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

Welcome back to another Coach's Corner. We have chosen six quite different topics to look at this week. Questions including, can you spend too much time training in zone two? Yes, how to move from 70.3 triathlon distance up to running a marathon while still keeping up some swimming and cycling. Can I replace my run and bike sessions with swimming? And how to train for the bike leg of a triathlon in less than a month. Yes, a more typical question here maybe, can I use an Olympic distance triathlon race in the training for 70.3? And finally, why am I slower with a pool boy? Right, let's get stuck in then. Okay, yes, our first question comes from Ghost Train Photo says, hey, GTN team, I'm a newbie to triathlon. I did one sprint in 2021 and now training for my first 70.3. One issue I'm finding is that I'm running very, very slow, 14-minute mile and can't seem to run any faster without my heart rate going through the roof. I run about three to five times per week, but mainly zone two runs. Is it possible to do too much zone two running and plateau on speed? Do I need to be incorporating more speed where to eventually be running at a 10-minute mile pace at the same heart rate that I'm currently a 14-minute mile pace? Yes. Mark Threlfall Well, yes, I think the simple answer is yes, you probably have been doing too much zone two. It's not that you've been doing anything wrong because actually, as you say, you're new to the sport and it's a great base. Exactly. You've built the base, you've built that foundation, and now you're ready to take those next steps. Unfortunately, if you do just train at the same intensity the entire time, you will plateau. You'll get very good at that pace. You'll become essentially a diesel engine. Fantastic at just chugging along at that intensity. It's time now to introduce a little bit of intensity into your running and trying to spice things up a bit. Yes, it is. It sounds like you're doing quite a lot of running at the moment. That's great. It means you've got two or three sessions, sorry, one or two sessions of those five, four or five to play with that you can make those faster efforts. Whether you're doing some intervals, whether you're doing some working at the pace that you want to be running at, whether you're doing hill reps, just basically changing the gear in those sessions. That is the emphasis of those to get your body used to running faster, not for a very long period of time to start with. You then build that up and you will find that you'll just become more efficient actually running at the slower speed. You also still need to make sure that you do keep in those zone two runs and that you're really strict with that and you keep them in that zone and not going above. Otherwise, it all can become a little bit of a gray area and then maybe you end up getting too fatigued and you won't benefit that way. Also, as you do start to introduce some intensity in some runs, you may actually just want to knock down to four runs per week rather than doing your typical five. Good luck and let us know how you get on. Moving on to the next one from Billy Stinkwater. Hello, everyone. This week's question about improving the run got me thinking. I finished my second year of triathlon with two 70.3s in 2023. My weakest discipline is the run and I thought to do a marathon plan during the winter. I guess I averaged around 1,000 kilometers per year before with two to three runs per week. In the marathon training, obviously, increased that a lot and it worked well for about eight weeks. Then I crashed, figuratively speaking. Not sure if it was the running volume. It goes on to explain. It says, final question, how do I sustainably go from 70.3 training to marathon training while keeping bike and swim up? I think first things first, you need to obviously make sure that you get healthy and then you stay healthy. That is the key to any training program, being able to complete your training and look after your body. You've probably learned that the hard way. Then it's also important to know that just because you're doing X amount of hours for 70.3 training, you can't just directly transfer that to running because running is the toughest sport on our bodies of the three in triathlon. It's impact. It's going to cause a lot more fatigue and naturally, you just cannot run as many hours a week as you could bike, for example, as you could swim without the same effect. Maybe really put aside your swim and your bike and use them to actually help your running. Rather than thinking I need to try and keep them going, use them more in a way if they're going to help with recovery or help with the endurance aspect of your run-focused training. Mark Threlfall Yeah. It sounds like you're very motivated by this marathon plan and you're throwing everything into this, in which case, a proper marathon plan is absolutely exhausting. They're really hard work because it's a big feat. It's a big thing to undertake. If you're trying to push yourself in the swim and the bike too, it's going to be really hard going. Yes, as Heather says, use them just more to facilitate in terms of recovery and they will help with some of the aerobic conditioning too. When it comes to the running, it sounds like you maybe