[Aamm]

For my workout today I did two laps on a pretty steep mountain, ~3k in 2 miles. To stay Z1/Z2, I essentially had to hike quickly on all the uphill. The total workout was 3 hours 30 min.

My question is, would the effect of training be greater if I went for a less steep run for the same amount of time, but where I was able to maintain a quicker pace in Z1/Z2? Or does pace not really matter, and it just comes down to time in the appropriate heart rate zone?

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on April 21, 2019 at 5:48 pm #20831

The answer to yor question depends on what you are training for. To take a rather extreme example for illustration purposes: If you are training for a road marathon then you need to be doing this type of aerobic base work on flat roads so the mechanics and speed are more similar to your intended event. If you are training to climb a big mountain then this workout sounds perfect. Pace on trails kinda just gos out the window really. The gradient and the roughness will be the big influencers of pace. If you’re training for a mountaineering goal then this targeting the specific uphill mechanics while hitting the metabolic bulls eye is ideal.

I hope this makes sense,
Scott