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COMPLETE TRACK AND FIELD CONDITIONING

FOR THE ENDURANCE EVENTSIN TRACK AND FIELD

COMPLETE TRACK AND FIELD CONDITIONING The Complete Guide to Track & Field Conditioning

By Scott Christensen

PUBLISHER Complete Track and Field, LLC

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All rights reserved. Except for use in review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER The material contained within this book is intended to provide athletes and coaches with basic information regarding strength and conditioning and program design as it applies to the sport of Track and Field. The author, publisher and editor(s) are not responsible for any injury resulting from any material contained herein, including but not limited to death. Before beginning any exercise program or suggesting any exercise program to others, it is recommended that readers consult and obtain clearance from a licensed physician.

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COMPLETE TRACK AND FIELD CONDITIONING

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Complete Track and Field Conditioning for the Endurance Events in Track and Field


AN INTRODUCTION TO CONDITIONING FOR THE ENDURANCE EVENTS IN TRACK AND FIELD

Developing and implementing an effective conditioning program for the endurance events involves a large measure of scientific knowledge dispensed with a masterful art of psychological delivery.

Successful athletic achievement has an important place in our society. The conditioning and training needed to be successful in something as athletically specific as an endurance event in track and field is not a simple process. Some experts do claim it is simple, but taking a close look at the human body will reveal otherwise. The anatomy and physiology of the human body is surely more complicated than any machine, thus the knowledge needed for conditioning an athlete to success in the endurance events is certainly more paramount to any rocket science.

This text will give the readers a basic scientific understanding of why we condition endurance athletes as well as the necessary components as to how to do this conditioning.

If compared to the rest of the animal kingdom in the biological world, humans are not really skillful at any locomotive activity. We cannot climb very well, sprint very fast, lift very much, run very far, or take flight at all. But, we are systematically adaptable and psychologically motivated creatures, thus we are quite trainable. Of all of our body’s physiological systems the most adaptable and changeable may be our cardiovascular system which will be the engine that allows us to run farther and at a faster pace.

This will be the major focus of any sensible endurance training plan: Presenting a proper and well-timed stimulus load in order to cause summary adaptations of the cardiovascular system. By changing this system we will also elicit changes in the neuro-muscular and pulmonary systems which will provide further enhancement to an evolving physiological and anatomical framework in the body.




At the intersection of the specifics of a sport, and the drive of the athlete, is a central point known as the coach. The coach draws upon many resources, personal experiences and original ideas in planning, presenting, and implementing a sensible and systematic plan of improvement for the athlete.

There is no single plan that works for every athlete, nor does the same plan work over and over for the same athlete. The training plan itself must be as unique as the athlete is at that moment in time. The endurance athlete training plan cannot be a static set of ideas, for it must be dynamic in its ability to be constantly evolving and developing.

Nothing is definite, nor to be believed, until it has been proved with data. Each practice day and competition provides additional evidence for the coach to make one’s decisions upon in progressively conditioning the athlete.

Interpreting visual and statistical evidence from practice and meets, and then planning specific conditioning and training for the improvement of performance is the limited scope of this text. As in all science you cannot pick and choose which parts of the evidence you care to believe. The coach must critically analyze exactly what happened and then make the feedback necessary to the athlete. Ultimately, goals may need to be adjusted either way by both the athlete and coach.

This text should provide a body of knowledge for the coach in order to properly interpret this accumulating evidence in the quest for the top performances possible by their endurance athletes in track and field.





DESIGNING A CONDITIONING PROGRAM

Studies done by some of the finest sport psychologists in the world indicate that an overwhelming number of athletes benefit from having a coach. Track and field studies indicate that not only is the coach the most influential, non-family member in an athlete’s life, but improvement of performances is much greater by those athletes with an on-site coach. The coach serves two purposes: mastermind and cheerleader. The former is the person that develops a solid conditioning program for the endurance athlete. The latter is the person that progresses the athlete through each day of following the prescribed conditioning program. Both are necessary and important to the athlete.

It is crucial that the total program have a systematic approach. This means the program is built with a set of lists that need to be followed for each element of integrated organization. Many of these elements will be considered here as part of the conditioning of the endurance athlete, others like psychology and specific racing tactics will not be. Because it is systematic, no single element is more important than the other, and these elements are not built as steps, which would indicate you must climb up on one and complete it, before you move on.




The elements and lists are as follows:

• A comparative list showing the physiological demands for each of the endurance events.

• A defining list of qualities and abilities that the athlete should

posses for each of the endurance events.

• A descriptive set of lists for activities to be done during the general preparation and specific preparation phases of each of the endurance events.

• A descriptive set of lists for activities to be done during the pre-

competitive and competitive phases of each of the endurance events.

• A goal list indicating how each of the 5 biomotor skills will be

developed for each of the endurance events.

• The entire set of lists must be organized in a manner reflective of the scientific method so that the package is an administrable training program that is supportive of the logic: if this is done, than this will result.

• The training package itself should be open to ongoing refinement

and evaluation as more statistical evidence is recorded.





COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ENDURANCE EVENTS

An endurance event in track and field is defined as any of the events in which the contribution of the body’s aerobic system in metabolic energy conversion becomes vital to the success of that event. This is not to say that the other two metabolic energy conversion systems, the glycolytic anaerobic and alactic anaerobic, do not continue to make contributions to the entire energy demands of the event, but the aerobic system does become decidedly significant. Generally, physiologists and coaches have agreed that the 800 meter races, and distances greater than this, are the endurance events. In the endurance track and field events at the Olympic and World Championship level this designation moves all the way up to the marathon.

The aerobic system uses the atmospheric oxygen molecule to convert the nutrients, carbohydrates and fats, to the in-body energy particle ATP, which is then used to facilitate a muscle contraction. While this is an efficient metabolic function of the body in respect to the waste products produced, it does not serve high demand activities very well. The speed that the aerobic enzymes work at is comparatively slow in difference to the faster enzyme speed of the two anaerobic systems. Sprinting, jumping and throwing are generally regarded as mostly anaerobic activities and distance running is mostly an aerobic activity as the body tries to match the physiological system to the work demand.

The energy conversion contribution of the aerobic system to the work demand increases as the length of the race increases. While the duration of the race certainly adds to the work demand, it is the intensity of the work that actually balances the contributions of the three energy conversion systems. Longer races are run at a slower pace. Within the endurance events there is quite a range of competition distance. The 800 meter race is certainly more intense than the 10,000 meter race. Because of this range, training regimes must also mirror the energy demand of the race by the athlete. It is up to the coach to decide the amount of training work that needs to be done to stress each of the three metabolic energy systems in a manner that is reflective of the race and the athlete.




