I have a bit of an order of operations quandary. I just finished my first marathon (4:37 due to substantial leg cramps). Most of my runs were focused on staying in zone 2, which was between 10:30 - 11:30/mile with some tempo/intervals thrown in. My half marathon PR is 1:55 (a year ago) and 1:57 (6 months ago). My next goal is a 1:45 half marathon. To do this, my easy runs should be in the 9:00-9:30 neighborhood. My question is, how do I get to that without sacrificing the coveted zone 2 heart rate?
I have a bit of an order of operations quandary. I just finished my first marathon (4:37 due to substantial leg cramps). Most of my runs were focused on staying in zone 2, which was between 10:30 - 11:30/mile with some tempo/intervals thrown in. My half marathon PR is 1:55 (a year ago) and 1:57 (6 months ago). My next goal is a 1:45 half marathon. To do this, my easy runs should be in the 9:00-9:30 neighborhood. My question is, how do I get to that without sacrificing the coveted zone 2 heart rate?