bike, but I'm an injury magnet. However I'm not sure I'm going too be able to do this for this years ironman training due to week day time constraints so we shall see.
This is the quote:
"The keys to injury prevention are proper shoes, a flat footstrike (not on your heels or toes), forgiving running surfaces, a gradual progression of duration, limiting the duration of the long run and doing the long run only when your legs are relatively fresh.
This last point is critical. Many Ironman athletes do their long run the day after a long bike ride, believing that it will simulate the tired legs they’ll experience on race day. This is a mistake that greatly increases the risk of injury. The day after a long ride, your legs are experiencing chronic fatigue, whereas on race day they’re suffering from acute fatigue. They’re different states.
If possible, separate your long run from your long ride by several days so chronic fatigue isn’t an issue. Your risk of injury will decrease significantly and the quality of both workouts will increase. If they must be back to back on the weekend due to time constraints during the week, do your long run on Saturday and your long ride on Sunday."
I don't know what the difference between chronic and acute fatigue is but it kind of makes sense to me and I've picked up a re-occurring calf strain which means I don't run as often as I like anyway to try and protect it, so I'm a bit nervous about making it worse.
I'm still researching what will suit me but that seems like a lot of rest(!), if not a little contradictory. However some of the advice about hitting the volume before starting the build phase looks pretty good.
Simon, only one thing got rid of my recurring calf strain - compression socks (okay, and lots of sports massage). I wouldnt do a long run without my 2xu calf guards as they keep swelling down from micro tears without NSAIDs, and wear them the whole day after. I found my calf was going mid run, well after warm up - the swelling from minor stuff was putting extra pressure on the muscles causing them to fail.
Highly recommended from me.
I'd have another look at your maths largeade as I'm 40 and my numbers were quite different to yours for respective HR Zones:
Bike Z1 112 - 127, Z2 128 - 146. Z3 147 - 152. Z4 153 - 163.
Running Z1 118 - 134, Z2 135 - 154, Z3 155 - 161, Z4 162 - 172.
I see you've not posted your calculation basis, whereas I did both times. So how do I know your numbers are right
The original table I posted was based on calculating zones from LT HR (and I've shown the percentages of LT HR that I used to get the numbers). In the second post I recalculated Zone 2 using Don Finks method as 135-153 (using http://mile141.co.uk/triathlon/calculator.aspx)
I do make mistakes, but my maths degree means I always make sure to show my workings.
It worked fine too!
Amazing.
I had a few sessions at Six Physio to get me through the marathon including physio, acupuncture and prescribed exercises and it worked a treat, but it's too expensive to keep going back so I'm willing to give the socks a chance.
I remember meeting some Doctor of sports science at the VLM expo who had supposedly developed some unique compression socks. I'll have to try and dig out the flyer when I get home.
Do you wear them when competing as well?
WTC banned them last year but have since reversed that decision. I wore them for both HIMs this year, and confirmed it with the rule chap at Wimbleball.
As I understand it ITU have banned them this year. I didnt wear them at Blenheim.
Non-medical compression socks are generally all the same as they all have to meet some low compression standard. Mine are wearing out after a season so I was looking at the compressionsport ones, IIRC theres always a code in 220 to get money off.
I find them most useful either during or after a long run.
I wear them any time I can.