Physiologists began seriously studying the energy contributions by the three energy systems in the late 1950’s and 1960’s, first using animals and than moving on to humans. The following table of human percentage values was accepted during this period, and while it has been open to much scientific discussion, it is still generally regarded as acceptable data. Even if further study changes these contributions slightly, the relationship of the events to one another should never change.

EVENT

AEROBIC % ANAEROBIC

GLYCOLYTIC % ANAEROBIC ALACTIC %

800 meters 40% 53% 7%

1500 meters 50% 47% 3%

3000 meters 70% 30% <1%

5000 meters 80% 20% <1%

10,000 meters 90% 10% <1%

Marathon 98% 2% <1%

The percentage of contribution data table from each of the three energy delivery systems gives the coach an excellent inauguration into understanding the physiological demands of the different endurance events. This information, however, are just numbers organized into sets of comparative data. The real benefit of this knowledge will be in translating scientific data sets into the practical application of a conditioning plain. Basically, designing work stimulus that can be applied to elicit biological changes in the body to reach these percentage values for each athlete. Any of these endurance events could be completed as a full aerobic activity, that is, by walking or easy jogging the distance. However, there is no race success that way. In reality what happens is a combined zone of training must occur linking all three systems into the proper levels of integrated energy delivery in order to match the race pace. This is called conditioning the combined zone system. It will be done with a progressive set of workouts that




will couple the stimulus load with the demand of the particular race resulting in adaptations to the body which will be physiologically positive for success in that particular endurance event..

The table below compares the different endurance events with the general categories of work that will be done to elicit the biological changes of the body in order to effectively reach these energy delivery percentages. In the chart: ‘V’ is vital and needs to be highly stressed, ‘I’ is important and needs to be moderately stressed, and C is a concern that needs to be occasionally stressed.

CONDITIONING

WORK 800

Meters

1500

Meters

3000

Meters

5000

Meters

Aerobic efficiency I I V V

Aerobic power V V V V

Lactate tolerance V V V V

Lactate threshold C C C C

Anaerobic power V V I C

In later chapters of this text, the conditioning work shown above will be fully explained and specific workouts will be described to meet this type of work. For now, it is enough to know that all of the endurance events are disparate; both in their demand on energy delivery by the bodies systems and the conditioning work needed to facilitate these demands. This is the starting point the coach needs to understand in making the first steps of assigning athletes into training groups and how often different training aspects need to be addressed for each group.





NEURO-MUSCULAR INVENTORIES AND APPLICATION

The term biomotor is not a scientific word; in fact, it is officially not a real word at all, it is a jargon term that coaches use to try to describe what physiologists refer to when talking about the neuro-muscular skills that an individual may posses. Used along with biomotor is the term biomechanics. Unlike biomotor, this term is now an accepted scientific and somewhat common word, used to describe the application of the neuro-muscular skills of a living organism against the natural forces of the universe. Both of these terms are important in describing the cause and effect aspects of conditioning track and field athletes in a clear and concise manner.

There are five general biomotor skills that all humans possess. These skills are: strength, speed, flexibility, coordination and endurance. All of these skills are performed by the muscular system with information received by the nervous system, thus they are known as neuro- muscular actions. In the endurance events it is impossible to say which one of the five is the most important, for a case can be made for the importance of each. Just accept the fact that they are all important and each skill will need to be addressed in the conditioning program.

Strength is defined as the ability to exert force against all manner of resistance. In training and conditioning, strength is looked as the ability of the neuro-muscular system to produce forces to overcome this resistance. Endurance events in track and field have the slowest cumulative horizontal velocity of all of the events. Comparatively, the speeds of the individual limbs are slower as well. Since strength is used to overcome resistance, something that is slower, needs less overall strength. Endurance athletes need specific areas of strength, coupled with good general strength. General strength will involve exercises that require little if any external forces working with the body. The body weight of the athlete serves as the loading agent, for that is the specificity of distance running: moving the body mass from the starting line to the finish line. Exercises and conditioning of the strength biomotor skill need never fall far from that idea.




Speed is a very misunderstood word in the endurance conditioning program. Speed is a general term and should never be confused with the physiological term of maximum speed, but it usually is. Speed is simply the rate of motion. Maximum speed is the rate of motion for up to 60 meters of distance at 100% effort. As an endurance coach, just about every workout that you will apply has an improvement in general speed as the overall goal, yet very few workloads produce an improvement in maximum speed.

The miscommunication usually occurs when an endurance coach and a sprint coach try to describe the same workout that an athlete did during a session at faster than race pace. To an endurance coach it is all speed work, because it is indeed faster than race pace. To a sprint coach it is about the duration and intensity of the session with very strict parameters that describe these sorts of sessions. Sprinters use the term speed to indicate a 100% effort up to 60 meters, and then speed endurance is 95% effort from 60 meters to 150 meters, and then special endurance 1 at 90% effort from 150-300 meters and so on. On the days the endurance athlete does faster than race pace work the coach must think, plan, and communicate like a sprint coach to get the proper message across as to what the projected outcome may be.

Flexibility is an important biomotor skill because it puts the kinetic chain of motion structurally into place. The position of the joints of the bones dictates which muscles are recruited to facilitate movement. The bones themselves are inflexible, and the connective tissue is somewhat inflexible, so real gains in flexibility are made in the positioning and strength of the muscles at the joint. Flexibility is a term that includes ballistic, static and passive positions that when combined assist in muscle recruitment and postures of the body. The ballistic capacity describes the ability to move the joints of the body where little resistance is found. Static flexibility is the framework for the body’s range of motion and balance. As a distance runner completes one stride cycle, there will be a brief moment when the only point of contact that person has with the earth will be a small balance point between the foot and the ground. If the performance of that athlete is to improve, the shortest amount of time to stabilize that balance point must be achieved. The passive position is one that is required to respond to elongation of the muscle




caused by the athlete’s body weight, or when working with partner assisted stretching routines.

Coordination is the general ability to sequence the contraction of various muscles into an organized chain of movement. Like all of the biomotor skills, the depth of this skill is dictated by genetic predisposition. However, improvements can be made both will skill acquisition and through the maturing of the body. For the endurance runner, coordination coupled with flexibility means stabilization. The body is in position to begin another stride cycle as it completes the previous one, thus there is no time for recovery or re-stabilization of the ideal body position. Granted there is a little more time than what a sprinters has, but not much more. Coupled with rapid speed gains due to energy system improvements, coordinative skill acquisition is the main reason endurance runners train at speeds much faster than race pace.

