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2026 getting/staying in shape motivation thread

hokiehunter373 said:
East Meets West has a new podcast today. “Train Slow to Hunt Until You’re 80: Zone 1 & 2 Conditioning with Todd Bungardner”. Just started listening but seemed like it could be in this groups wheelhouse

Edit: first half was decent. Second half they’re mostly shooting the breeze
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Another new one day. IMO better than the last


Of course as soon as I was able to get back in the swing of things my kids got me sick. Hoping to be back at it tomorrow morning although I should probably wait another day. Oh well
 
I believe I really started putting more time into zone 2 running around April of last year. I started noticing @GreginPA and @hokiehunter373 and a few others mentioning Zone 2 training. I do remember it was painful to go from just running to almost walking to stay in Zone 2. From what I understand, Zone 2 is one of the most important things you can do to improve your over all running.
But take everything I say with a grain of salt because I am new to running for a purpose versus just running.
Not sure about you guys but some mornings my heart rate can be higher or lower for what seems to be the same amount of effort.
My next investment will be a heart monitor strap for my piece of mind.

I personally can tell my endurance has improved dramatically, not sure if that is from all the zone 2 or not but I will take it.
 
Nutterbuster said:
How long did it take you to get your heart rate so low? Mine has dropped a little since I started taking it serious 3-4 months ago, but Zone 2 seems mythological for me.
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It takes a long time. 6-9 months. You need consistent efforts, think 45+ mins at a time, totaling 150-200 minutes a week. Doing less still helps but takes longer. Before I got hurt I was trying to run 5 days a week so it wasn’t that hard to hit those goals. I’m going to try to workout 6 days a week now but only 4 will be running. One of those is tempo/hills and one is a long run where sometimes I ignore my plan and shoot for speed so we’ll see how quickly I can regain the aerobic base. That is, if I ever get over this cold. Anyway, like most things, the more time you can put into it the quicker you’ll see the results, but any bit helps. I have to remind myself often that I’m not actually competing in anything that matters and the goal is longevity and health for the rest of my life. Just keep chipping at the block.

Edit: also keep in mind everyone’s numbers are different. Age plays a giant role as well as how good of shape you’re in. But things also vary day to day for each individual
 
hokiehunter373 said:
It takes a long time. 6-9 months. You need consistent efforts, think 45+ mins at a time, totaling 150-200 minutes a week. Doing less still helps but takes longer. Before I got hurt I was trying to run 5 days a week so it wasn’t that hard to hit those goals. I’m going to try to workout 6 days a week now but only 4 will be running. One of those is tempo/hills and one is a long run where sometimes I ignore my plan and shoot for speed so we’ll see how quickly I can regain the aerobic base. That is, if I ever get over this cold. Anyway, like most things, the more time you can put into it the quicker you’ll see the results, but any bit helps. I have to remind myself often that I’m not actually competing in anything that matters and the goal is longevity and health for the rest of my life. Just keep chipping at the block.

Edit: also keep in mind everyone’s numbers are different. Age plays a giant role as well as how good of shape you’re in. But things also vary day to day for each individual
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Yep - and weather plays a huge factor as well. I did the Zone 2 for about a year leading up to a 50k. During the summer (Oklahoma) it's nearly impossible to stay at what is my allegedly Zone 2 for more than a couple miles. I was pretty steadfast in my training and had decided that race day I'd try to do 135HR max for the run.

It was a fairly cold start for South Texas, and the elevation is higher than I thought. In spite of this I ended up running for several miles with two groups of people, having involved conversations.

My HR was in the 150s at the time I was having easy conversations. I really don't count on numbers much anymore - just run "easy" or "hard" and carry on.
 
K98Al said:
Yep - and weather plays a huge factor as well. I did the Zone 2 for about a year leading up to a 50k. During the summer (Oklahoma) it's nearly impossible to stay at what is my allegedly Zone 2 for more than a couple miles. I was pretty steadfast in my training and had decided that race day I'd try to do 135HR max for the run.

It was a fairly cold start for South Texas, and the elevation is higher than I thought. In spite of this I ended up running for several miles with two groups of people, having involved conversations.

My HR was in the 150s at the time I was having easy conversations. I really don't count on numbers much anymore - just run "easy" or "hard" and carry on.
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Did you use a chest strap for your HR or just a watch. I don’t have a chest strap but I have almost talked myself into one just to see if it provides better or more consistent results.
 
I took the wife to Key Largo for a few days without the kids before baby 4 arrives in late April. Got an amazing brunch and dod some walking with her this morning, then dropped her off at the beach and went for a run since its 75 and sunny here and its been single digits and snow back home in Indiana. This is the longest run ive been on in probably 5 or 6 years, and it felt really good knowing I can still pound away the miles at the 10-11 minute mile pace.
 

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Just_Hangin_N_GA said:
Did you use a chest strap for your HR or just a watch. I don’t have a chest strap but I have almost talked myself into one just to see if it provides better or more consistent results.
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Just a watch. I know it's not as accurate as a chest strap, but it's consistent enough that I believe it.

I've thought about getting tested to see what my max HR really is - 160 according to charts isn't correct. I can hit 190 when sprinting.

When I do hill repeats HR goes up to 170-173 at the top of the hill, back in the 140s by the time I run back down.
 
K98Al said:
Just a watch. I know it's not as accurate as a chest strap, but it's consistent enough that I believe it.

I've thought about getting tested to see what my max HR really is - 160 according to charts isn't correct. I can hit 190 when sprinting.

When I do hill repeats HR goes up to 170-173 at the top of the hill, back in the 140s by the time I run back down.
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If I hit 190, you'd have to field quarter and pack me out from there.
 
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