Am I Doing Too Much Zone 2 Training? | GTN Coach's Corner

Can you spend too much time training in zone 2? How to move from a 70.3 triathlon to a marathon whilst still swimming and cycling? Can I replace run and biking with swim sessions? Can I use an Olympic distance triathlon race as part of my training for a 70.3? Why am I slower with a pull buoy? Mark & Heather answer your latest #gtncoachescorner questions!
Welcome 0:00
Am I doing too much Zone 2? 0:43
70.3 into marathon training, keeping up cycling & swimming 2:47
Keeping tri training up during gravel bike race training 5:43
Triathlon training when bike and swim are unavailable 8:43
Doing an Olympic distance race in a 70.3 training block? 10:53
Why do I swim slower with a pull buoy? 12:16
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[@gtn]

Have a question you'd like an answer to? Leave your question under any GTN video with #gtncoachescorner and we will try to answer it in an upcoming episode! 👇

[@platosbeard3476]

For Q2, _Fitzgerald's 80/20 Running_ has a really good marathon plan that's really flexible when it comes to cross training. If you wanted to, 60-70% of your weekly volume could be replaced with cycling and swimming. Obviously, you're not going to get quite as skilled at running as you otherwise would, but we're talking about a few minutes difference here; not hours.

[@pgkhoo]

You can’t do too much zone 2. You can however watch too many videos about it 😅

[@mockingbirdnightingale7169]

I love the point that as more people get into triathlons, more people are going to have to get really creative with training! I watch this channel for the running content because that's all I do actually, but just being exposed to it gets me thinking. My uncle was a very good triathlete so I've always kind of been aware of it, but one thing that has always held me back is ... well ... I would have to get creative!! I really appreciate how technical your answers are, it's so helpful to hear you two talking through these different dilemmas.

[@marie-louisekarlander2366]

Good question this time. I often feel very strong in the running or bicycling after a really tough swim workout, like day after the swim. Probably push up VO2 without so much stress on the legs.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

You can't do too much zone 2, that's part of the reason it works. Maybe if you specialise in track sprints upto 400m where you don't need much aerobic fitness you could!

[@ArkesPim]

Kind of agree with this. I wouldn't see the issue is doing too much Z2. It's probably not doing enough high intensity work

[@dylanhunt5368]

if u cant bike or run, u can swim with long fins to put stress on your legs'

[@GhostTrainPhoto]

Thank you so much Mark and Heather for the great information! I did start adding in some intensity work but have since gotten a stress fracture in my heel (did too much too fast). I was also selected for Unbound and will not be able to compete in the 70.3 race I wanted to do this year as Unbound and the 703 are within a few days of each other. Once the fracture heals though, I will certainly be back on my feet running again, this time incorporating some speed work for a shorter, olympic tri I have on the books.

[@veydajar]

Q1 - humbly disagree with the assessment, there's simply not enough data to give a cut and dry answer like that. Other possibilities: the aerobic base is still underdeveloped - if HR pops with any substantial increase in running pace - or it may be a running economy issue. What is the full background here? How many *hours* of Z2 per week (run and bike combined)? For how many years? What is that Z2 based on - RPE, HR (tested or estimated / Garmin default?), lactate? If lactate, is a full lactate curve available? What's the usual duration of a 'long' run? Is there any noticeable cardiac drift for runs over 90min duration? Does this radical increase in HR with pace also happen on the bike?

[@coachjohn]

Now I'm exactly the same with or without the pull buoy so I add the hand paddles while using them to increase the resistance and build a little strength.

[@1carus1]

#gtncoachescorner - due to work commitments sometimes I don’t get home until late. I then perform my planned workout but it may be very late by the time I finish (last night it was 23:00). What is the best thing to eat so late in the evening? Often I go to bed straight after my meal so I can be up for 06:30 for a swim before work the next day (I don’t eat before my swim). Any advice? Thanks for the great content.

[@prestigeful]

Time-wise, at what point - for a Z2 session - one hits the points of: mimimum effective dose, inflexion / diminushing returns, and maximum effective dose. I understand it depends on total volume but is there a rule of thumb? Also does this time change for swimming, cycling, running? #gtncoachescorner

[@leabetrisey234]

I have a question regarding intervall training. How fast/slow are your supposed to run when you do the "recovery jog" ? I heard different opinions about it, one saying you need to get your HR back down and one saying it's easyier to keep the intervall pace up if you still run but at a slower pace. I always end up walking as I feel like I can't get the pace back up if I just run slower, or did I chose a pace for which I am not quite ready yet ? I aim to run a 50min 10K and do my intervalls at 5min/km or faster, my previous 10K time is from a year ago and it's 56.10min (race) and 54.49min (in training about 4months ago), I have been running for 1.5 years now and went all the way up to the marathon distance before starting to work on my 10K goal again. Thank you and keep the good work up ! #gtncoachescorner

[@HunterFlagman]

#gtncoachescorner Is there any benefit to doing any of your bike sessions in a road bike position to take advantage of the added power, or should every session be in the aero position.

