Running Clinic: Know your running zones

Train Smarter: Unlock your potential with training in zones.

Together with Frans (www.rnnr.coach), our running coach, we will organise a running clinic for the late fall of 2025! It will be both a theoretical and a practical running test sessions, so prepare your brain as well as your legs for it!! (p.s. plus your fingers for lactate testing)

!! IMPORTANT: this event requires paid registration (link at the bottom of the description) !!

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Duration:
75–90 minutes (theory + practical running test)
Target audience:
Ambitious recreational and club-level runners who want to train more efficiently and reduce the risk of injury.

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Workshop Content

1. Introduction – Why train in zones?
• The difference between training hard and training smart
• Basic physiology: when do you build fitness, and when do you break down?
• How training zones help structure your week for maximum return

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2. The 5-zone model explained (heart rate & pace based):
• Zone 1 – Recovery / Easy pace
• Zone 2 – Aerobic threshold: low-intensity endurance, fat burning
• Zone 3 – Tempo: building aerobic capacity and efficiency
• Zone 4 – Anaerobic threshold: working near your max sustainable effort
• Zone 5 – VO2max: improving speed and power

We’ll discuss how each zone feels, how it’s measured, and how to apply it in your own training.

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3. Heart rate vs. pace – how to determine your personal zones:
• The concept of aerobic and anaerobic thresholds
• How to estimate zones from race results or structured workouts
• Introduction to lactate threshold testing and its value
• Overview of tools: GPS watches, heart rate monitors, power meters (Stryd), TrainingPeaks

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4. Threshold field test with lactate sampling (!! Practical session !!):
We’ll run a short controlled test (around 2 x 6–8 minutes) to check if runners are running at their individual threshold pace.
• Runners run at a pace they believe is their threshold
• After the interval, a small blood sample is taken from the fingertip
• We analyze lactate levels to determine if they’re below, at, or above threshold
• Immediate feedback provided: are you pacing correctly?

This gives runners direct, personal insight into their current fitness level and how their body responds to a given intensity.

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5. Application – How to use this in training
• How to structure a week with different intensities
• Common mistakes: always running in the “gray zone”
• How to adjust your training based on lactate, heart rate, and feel
• Smart race prep: using threshold to guide race pace strategy

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Learning Outcomes

After this workshop, participants will:

• Understand the five training zones and their physiological purpose
• Know how to train using heart rate, pace or perceived effort
• Learn the difference between aerobic and anaerobic threshold
• Have experienced a real-world lactate test to validate their threshold pace
• Know how to apply these insights in training and racing

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Want to stop guessing and start training smarter? Join this workshop and learn how to unlock your full potential using your body’s own data. Run better, run smarter.

Registration via:
https://app.clubcollect.com/forms/nl/atac/2025-running-discover-the-power-of-training-zones

(easy: ticket -> then RSVP -> then join!)