How To Run Fast and Stay in Zone 2 Heart Rate

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If you told me back in 1996, when I started doing all this distance running stuff, that running fast could feel easy… I would not have believed you, but it’s true. And I did that with this low heart rate training method and I still do it to this day.

Watch above, read, or listen below to find out why I’m obsessed with improving my Zone 2 heart rate speed.

Why Zone 2 Training Might Be the Only Thing You’re Missing in Life (and Running)

I used to think the only way to improve was to go all out… on every run… every time. Sweat, struggle, repeat. Make sense because I was actually killing my gains before they even had a chance. Enter Zone 2 training—a simple, low heart rate approach that goes against everything I thought I knew. It’s low intensity but has with high impact on both my endurance and my sanity. If you want to actually get faster without wiping yourself out, Zone 2 might be your missing piece.

Enter Dr. Phil Maffetone and His Low Heart Rate Revolution

This is where Dr. Phil Maffetone comes into play—the guy who basically wrote the book on low heart rate training. His philosophy? Train slower to get faster aka the Maffetone Method and the MAF test. Sounds wild, but hear me out. Maffetone’s approach is all about building a solid aerobic base by keeping your heart rate low, like Zone 2 low. It’s like teaching your body to become an efficient, fat-burning machine without beating it to a pulp every session. When I stumbled upon his methods, it felt like I’d discovered a hidden shortcut in a game I’d been playing for years.

Endurance: Slow Down to Go the Distance

When I first tried Zone 2, I thought I was wasting time because to keep my heart rate low, I had to go super duper slow (more on that shortly). I was used to that feeling of being toast/fried at the end of a run. But this slower pace means I’m not gasping for air, not hating myself halfway through. I’m running a pace I could hold for hours if needed. Zone 2 has taught me to build endurance smartly, letting my body become an aerobic machine that doesn’t need to break down to build up. I’m legit lasting longer in races and in life—wild, though, eh?

Getting Through The Initial Phase

One of the downfalls of Zone 2 training is that it’s boring because you have to go so slow in the beginning. It does get faster, though. A lot of people think their zone 2 is higher because it’s so slow. No, it just means your aerobic fitness is poor. And a lot of people don’t like to admit that.

I first started Zone 2 training when I was the fittest I had ever been. I was riding, cycling, and swimming more than ever. But I was just going out at my “whatever” pace, aka Grey Zone. This didn’t really build up either side of my fitness. One side is an aerobic base, and the other is my Vo2 Max.

Zone 2 training allows me to technically build up both (with Vo2 Max fitness taking longer, but it does build it). Stick with it for eight weeks, and you’ll have more aerobic fitness than you’ve ever had in your life (and it lasts for a while even if you take a few days/weeks off, unlike top-end anaerobic speed).

Pushing vs Pulling Up Your Aerobic Threshold

Let’s talk about the two ways you can improve and raise up your aerobic threshold (which is your zone 2 heart rate speed) – the Zone 2 push-up and the Zone 3 pull-up. Think of it as building your engine so you can go longer and harder without falling apart like a cheap lawn chair.

Zone 2: The Push-Up (Long, Boring & Safe Way)

Zone 2 runs are your steady, “I’m-not-having-a-heart-attack” pace. They might not feel like much, but they’re basically laying the groundwork for your body to go the distance. When you run in Zone 2, your body gets better at using oxygen. Over time, it’s like adding horsepower to your engine. The science? You’re training your slow-twitch muscle fibers and improving mitochondria function – the little power plants in your cells. Do these runs consistently, and your aerobic threshold creeps up. Boom. You just pushed it up.

This way, as described before, is boring when you start. But it’s a safe way to build base which can actually improve your faster race times from 5k all the way up to Ultra-runs.

Zone 3: The Pull-Up (Fast, Somewhat Quick & Dangerous Way)

Then there’s Zone 3 – a notch up from Zone 2, where things start to get interesting. This is your tempo pace and is sometimes referred to as the Grey Zone. This is where you’re just on the edge of feeling the burn, but not quite redlining it. These runs are like yanking that aerobic threshold up by its collar and telling it to keep up. Science time: You’re increasing your lactate threshold here, which basically means you can go faster without your muscles whining about it. So, you’re pulling up your aerobic threshold by training your body to handle a faster pace with ease.

This way is much more dangerous if done too much. Think new runner who just runs in the Grey Zone to get a bit of a burn but not too much, and they have no base. They don’t really get too fit at anything after a few weeks and then just get injured.