Endurance is the final major group of biomotor skills that humans possess. For the endurance coach it will be an obvious major point of emphasis. Examining the athlete starting a race, once inertia has been overcome by the generation of bodily forces acting against the natural forces, endurance is the skill that maintains momentum over a given




distance. Every race distance from the 60 meters on up has a degree of endurance that the body must condition itself for. For races like the 100 meter dash, the endurance factor is only over the last 40 meters. For the true endurance events, it can be thought of as the vast majority of the race distance. Endurance is a skill that can be nurtured with specific kinds of stimulus that will be characteristic of that athletes preferred race distance. For the 800 meter runner it is about maintaining a high level of velocity, but over a shorter distance than the miler who will maintain a slower, even pace, but over a greater distance. Like all the biomotor skills, the endurance factor is genetic in origin, but it also has a higher degree of trainability than the other biomotor skills. A major result of overload to this element will be a dramatic increase in endurance enzymes which will increase the time that this skill can work under. These enzymes not only make slower twitch, more endurance based muscle fibers larger, they also switch some of the marginal fast twitch fibers, which have limited endurance capacity, to a type of fiber that can be more endurance characteristic. The specific degree of this switch will be dictated by the training tempo, and number of sessions at that tempo, that the athlete does.

While biomotor skills are the actual neuro-muscular inventories of the body, the application of these skills to generate locomotion is called biomechanics. Humans are unique in the animal kingdom in that all of our locomotion is upright on two legs; that is bipedal motion. In the endurance events of track and field it is about developing the skills necessary to have the most efficient biomechanics of locomotion that is possible. That development is more efficient for the energy systems, for the muscular enzymes, and the delivery and extraction of oxygen to the working muscles. Good stride mechanics become very important to this efficiency of the system, and stride mechanics improve with the development of biomotor skills.

The biomechanics of human upright running are so drastically different from quadrapedal movement that bones from the neck down had to change over time. The skull and spine were realigned, bringing the head and torso into a vertical line over the hips and feet to stabilize a new center of mass. To support the body’s weight and absorb the forces of upright locomotion, joints in the limbs and spine enlarged and the foot evolved an arch. This summation of changes allowed humans




to enlarge the skull, which led to a bigger, heavier brain, with lots of folds in the cortex. It made humans smarter. It also allowed the organism to be more nimble and agile, but it created a host of biomechanical problems in accepting this added weight.

The human skull and brain weigh about the same as a nice grocery store cantaloupe. To balance this much mass, the head needs to be either directly over the center of mass, supported by the skeleton, or it needs to be strongly supported by the muscular system in the upper torso and neck. As humans run faster in a positive direction, the head will naturally be in front of the center of mass of the body and without something to help counterbalance this change; rear stride length will effectively increase. Too far forward, and the long levers of the leg will create the counteractive forces, thus causing an overstride. Essentially, too much time spent in the air, as the body will try to recover its proper center of mass on each stride. Because of the breadth of the human pelvis, the thighbone is angled toward the knee, rather than straight up and down, as it is in the other primates. This carrying angle ensures that the knee is brought up well under the body to make humans more stable. This peculiar angle means that there are forces on the knee threatening to destabilize it. In women, the angle is greater because of an even wider pelvis, which explains why they are slower than male runners. The increased angle means women are wasting much more energy on each stride.

While walking has been characterized as 2 inverted pendulums, running is more like a bouncy pogo-stick mode, thus using the tendons in our legs as elastic springs. Running in humans has also been described as “controlled falling”. It is accomplished with a coordinated combination of stride length and stride frequency in the lower limbs, with balance and stabilization help from the upper limbs. Over the past half-century, there has been considerable scientific effort put toward understanding the nervous systems control of stride frequency and stride length in achieving the individual’s optimum balance in achieving greater velocity in running. From this effort, science has gained substantial understanding of the mechanisms involved in generating and regulation of the rhythmic alternating pattern of flexion and extension that is required to propel the body forward, swing the legs to the next foot location, and regulate the transitions between these states. An inability




by the neural system to maintain balance limits the capacity for optimum stride length for forward progression in the distance events. Stability and balance during running at race pace is achieved through reactive and proactive strategies to control the motion of the center of mass and formulation of the next base of support. Sensory input will in effect, regulate stride length as the body continues to struggle for balance and stability as the center of mass passes over the supporting limb.

Being bipedal has freed the hands and arms at the expense of the feet and legs. The upper limbs are now free to do many things, but a major function is to help the lower limbs in locomotion. Mechanical analyses indicate that arm swing during human locomotion helps stabilize rotational body motion. The primary mechanical effect of arm swing during running is that it reduces twisting body torque along the vertical axis. This happens because the upper limb moves forward as the contra- lateral lower limb moves forward. The angular momentum of contra- lateral upper and lower limbs partially balances each other, reducing the rotational movement between the foot and leg. The stride length will then be a result of these opposing forces. Constriction of movement, such as hip inflexibility, will lead to a lower than expected summation of angular momentum, creating an over-stride at velocities greater than walking. During running, humans recruit upper limb muscles to swing their arms at a much faster rate than the arms’ natural frequency. During slow walking, humans control arm swing motion via low-level phasic muscle activity. As humans change to a running gait, their nervous systems adapt muscle activation patterns to modify arm frequency for the appropriate stride length and rate. Humans have neural connections between their upper limbs and lower limbs that coordinate muscle activation patterns in achieving the optimum stride length.

Bipedalism is anything but free. In developing this design for movement, humans have gained spongy bones and fragile joints and vulnerable spines. There are many, many bones in the foot to accomplish the tasks people need it to do. The foot as a support structure in the strike phase is wrought with problems. The arched design has led to a strong push-off that has much to do with stride length. But, it has a very narrow window for working correctly. If it is a bit too flat or too arched, or if it turns in or out too much, one gets a host of complications. In people with a reduced arch, fatigue fractures




often develop. In those with a pronounced arch, the ligaments that support the arch sometimes become inflamed, causing plantar fasciitis and heel spurs.

The human foot is designed to only do two things while running, propel the body forward and absorb the shock of doing so. The center of mass of the body must balance itself on a broad, saddle-shaped pelvis that distributes the weight of the organism equally on either side of the sagittal plane straight down to the foot. The arms are used to balance the mass of the body during the three phases of the bipedal stride: support, flight, and strike. Balance, which is a neurological activity, is achieved at various movement speeds by correlating an individuals’ stride length with their stride frequency. There is a natural harmony of these two characteristics in everyone, and marked improvement can occur in both during training. In regard to biomechanical skill development, training is achieved through conditioning the body, which physiologists define as a voluntary change in body homeostasis.

The human body creates its own combination of stride length and stride frequency to achieve its desired velocity. It has been shown in high-speed motion analysis studies that too much time in the air, as well as too much time on the ground hinder velocity at all speeds. Time on the ground is regulated by stride rate. Time in the air is regulated by stride length.

