Zones setup
$19one time
I read your watch data and set your real heart-rate zones. You get numbers to put straight into your watch.
Choose zones setupRunning coaching by Roman Efimov
Run easy.
Get faster.
Personal coaching for busy adults 35+ and 55+. I set heart-rate zones that fit your body and write plans by time and effort that fit your week.
10K best 36:19 · chasing sub-32:00 in public on Strava
01 · Free tool
Find your easy zone
Enter your age. Add your resting heart rate if your watch shows it, and a recent race if you want easy paces too. It all runs in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Want zones from your own watch data? I read your runs and set zones that match your body. $19, one time.
Get my zones set upWhy age formulas miss (and a free way to check)
Many watches start by guessing your max heart rate from your age. The old rule, 220 minus age, gives numbers that are too low for older adults (Tanaka et al., 2001). Newer formulas are closer on average, but the typical error is still about 11 beats per minute (Nes et al., 2013). A 2025 study tested seven common formulas, and none was accurate enough to set one person's zones. For any one person, the error could reach about 18-24 beats either way (Martin et al., 2025).
Even a perfectly measured max does not fix everything. Across people, the lactate threshold fell anywhere between 60% and 90% of max heart rate (Iannetta et al., 2020). So 75% of max can be an easy run for you and a hard one for your friend.
Free check: the talk test
A few minutes into an easy run, say a few full sentences out loud (yes, people may look at you). If the words come easily, you're in the easy zone. If you need a breath every few words, slow down.
The point where talking starts to get hard matches your first ventilatory threshold, the top of easy running (Bok et al., 2022). Look at your watch right there. That heart rate is your own number, and I trust it more than any formula.
Why heart rate and not pace on easy days? In a 2026 study, runners stayed in the planned zone on an easy run 85% of the time with heart-rate targets from a lab test, and 69% of the time with pace targets from a 5K race (Ranieri et al., 2026).
02 · Who it's for
Busy adults, 35+ and 55+
This is for you if you run 3-5 times a week around work and family, and your easy runs feel harder than they should. Or your watch zones never match how you feel.
Every session in my plans is written in minutes and effort, for example "40 min easy, you can still talk". It works the same in kilometers or miles, at any speed.
The hard part is keeping easy days easy. Across 27 studies, athletes rated their easy sessions as harder than their coaches had planned (Inoue et al., 2022). Most of my job is catching that early.
Does easy running make you faster?
39:18 → 37:19
Recreational runners who did most of their training easy, with some hard sessions, improved their 10K by 5.0% on average. A group that spent more time at medium effort improved by 3.6%.
To be fair, the gap between the groups was not statistically significant overall. It was bigger in the runners who followed their plan most closely (Muñoz et al., 2014).
If you're injured right now, see a doctor or physio first. Pain needs a medical check before it needs a training plan.
See plans and prices03 · Plans and prices
Choose how much help you want
Prices are in US dollars. There's no checkout on this page: you apply, and I reply with payment details.
4-week ready plan
$29one time
A ready-made plan in minutes and effort. It isn't written for you personally, so it costs less.
Choose the ready planPersonal 4-week plan
$59one time
Written for you, around your week and your heart rate.
Choose the personal planMost help
Monthly coaching
$79per month
I keep adjusting your plan as your training goes. You can message me on WhatsApp, Telegram, email or Strava DM.
Apply for coachingFounding spots
The first 3 coaching clients pay $49 a month
Normally $79 $49per month
Same monthly coaching, $30 less. In return, you write a review of my coaching and let me share your progress.
Apply for a $49 spotNot sure which one fits? Ask me first.
04 · Your coach
Hi, I'm Roman
I've been running since 05.09.2021. I train with a Garmin Forerunner 965, and my runs go on Strava.
- 10K best
- 36:19
- 05.11.2025
- 5K best
- 17:26
- 25.04.2026
- Runs on Strava
- 1,068
- logged
- Activity streak
- 113
- weeks in a row
Strava numbers as of 10.10.2026.
Right now I'm chasing a 10K under 32:00, in public, with the data on Strava. You can watch the plan work (or not work, which is also useful data).
05 · Questions
Before you apply
How do I pay?
Not on this site. Send the application and I reply with payment details for the option you chose.
Which watch do I need?
Any watch that records heart rate. Garmin is the easiest for me to read, since I use a Forerunner 965 myself.
I'm 55+ or I have a health condition. Is this for me?
It can be. Talk to your doctor before any hard training, especially if you have heart problems. After that we start with easy running, which is the base of every plan anyway.
Do I need to be fast?
No. Plans use minutes and effort, so they fit any speed. Forty minutes easy is forty minutes easy, at 5:00 or at 8:00 per km.
Kilometers or miles?
Both. Plans use minutes, and the calculator shows pace per km and per mile.
What happens after I apply?
I read your answers and reply within 24 hours on the channel you picked. You pay only after we agree on what fits you.