Everybody is an Athlete*
Go find the podium at any track meet or marathon in the world and ask the top three athletes if they’ve ever been injured, had health issues, or lost their love for the sport at any point in their career. Chances are that most of them will say yes to at least one of those questions. Then ask them why they think those things happened and how they got back to where they are now. I’ll bet a fair amount of money almost all of them say they were pushing too hard, ramped up training intensity too quickly, or weren’t prioritizing their rest and recovery. So why is that theme so common?
Running, as a sport, is so amazing because it’s universal and anyone can do it. It’s technically free, it’s good for you, gets you into nature, and usually helps you find some new friends along the way. But just like running, life is also an arena we can push too hard for too long and hit the proverbial wall. So, let’s break down the simplest and most optimal way runners can train for success and see if we can learn something about how we can structure and live our lives.
Zone Training for Endurance Running
Zone training for endurance running can be complicated, or it can be fairly simple and straightforward. When I see the similarities between training and life, it makes sense to me to look at the simplest model, which is the 3-Zone model and one that is based more on effort than heart rate.
Let’s start with a quick crash course on zone training. Zone training is how endurance athletes target the different intensities they run or train at based on their heart rate relative to their heart rate max. The more complex version has five zones in comparison to the simpler three zone version. For today, we’re focusing on the 3-Zone model, more on our perceived effort versus heart rate percentage, and on the pyramidal model versus a polarized model.
In the 3-Zone model, Z1 (Zone One) is anything below 70% effort. This is all recovery runs, walks, hikes, jogs, and also all easy running. This is the “aerobic” intensity and it is very well understood that we should spend anywhere from 70-95%+ in this zone. Yes, EVEN OLYMPIC ATHLETES are to spend this much time at this intensity (more to come). Z2 is the “anaerobic threshold. In running, this zone is performed at 70-90% effort and is often called tempo running, threshold running, and even sometimes the “gray” area. Ideally, it is where we should spend 10-20% of our training. Z3 is the “anaerobic” intensity zone where we are aiming for 90-100% effort. In the pyramidal model, we want the time spent here less than 10% (and for most people usually closer to 5%).
Zone 1 - All Day MEANS All Day
One of the key points of this entire analogy is HOW IMPORTANT ZONE 1 IS! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read or heard a podcast where people say something like, “you need to be spending at least 80% of your time in Z1, running easy. This means that you are running so easy you can have a full blown conversation and have it make sense to the other person.” And you know how easy it is to follow that advice? About as easy as not eating the cake at the birthday party…. Just scroll through Strava (an app most runners use to log their training) and you’ll see that almost everyone runs 5-7 times a week and almost all of their runs show a heart rate at 150+. For context, that is not “easy” for a majority of runners. So why is training in the zone where we need to spend the most time for long-term development and injury prevention (or burnout prevention in life) the hardest? My theory? Ego.
In a capitalistic society fueled by success and growth, it’s easy to get caught in the mindset that if we aren’t running 100 mph, (pun intended) 100% of the time, that we’ll fall behind. Now in life, shooting for 80% of our time being “easy”, or resting, is probably not a true apples to apples. But our goal should be to strive for that. If we can sleep 8 hours per night, that right there is 33% of the equation. Stress + REST = Growth. Our bodies and brains need slow periods to recover from the constant grind, and contrary to popular belief, that is where growth and development actually occurs. Try carving out an extra 30-60 minutes each night with no screens and a book (you’ll sleep better), or getting in a 2-3 hour hike each week with no distractions. I promise you’ll notice a difference in your mood and energy almost instantly.
Zone 2 - The Daily Grind
As we move up the pyramid, Z2 in running is where we spend 10-20% of our time. In life I’d argue it’s where people spend most of their waking hours. In running, it’s sometimes referred to as the “gray zone” by people who believe that in this zone you’re either running too fast for the aerobic development of Z1 or you’re moving too slow for the anaerobic development of Z3. I think the better belief is if we’re truly focused on long-term development, this zone is where we flourish IF, AND ONLY IF, we nail Z1.