Studies have show that for both sprinters and distance runners, reducing contact time, thus improving stride rate, is the key to improving performance. For a distance runner to reduce contact time by .02 seconds per stride would lead to marked improvement in all distances. It has been shown that .02 seconds is about what can be seen by the naked eye without any visual aid like a camera. An elite distance runner takes about 500 strides per kilometer at race speed. Doing a little mathematics shows that if indeed ground contact time could be reduced by .02 seconds/stride, this would improve performance by about 10 seconds per kilometer, or better yet, how about 50 seconds over a 5 kilometer race!

To keep things in perspective, it has been shown that ground contact time for an elite 100 meter runner is about .087 seconds and a 10




kilometer runner about .153 seconds, which corresponds to the known elite 100 meter velocity of 12 meters/second as compared to elite 10 kilometer speed of 6 meters/second. It would be much easier to improve by .02 seconds over .153 seconds than it would be over .087 seconds. It is painstakingly difficult to cut much time in the 100 meter race by an athlete of any ability. The major means of biomechanically achieving this reduction is to shorten the stride, thus reducing the braking forces inherent to the body. For example, stride length in the 100 meter race is shorter then the 400 meter race. The faster rate, not a longer length is what achieves maximum velocity.

Studies have also shown that as the runner shifts from sprinting to distance racing, there is a shift from power to economy, and the stride will open up to achieve this change. This inevitably leads to some braking forces in distance running that are not present in the 100 meters, because of the angle of the foot at impact. Plantar-flexion of the foot in distance runners is much more common than in sprinters; but through drills like straight-leg bounding some improvement in dorsa-flexion can be achieved.

Identification of proper stride length to minimize these braking forces is a coaching demand. Front-side mechanical improvement is essential. This can be achieved through core strength improvement, joint mobility increases, and drills designed to improve balance and stability such as lunges, craning, and limited bounding. Distance runners need to learn active recovery after foot take-off or the backside extends too far which leads to the plantar-flexion problem. If this happens, the trunk will lean too far forward and the arms will extend in order to achieve balance. This will create too much time in the air. Distance runners can help correct this by doing maximum velocity work, like flying 30 meter repeats. The athlete will learn to move their weight further up the foot, thus helping to reduce ground contact time, breaking forces and over-striding. Positioning of the trunk to achieve balance is also a biomotor skill. Leaning back too far does not allow for extension of the lead foot and will create under-striding. Again, max velocity work, will forcefully improve this posture as the sensory input tries to balance the organism at higher velocities. The real coaching key may be the use of extensive bare-foot running on grass surface. This type of physical demand will promote hypertrophy in the many foot muscles, as well as




greater dexterity in the Achilles tendon, and create a stronger push-off leaving the ground. It will create a quick, efficient stride pattern that if developed will not tire as quickly.

The action of the arms to help regulate distance running speed and economy cannot be understated. The arms do not remain at the same angle throughout the stride-cycle; the angle opens and closes above and below 90 degrees. Because plantar-flexion in distance runners is common, so is over- striding, thus the arms are carried too high to compensate. This can easily be detected by observing the arms crossing high over the front-side sagittal plane. This indicates too much rotation of the big saddle shaped human pelvis. Getting the arms to remain in the proper position may be as easy as telling the athlete to rotate their wrists 90 degrees so the thumb is pointed up, or as difficult as building much more core strength to straighten the posture. Merely telling runners to “drop their arms” usually will not be the key to the riddle.

In essence, the application of the five biomotor skills is the deciding factor in races of any length. The posture of the desired body position during endurance running is similar to the desired position in sprinting. The athlete should want to stabilize the pelvis in an optimum position




that allows: 1) an efficient application of force to the ground by the hamstrings and gluteus maximus; and 2) an efficient leg recovery by the hip flexors. Forward trunk lean, pelvic stabilization and hip flexibility are all interrelated and have the biggest influence on stride length. Hip rotation is required to maximize stride length, but if excessive, then poor technique will result. If these are combined with poor pelvic tilt, then major inefficiencies will result, leading to either poor performances, injuries, or both. Forward trunk lean often occurs as compensation for a lack of hip mobility. Thus, an increase in hip flexibility through dynamic drill work can often lead to a more vertical, energy efficient and quicker running style.

A progressive and ambitious training plan for improving a distance runners stride length and stride rate should include the following components:

• Improve the strength, elasticity, and range of motion of the hip extensors to enhance the downward acceleration of the legs.

• Improve the strength of the hamstrings and gluteus maximus to enhance the downward acceleration of the legs.

• Improve quadriceps strength to stabilize the knees prior to ground contact.

• Improve the strength of the plantar and dorsa flexors of the ankles to follow the ankle joints to be rigidly set prior to contact with the ground.

The means for achieving these goals would be sessions of maximum speed work of 50 meters or less, sessions of barefoot running at 60 to 150 meters, walking lunges of 30 meters, bounding of 40 meters, using both straight-leg and bent-leg techniques, and extensive core strengthening static exercises. These should be designed around ones available facilities, time, and motivational desire of the athlete and coach.

The following (over page) is a sample list of the tasks needed to improve the biomechanics of an endurance athlete.




• PRACTICES AND DRILLS TO REDUCE GROUND CONTACT TIME

Daily The objective is to improve abdominal core strength. (15 minutes at end of session). The components are: • 30 bent-knee sit-ups. • 30 abdominal crunches. • 30 cross-legged crunches. • 40 push-ups. • 1 minute horizontal “plank” (holding a push-up on your

elbows), • 1 minute “Superman”. On abdomen, arch your back as if in

soaring in air • 2 minutes horizontal leg raise, holding it. • 3 min horizontal bicycle. • 3 min holding a sit-up halfway up, with legs off the ground.

Twice per week The objective is to improve neuro-muscular sequencing (15 minutes at start of session). The components are: • 3 X 30 meters of walking lunges. • 2 X 40 meters of straight-leg bounding. • 2 X 40 meters of bent-leg (regular) bounding. • 2 X 40 meters of power skipping.

Once per week The objective is to improve foot strength. The components are: • 8 X 60 second barefoot running on grass, 3 min rest between

repetitions, done at about 500 meter track pace.

Every 10 days The objectives are to improve whole body strength and improve maximum speed. The components are: • 10 X 30 meters at 100% velocity. Done on the track, with

spikes, athletes must accelerate or fly through the 30 meter max velocity zone. A strict 3 min rest between each repetition. This is the entire practice with a slow warm-up and cool-down. Do not couple with anything else.





TRAINING CONCEPTS AND ENDURANCE APPLICATION

The body’s move to an improved level of homeostasis is the goal of any training and conditioning program. When the human body is subjected to a work load that is greater than what was previously presented, fatigue occurs, and after a period of recovery, adaptation to this new stimulus results. The essentials of a training program are based on applications that elicit a series of specific adaptations in the body that result in better athletic and well timed performances.