The Magic Formula

Put Zone 2 and Zone 3 together, and you’ve got a recipe for building an aerobic threshold that lets you run longer and faster. It’s not rocket science, but it is solid physiology. Your body adapts to the demands you place on it. So, if you spend enough time cruising in Zone 2 and occasionally hit that Zone 3 gear, your aerobic threshold is going to climb – no motivational posters or fancy supplements needed.

Fuel Right, or Go Home

Zone 2 works best if you can fuel properly… at least, I think so. Some will argue until they turn blue that they can train and race fasted or low carb. I’m sure you can, but what if you could be 100% optimal with fueled runs vs 92% optimal on fasted/low-carb runs?

I used to skip out on proper nutrition, thinking I could just power through with some BCAAs and electrolyte pills and be “aight”. Nope. Now, I get my carbs, protein, and electrolytes because they actually help me with recovery. It’s either fuel right or feel like trash after the run—easy choice. It also keeps me consistent so I can show up for the next day’s workout and repeat it — This is where the real progress happens.

So yeah, that’s Zone 2 training for speed. It’s basically given me more time, more endurance, and way less pain. I’m not out here reinventing the wheel—just running smarter, not harder cuz that’s The 1% Better Runner way.

Timestamps From The Episode

[00:00] – Introduction to the City Marathon Training Group
[00:24] – Overview of Zone 2 Training for Endurance
[01:05] – Goal Setting: The Maffetone Test
[01:30] – Warm-Up Routine and Importance
[03:14] – Sliding Into High Zone 2
[05:11] – The Progression Pyramid and Its Benefits
[07:38] – Understanding Zone 2 Efficiency in Training
[09:30] – The Role of Specificity in Training at High Zone 2
[13:16] – How Fueling Impacts Long Run Recovery
[15:15] – Final Thoughts on the 1% Consistency Principle

Links

[00:00:00] All right, we got the city marathon training group. It’s pretty cool. Yeah, good job. Good job. Yeah, good job. Good job. In this episode, you’ll learn how to run fast at a low heart rate and come on a run with me. Yes, I’m going to show you how to do it while I’m running. But if you told me back in 1996, when I started doing all this distance running stuff, that running fast could feel easy.

[00:00:24] I would not have believed you, but it’s true. And I did that with this low heart rate training method and I still do it to this day. What you’re going to learn on this episode, on this journey, zone two training that hides zone two aerobic zone. You can build endurance with sustainable, moderate paced runs, warmup.

[00:00:41] Monitoring and adapting your intensity and of course nutrition, how to fuel properly, hydrate electrolytes, all that stuff for better recovery. Let’s just go on the run so I can show and tell you how it all works. The whole point of this, why it’s important for me is I want to improve my high zone too, because it’s a great zone that you can do most of the season, rest of your life.

[00:01:05] It helps with overall health. And I want to see if I can run a 359. Average of 359 for the first kilometer, one mile of a Maffetone MAF, maximum aerobic fitness test. And that has been on my tick list for the last 10 years. And I was like, you know what, let’s see how close I could get to it. The strategy behind this long aerobic progression run.

[00:01:30] So today’s run is going to start off with a warmup, always the warmup. And then after my dynamic warmup, which means we’re sweating, feeling really good. I then want to do some sort of a easy. Like gentle Z one, I might even walk the first minute or something and it’s just feel it out. It’s not even based on heart rate because my heart rate might go up, might go down, whatever.

[00:01:50] I just walk into it and run gently. And I like to do that for about five to 10 minutes longer than I probably feel it. But I’ve learned that if I do a longer warmup, I feel so much better overall and I can get into the zone too much better. And then I’ll sit around low zone too for about probably five minutes.

[00:02:07] And then at about the 15. I hate high zone two and then I sit there. I want to sit there for 30 minutes today. And then after high zone two, I will look to drop into tempo for I’m going to do 15 minutes of a very easy, slow tempo, which is in between my marathon and half marathon pace, and that’s going to take my heart rate probably into the Low one sixties, high one fifties, and my high zone two is about mid one fifties.

[00:02:38] So that right there is probably, I’m guessing in the two millimolar mark and maybe the two point two point five millimolar mark. I need to get a lactate threshold test done in the lab. finger prick to make sure that that is what I’m actually at because I’m guessing here with heart rate but it’s all I got heart rate power effort and it’s not the worst I hear it’s pretty accurate even if I did a field lactate threshold test so improving zone two and zone three may work let’s see over the next six weeks Part 1 update warm up complete.

