Zone 2 Myths, Heart Rate vs. Effort, Heat Training, and Zone 3 with Brady Holmer
Release Date: 06/20/2024
Jesse Itzler on the Magic of 100-Mile Ultramarathons: Mindset, Entrepreneurship, & More
The Strength Running Podcast
Imagine a running festival combined with a retreat plus a race thrown in there: That's Jesse Itzler's Runningman. Jesse Itzler is the founder of Runningman and All Day Running Co., a serial entrepreneur, an author, an endurance sports enthusiast, and a 100-mile ultra marathoner. In this episode, we talk about: Translating running's discipline and consistency into other areas of life Sharing the values of health and wellness with children Jesse's approach to long-term running planning Finding the sweet spot of having a plan while being flexible The parallels of 100-mile races and...
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Team USA Coach Paul Greer on the Pillars of Development for Youth & Master’s Runners
The Strength Running Podcast
How do we develop new runners, young runners, and master's runners, into great runners? Paul Greer is a professor of Health and Exercise Science at San Diego City College, coach of the San Diego Track Club, and the 2016 and 2024 Team USA Men’s Junior Cross Country coach. With about 40 years of coaching experience, Paul has a lot of wisdom to share for runners from youth to master's levels. His athletes include hundreds of Boston qualifiers, several top age-group competitors, and a handful of Olympic qualifiers. In this episode, we talk about: Reasons for the lack of adult cross-country...
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Inside the Race Industry: The Future of Timing & Why Races Cost So Much with CEO Phil Dumontet
The Strength Running Podcast
Ever catch yourself complaining about how much you paid to sign up for a race? Here's the inside story. Phil Dumontet is a 2:42 marathoner, the founder of Boulderthon, and the CEO of race management and timing company Brooksee. Personally, I believe Brooksee's timing technology is going to revolutionize road racing in the future. In this episode, we talk about: The day-to-day of a racing management company CEO: managing races, training teams, and building partnerships Race marketing and differentiation, with a look at Portland and Boulderthon's strategies Race planning, permitting, and...
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Unfiltered: New Equipment, Jason’s Knee Injury, Milestones, and more with Jon Levitt
The Strength Running Podcast
Kick back for a less structured conversation with my friend Jonathan Levitt, focusing on the big and small real-life issues affecting runners. Jon is a runner, cyclist, and host of For The Long Run Podcast. I like to joke that Jon is the Mayor of Boulder because of his ridiculous network of every single runner who lives within 100 miles. We share a lot of miles on the Boulder trails together and have great, rambling conversations about the running industry and our personal training, like this one. In this episode, we talk about: New running equipment thoughts A silly knee injury: How I’m...
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Aerobic Threshold and the Benefits of Zone 3 with John Davis, PhD
The Strength Running Podcast
In today's running culture, people can't stop talking about Zone 2 running. But what about Zone 3? John Davis is an author, running coach, former collegiate runner, and an expert in human performance with a focus on biomechanics. He ran at Carleton College before getting a PhD in biomechanics at Indiana University's School of Public Health, focusing on running injuries. In this episode, we talk about: The underutilized value of Zone 3 running Why zones aren't as clear as many people make them out to be Lactate threshold and steady-state max in running High-end aerobic training and its...
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Dr. Gaby Go on Plyometrics: Safety and Benefits, Scheduling, & Favorite Plyos
The Strength Running Podcast
Most runners have heard of plyometrics, but are they using these exercises effectively to prevent injury and boost performance? Dr. Gaby Go is a Doctorate of Physical Therapy who ran Division 1 Track and Field for the University of Maryland, College Park, and who qualified for the Boston Marathon in her debut marathon. Today, Gaby’s sharing a lot of knowledge around plyometrics for runners with us. In this episode, Gaby and I talk about: The basics of plyos: what they are, who they're for, and what they do Using plyometrics for tendon health, especially the Achilles How plyometrics help...
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Zone 2 Q&A: Can You Run Too Slow? When Does Easy Pace Get Faster?
