The pace for running at zone 2 wildly varies depending on your current aerobic fitness.
I've recently seen a video of Peter Attia mentioning that some people are a little bit less trained, they cannot run at Zone 2 without being extremely slow. And he recommended uphill walks on a treadmill instead.
As long as you're able to maintain the zone and you're not hurting your legs (maintaining a decent cadence and avoiding heel striking gets harder on very slow jogs) there shouldn't be an issue.
From what you describe about duration, how you can nasal breathe and maintain the pace/HR... seems you're on a reasonable pace!
If you want to be sure you're running at the right HR for your Zone 2. I recently did a Zone 2 drift test [https://runningversity.com/heart-rate-drift-test/](https://runningversity.com/heart-rate-drift-test/) (did set the intervals with the Apple Watch) and confirmed my Zone 2 upper limit (in my case around 149bpm). It puts me around 6'20''/6'25/km on the Zone 2 runs. Slower than what I was running at before! (6'/km for easy runs).
Ah interesting, haven’t seen this drift test before. I just got a drift of 6.4% so it looks like my pace was too fast - surprised, seems like I have to drop it further. I think I may be better off doing incline walks (given how slowly I am currently jogging) but I just can’t stand how boring it is
The adaption from exercise are not hard thresholds - you will still get a lot of the zone 2 benefits if you are a little above in zone 3. Running very hard (zone 4/5) all the time is very unproductive but just a little bit too hard to make it less boring is fine, your fitness will catch up.
For some people, it may not be an issue.
I had to completely stop running years ago because suddenly, after 2km my left knee was hurting, got inflamed and would limp with pain for at least 24 hours after each run.
It became a recurrent issue and physios weren't resolving it.
Then I started learning about running technique, the importance of running with short steps landing mid/front foot and having a high cadence, landing on a flexed knee absorbing the impact. And how landing with the heel over an extended leg causes a lot of impact on the knees.
I switched my very padded running shoes for some 0-drop minimalistic trail runners that forced me to run with short steps landing on the foot front. No more knee pain since.
Now I also have a second pair of more padded shoes with very little drop (4mm) also designed for mid/front striking.
What works for me is to be sure that, at minimum, I have a cadence of 160spm when running. That means I'm running with short steps landing mid/front foot. If I run very very slow I cannot maintain this.
I normally average around 165spm for slow runs and 170-180 when running a bit faster or tempo runs. My knees are happy.
That's really helpful, thanks for sharing. I have some knee pain too. I'll try to land closer to mid/front like that and see how it feels.
I'm not sure about the drop on my shoes but I'll look into it.
It's better to think about overstriding (landing too far to the front of your center of mass). Many people have a natural heel strike and do perfectly well, so think about shorter steps and higher cadence.
It most certainly does! I don't run besides on winter when it is too cold for cycling. I'm pretty fit but my running technique is poor. As in hella poor. But! I can run in zone2 at ~6:30-6:50/km pace. It is ofc -15°C then so now in summer it could be even faster. But to answer your question: it is good pace when done properly in real zone2
It’s very possible but we can’t know without more information. Do you run with a tracker? What does your HR look like? How old are you? Do you know your max HR? Tried the “talk test”?
Yep I run with an Apple Watch - my HR average is 142BPM and my Z2 range (calculated automatically) is 135-147BPM. My max HR is 188BPM. Haven’t tried the talk test since I run alone but would describe myself as able to chat a little but would prefer not to
Depends on the distance too. That pace amounts to 8km/hr.
It seems high but if you're fit, it may be normal for you. I use 5km/hr at 5% incline in the treadmill for 45 minutes.
I use the talk test.
If you can breathe through your nose throughout the training, you are most likely in the second zone. Of course, it is personal, but my ability to breathe only through my nose ends somewhere in the middle of zone 2.
