Endurance 101: Zone 2 - Trusting the process
- Active Living Active Living
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Coaching Update & Athlete Recognition
Welcome to this week’s Activeliving4all Coaching Blog.
Right now we are in the thick of one of the biggest endurance racing seasons of the year here in Cape Town and across South Africa. For runners, cyclists, and endurance athletes, these early months of the year bring some of the most iconic and meaningful events on the calendar — the races that many people build their entire training season around.
This last month and Over the next few months the spotlight falls on major events like the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the legendary Two Oceans Marathon, the growing international stage of the Cape Town Marathon, and of course the ultimate test of endurance — the Comrades Marathon.
For many athletes, these races represent far more than just a finish line. They represent months of early mornings, disciplined training, tough sessions, setbacks, and personal breakthroughs.
And while these headline races are what people see on the big stage, what truly builds the season are the many smaller races and training events in between — the qualifiers, the comeback runs, the confidence builders, and sometimes even the tough lessons that make us stronger athletes.
Athlete Shout-Outs: The Past Few Weeks
The past three weeks in the Activeliving4all community have been nothing short of incredible.
Our athletes have been out on courses across the Western Cape putting in the work and showing up for themselves in ways that truly deserve recognition.
We’ve seen athletes:
• Smash their Comrades and Two Oceans Ultra qualifiers at the Cango Marathon • Chase down personal bests and powerful comeback runs at the Peninsula Marathon and Cango Half Marathon • Deliver strong performances at the ALL ROUND • Take on the unforgettable challenge of Robben Island Crossing • And of course ride one of the most iconic cycling routes in the world at the Cape Town Cycle Tour
Every single one of those finish lines tells a story.
Some athletes had smooth races where everything clicked — the legs felt good, the pacing worked, and the results reflected the work they’ve been putting in.
Others had to dig deep. Some days in sport simply don’t unfold the way we expect them to. The conditions change, the body doesn't cooperate, or the race just turns into one of those days where finishing is the real victory.
And that’s part of endurance sport.
Sometimes we celebrate a PB. Sometimes we celebrate resilience.
Either way, we always take the lesson, reframe the experience, and move forward toward the next goal.
This past weekend brought another highlight to the calendar with the West Coast Marathon.
For the Activeliving4all squad, it was a half-marathon focused weekend, and I was also on the start line.
If you read my other blog “Maybe Me Now”, you’ll know that this particular weekend holds a special place in my life for several personal reasons. Standing on that start line each year carries meaning beyond just another race.
And this year, the weekend delivered something truly special.
We saw barriers broken, massive route PBs, and even a few athletes discovering new races they now want to return to and conquer again.
Moments like these are what make coaching so rewarding — watching athletes grow, challenge themselves, and realise they are capable of more than they thought.
As a coach, nothing makes me prouder than seeing the Activeliving4all athletes consistently showing up.
Day after day.
Session after session.
Race after race.
Because the truth is — the results we celebrate on race day are simply the visible outcome of the work that happens quietly every week.
The early alarms. The long runs. The strength sessions. The recovery days when discipline matters just as much as the hard training.
To every athlete in this community: I see the work you’re putting in, and I am immensely proud of you.
We are building momentum toward our upcoming ultras and goal races, and if the past few weeks are anything to go by, there are some incredible performances still ahead. NOW Lets Get to today's real topic - Trusting the process of that ZONE 2 runs
If you train with me, you already know one thing about my coaching philosophy: we build the base first.
And the way we do that is through Zone 2 running and easy aerobic work.
It’s not flashy It’s not fast. And honestly… sometimes it’s downright frustrating.
But it works.
What Is Zone 2 Training?
Zone 2 training sits in what most watches will show as the blue and green zone. This is the effort level where your breathing is controlled, conversation is possible, and your body is primarily using oxygen and fat as fuel rather than relying heavily on glycogen.
In simple terms, it’s the effort where you are building your aerobic engine.
And that engine is what allows you to:
Run/Ride longer
Maintain a steady pace
Recover faster
And ultimately become a faster runner
Yes, faster — even though the training itself often feels slower.
Why I Emphasise Aerobic Base Training
Many athletes make the mistake of trying to run hard all the time. Every session becomes a race, every session becomes a push, and every hill becomes a battle.
The problem is that without a solid aerobic base, the body reaches lactate threshold much earlier.
That means the burn arrives quickly, the legs start loading up, the breathing spikes, and suddenly you find yourself deep in that place we jokingly call:
“The red zone… the did-you-die place.”
When we consistently train in Zone 2, something powerful happens.
Not only do we build the aerobic base needed to run longer, but we also strengthen the heart muscle itself. Over time the heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and delivering oxygen to the working muscles.
That’s where true endurance is built.
And when the aerobic system becomes stronger, the pace you can maintain at those lower heart-rate zones gradually becomes faster.
So while the training may feel slower in the moment, the long-term result is exactly what most runners want: faster miles with less effort.
The Hard Truth About Zone 2
Here’s the part most runners struggle with.
Zone 2 requires patience.
You WILL HAVE TO:
Walk some hills or ride really slow up them
Slow down more than you want to
Feel like you could easily go faster
Be Frustrated because some days your Heart rate just won't do what it needs to do - aka - go up too fast or go down in the wrong place according to you
And yes… sometimes it feels like you are barely running or moving at all.