Developing a seasonal, yearly, or career plan for an endurance athlete is not a simple process. Sequencing work units and sessions, applying proper loads, scheduling races, and fitting in rest and recovery periods of time can be overwhelming. Endurance training is a progressive endeavor. One type of workload will lead to one type of adaptation. Training is specific with exacting results due to the type and strength of the stimulus presented. The first chore of the coach is to determine exactly how much time will be necessary to prepare the body for the difficulty of competition, and determining from the administrative rules of the sport, just how much actual time you will have to implement the scientific principles of training.

There are ten major scientific principles to follow in training endurance athletes. They are:

• Adaptation: The anatomy and physiology of a human body changes in response to a workload, thus creating an improved level of fitness. A hard workout early in the season becomes an easier workout later in the season.

• Individual response: Every athlete is a unique individual. A slightly different training effect is to be expected with each athlete from the same stimulus.

• Longevity: Endurance athletes develop to their capacity over a career. That is why training age is just as important a consideration as chronological age.

• Overload: The work stimulus must be more difficult than previously done. Following rest, this will increase fitness.




• Progression: The proper sequencing of workouts is the key to success. To cause adaptation, these work loads must be tougher from beginning to end.

• Readiness: Athletes must be physically and mentally ready to apply some level of work stimulus every day.

• Restoration: In order to allow adaptation to occur, some workloads are easier than others. This ultimately causes compensation to occur.

• Reversibility: The improving progression of fitness can reverse it itself relatively quickly. Ceasing hard work will cause adaptation to stop.

• Specificity: The work loads must be specific to needs within the endurance domain.

• Variation: There are many different workouts that produce the same training effect. Everything must be kept interesting for the athlete.

Once the general principles have been considered, it is time to combine and apply them to the physiological laws of training. The process of training can be planned because training follows certain scientific laws. These laws of training need to be fully understood before the coach can produce effective long-term programs.

The three most important physiological laws are:

• Law of Overload

• Law of Reversibility

• Law of Specificity




• LAW OF OVERLOAD

The human body is made up of 80 trillion living cells. Specific types of cells are separated into tissues and these become the working units of the body. Each tissue carries out a different job. All tissues have the ability to adapt to what is happening to the body. This general adaptation takes place inside the body and defines what being alive actually means. Fortunately, there is also tissue adaptation to the specialized training in the endurance events in track & field.

A training load is the work or exercise that an athlete performs in a training session. Loading is the process of applying training loads. When a new training load challenges an athlete’s fitness there is a response from the body. This response by the body is an adaptation to the stimulus of the training load. The initial response is called fatigue. When the loading ceases there is a process of recovery or regeneration from fatigue and will eventually lead to adaptation to the training load.

This regeneration and adaptation returns the athlete not just to their original fitness level, but to an improved level. This higher level of fitness is achieved through the body’s overcompensation to the initial training load. So, overload causes fatigue, and recovery and adaptation allow the body to overcompensate and reach higher levels of fitness. The diagram below is called Matveyev’s Model and is named after the European scientist who first determined that indeed overcompensation is the human adaptation to a physical stimulus that stresses the physiological processes of the organism.

STIMULUS OVERCOMPENSATION

FATIGUE COMPENSATION

------------ Training too easy Training adequate Training too hard




The body’s ability to adapt to training loads and to overcompensate in recovery explains how training actually works. If the training load is not sufficient enough, there is little or no overcompensation. A loading that is too great will cause the athlete to have problems with recovery and they may not return to original levels of fitness. The result of this is called overtraining.

• LAW OF REVERSIBILITY

The loss of adaptation due to the lack of, or an inadequate stimulus, is known as reversibility or detraining. This can be seen on the Matveyev Model of overload, where the fitness level of the individual returns slowly to the original level. The length of time needed varies with the adaptation before reduced function is seen. For training to be effective the coach must understand the relationship between adaptation, and the Law of Overload and the Law of Reversibility. Fitness improves as a direct result of the correct relationship between loading and recovery.

The term progressive overload is used to explain why increasing the levels of loading will lead to progressive adaptation and overcompensation to higher levels of fitness. These increasing levels of loading and exercise stress would include such things as a higher number of repetitions, faster repetitions, shorter recovery times and heavier weights. The speed that an activity is done is called the intensity, while the duration of parts, or all of the activity, is called the volume. Both are training considerations.

When a specific load is applied there is an initial increase in fitness, if the same load is continually applied there will be leveling of work capacity. Once the body has adapted to a specific training load, further adaptation ceases. Similarly if loads are too far apart the athlete’s fitness level will keep returning to original levels. Widely spaced loading will produce little or no fitness improvement.

It has been shown that different training loads have different effects on an athlete’s recovery period. An excessive training load causes incomplete adaptation and the athlete will have problems with recovery from training stimulus. Problems with recovery can also be cumulative. This can occur when loading is repeatedly too great or too closely spaced. The decline in performance caused by incomplete adaptation




is one of the obvious symptoms of overtraining. In this situation the coach must allow time for proper recovery and should evaluate and reduce the applied training loads.

The Training Ratio is the ratio of load to recovery. Determining the correct training ratio for an individual athlete is one of the ways in which the coach produces optimal levels of improvement in both fitness and performance.

One ratio worth mentioning is the inverse relationship of volume to intensity. When the volume is high the intensity is low and the inverse should be true as well. The definition of peaking in an endurance conditioning plan is when the decreasing volume training curve of the athlete’s plan crosses and drops below the increasing intensity training curve. Endurance coaches can choose between volume and intensity for their overload tool. This is in contrast to the jump coach who will always use intensity as their overload tool and would never consider applying volume in that way. This emphasizes that success in the jumps is chiefly a neuro-muscular function while endurance success is based around cardio-vascular function which needs stress by both volume and intensity stimuli.

• LAW OF SPECIFICITY General training must always come before specific training in the conditioning plan. This applies to both the seasonal plan as well as the long-term plan for the athlete The general training prepares the athlete to tolerate the higher intensity of specific training. The volume of general training determines how much specific training the athlete is able to complete. The greater the initial volume of general training there is, than the greater the capacity for specific training at the end.

Imagine a book that was not arranged by chapters, themes, paragraphs, or even sentences. Our written word becomes understandable, comparable, and historical because it is highly organized and standardized. A training plan must be written in the same organized way. A modular design is used in developing a periodized training structure that can be broken down through various levels into a series of organized parts.