The Strength Running Podcast
Have we put Zone 2 running on an undeserved pedestal? A dug into Zone 2 as it relates to heat training. One listener named Nadine emailed me some great questions to follow up on the Zone 2 conversation. Like many of you, easy running has gotten confusing for Nadine because of so much of the advice on the internet to never go faster than Zone 2 and the value of very slow running. But Nadine was feeling better at slightly faster paces! I figured it'd be more helpful to record a conversation about these topics as a follow-up to our episode with Brady, and Nadine agreed. In this episode, we talk...
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How to Run a Faster Marathon (new coaching call!)
The Strength Running Podcast
Hoping to get faster at the marathon and reach a personal best? So is Nick Jordan, a member of Team Strength Running. Nick joined this coaching program in order to most effectively use his time and effort to get the best possible chance of reaching a marathon personal best. We talked about what he can do in the remaining months to stack the deck in his favor. is a program that includes ongoing coaching directly from me, access to a team of other runners just like you, a library of 30+ training plans, a whole bunch of discounts, bonus resources, and more. In this coaching call, we talk about: ...
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Alex Larson, RD on Sugar Cravings, Weight Loss & Training, Salt Supplementation, and More
The Strength Running Podcast
Sugar cravings, salt content, underfueling, post-race beers… Runners get a lot of conflicting nutrition information, so we’re asking your questions to a registered dietitian! Alex Larson is a Minnesota-based registered dietitian and Ironman triathlete who’s worked with thousands of athletes in more than fifteen countries. I get a lot of questions from endurance runners about nutrition, so we collected your questions for Alex to answer. In this episode, Alex answers these running nutrition questions: We have treats in the house for the kids, how do I stop stealing them? What are best...
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Mario Fraioli on Training for the Mile (at 40+) and Placing 3rd at the National Masters Championship
The Strength Running Podcast
Whether you love the mile or you want to continue running into your 40's or beyond, you'll be inspired by this Masters runner. Mario Fraioli is a Bay Area-based running coach who works with a number of Olympic Trials-level marathoners, top ultrarunners, and competitive age-group athletes. He’s one of the most competitive Master’s runners in the USA, having run the 2023 Boston Marathon in 2:34 and with his recent 3rd place finisher at the 2024 National Masters Road Mile. In this episode, Mario and I talk about: Mario's goal to break the 5-minute mile at age 42 Love for the mile: a perfect...
info_outlineBrady Holmer knows a lot about running and a lot about science: a perfect combo for a conversation on the show.
Brady is a lifelong endurance athlete who competed in cross country and track at the collegiate level. He currently works as a science writer and researcher, holding a Master’s degree in human performance. He also recently ran his PR in the marathon: a 2:37.
In this episode, Brady and I talk about:
- The flexibility of heart rate zones and their impact on training adaptations
- Physiology is constantly fluctuating: zones aren’t static
- RPE (rating of perceived exertion) is a valuable metric for runners
- The 80/20 rule of running: 80% lower intensity and 20% higher
- Benefits and nuance of Zone 2, Zone 3, and Zone 4
- Zone 3 training is complicated, but not pointless
- When to ignore heart rate during runs
- Maintaining intensity during hot weather
- Running in summer heat leading to higher heart rates and increased cardiovascular drift
- Heat acclimation and its benefits for runners (and also cooler weather benefits)
- Bike intervals for adaptations and injury prevention
- Finding optimal running paces
You know that friend you have who won’t stop talking about Zone 2? Send them this episode now.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Brady on Twitter/X
- Brady on Instagram
- Brady’s Substack
- VO2 Max Essentials Book
- Get the free injury prevention email series.
Thank you DrinkLMNT!
A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.
DrinkLMNT’s products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.
If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.
Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They’re the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out DrinkLMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.
Thank you to 2Before!
We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.
So, if you want to try to boost your performance and immune system, use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.
Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!
Thank you MOBO Board!
Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!
Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.
I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.