How to Set Your Running Zones: VO2 Max, Lactate, and Why Your Zones Might Be Wrong

🔥 Want to train smarter and avoid common mistakes? This episode covers how to actually set your running zones — without falling into data traps or overtraining. 🎙️ This week, Coach Zoë shares insights from her VO2 max and lactate threshold lab test — and what it revealed about the accuracy of smartwatches, heart rate zones, and perceived effort. She and TJ break down: Why most athletes are using flawed training zones What "zone 2" really means — and why your easy days might not be easy enough The science of threshold, VO2 max, and how to test them (with or without a lab) The biggest mistakes athletes make with heart rate and watch-generated zones What effort-based training actually looks like in practice ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hot or Not: Backwards treadmill walking08:15 – VO2 max testing: what it actually tells you18:50 – Why your heart rate zones are probably wrong25:00 – RPE vs. heart rate: which is better?31:00 – Field tests for setting your running zones41:20 – Common mistakes and when to recalibrate52:30 – Should you do a lab test?56:00 – Why RPE still reigns supreme 📣 Subscribe so you never miss an episode 💻 Learn more about 1:1 coaching: https://www.microcosm-coaching.com/ 📸 Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/microcosmcoaching/