Zone 1
Could sing. Walking and warm-ups.
under 113bpm
under 69% of LTHR
Your Marathon Heart Rate Zones
Every run in your plan is set as a % of your threshold heart rate (LTHR). Pop in your test result to see your targets in beats per minute, and your marathon pace for your goal time.
LTHR from
Week 2 and week 11 of your plan.
Run 30 min, as hard as you can hold evenly. The last 20 is your LTHR.
Sets your marathon effort and pace.
- LTHR used
- 165bpm
- Marathon pace
- 9:09/mi · 5:41 /km
Zone 2
Could hold a phone call. If your breathing deepens, you have gone over the top of easy.
Easy and long runs: 119-135 bpm
113-137bpm
69-83% of LTHR
Zone 3
Answer a question, not ask one.
Your marathon effort: 144-152 bpm
138-155bpm
84-94% of LTHR
Zone 4
Committed, steady. Threshold work, 10K effort and the test.
156-173bpm
95-105% of LTHR
Zone 5
Very hard. Short hill reps, run by feel.
174+bpm
106% of LTHR and up
Put it in TrainingPeaks
- Open TrainingPeaks settings, then Zones, then Heart Rate, Run.
- Enter your LTHR: 165 bpm, method Andy Coggan.
- Click Calculate, then Save. Your workouts and watch now show the targets in bpm.
Two honest warnings
Formulas are estimates. The age number only gets you to your test. Do the 30-minute test in week 2 and use that number from then on.
Watches run hot. If your watch sets zones for you, it usually puts the threshold zone a few beats too high. Knock 3 to 5 beats off its top zone. Your legs will thank you. Your ego will cope.
Hot days
Heart rate climbs in heat, humidity, after coffee and after a short night. Your zones stay the same.
On those days, run the effort and accept a slower pace.
Want a coach to set these for you?
A Wingman coach reads your test results, sets your zones and race-day plan, and adjusts them as you get fitter, so every session is pitched right.
Questions about your zones? Ask Coach Stephan .