Run Forever: Build your gears

If you consider your car or bike, you want all of your gears to run smoothly. Similarly, you want all of your body gears to run smooth and efficient. So you need to train them.

As the training zone increases, the duration of training should decrease (More total training time in Zone 1-2 compared to Zone 4-5).

If it is an easy Zone 2 day, keeping it easy allows for you to gain benefits specific to that zone and will allow you recover and stay fresh. In turn, that will allow you to make hard training days hard and gain all of the benefits specific to those Zone 4 & 5 days.

Each zone overlaps and shares benefits with other zones, but this is a general overview:

Zone 1 - Important zone for recovery, low stress on body, easy conversation pace

Zone 2 - Important for training mitochondria function which helps build a huge aerobic engine for longer pursuits, Conversation should be doable but breathing heavier, could sing a song for a bit or breathe through your nose

Zone 3 - Important for training ability to buffer acidic state of hard working muscles, can speak a few words in short bursts

Zone 4 - Important for improving VO2 max, unable to hold a conversation

Zone 5 - Important for building power and mental focus, full gas - everything you have got

*Note for Zone 4 & 5 Workouts - these are intense and you should be fully rested before these sessions. Show up ready to crush, not be crushed!