Here our effort is elevated. We’re working hard, but not so hard we want to pass out after a short bout. In the day-to-day, I like to picture this as all the things requiring brain power. Z2 efforts can happen in longer chunks of time with the goal of separating them with rest or easier tasks such as chores, typical work duties, or taking care of your children. All of these tasks can cause fatigue, but if we’re well rested don’t tear us down with just one day of effort (ok, maybe taking care of kids can fall into Z3…).
The focus here continues to be on the importance of Z1. Without spending enough time resting and doing the easy stuff, this zone becomes rather pointless. However, if we are resting and putting in the “easy miles”, we can start to achieve some balance in life!
Z3 - Stress is Good
We made it. The top of the pyramid! Z3 is a doozy, let me tell you. Think of this space as an all-out effort. Z3 is described as 30 seconds to 5 minutes of intense work requiring a longer recovery interval. In running, we would want to aim to spend 5-10% of our time here. If you are a more novice runner, you can probably afford to spend even less than 5% in this zone. The crazy thing is, it’s where the most unseasoned runners think they need to spend more time in order to get faster. AND, in life, it’s also where people spend too much time- as the output and reward from successfully navigating a period of high stress can be addicting. It’s sort of a high-risk, high-reward zone we operate in. While stress is a good thing, too much stress can lead to burnout and eventually to a slew of negative outcomes such as depression, anxiety, health issues, sleeplessness, and the list goes on.
The goal of this zone is to elicit an adaptation to our anaerobic system, or our “fast” system. Like Z2, if we nail Z1 properly, just the right dose of Z3 can work as a catalyst to unlock some pretty amazing growth. The key is to know where your limit is. While 5-10% is the goal in running, it’s more arbitrary in life. In the real world, success in Z3 might look like knowing you have three chaotic work days during the month. This is where you’re sprinting and tired, and by the end of those three days you could sit on the couch and watch Moana on repeat and it wouldn’t even bother your mushy brain. The goal is to plan for these sprints. You might tell your spouse the week before, “hey, next Wednesday-Friday are my busy days. I’m going to be of little help but what can I do this weekend to get ahead on the honey-do list and then I’ll be ready to go Saturday to help more. Maybe a movie night on Friday as well?” You can see here, we’re prioritizing Z1 into our lives but we also know life’s not that easy. Those three days you might also plan to only workout once or twice and for shorter times, try to get extra sleep the days leading up, and maybe have some meals for lunch already in the fridge so you don’t have to worry about it after a long day in the office. And not only do we need to plan the Z1 periods around Z3, we also need to be aware of the “rest” intervals while we’re in Z3. This might look like striving to take a 10 minute walk away from your desk, unplugging a couple times a day, or prioritizing some simple things that bring you energy. It’s not easy, but we can work towards a more sustainable way of doing things which I guarantee will make your work life better, make you a better partner, a better parent, and the list goes on.
Stress + Rest = Growth
The best runners in the world get that way not just because they nail their training, but it’s more than likely because they also do the little things. They sleep well, eat well, stretch and meditate, and prioritize rest. We’re also seeing more and more runners continue to progress by spending more time running those easy Z1 miles and that a minimal dose in Z3 can go a long way. And while life is significantly more complex than running a marathon, the similarities to how we structure our training versus our lives are insanely similar.
My hope here is for people to see how important rest is when we look at the long-term journey, but also how important stress can be to actually grow. They go hand in hand. At the end of the day, for us to shine our light the brightest, we need to be rested and recovered BUT also know what it feels like to be in stressful situations. Again, this shows why it is important to spend time in Z3, to seek stress. It’s just more important we understand the balance between stress and rest, and that the perfect combination of the two unlocks the growth we’re seeking and helps us shine as bright as possible.
Let’s love and learn together
-DDD
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