just need to progressively build that up a little bit more steadily. It sounds like you jumped in the deep end a little bit too soon in the past. Heather Fell Yes. I presume you've managed to comfortably do a half marathon within your 70.3. It's hard to know exactly where you're at with that and it does depend on your goal as to how fast you want to run that marathon as to how long you need to build this up. We would say between 12 to 16 weeks as a rough guide should be plenty of time for you to convert that half marathon fitness or from the 70.3 fitness into a marathon. Yes, you do have a little bit more than a half marathon fitness because the overall bike and swim will still give you that aerobic capacity. It's just a matter of making sure that your body is conditioned enough to increase that load over that period. Yes, you've got plenty of time on your side by the sound of it. Good luck with that and just bring it back to basics and then build up focusing on the marathon plan. Mark Threlfall Yes, we've got a somewhat similar question coming up. From Pedro Thurla, I'm currently focusing my training in a 200-kilometer gravel bike race. Again, going away from triathlon but it sounds like I want to keep up some triathlon fitness. To avoid losing my running fitness for future triathlons, I'm still targeting two run sessions during the week. Currently, I'm only biking and running with no swim sessions. However, this week, I've been diagnosed with a low back injury and so I'm having to avoid exercises that cause impact on my back. Having that said, I have to avoid running and some biking. My question is, can I replace these running and bike sessions for swimming sessions? I know it's not the perfect scenario for training for such a long bike race but given the circumstances, is it a decent option? Recommendations on my training plans, thanks in advance and great content. Yes, interesting. How do we unpick this one? He wants to do a long-distance gravel bike race, keep up his swimming and running but now he can't bike and run so he can only swim. Heather Fell It's literally the opposite dilemma to the previous person, isn't it? Sadly, you have chosen the worst two sports for crossover. Basically, this is going to be quite a challenge. First and foremost, you need to make sure you're looking after your back and you're getting that sorted. Swimming can give you some aerobic fitness and that is where that crossover is going to end. Mark Threlfall Yes. Your event's in July. We obviously don't know the extent to this back injury and how bad it is. Are we talking it's going to be better by the end of the month? Either way, when you do start to introduce any biking or running training, I'd say that running will probably come later down the line given the impact of running, then you want to do that very steadily and progressively. Don't suddenly launch back into big miles. Look at alternative means of trying to keep some leg strength there, so relevant to cycling. That might actually still be in the pool. There's things like aqua jogging. Some pools allow you to jump in and put a flotation device around yourself and doing some aqua jogging. You're running in the deep water and you're essentially going through a bit of a cycling motion there and that's really good for that side of the strength. Heather Fell It is very boring. You've literally got to work around your pain and hopefully, you're working with a good physiotherapist because I imagine core, I'm hoping you can do core work because that's going to be vital as well for when you do get back on the bike. Any strengthening exercises that you can do overall, like Mark mentioned, that don't aggravate the back will benefit more on crossover, but good luck with recovering from IT. Mark Threlfall Yes, I'm really sorry to hear this in all seriousness. I always like to say we often get these negatives that come during careers or when you're doing sporting challenges. Always try and look for the silver linings, the things that you can work on, focus on. Don't get bogged down in the negativity of your injuries. Heather Fell Swimming might just be helping your mental health even if it's not. That's still going to be a benefit, isn't it? This next question comes from Lukav808. He says, I'll be traveling to Central America for eight weeks for work next April to early June, but have races lined up late June and July. You guys are testing us, aren't you, this week? Once I'm away, of course, I'll be able to run. I should be able to do some open water swimming, but can't imagine I'll have access to a bike. What's the best way to approach training once I get back? Should I load more bike work into my plan and keep the running and swimming ticking over or keep it more balanced? Don't want to be in the same situation as James' triathlon on run fitness video. Mark Threlfall This is really interesting because we're getting more and more questions like this, which is quite inspiring. Obviously, triathlon is reaching so many people who are working with the oil industry and having to go off for months and then come back. They're still trying to give it a go. I admire that. It's making us think more creatively about how do we train for these events? What can we get away with? Some may manage it, some may not. My recommendation to