Power Running Physiology Enters the Mainstream (Read 2197 times)

Viich, As I noted earlier, I've never thought my training recommendations were particularly radical but some folks really get bent out of shape about them and the research data supporting them. You can see clear evidence of that in the last 2 pages of this thread.

Then why the websites and recurring manifestos that all say the same thing?

More excerpts from Run Faster Running Economy "The term 'running economy' refers to the energy cost of running at a given speed. Reducing the energy cost of running at your goal pace will help you sustain that pace all the way to the finish line." A while back I wrote an article making this very point - running economy is about energy use, not oxygen consumption. Therefore, when running economy improves it means the amount of energy you are burning at any particular pace is less. I propose that one of the main reasons that energy usage declines is because the muscle fibers have become more powerful. More powerful individual muscle fibers means fewer overall muscle fibers have to be activated to run at any particular pace.

More from Run Faster "There is really very little difference in the type of fitness that is needed to run your best 5K and the type that is needed to run your best marathon, or any intermediate distance. (Elite male runners run less than 45 seconds per mile slower in the marathon than they do in the 5K.) If you're in shape to run your best time at any distance between 5K and the marathon, you won't be far off optimal shape for any other distance." Think about that for a moment and then ask yourself, "What, physiologically, explains this fact?" It's not VO2max because at distances beyond 5K you don't run at VO2max. It's not lactate threshold because a) there is no lactate threshold, b) lactate doesn't cause fatigue, and (for those who still believe there is a lactate threshold and that it is somehow important to performance) c) the only distance you might run at lactate threshold is the marathon - all other distances are run at some other pace than lactate threshold pace. I suggest the answer is found in the one performance related physiological entity that is active and consistent at any and all race distance. That one entity is muscle.

Gopher, Choice c is included for those who still cling to the belief that there is a lactate threshold and that it is somehow important in performance. My apologies for not being completely clear in that post.

Anecdotal info: In 2005 after having been back in training for a few months, I hired an online coach from one of the big-name stables. The first step in the program was to run a 5k race to serve as a benchmark for training paces, which I did in 21:30. The next step was to build my mileage up to a peak of 50 mpw. I had been running 25-30 before that. We also picked out a goal race 4 months later in which I hoped to run 19:40. After reaching the mileage peak, 3 weeks before the goal race, I entered a 5k and ran 19:43. Along with building the mileage up, I had done a few tempo runs and a couple brief interval sessions of moderate intensity. Now for the sharpening phase: the coach dropped my mileage down to 25 mpw, had me run some short, hard intervals and rest 2 days each week. I ran my goal race in 19:40, which was somewhat of a disappointment considering it was only 3 seconds faster than what I’d run duriing the buildup. The plan from here was to continue with the low mileage, high quality plan and run some all-comers meets. The deterioration had already started to set in. I ran my next 5k in 20:34, and followed it up with 3 more that were slower than 20 minutes. The coach seemed to lose interest and gave some indications that he thought I just "didn’t have it". I “fired” him even though I had prepaid. I started running more miles with not as much intensity. Within 2 months of beginning the milage push I ran 19:41, essentially back to where I was the last time I’d run that many miles. Along the way I met up with another coach who has an almost direct opposite philosphy. We hit it off right away. He doesn’t have me run that hard in training but is a big believer in mileage and “resting” with easy running rather than days off. He also stresses avoiding what he calls “super hero workouts”, with most quality running done at a “comfortably hard” pace rather than hammering my brains out…consistency rules. This approach has enabled me to incease mileage to where I’m running more miles now at age 62 than I ever have in my life. Last week I ran a half marathon at sub-20 5k pace, including the final 5k. With the "low mileage-hight quality" approach I couldn't run a single 5k at that pace.

Thanks for a great post, Jim.

Linus got new glasses. Charlie Brown asked: "Oh, you got new glasses? Are they for near-sighted or far-sighted?" Linus said, "Which is which?" Charlie Brown goes, "Well, which is which... Is near-sighted when you can see... Wait. Is it far-sighted when you can see..." and goes on and on and on... Linus finally said, "I wear glasses so I can see better," and walked. away

People want to believe that quality trumps quantity because they won't or can't put the time in.

Quality and consistency.

I propose that one of the main reasons that energy usage declines is because the muscle fibers have become more powerful. More powerful individual muscle fibers means fewer overall muscle fibers have to be activated to run at any particular pace.

"Lactate Shuttle" could be an explanation for why endurance training helps speed.

In 1999, for example, he showed that endurance training reduces blood levels of lactate, even while cells continue to produce the same amount of lactate. This implied that, somehow, cells adapt during training to put out less waste product. He postulated an "intracellular lactate shuttle" that transports lactate from the cytoplasm, where lactate is produced, through the mitochondrial membrane into the interior of the mitochondria, where lactate is burned. In 2000, he showed that endurance training increased the number of lactate transporter molecules in mitochondria, evidently to speed uptake of lactate from the cytoplasm into the mitochondria for burning.