[00:03:14] Alright, I’m 15 minutes in exactly. So now I’m gonna slide into high zone 2 and just feel it out. This is kind of boring, but I kind of like it. Today, I feel like because I got the camera. I know I’m a bit excited, but if it was any other day, I’d be like, 30 minutes of zone 2 running. The other thing this does, is this progression pyramid of sorts.

[00:03:48] It’s actually not a progression run, it’s actually a progression pyramid. The other thing that it does, This progression pyramid run, aerobic pyramid, which it’s pyramid because it goes up and then down and Progression run would end at kind of the high so Semantics, yeah, but one thing that it does I realize is Me talking in this forces me to be conversational And make sure that I’m in zone two So if you want to know you’re in zone two You can complete full sentences and then we can take a breath in the routine because it’s normal but you can’t be gasping for air.

[00:04:28] That means that you’re way out of social. Halfway update part one of three. One of my favorite parts of this run. We are on the Piermont Pier Broadwalk, and I’m halfway through, 10 minute mark, and, well actually closer to 15, 30 minutes of the Zone 2 block, and then uh, we will slide into Zone 3. One thing that I found is as I do more of these, like each three or four days, I can feel my body getting more fit in the zone two range with this breathing.

[00:05:11] I’m probably going to close his own three. So definitely need to back it down a bit. But, I’m feeling good, so, it’s always a combination of power, heart rate, and feel. Then I look at my pace at the end. Right now is the part where I go, Hey, if you’re not feeling this, make sure you subscribe, rate, share it out with your friends, about how amazing this is, ra ra ra ra ra, alright.

[00:05:35] While you should go out and do that anyway, how about I actually give you something that will help you? Is the running, health and fitness, and endurance sport internet too much sometimes? Is it too much conflicting content on how to train right? Or you just don’t have time to read and watch the latest trends on how to, I don’t know, carb cycle for your next marathon?

[00:05:53] Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that for you by showing you how to train, race, and live 1 percent better consistently. To do this, just sign up for my free newsletter, OPB. I figure out this whole 1 percent better thing so you don’t have to by scouring the endurance sports deepest and darkest corners of the internet.

[00:06:11] Go to DLakeCreates. com forward slash news all spelled the normal way to be inspired and motivated on the regular. Let’s get back into it high zone two training pros and cons and my random theories All right. Let’s get some Things straight and I got confused about zone two running and the first is Your body gets super efficient at running certain paces.

[00:06:39] That is why you do interval runs, long runs, et cetera. But if you get efficient zone two, my understanding, it does help a lot of areas like easier pacing, slow pacing, and also faster pacing. To a limit, to a limit, I think up to about 10k, 5k, not really, but you do get a better aerobic zone, aerobic base to pull from and do more training.

[00:07:10] But one thing that I found is you can’t overdo it because you can go too fast, which is definitely a pro problem. It’s one of them good problems, but If you go too fast, do a lot of weight on your body. And another thing that I’m actually trying to do with this zone three kind of sprinkles is I’m trying to pull up my maximum aerobic threshold.

[00:07:38] Whereas zone two is metaphorically pushing it up. So I’m pulling it up, With the sub threshold, uh, sub lactic threshold, Tempo Z3 stuff, the slow tempo stuff, and then I’m pushing it up with my Zone 2, High Zone 2, Moffitt’s Zone. That’s the theory. Probably a bit too one on one metaphorical, and I’m sure sports scientists would be like, you’re wrong.

[00:08:05] But, it does work, when you just get out there and you consist. Alright, we got the Sydney Marathon Training Group, which is pretty cool. Yeah, good job. Good job. Yeah, good job. Good job. It’s pretty cool. They got the pace groups. They got everything set up for the Sydney Marathon so that people get used to how it feels, I’m gonna guess, but doing parts of the course.

[00:08:33] It’s pretty cool. Sitting around without putting it on. Part 2 complete. Quick update. Alright. That is the second big set, I guess. Where that was just a straight zone 2. Half zone 2, 30 minutes. And another thing about zone 2 is you can do it. Swimming, weight room, Running uphill, but all those things aren’t specific to running at a fast pace.

[00:09:09] So I believe in the law of specificity and that it rings true. But this, that your body is only going to get efficient at this pace and then get faster by running at the pace. So if you want to do a run walk on a hilly course and you can keep zone 2, that’s okay early in the season for recovery, mid season.

