You’re probably misunderstanding Zone 2

You’re probably misunderstanding Zone 2

by | Feb 12, 2026 | Purpose of Different Runs, Training, Uncategorized

Zone 2 training has become one of the most discussed concepts in endurance running, and for good reason. Easy aerobic running is foundational.

But when runners say, “I trained in Zone 2 for a year and didn’t improve,” the issue is rarely a lack of patience or discipline. It’s usually a misunderstanding of how Zone 2 fits into the larger training picture.

Easy running supports aerobic development and plays an important role in building tissue resilience and durability. It allows adaptations to accumulate through repeatable, recoverable training.

For many runners, “Zone 2” aligns with easy, conversational running. But for higher-level athletes, spending too much time near the top of that range can quietly turn easy days into moderate ones and interfere with recovery.

What easy running does not do particularly well on its own is prepare you for the demands of racing.

Race performance depends on more than aerobic capacity. It requires efficiency at faster speeds, tolerance for higher metabolic stress, and the ability to coordinate force under fatigue. Those qualities are trained through targeted exposure to higher intensities.

That doesn’t mean hard workouts year round. It means that at some point in a training cycle, most runners benefit from introducing small, intentional doses of faster running. This can include strides, tempo or threshold work, and occasional VO₂max efforts. Each serves a different purpose, and together they complement the foundation built by easy mileage.

Easy miles make harder training possible.

Harder training makes fitness specific.

Where easy running matters most is when you’re building the ability to train.

If you’re newer to running, returning from time off, or rebuilding mileage, keeping most runs easy while gradually increasing volume is exactly the right focus. At this stage, easy running strengthens muscles and connective tissue, improves coordination, and raises tolerance for frequency and consistency.

But when weekly mileage is very low, easy running alone may not provide enough total stimulus to drive meaningful performance improvements, particularly for longer events like the half marathon and above. In those cases, progress often comes from a combination of consistency, gradual volume increases, and complementary stress such as short intensity work, strength training, or cross training.

The goal isn’t to rush fitness. It’s to expand what your body can handle sustainably.

The real value of Zone 2 isn’t that it’s a special or optimal pace. It’s that it allows you to train more, more often, without breaking down. By keeping mechanical, metabolic, and nervous system stress low, easy running makes recovery and repeatability possible.

That consistency is where long term fitness compounds.

As weekly volume becomes more sustainable, easy mileage creates room for quality work to actually do its job. Zone 2 isn’t about chasing a number or a philosophy. It’s about building training you can repeat week after week.

This Method of Setting Goals Can Work Wonders

This Method of Setting Goals Can Work Wonders

by | Jan 21, 2026 | Mindset Training, Uncategorized

by Coach Ray Nypaver

High-level performance isn’t just about pushing harder, but rather it’s about making better decisions under stress. The runners who improve year after year are the ones who can regulate effort, recover well, and adjust intelligently when training or life doesn’t go exactly as planned. Goals rooted in clarity rather than pressure lead to better consistency, lower injury risk, and more effective adaptation over time.

The framework below is designed to support both results and longevity. It keeps outcome goals in view while prioritizing the systems such as habits, mindset, recovery, and self-awareness that actually determine performance on race day. Whether you’re chasing a PR or aiming to stay strong and motivated for the long haul, this approach helps you explore what you’re capable of without burning out.

As we start 2026, and soon the year of the (fire) horse, Coach Ray Nypaver wants to make sure we’re setting ourselves up for success in the best way possible and using some scientifically backed research.

First and foremost, it’s important we revisit some of recent our pawsitivity posts:

(Shared on Instagram and Strava)

1) Love makes you brave: When our foundation is unconditional love, we have more willingness to both take risks AND no one it’s time to step back. We know when a goal that scares us a bit is a goal born through inspiration vs. a goal of the ego (I’m not enough as I am/ I need to prove myself). And no matter what, we know we’ll be okay, whether we succeed or fail (make a mistake to learn from)…which also settles our nervous system. And a relaxed nervous system actually helps us be our best selves.

2) Your job is NOT to reach your potential. Your job IS to explore the possibilities of your potential. For some of us, that will mean reaching what we are physically capable of. For others of us, it will mean we learn how to work with our negative thoughts and beliefs and turn towards compassion, which IS reaching our highest self.

