[jaggederest]

You are probably sprinting to the bus stop, not running. Running would be below your aerobic threshold, for however well you're trained, and thus should not leave you exhausted or wiped out. The general rule of thumb is that if you can't have a conversation, you're exceeding your aerobic threshold and so are exceeding your pace.

Training increases what that pace is, but ultimately no (land?) mammal can exceed their aerobic threshold for long, since there are limits to stored oxygen. Cetaceans and pinnipeds might be an interesting exception.

[arghnoname]

This is true, but just to quantify it a bit, a lot of people can run at their lactate threshold for about an hour. This isn't 'long' but may be longer than most people think.

That said, I remember doing similar 'runs to the parking lot' and being gassed when I was totally untrained despite being capable of long walks/hikes. I suspect there are even more basic adaptations one needs to be able to do these very short activities for which a more trained individual can complete anaerobically.

[jaggederest]

> a lot of people can run at their lactate threshold for about an hour.

I say this as someone incredibly out of shape, but I doubt any of those people are wiped out by running to the bus stop ;)

> I suspect there are even more basic adaptations one needs to be able to do these very short activities for which a more trained individual can complete anaerobically.

Yeah absolutely, I found it very interesting that weight training is universal in sprinters, it makes sense as metabolic training as well as the actual muscle growth.

[taeric]

I started trying to pay attention and do some "zone 2" training recently. I came to the sad realization that a moderate jog pushes me well over zone 2. :(

[lowdest]

Same here! Have you found a solution? I was pretty happy with 3 miles 3-4 times per week, 10 to 11 minute pace, but apparently for me that's pushing too hard according to zone training. I tried going much slower, and even then my HR raises more slowly, but eventually gets way up there. Alternating my slowest possible jog and walking has taken all the fun out of running for the time being.

[YZF]

When people talk about "Zone 2" they generally do not refer to a specific % of max heart rate. The simple answer is at this volume of training (3-4 times a week 30 minutes) don't even worry about it. Just run. Zone 2 is an optimization. Can you talk while running at this pace? Can you hold a conversation? I think it's unlikely you can over-train at this volume though if you've never run maybe you ease into this over a couple of months.

Adding distance/time into your program is probably going to help, as long as you don't feel too tired/sore or that you're over-training

Consider adding interval training to your regime. That's a more time efficient way of improving your VO2MAX (which should translate to your overall performance). E.g. 1-2 minutes 90%-100%, 1-2 minutes walk/slow/jog, x3-5 (this is rough, do some reading and see what works for you).

[taeric]

So, I thought this might be the case. But I never got a good answer on if power zone or heart rate zone was what to pay attention to. Since I'm not competing and don't plan to, I don't really care that much. But, no reason not to try and train a bit more properly. :D

When biking, it really doesn't help that I have some silly hills surrounding the house. Even if I'm not going all out, a 10% climb takes its toll.

[muchas_gracias]

My ex lost 80 pounds and went from unable to run to running ultras and she found that she had to alternate between walking and running in the beginning to keep her heart rate in the lower thresholds. On the converse side, maybe integrating some strength training or speed workouts or stair climbs will help you develop a strength reservoir to make it easier to run at a low heart rate.

Now that you've recognized how gentle a low heartrate feels I'm sure a conversational pace is totally adequate for staying under your lactic threshold (but if you could sing you're going too slow!)

[taeric]

Kudos on that progress! I don't see myself moving to marathons anytime soon. I /think/ I could do a 5k in about 30 minutes. I would be zone 4 in heart rate for dang sure, though. :D

[YZF]

Supposedly this is the definition: "Zone 2 is defined as the highest metabolic output/work that you can sustain while keeping your lactate level below two millimole per liter.". Unless you can measure lactate level you just don't know what heart rate this corresponds to. The heuristic that's used is "able to have a conversation".

For a beginner a good tip is just to go a little bit easier than they think they should be going. Once you've built some sort of aerobic base your training should start including intervals and runs that push you harder.

There are two risks in pushing yourself too hard. Injury and over-training.

[taeric]

So fairly removed from heart rate? Can I assume I'm not going to hard if I recover rather quickly?

[dh5]

"Zone" training is primarily a way for high mileage runners to get the physical adaptation of running with lower risk of injury on easy days. If you're running < 20 mpw there should be minimal risk of injury and you should focus on increasing mileage and not on heart rate (which is highly variable depending on the person anyway, and should be properly determined with a LT test).

[vostok]

You cam just ignore the Zone 2 advice as a relatively new runner. It's more useful when you're running high mileage.

[taeric]

Thanks to all of the peer answers here!

I pretty much settled on what all they were saying. I was taking the exact path you outlined. Since that seems to be working fine for me, and I'm also adding weights, I figured I would wait and try again later. Probably in a year or so, if I can keep up this schedule. Good luck on your exercise!

[jaggederest]

As other people say here, 9 to 12 miles a week is unlikely to put you in need of that kind of specialization. People I know that do zone training are running 30-50 miles a week, some more.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

I did hiit training for a year 3 times per week and now I struggle to get my heart rate up to that same point. My muscles give up or just can't sustain the intensity necessary.

My heart rate goes down way faster, so if I stop for 1 second (literally), my heart rate drops immediately and it takes a lot of effort for it to go back up.

I suspect at this point training in zone 2 is trivial, my body gets naturally there

TL; DR; train hard first, your heart gets stronger and brings you to zone 2 naturally?

I'm no athlete or expert, so please do your research and ignore everything I said

[setopt]

You might want to check yourself for conditions such as asthma in that case. Mild cases often go undiagnosed but medication makes a huge difference on the heart rate during a slow jog.

[taeric]

I definitely have mild asthma. I also have that beast known as old age. :D