[Poli1979]

Hi,

early this week a did a lab test in order to measure my LT1 and LT2 and now I received the results which are kind hard to believe for me. The test itself was conducted that I started running at 8km/h for 10 minutes as a warmup, incline was set to 0% for the whole duration of the test. After that the test began with 9km/h for 4 minutes. After that blood was taken from my finger and speed reduced to 3 km/h. During blood sampling I stood still on the sides of the treadmill. The next round was at 10km/h again for 4 minutes (each round the speed was increased for 1km/h) and so on until I could no longer maintain the speed for 4 minutes (I think that the final speed was 16km/h which I managed to sustain for 2 minutes). Blood lactate measurements showed that my LT1 is at 156 BPM (speed 5:13 min/km) and LT2 is at 171 BPM (speed 4:30 min/km). During the last round my highest heartrate was 184 BPM. I am 45 years old and training with Scott’s principles (lots of Z2) more or less for the past 5-7 years.

And now to what puzzles me the most. In report there is also a table of training zones with corresponding heartrate based on my test results:

Z1/recovery = min – 119 BPM

Z2 = 120 – 156 BPM

Z3 = 157 – 164 BPM

Z4 = 165 – 176

Z5 = 177 – 184

What puzzles me the most is the high number of my top Z2. Up until now I was made to believe that my upper Z2 limit was around 140 BPM and planed my training around that value. OK, I have to admit that the number 140 was based more on my feel when I ran at that intensity rather than specific test. I did some heartrate drift tests in the past, but did not check that on a regular basis. I was more listening to my body and how I felt after a 3h run in Z2. I was tired, but not devastated and could easily do it again the next day. Even after a 5-6h run/walk in the mountains I was still able to operate in the afternoon and in the evening.

So my question is: is the calculation of the zones right? Can you give me any insights on that? I really don’t want to start training in higher intensities than what my body and system is able to sustain in the long run. As I am a time constraint athlete (work, family…) I really need to use my training time as wisely and as efficiently as possible.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have on this. And if any additional data from the test is needed, I’m more than happy to share it with you.

Pete

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