Okay, now we can start goal setting:

*If you did each week of the Steps to Adventure plan with me, you’ll realize this is a summary of that, especially the Peak Goal Setting model in Step 5 (attached).

Why/(Big) Intention: Yes, we still want to have an understanding of why your goals are important to you, why they matter. While they don’t have to be profound, they should be deep enough to touch the heart.

It might be something like “I want to experience more joy in my life because I know the more joy I allow myself to feel, the more others in my life will give themselves permission to experience more joy too. And doesn’t the world need more joy?” Or more simply, “I want to experience more joy in my life, because I know I am worthy of it.” (If you do want to go profound, we could talk about the rates of depression in the world and how that is keeping good people from stepping up into their power and ability to influence with voices and hearts.)

The why comes from your heart.

Values: Know what you care about in life! Know your priorities! These will help ground you, especially if the mind/ego gets caught up in a goal. The paradox is, of course, that the more grounded we are the higher we can fly. Becoming attached to our goals puts us into a fear state. Shooting towards them with a loose grip and knowing what matters most in life keeps us inspired but relaxed. A relaxed nervous system means we have more energy to run and create.

Outcome goals: These are your race goals, PR goals, etc. Yes, these are important and we should absolutely set them… but truly, these goals are secondary. They are what inspire us to explore our potential, our energy, and what we can do with our energy in physical form. For those of you who have Instagram, Coach Sandi recently shared this: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTWC05-kQ6T/

 Outcome goals are mainly of the mind, but should be influenced by the heart.

Action Goal: These are daily and weekly habits or actions. (On a slightly bigger scale, these might be B races leading up to your A race). It could be running 3-5x each week, but for more of you, it’s more like getting in mobility 3-5x each week, asking yourself each morning before you run: What does my body need today? Or, I’m going to pat myself on the back each time I take 1 minute to practice diaphragmatic breathing during the day. (Little rewards, like acknowledging yourself, activate the reward center of your brain making it more likely that you’ll repeat the activity and increase self-esteem. Contrary to what we like to believe, self-judgment often has the opposite effect.)

Daily Intention: We have this reminder in one of our “Getting Started” boxes in Final Surge, and it’s a great way to make sure you’re not just going through the motions, keeping your love for running, and continuing to improve- even if it’s making sure your easy days are truly easy! It might be running based: I want to work on my form today, or technical trail practice, or a little more personal: I want to practice mindfulness and presence today, so when my mind wanders back to work, I’ll come back to my breath or surroundings. YOU CAN ALSO look back at your values and why, and integrate those more deeply. (From the therapy side of my job, I know I can write down and say all the things I’ve learned all I want, I know self-compassion is one of the best healing tools we have and I know negative beliefs can be composted and rewritten, but it doesn’t mean anything unless I actively integrate these lessons and practice them in my daily life.)

Obstacles: What obstacles do you see getting in your way on your path towards your goal, or potential? Is it a busy life? Work stress? Or knowing you have a tendency to push through fatigue and injury? We want to plan these out, but not without…

Plan How You Want to Work Through Obstacles: If you know you have a busy week coming up, you can coordinate with me/your coach, to have that be a recovery week in running. If you know you’re good at pushing through, maybe set a reminder on your phone that: Rest results in future growth and recovery allows for strength. We need the Yin and the Yang.

Of course, we can’t plan everything…but we can plan how we want to treat ourselves when things are hard and know who our support team is. At Higher Running, we hope you know that we care about each one of our athletes as people first, runners second.

Last, here’s a helpful, 7 minute meditation to get your goal setting started for the year:

Motivating Self-Compassion Break

(I’ve written enough for this email, but research now shows that self-compassion is beneficial to/can improve performance.)

Wishing everyone a beautiful, magical, and successful (how you choose to define it) 2026!

When “Hard” Is Just a Story You’re Telling Yourself

When “Hard” Is Just a Story You’re Telling Yourself

by | Jan 6, 2026 | Mindset Training, Uncategorized

Coach Sandi Nypaver shares one of her many tips to help you train a high-performance mindset that will allow you to achieve your goals. Thanks to neuroplasticity, anyone can develop a high-performance mindset with the right focus!

One of the biggest mistakes runners make when chasing big, uncomfortable goals is focusing only on how hard the process feels.

Yes, training can be challenging. Yes, growth requires discomfort.
But here’s the key: something often feels hard simply because we keep telling ourselves it is.

Words matter. The story you repeat in your head matters even more.