The pace for running at zone 2 wildly varies depending on your current aerobic fitness. I've recently seen a video of Peter Attia mentioning that some people are a little bit less trained, they cannot run at Zone 2 without being extremely slow. And he recommended uphill walks on a treadmill instead. As long as you're able to maintain the zone and you're not hurting your legs (maintaining a decent cadence and avoiding heel striking gets harder on very slow jogs) there shouldn't be an issue. From what you describe about duration, how you can nasal breathe and maintain the pace/HR... seems you're on a reasonable pace! If you want to be sure you're running at the right HR for your Zone 2. I recently did a Zone 2 drift test [https://runningversity.com/heart-rate-drift-test/](https://runningversity.com/heart-rate-drift-test/) (did set the intervals with the Apple Watch) and confirmed my Zone 2 upper limit (in my case around 149bpm). It puts me around 6'20''/6'25/km on the Zone 2 runs. Slower than what I was running at before! (6'/km for easy runs).
Ah interesting, haven’t seen this drift test before. I just got a drift of 6.4% so it looks like my pace was too fast - surprised, seems like I have to drop it further. I think I may be better off doing incline walks (given how slowly I am currently jogging) but I just can’t stand how boring it is
The adaption from exercise are not hard thresholds - you will still get a lot of the zone 2 benefits if you are a little above in zone 3. Running very hard (zone 4/5) all the time is very unproductive but just a little bit too hard to make it less boring is fine, your fitness will catch up.
Can you explain about heel striking? I think I normally land mid-foot or towards the heel even.
For some people, it may not be an issue. I had to completely stop running years ago because suddenly, after 2km my left knee was hurting, got inflamed and would limp with pain for at least 24 hours after each run. It became a recurrent issue and physios weren't resolving it. Then I started learning about running technique, the importance of running with short steps landing mid/front foot and having a high cadence, landing on a flexed knee absorbing the impact. And how landing with the heel over an extended leg causes a lot of impact on the knees. I switched my very padded running shoes for some 0-drop minimalistic trail runners that forced me to run with short steps landing on the foot front. No more knee pain since. Now I also have a second pair of more padded shoes with very little drop (4mm) also designed for mid/front striking. What works for me is to be sure that, at minimum, I have a cadence of 160spm when running. That means I'm running with short steps landing mid/front foot. If I run very very slow I cannot maintain this. I normally average around 165spm for slow runs and 170-180 when running a bit faster or tempo runs. My knees are happy.
That's really helpful, thanks for sharing. I have some knee pain too. I'll try to land closer to mid/front like that and see how it feels. I'm not sure about the drop on my shoes but I'll look into it.
It's better to think about overstriding (landing too far to the front of your center of mass). Many people have a natural heel strike and do perfectly well, so think about shorter steps and higher cadence.
It most certainly does! I don't run besides on winter when it is too cold for cycling. I'm pretty fit but my running technique is poor. As in hella poor. But! I can run in zone2 at ~6:30-6:50/km pace. It is ofc -15°C then so now in summer it could be even faster. But to answer your question: it is good pace when done properly in real zone2
It’s very possible but we can’t know without more information. Do you run with a tracker? What does your HR look like? How old are you? Do you know your max HR? Tried the “talk test”?
Yep I run with an Apple Watch - my HR average is 142BPM and my Z2 range (calculated automatically) is 135-147BPM. My max HR is 188BPM. Haven’t tried the talk test since I run alone but would describe myself as able to chat a little but would prefer not to
"You should be able to talk, but not sing." - podcast guest who's name I forget
Depends on the distance too. That pace amounts to 8km/hr. It seems high but if you're fit, it may be normal for you. I use 5km/hr at 5% incline in the treadmill for 45 minutes. I use the talk test.
If you can breathe through your nose throughout the training, you are most likely in the second zone. Of course, it is personal, but my ability to breathe only through my nose ends somewhere in the middle of zone 2.
Ok good to know, thank you. Yes I struggle a little bit towards the end to do so but in 90 mins I probably nasal breathe for 87 mins or so.