[@pedro.thurler]

Hey, GTN, thank you for aswering my question. I'm the one who asked about the replacement of bike and run sessions for swimming. Now my situation on the back injury is clearer: I'll probably won't be able to run for a long time (herniated discs in the lower back) but I've been managing to return to cycling (mainly indoors) progressively. I really have to focus on my posture now, so I'm doing short sessions (1~1,5 hour) more frequently, i.e. more sessions with lower duration during the week. I think it's the best option for training for endurance wihout stressing to much my back in long rides. Is this the right way to go? Any tips/recomendations? I plan to increase the time on the bike progressively and I'm doing a lot of core strentghening exercises as well. Thanks once more for the support. #gtncoachescorner

[@andriabrickman9780]

#gtncoachescorner - I have a pretty low cadence on my bike, I’m trying to work on increasing it but struggle to get over an average of 70. Are there any drills or exercises to help increase my cadence, or do I need to work more on my cardio? (I used to be very fit when younger, have had many, many years of not training while raising kids and am trying to get fit again now and do some sprint distance triathlons)

[@Jr-vm1hp]

Question I have is, I wanna join a 70.3 that’s in 48 days. I’m a runner with a good fitness, I’ve ran a 1:54 half and a just a 4:25 full marathon yesterday. I picked up swimming two months ago with this race in mind( still fighting to get my time consistently under 3:10 but I’m improving a lot) thing is I don’t have a bike, I ride my pelaton bike(on it 4-5 a week or more but only done a couple 1 hour rides no longer). I’m wondering if ramping the time on my peloton is sufficient enough for a tri training plan until I’m able to get a bike. I will be able to get a bike right before the 70.3 but with shipping I’ll probably only have 10-14 days before the race. should I just be patient and skip this 70.3 or do you think I’ll be able to get comfortable on the bike in two weeks? #GTNcoachescorner

[@justinhammer3366]

#gtncoachescorner I'll be taking a second crack at the Utah Valley Marathon in June. This marathon has a looooot of downhill running in it. Even though I felt prepped for the distance last year when I first ran it, I was not prepared for how running downhill made everything hurt so much more and it really affected the second half of my race. I'm planning on trying to find some routes with significant elevation drops to add to my long runs and incorporate them slowly over time. Do you have other recommendations for prepping for a run like this?

[@JJBpilot]

How bout this? Block up the BACK of the treadmill so that 10 incline is actually level, so when you go to zero it's actually 10 downhill.... Food for thought

[@ChrisMarshallUS]

#GTNCoachesCorner Is a recumbent bike useful for bike training when you don't have access to a regular bike?

[@yannahke1D]

#gtncoachescorner HI! I'm training for my first full Ironman (coming from a bodybuilding background, quite the transition 😅) and I have one quite long (+2h) zone 2 run per week. as I don't want to look at my watch a lot to rely on heart rate or pace too much (because being confronted with how slow I am frustrates me), I prefer just running at a pace that allows me to breath through my nose. However, I recently tested myself a little and concluded that I can still do this with a heart rate of around 180 bpm. I was able to stick to the same pace for more than 90 minutes like this. Is 180bpm too high to still be aerobic/Z2? or is my heart rate just a little higher than most? or am I just too good at nose breathing and should I not trust this technique to determine if I'm in Z2? Thank you!

[@amstack18]

How does split training in a day work? I have a duathlon coming up in May and some days on the bike call for over an hour of training. With three young boys and a full time job it gets hard when it comes to a training session of more than 45 minutes. However, for a session of an hour and a half I could fit 45 minutes in the morning before work and 45 minutes after we put the boys to bed. Does this work? #gtncoachescorner

[@idilgumruk2579]

If you can't bike maybe you can find a spinning course where you're

[@ZachTheExcitedViper]

If you never run fast, you'll never run fast.

[@_J.F_]

Likewise if you always run fast, you'll always run fast 😆

[@laskahusky7313]

her voice is so annoying and loud...i had to reduce my volume on my tablet!!