The training model originates with the annual plan which is the basic calendar year, and is then broken down into macrocycles which are seasons within the year. The macrocycle is broken down into 2 smaller blocks of time called periods. This is a very broad category that indicates that the athlete is in either a preparation or competitive training mode. There are usually 2 phases within each period and they will each distinguish between the general or specific phase of each period.

Phases are broken up into mesocycles which vary from 3 to 4 microcycles. Each mesocycle is associated with some particular theme or set of goals. Microcycles are 7-10 consecutive day’s blocks of training. Each microcycle is then broken into days which are called sessions and then training units within each session.

The overall goal of each of the macrocycles is to produce the best performances near the macrocycle’s end, a time corresponding to the most important competitions. Applying the ten general principles of training and the three scientific laws of training during and between each macrocycle will hopefully deliver the most well timed and outstanding performances for each individual athlete. Most macrocycles use single or double periodizational models. Single models feature one macrocycle per year, while double models feature two macrocycles per year, e.g. cross-country and track. To accommodate two peaking periods in double periodization models, normally the second macrocycle involves a return to activities done earlier in the training year. Double periodization models usually sacrifice the quality of the peaks to some extent. Track can be broken down into indoor and outdoor track as well. For the distance runner that may mean an annual plan with three peaks, or tricycle model. Hopefully, this model is only administered by the most advanced of the endurance coaches.





DESIGNING THE ENDURANCE TRAINING PLAN

The foundation of all endurance event development is the adaptations that occur to the infra-structure of the body. Unlike other areas of track and field, the endurance events developments occurs over a much longer period of time. Sprinting, throwing and jumping all must develop the neuro-muscular system, as well as institute changes in blood chemistry within the body. Endurance must do this as well, and in addition, radical changes in the delivery system of the blood must also be developed.

Energy system development is essential in endurance performance improvement. The advanced development of the energy systems is in an area called the combined zone. That is defined as the athletes physiological ability to delay performance fatigue, so that when the deciding moment occurs (critical moment), the athlete will have the resources to remain competitive in the race. Development of the energy systems are both long and short term. Combined zone application has a combination of both.

Training and racing in the aerobic energy zone and instituting aerobic training modalities will follow very specific guidelines. This aerobic development hinges upon training with little effect of acidosis during the session. Lactic acid is not a problem to the cell, for the small amount that is produced is easily buffered by the tissue. The fuel is completely oxydized as it produces ATP energy to run at a submaximal velocity. There are some very specific parameters to follow in training in this system, with the most effective modality being that of the aerobic threshold.

In aerobic training, the runner will use either glycogen/glucose or fatty acids as metabolic fuel. Which one of these two to be used as the primary fuel is determined by the intensity of the run.




The coach can judge the effort and primary energy source by using the runners heart rate as the monitor:

ENERGY SUBSTRATE

Fatty acids

HEART RATE ZONE

Up to 130-150 beats/ min

STORAGE SITES IN BODY

Inter-cellular Fatty acids Up to 130-150 beats/ min Inter-cellular

Glycogen/Glucose 150-170 beats/min Inter-cellular and in liver

The two physiological values that define the aerobic training regimes used to develop the endurance base of the runners’s training program are the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds.

The aerobic threshold is the break point (130-150 beats/min) or shift from fatty acids to glycogen/glucose as the primary fuel needed to produce ATP energy to run. Running at this velocity will adapt the runner’s aerobic system to use fatty acids as the primary energy source, thus sparing glycogen for faster paces. Physiologists have also determined this value to be about 65% of present day VO2 max pace.

The anaerobic threshold is the break point (170 beats/min) at which the aerobic system can no longer supply the energy needed to run at a given effort. The endurance runner must rely on the anaerobic system to aid the aerobic system in supplying energy to run at intensities requiring a heart rate over 170 beats/min. At this point, the runner begins to accumulate excessive lactic acid. Training just below this threshold will enhance an efficient use of glycogen as the energy source. This will also spare glycogen and push the anaerobic system further away. Physiologists have determined that value to be 85-90% of VO2 max pace.

Training and racing anaerobically requires two systems for the breaking down of substrate into energy. These energy systems are used at near max or maximal velocity. These two systems both produce energy without the presence of cellular oxygen. These two energy pathways are called the anaerobic alactic and anaerobic glycolytic systems. The difference in the two is the fuel substrate used to create ATP energy for cellular use. The alactic system uses creatine phosphate and the glycolytic system uses the slower process of breaking down carbohydrates such as glucose.




ANAEROBIC SYSTEM

FUEL SUBSTRATE DURATION BYPRODUCTS

Alactic Creatine Phosphate 6-7 seconds none

Glycolytic Glycogen/Glucose 7-90 seconds Lactic acid/H+ ion

The human muscle cell contains about 6-7 seconds of available creatine phosphate, and while it is very efficient, it is short lived. The athlete will improve their ability to maintain a higher velocity for 6-7 seconds as an adaptation to alactic training, but cannot extend the time frame beyond these few seconds. This system begins with the first movement and will be used for the initial start and for pace surges, but does not have that significant an impact in the endurance events.

The glycolytic anaerobic energy system is responsible for producing energy to run at very high intensities without cellular oxygen. This system is the primary source of energy to run at max or near max velocities from 7-90 seconds. This system, for example, is the primary eneregy system for races such as the 400 meters. The limiting factor and sustation point for this system will be severe acidosis. Training in this zone will improve the overall velocity an endurance runner will attain, and the runner’s ability to effectively cope with the buildup of lactic acid. This coping ability is what physiologists call lactate tolerance.

The combined zone, drawing energy from both aerobically and anaerobically produced energy sources to run, is of primary concern following the aerobic base development of the athlete. After the endurance runner has developed a sufficient aerobic base, the primary concern begins to turn toward race energies and the use of both energy systems to run effectively with the effects of acidosis. This concept begins to shape the athletes aerobic power, or what physiologists refer to as VO2 max. This physiological concept is concerned with the heart as a living pump and its ability to transport as much blood and oxygen to the working muscle tissue as possible The heart is a muscle and can be enlarged and strengthened as an adaptation to training. The stronger and bigger the heart is, the more blood and oxygen that can be pumped to the working muscles, thus the better the performance in the endurance running events should be.




Running at VO2 max velocity is working at a heart rate of approximately 180-186 beats/min. The heart rate will vary from one individual to another, but it is within this range that we can generalize for the purposes of training. This speed is usually associated with 10 minutes of all out running. In the case of women and young male runners it correlates to their performance at 3000 or 3200 meters. For older, more experienced, male runners and some elite women it is associated with their best performance at 5000 meters.

