Ah, early morning fall Virginia running - tank top and ear warmer! How's that for a fashion statement? My 50 minute run was to be just "cruising easy" in Zone 1/2. These zones correspond to heart rate ranges (beats per minute) which vary by individual.
Zone 1 - Easy Aerobic
Zone 2 - Aerobic
Zone 3 - Tempo
Zone 4 - Threshold
Zone 5 - VO2 Max
I set out to "cruise easy" per instructions aiming for Zone 1 (figuring I'd creep into Zone 2 anyway), which for me has been deemed to be under 139 beats per minute. Well, I zipped right through Zone 1, spending exactly 3% or just under 2 minutes there...on my way to far more exciting zones!! Woohoo!
I spent 53% of my time in Zone 2, and the remaining 44% in Zone 3. That puts me at following instructions 56% of the time. "Technically" one might consider that a failing grade. I'm thinking it's time for re-zoning.
It's futile for me to even think about running in Zone 1, and even Zone 2 requires conscious effort. Usually Coach just says "easy aerobic" for these chill runs, that's nice and subjective. This whole "zone" thing pins me down. Yeah, yeah, maybe that's the point.
My favorite zones are of course Tempo and Threshold. With marathon season fast approaching, I'll need to make my peace with Zone 2 and standard Aerobic. It's a little hard to redline for 26.2 miles.