I recently had this exact conversation with someone about healthy eating. If you constantly tell yourself that eating well is hard, it will be. Every choice feels like a battle. But if you reframe it as simple, not easy, but straightforward, your experience changes entirely.

And the same applies to running!

If every workout is labeled as “brutal,” “miserable,” or “a grind,” your nervous system braces for pain before you even start. But when you shift your focus toward what you gain, things like confidence, strength, pride, momentum, you unlock a completely different training experience.

Here’s something worth remembering:

A belief is just a thought you keep thinking.

So the next time you’re staring down a tough workout or an ambitious goal, try this:

  • Acknowledge the challenge

  • Then intentionally focus on the pleasure, purpose, or progress it brings

You don’t need to pretend training is easy.
You just don’t need to keep convincing yourself it’s harder than it has to be.

Run with intention, and train with belief!

How are you responding to your training?

How are you responding to your training?

by | Dec 8, 2025 | Training, Uncategorized

One of the most important questions Coach Sandi Nypaver asks when reviewing an athlete’s program is: How are you responding to your training?

This matters because everyone responds differently. Take high-intensity VO₂ max speed workouts, for example. Some athletes thrive on them because they recover quickly and see big performance gains. Others? Even with great recovery habits, too many of these sessions can leave them completely fried.

That doesn’t mean those workouts aren’t valuable. It just means the way they’re integrated into your training plan should look different depending on how your body reacts. For some, sprinkling them in sparingly is the key. For others, they can be a cornerstone of progress.

And that’s just one example! There are countless ways training can impact you differently than someone else. So here’s the takeaway: Look at your training and ask yourself: Are you benefiting from it, or is it leaving you exhausted and holding you back?

Your response to training is the ultimate feedback loop. Pay attention to it, and you’ll unlock smarter, more effective progress.

Happy running,

  • Coach Sandi Nypaver

Why “B+ Workouts” Make You a Faster, Healthier Runner

Why “B+ Workouts” Make You a Faster, Healthier Runner

by | Nov 19, 2025 | Training

Are you racing your speed workouts… or finishing them with a little gas still left in the tank? Coach Sandi Nypaver breaks down why she prefers consistently “good” workouts over a few “great” workouts.

One of my favorite reminders comes from Mark Coogan who is an Olympian himself and coach to stars like Emily Mackay and Elle Purrier St. Pierre:

“Ten weeks of B+ workouts are better than four weeks of A+ workouts.”

Coogan has coached two athletes to the Olympic 1500m final, so he knows a thing or two about smart, sustainable training. And the more I read from his book Personal Best Running, the more I find myself nodding along because his principles echo what I tell my own athletes every week.

What Does a “B+ Workout” Actually Mean?

The point isn’t the exact paces but rather the intent. You train hard, but not so hard that you’re emptying the tank every session.

For many runners, “10K pace” can mean very different things (running a 30-minute 10K versus a 48-minute 10K are completely different physiological demands). That’s why I often cue athletes to run intervals at their 30-minute race pace instead, because it anchors the intensity more precisely than a distance alone.

But the message behind the workout is the same:

Finish feeling like you could have done one or two more reps.
Not that you couldn’t.

Why Backing Off a Little Works Better

Here’s what I’ve seen again and again as a coach:

  • Runners who “race their workouts” arrive at race day feeling flat.
    They’ve already spent their best effort in training.

  • Runners who train just a notch below their limit stay healthier, fresher, and more consistent.
    This is where long-term gains actually come from.

When you leave a workout with strength instead of depletion, a few things happen:

  • You can gradually increase mileage without breaking down.

  • You can handle more total reps at quality pace.

  • You avoid the spiral of exhaustion → illness → injury.

  • You show up on race day feeling sharp instead of drained.

It’s one of the least glamorous but most powerful truths in endurance training:
Consistency beats hero workouts. Every time.

Do You Ever Do an A+ Workout?

Yes, but rarely.

Every once in a while (especially if an athlete isn’t racing tune-up 5Ks or 10Ks before a longer race), I’ll put in a single “A+ effort” workout: something that lets them go all-in and feel that competitive gear before race day.

Try This for a Few Months

If you’re someone who loves to “win the workout,” try dialing things back just a touch for a training cycle.

You might be surprised at how much stronger, healthier, and faster you feel on race day.

Happy running,
Coach Sandi