you would be, preload a bit with the cycling and really get yourself as best bit as possible and strong on the bike as you can before you head away. Then obviously, as you say, you'll be able to then keep up the running and the swimming. Yes, coming back and you've got a short period of time to then get yourself prepped. Heather Fell I think the danger is when you come back is thinking, oh, you'll want to do loads of cycle training. Actually, that's why you have to be slightly reserved because it could end up being detrimental to you. You want to come back and almost just go into triathlon training of having an even balance between all of them. Because if you go and do loads of bike training, A, you might get injured and really sore and stiff, but then you'll drop the other two sports off so massively as well that you won't get the benefit that you've had from training for them. It's more a matter of you're just going to have to be patient and accept that your bike is not going to be strong on those first races and it will gradually come back. Also, if you can get access to doing any strength work out there, that will obviously translate nicely to the bike as well. Mark Threlfall Yes, in some ways, there's some crossover to the previous question as well because you're going to have to be creative whilst you're away and think of ways in which you can keep that bike strength there and work on it and be that maybe even the pool or yes, whilst you're running. Nice one. Next one from Bagley34, is adding a formal Olympic distance. Does that mean we're doing a shirt and tie in my training plan? A good measure of my fitness halfway or so through my plan for 70.3. Now, I think this is a great idea. It can be a slight gauge of your fitness. It's not going to be a be-all and end-all, you're not going to get tons of information and data from it. Personally, I think it's just a great idea to just blow the cobwebs out, go through the motions. If your focus is the 70.3, don't try and taper down for the Olympic and recover and then you should more or less just train through the Olympic distance. Use it as a big training day, blow those cobwebs out, gain a bit of insight and things you need to improve on and change up and then crack on tapering to 70.3. Heather Fell And by not tapering as well, should actually help you probably naturally be closer to your 70.3 pace because you're not going to be feeling so fresh and fast which is not what you need to get from that. You can also practice your nutrition. Obviously, it's a lot shorter but it's a good way to just practice the actual physicalities of taking on a drink on the bike or eating on the run and that kind of thing as well. There's a lot to be gained, just make sure it's long enough before that if you are a little bit tired the day or two after, you've still got a nice time to get another block of training in before the 70.3. Mark Threlfall Yes. Final question from Bmermaid, Julia here with a swim question. Why am I slower when swimming with the pool boy? I've seen plenty of videos where it's mentioned that a pool boy can actually make you faster as it helps with the body position. I was curious what the explanation for the reverse. Anything in particular I should be working on or is it simply that my body position is all right and thus I'm slower because I don't use propulsion from the kick? Well, news for you, I am also slower with a pool boy. Heather Fell I didn't know you were, I am. Mark Threlfall Yes. Personally, I think that's the right way, the normal way. Heather Fell The fact that your name is Bmermaid, I imagine that swimming is the thing that comes more naturally to you. Mark Threlfall Yes. You are taking half the propulsion away essentially. It's not quite that, but yes, you are taking significant propulsion away. Yes, your legs are floating on the surface a little bit better. That is why some people swim faster with it because normally, they're dragging their feet along maybe not getting as effective propulsion from their leg kick and therefore they pop the pool boy in and suddenly, they're just slipping through the water. Heather Fell We're all on the same page here. For those viewers watching who are thinking, oh, that's really strange. Why am I so much quicker with a pool boy? That will be, like Mark said, just changing your body position. You can get a bit more used to it by just training more with a pool boy and using paddles as well which can compensate for maybe that bit that you lose from losing your legs and you're gaining from the extra surface area on your paddles. It's more just there as a training aid. Obviously, you can't race for the pool boy. It's not something you need to worry about as long as you're using it well in your training. Mark Threlfall Yeah. Personally, if you feel that burn and you feel like you're really having to pull yourself through the water, that's a really good training stimulus. I enjoy that. That's exactly what it's there for. You're getting a lot from using it more so than those people that are flying along. Enjoy it. Well, yes, great. Thank you for the questions. Some challenging and interesting ones there today. Keep them coming in using that hashtag GTN Coaches Corner underneath this video or any video for that matter and we'll see you next time. Cheers.