[00:09:30] But I think do it flat stomach. At a high zone two, at a steady pace, the fastest pace you can run is your best bet. To ensure that, I can at least run 359 per kilometer, which is pretty metrically allergic. Americans about 630 to 640 minutes per mile pace. Pretty fast to hold an aerobic zone, I think. All right, well, some people like to run straight through the long runs.

[00:10:00] I just like to take a break. Drink some water.

[00:10:07] Make sure I fuel up. I usually have. I don’t like gels. Only on races. Race and training for races, but cliff bars are my jam. And yeah, feeling pretty good. Get back into it. I got zone 3 bit to do. Probably going to do 12 to 15 minutes, see how I feel. And That will be more of a tempo pace. Tempo. The ambiguity and vagueness of it.

[00:10:34] But, I’m looking to run. At a power of about 15 watts faster than what I was doing. It’s probably about three, 10, 15 watts. I like Watts. They keep me honest. I’ll look at my heart rate, take a peek. I’ll look at the pace, take a peek and kind of go from there. Part three, complete sub threshold, slow tempo, 15 minutes.

[00:10:59] All right, just finished up. Last hard bit. Top of the pyramid. That was not hard, but pretty comfortable. Comfortably hard.

[00:11:20] Yeah, now it’s zone 2. High zone 2 for about 10 minutes. Some hills and then Easy, whatever, just feel it out on the way back. And then I’m going to do eight to 10 strides. I like strides at the end. Again, keep me honest. It’s like, I want to just plod along, but I’m not going to cause end of the race and you got to bring it.

[00:11:49] I don’t know why I’m always racing. I’m always racing. It’s life. Life is a race. Life is a competition. So, a little bit more on that. I think I really like focusing on power metrics. Again, power is just constant. It’s just, it’s what’s being input. And pace and heart rate are the output. Effort is kind of an input.

[00:12:13] But like I said before, power, validates the effort because effort is subjective and also intelligent. Start getting smarter because you know what power you’re supposed to be at. All right, quick recap on that. That was actually way easier than Even three days ago. So I think it’s a combination of I’m rested and I’m getting fit obviously Early in the morning It’s gonna be a cooler.

[00:12:53] Maybe I don’t know about that Flatter course. Some of the courses that I do in the, oh, this is my turn. Some of the courses that I do in the, in the late mornings aren’t as flat as I’d like them to be. So yeah, I’d say every week getting faster, just ever so slightly. One percent, one percent. Everything’s one percent.

[00:13:16] Kind of like this, a little bit harder here. Everyone’s here, everyone’s doing their thing. Oh, I can’t write everyone’s face. Alright, let’s talk fueling and fasted runs because I found that these, even though it’s zone 2 and I could do a fasted, and I have done a fasted, and sometimes I will do a fasted, that it is not the best thing.

[00:13:42] Long term and it’s actually fine during it’s actually my recovery after like Six hours after the run 12 hours after the run Like I get super hungry. I get a headache If I don’t eat beforehand, but if I do eat beforehand Uh, well, I just drink honestly drink my calories rice milk coconut water And electrolyte powder.

[00:14:08] It’s got carbs in it that ends up doing really well with Protein collagen Creatine regular protein powder and I found things are great. So yes Food does work. How to do strides at the end of your long run. Okay, let’s do 15 second stride. So what I do is, I start at about 70 percent then I ease into it and at about 10 second mark I’ll do 90 percent and then I hit 15 seconds and then I’ll slowly slow down.

[00:14:50] And what that does is that allows me to not hurt myself because last thing I want to do is pull a hamstring, step wrong, strain off calf muscle, soleus, plantar, whatever. And usually do a one to two ratio with the strides and that’s about 15 seconds. I’ll do about 30 to 40 seconds recovery. And then I go again.

[00:15:15] You can do these flat, uphill, downhill, off road, kind of anywhere. The biggest thing is that you want to make it like a pyramid, like a ramp, so it goes up, plateaus, and then down. Kind of like this 90 minute progression run. Final Thoughts Alright, that concludes the end of This whole long 90 minute aerobic, progressive pyramid run.

[00:15:45] Why is there so many words in that? But yeah, love that, uh, you rocked with me this long. Even if it’s one of you out there, even if it’s my mom. So I need for you to let me know if anything’s confusing, anything I could do better. Comment, email me, talk at dlakecreates. com or, or, or, or, or, or hit me up on Instagram and we can try to figure out how to help you do things.

[00:16:08] Like this, and the whole 1%. Better thing have it’s consistency. Excitement, excitement. Let’s get this. Let’s get this. Peace.