The relationship of VO2 max to specific endurance running events is as follows:

EVENT % OF VO2 MAX

800 meters 120%

1500-1600 meters 110%

3000-3200 meters 102-100%

5000 meters 97%

10,000 meters 92%

The best measure of aerobic power is VO2 max. It is strongly connected with combined zone racing success because it is a mix of both aerobic and anaerobic factors. Because it is about 3200 meters of running, we know it to be about 70% aerobic and 30% anaerobic in its energy requirement. For this reason, the lowering of blood pH caused by the the buildup of excessive H+ ions from the disassociated lactic acid molecules throughout the race will be THE limiting factor in the ability to achieve and maintain race pace beyond about 3200 meters.. As with training the two thresholds, VO2 max is best stressed at training right at the 100% value, or a relaxed range of velocities between 97-102% of present day VO2 max pace to be sure.

Planning the daily endurance practice sessions will include one, or a combination of the following, three training components: Continuous running, interval running, or repetition running.




Continuous running is defined as running, without break, at a given intensity for a prescribed amount of time and volume. Different intensities and volumes are used to bring about specific adaptations designed to enhance performance. These adaptations occur by the use of a 20 minute to several hour run in order to develop general to specfic aerobic capacities for endurance running events. There are many ways to implement continuous runs, but they should be based on the athletes chronological age, training age, state of fitness, and ability level. Once some advanced level of fitness is achieved, this type of run must have a duration of at least 20 minutes to have a positive training effect.

Some continuous running examples:

DURATION PACE HEART RATE TARGET % OF VO2 MAX

8 miles 6:30/mile 160 bpm 75%

12 miles EASY <150 bpm 65%



Interval running is defined as varying numbers of repetitions or bouts of running, usually short in duration in a set or in multiple sets, with the volume of repetitions high and the intensity low enough to just successfully complete the volume of the workout. The rest between repetition or set is incomplete in nature, but designed to be able to aid in the completion of the given volume and intensity of the workout. Each interval running session will be designed to bring about a specific adaptation. Rest and recovery between running sessions in this workout is incomplete and is best described as: “a little break“. In contrast, complete or near complete recovery, can be described as allowing enough rest to completely restore the athletes homeostasis.

Incomplete recovery is the foundation of interval running training. Physiologists have defined this as 1/3 of the time it takes to fully recover. Within 1/3 of the time it takes to completely recover, 2/3 of the athlete‘s recovery has taken place. If it takes 9 minutes to completely recover from a specific effort, then the athlete is 2/3’s of the way toward complete recovery within the first 3 minutes.




Some interval running examples:

DURATION RUNNING EXTENT REST INTERVAL

6 X 400 meters 65-67 seconds 90 seconds

8 X 200 meters 25-27 seconds 180 seconds

6 X 800 meters 3 min 3 min

2 2 X (4 X 400 meters) 68 seconds 90 secs/reps, 3 min/sets

Normally, the volume of the session will will be equal to or not to exceed, two times the race distance. This will depend on the duration, intensity, volume, and density of the session. Interval training should not be used much in the competitive phase.

Repetition running is defined as varying numbers of repetitions or bouts of running, these are usually long in duration, intensity, and volume, and will need complete recovery or near complete recovery to successfully complete the workout. The individual repetitions are up to 2/3 race distance at race tempo or very near it. The foundation behind repetition running is complete or near complete recovery before the next bout or repetition. The total volume of the session should not exceed 2/3 to 2 times the race distance depending on the duration, intensity, volume, and density of the session. Repetition running should be used as a training method in the mid to late competitive phase with experienced rather than young endurance athletes. Repetition running is an effective method for developing athletes in the combined zone. This combined with interval sessions and continuous runs at the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, and VO2 max work, is the sequencing foundation for preparation to race effectively in the combined zone.

Some repetition running examples:

DURATION RUNNING EXTENT OR PACE REST PERIOD

2 by 1200 meters 1500 meter race pace 20 miutes

3 by 400 meters 800 meter race pace 15 minutes

3 by 1 mile 3200 meter race pace 10 minutes

1200/1000/800 meter ladder 3200 meter race pace 12 minutes





CONDITIONING IN THE AEROBIC ZONE

The foundation points of any endurance running training plan are the adaptations that occur to the aerobic energy system. The development to this system will represent a major influence on the success of an endurance athlete’s competitive season and long-term career. The aerobic adaptations occur in two distinct physiological areas: the cardio-respiratory system and the muscular system. Development in these two areas will be exact and will ultimately benefit from a sequential and a progressive loading and unloading plan.

Adaptations occur in the aerobic system because of changes in the: • Cardiovascular System • Muscular System • Aerobic Metabolism

Adaptations occur as follows:

Cardiovascular System • An increase in heart size. • A decrease in resting heart rate • An increase in the ventricular stroke volume. • An increase in cardiac output. • An increase in blood flow and blood volume. • A change in the composition of the blood.

Muscular System • A size increase in slow-twitch muscle fibers. • A conversion of oxidative fast-twitch muscle fibers to slow-twitch

fibers. • An increase in the rate of angiogenesis. • An increase in the type, size, and number of cellular mitochondria. • An increase in total cellular oxygen extraction (aVO2 difference)

Metabolic System • An increase in the levels of cellular myoglobin. • An increase in fatty acids storage volume and use. • An increase in glycogen storage volume and use. • An increase in the volume of aerobic enzymes.




As can be seen, the adaptations that occur in the body during aerobic zone training are mainly structural changes, and because of that are considered chronic. It takes years of training to finally achieve the aerobic adaptations that are necessary for high level success. Work loads that are applied to achieve the above changes and development in the organism must stimulate this zone, but not compromise the development of the anaerobic energy systems.

The large systems of the body need three things to be useful to the organism. First, there must be an on/off switch and regulator of the speed that biochemical reactions occur in that system. That is the role of enzymes. Second, there must be structures in place where these biochemical reactions take place, nutrients and oxygen delivered, and waste taken care of. That is the role of tissue and organs. Third, there must be a means to interact with other systems of the body such as the nervous system in order to facilitate the action. That is the role of the periphery and central nervous systems. If the goal is to improve an entire system, such as the aerobic energy system, then there must be structural and performance development in all three categories. Training with loads that specifically target this system should elicit a number of foundational changes.

In response to aerobic zone running, the heart’s weight and volume, as well as the left ventricle’s chamber size increases. Because of an increased volume of blood in the heart, specifically the left ventricle, both the size of the chamber and the thickness of the wall increases in order to compensate and respond to this greater demand.

Increases in left ventricular chamber size result in increased venous return, thus increasing the end-diastolic volume. Studies have concluded that this increase in chamber size does occur and is caused by the volume of aerobic running, rather than the intensity, which is more associated with the thickness increase of the heart’s wall.