For many runners or riders, this is mentally challenging because slowing down can feel like going backwards.
But experience has taught me something very important as both a runner and a coach:
If you spend enough time in that dreaded blue and green zone, the improvements eventually show up.
Your pace starts improving at the same heart rate.
Runs that once felt slow start feeling smooth and controlled. And before you know it, the pace you once had to push for becomes your comfortable cruising speed.
The Warm-Up Heart Rate Spike
Anyone who runs or rides regularly knows this feeling.
Those first couple of kilometres can feel completely out of sync.
Your heart rate jumps around, your breathing feels off, and your legs sometimes feel like they haven’t quite received the message yet that they’re supposed to be running.
This is something many runners experience — the warm-up heart rate spike.
In the beginning of a run or ride your body is still adjusting. Blood flow is increasing, oxygen delivery is ramping up, and the muscles are transitioning from resting mode into working mode. Until everything settles, the heart rate can look a little chaotic on your watch.
For many athletes, this is when the doubts creep in.
Why is my heart rate already high? Why do my legs feel heavy? Maybe today just isn’t the day.
But the reality is that this phase is completely normal.
For me personally, on my run my tick-over point sits around 3–4 km. Getting there can sometimes feel like a slog. But once I reach that point, the run starts to change.
The breathing settles. The stride finds its rhythm. The heart rate stabilises.
And suddenly everything starts to feel smoother.
That’s exactly why sticking to your intended warm-up zone matters. If the plan is a blue zone or low green zone warm-up, then that’s where you stay — even if the pace feels slower than usual.
The warm-up isn’t about speed. It’s about giving your body the time it needs to transition into the effort.
When the Opposite Happens: The Delayed Heart Rate Response
Interestingly, the opposite of the warm-up heart rate spike can also happen — especially during interval training.
Sometimes during a speed interval, when you are pushing hard, you might notice that your heart rate doesn’t immediately climb as high as you expect while you’re actually running the interval. Then, the moment you stop or move into your recovery jog or walk, your heart rate suddenly jumps up before it starts coming down again.
For many runners, this can feel confusing or even worrying. You might look at your watch and think something is wrong because the heart rate response doesn’t match the effort you just put in.
But in most cases, this is completely normal physiology.
When you run a fast interval, your muscles suddenly demand a large amount of oxygen and energy. The cardiovascular system takes a moment to catch up with that demand. Because of this slight delay, the heart rate may continue to climb briefly after the interval ends, before the body fully transitions into recovery mode.
Think of it like momentum. Your body is still responding to the effort you just performed, even though you’ve already slowed down.
Once the recovery phase begins and the oxygen demand drops, the heart rate will then start to gradually come back down again.
This delayed response is especially common when:
Intervals are short and intense
Conditions are hot or humid
You are fatigued from previous training
Your body is still adapting to higher intensity work
or some medications can cause this as well.
The key takeaway here is simple:
Don’t panic.
Your heart isn’t malfunctioning, and your training isn’t going wrong. It’s simply your body responding to the stress of the interval and adjusting as it moves from effort into recovery.
Understanding these small heart rate quirks can help you stay calm, trust your training, Stick to the plan and focus on the bigger picture — building a stronger, more efficient endurance system. Why We Keep Coming Back to the Base
Zone 2 training isn’t something you do once and then forget about.
It’s something we return to again and again throughout a training cycle.
Speed sessions, threshold runs, race pace efforts — all of those rely on having a strong aerobic base underneath.
Over the last couple of months, most of my own running has actually been focused almost entirely on blue and green zone base runs or rides
Part of that has been because of the treatment I’ve been going through, but another big part of it has simply been about keeping the basics going. When life throws challenges your way, going back to the fundamentals is often the best way to keep moving forward.
These steady aerobic sessions might not look exciting, but they continue building the foundation.
This past week I had a run...
You know the kind...
The ones where your mind starts having a full conversation with itself and My brain had a whole list of excuses lined up:
...My legs aren’t firing today. ...It’s too hot. ...This run is too long. ...I am Tired
...I am under fuelled
SO yes… I’m human too. I have those moments just like everyone else.
But instead of focusing on pace or speed, I stuck to the Plan for the run - the one thing that mattered for that run: keeping my heart rate in the right zone.
Just stay patient. Stay controlled. Trust the plan.
And then something interesting happened - and honestly in know this, but some days even this coach needs a reminder.
During that run I reached a threshold Speed I never in my wildest dreams thought possible a this stage of my training at that effort level.
Just staying controlled and trusting the process.
That moment was a powerful reminder of something I often tell the runners I coach:
This process works.
When you combine consistent aerobic training with strength work and structured running, the body adapts. The improvements don’t always show up immediately, but when they do, they often appear in ways that surprise you.
For me, that run was a clear sign that the work being done — both on the road and through the strength sessions — is moving things in the right direction.
And that’s an exciting place to be.
Trust the Process
Aerobic training isn’t about instant gratification.
It’s about long-term performance.
The athletes who commit to building their base properly eventually find themselves running:
Longer distances
Stronger races
Faster average paces
And most importantly, finishing runs feeling like they still had more to give.
So the next time your watch tells you to slow down…When you’re jogging up a hill while someone else sprints past…
Remember this:
You’re not just running or riding slow.
You’re building the engine that will carry you further later.
And when that engine is properly built, everything changes. 🚀
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