How Heart Rate Zones Changed My Running Forever
By: Ryan Felman @PATHTOMANLINESS
Most people run too hard on easy days and not hard enough on hard days. They live permanently in Zone 3. It feels fast so it tricks you into thinking you are improving. It also exhausts you without providing any real physiological benefit.
Zone 3 is the junk zone. I used to live there.
If you want to become a better runner you cannot stay there.
Most runners train with one strategy. They go outside. They run hard. They get tired. They tell themselves they had a good workout. And then they wonder why they stay slow, stay injured, or stay stuck at the same pace for years.
I used to be that guy.
Then I learned how to train with intention.
Recently I checked my heart rate data and saw something that made everything click. It showed this:
• Zone 1: 11 hours 44 minutes
• Zone 2: 37 hours 31 minutes
• Zone 3: 9 hours 27 minutes
• Zone 4: 6 hours 26 minutes
• Zone 5: 31 minutes
That is fifty seven percent of my training in Zone 2. When I saw those numbers, I knew exactly why my running had leveled up. Why my marathon time dropped to 3:53. Why I am hitting PRs across the board. Why I can train more, recover faster and actually enjoy the process.
This is what intentional training looks like.
And every man who wants to improve should understand this.
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What Most Runners Get Wrong
Most people run too hard on easy days and not hard enough on hard days. They live permanently in Zone 3. It feels fast so it tricks you into thinking you are improving. It also exhausts you without providing any real physiological benefit.
Zone 3 is the junk zone. I used to live there.
If you want to become a better runner you cannot stay there.
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Why Zone 2 is the Secret Weapon
Zone 2 is aerobic development. It builds the engine behind everything else. It teaches your body to burn fat. It increases mitochondrial density. It makes your heart stronger and your recovery faster.
Zone 2 is not glamorous.
It is not sexy.
It is slow.
But it is the foundation that makes you dangerous.
When fifty seven percent of your training is in Zone 2 you build an engine that can carry you through anything. Half marathons. Marathons. Ultras. You do not fall apart at mile fifteen the way most runners do. You keep going. You stay strong. You can even pick up the pace.
Men underestimate how powerful a big aerobic base really is.
It is the quiet superpower of endurance athletes.
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Why You Still Need the Hard Stuff
Zone 4 and Zone 5 are where you sharpen the blade. That is your threshold work. Your speed work. Your heavy breathing and burning lungs.
But here is the important part. This only works if the base is solid. High intensity training without Zone 2 is like trying to build a skyscraper on sand. It will collapse.
You need both.
But the ratio matters.
The ideal structure for most runners looks like this:
• Seventy to eighty percent easy
• Twenty to thirty percent intensity
That is almost exactly where my numbers landed. Not because I was lucky. Because I have been intentional.
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Results Do Not Come From Accidents
A lot of men think discipline is doing everything at max effort. But the truth is different. Discipline is knowing when to push and when to pull back. Discipline is running slow even when your ego wants you to speed up. Discipline is trusting the process.
This style of training is the reason my PRs are falling. It is the reason my body composition is better. It is the reason I can run with stronger athletes and keep up.
It is not a mystery.
It is math plus consistency.
When you train with intention, progress becomes inevitable.
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What You Can Learn From This
If you want to get better at running, here is what I recommend:
1. Start tracking your heart rate zones. Your watch already does the work. Use it.
2. Keep most of your runs in Zone 2. If it feels embarrassingly slow you are doing it right.
3. Protect your hard days. When it is time to work you work.
4. Avoid living in Zone 3. It feels productive but it holds you back.
5. Be patient. Zone 2 improvements take time but they pay off forever.
You do not need fancy gear. You do not need supplements. You do not need perfect genetics. You need consistency and intention.
The path to becoming a stronger runner is simple.
Most people just refuse to follow it because it requires humility.
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The Bottom Line
If you want to level up, build your engine.
Zone 2 is how you do it.
Intensity is how you sharpen it.
Consistency is how you turn it into results.
This approach changed my running. It made me faster, healthier and more capable. And if you follow it, it will change yours too.
Because once you start training with intention you stop being the man who hopes he gets better.
You become the man who makes progress happen.