The stroke volume (SV) of the left ventricle increases, as a result of aerobic conditioning. Stroke volume at rest is significantly higher after endurance running training and increased ventricular muscle mass can cause a more forceful contraction. After periods of endurance training, the left ventricle fills more completely during diastole (period of dilation




of the heart), coupled with additional blood plasma volume present in the body. There is an increased elasticity of the muscle wall as the ventricle enlarges, creating a stronger more forceful contraction. This more forceful contraction will leave less blood in the left ventricle at the end of systole (end systolic volume) following aerobic training.

The adaptations from endurance running that occur to the heart as a working muscle affect the heart rate at rest, during sub-maximal steady state aerobic running, and during maximal running. There are two major autonomic nerves of the heart; the sympathetic nerves, which increases heart rate and the parasympathetic nerves, which decreases the rate when stimulated. A decreased sympathetic influence decreases heart rate independently through the influences of the autonomic nervous system.

The resting heart rate for untrained subjects is normally between 60 to 80 beats per minute. In highly trained endurance runners resting heart rates may range from 28-48 beats per minute. It appears that aerobic training volume increases parasympathetic activity in the heart while decreasing sympathetic activity. This response to training can be easily measured by taking heart rates at rest at the carotid or radial site. Since heart rate reflects the amount of work performed, the heart must meet the increased demands of the body when engaged in activity. Resting heart rate is a great indication of training state or a state of fatigue.

A steady state heart rate is achieved when a rate of work is held constant at sub-maximal aerobic rates of exercise. Upon exercising, heart rate will increase fairly rapidly until it plateaus at the specific work level needed to meet the circulatory demands at the steady work rate. This plateau is the steady state heart rate, and will change with




subsequent increases in intensity. For each increase in intensity, the heart rate will reach a new steady state value after 1 to 2 minutes. The improvement in the state of fitness, due to cardio-respiratory development of the aerobic system, will lower steady state heart rates at given work rates with aerobic running. Following a 6-month endurance running training program in a, moderate aerobic zone intensity, steady state heart rate decreases of 20-40 beats per minute are common.

An athlete’s heart rate recovery period is the time it takes for the heart to return to its resting rate after a bout of exercise. Following a period of aerobic running, heart rate returns to a resting level quicker after exercise, than prior to training. Heart rate recovery period is shortened indicating enhanced cardio-respiratory fitness.

Cardiac output is defined as the product of heart rate and stroke volume. By definition, cardiac output will change with either a change in heart rate or stroke volume in order to meet the demand for oxygen supply for the working muscles. During the early stages of exercise, cardiac output increases due to an increase in both heart rate and stroke volume. Once exercise reaches approximately 60-65% of maximum capacity, stroke volume plateaus or increases at a much slower rate. Further increases in cardiac output are then due to increased heart rate to meet the demand. Improvement in heart rate, stroke volume, or both due to endurance running, brings about an improvement in cardiac output. Maximal cardiac output can increase as much as 2.5 times per minute in aerobically trained endurance runners.

Changes in the cardiovascular system occur to meet the demands of the working skeletal muscles. As muscles become better trained, the cardiovascular system adapts to increase blood flow through increased muscle capillarization. The building of more capillaries is the process of angiogenesis, and is an important adaptation to aerobic zone training that is not found in anaerobic training. The vascular system can redistribute blood to areas with the greatest needs receiving greater volumes of blood. Blood is redirected, by the sympathetic nervous system, to those areas that are active during exercise. For example, only 15-20 % of cardiac output is directed towards working muscles at rest but this distribution changes to 60-65% during aerobic running exercise. This increase occurs due to the reduction of blood flow to the




kidneys, liver, stomach, and intestines. During exercise, the vessels supplying the digestive organs constrict and the vessels to working muscle expand, sometimes seen in the urge to regurgitate during a run if there is food in the gut.

The blood volume itself is made up of normally 55-60% blood plasma and 40-45% of red blood cells, which is the oxygen carrying element present. Aerobic endurance running has been shown to increase blood volume following intense levels of training. This increased volume occurs with an increase in plasma volume of at least 10% accompanying endurance running training. Blood plasma is 90% water and the other 10% made of plasma proteins and nutrients. An increase in plasma volume will increase the speed of blood flow while increasing the rate of oxygen delivery. Conversely, a decrease in blood plasma volume will result in the raising of blood viscosity or the slowing down of blood flow. Raising red blood cell levels will increase oxygen carrying capacity and increase endurance running performance. Conversely, a decrease in red blood cells will mean a decrease in endurance running performance with reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Once an abundance of oxygen rich blood reaches the muscles, some of the gas is removed for use in the working muscle. There are several major types of muscles. Aerobically, the slow-twitch will be the most affected by training in that zone. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are fatigue-resistant and have a very high aerobic capacity. This great oxidative capacity is due to an ability to completely metabolize fuel by using oxygen. Slow-twitch fibers have been shown to increase 7-22% larger in response to aerobic running training but fiber size does not seem to have a relationship to the aerobic capacity of the muscle. Slow-twitch muscle fibers respond to endurance training with adaptations occurring up to intensities of 95% of VO2 max.

Fast-twitch fibers fit two categories, one being the oxidative (oxygen dependent) fast twitch fibers and the other being non-oxidative. The oxidative fast twitch fiber type (F.O.G.) has high oxidative as well as glycolytic enzyme activity. Aerobic zone running training levels will increase the oxidative capacity of fast twitch fibers. Thus, training at speeds up to 80% of VO2 max will bring about significant training adaptations.




As stated earlier, angiogenesis is a principle effect of aerobic zone training. This is the increase in the number of capillaries surrounding and feeding each muscle fiber. Typically, there are 2 to 4 capillaries feeding untrained S.T. and F.O.G. fibers. With endurance running, it has been noted that this number can increase as high as 9 capillaries per trained S.T. and F.O.G. muscle fibers. Substantial increases in capillary numbers occur with the first few weeks or months of aerobic zone training. Studies have shown there are 50% more capillaries found after two months of aerobic running training. This increase in capillarization will decrease diffusion distance for O2 molecules as they move from capillary blood into the working skeletal muscles. This process increases the amount of O2 that can be taken up by the working muscle, enhancing the aerobic efficiency of the trained endurance runner. Also, the existing capillaries in trained muscles can dilate more and increase blood flow into the muscle.

The mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell. Aerobic metabolism occurs in the mitochondria to replenish ATP cell energy molecules used for muscle contractions. The greater demand for aerobic metabolism of fuel substrates, the more the body will respond by increasing the number and size of the mitochondria in both the S.T. & F.O.G. muscle fibers, thus improving aerobic capacity. In one study, the number of mitochondria increased approximately 15% following 27 weeks of aerobic based training. The size of the mitochondria increased 35%, over this same period of training. The number of mitochondria per muscle fiber has been shown to be less in women than in men. It would appear to represent a definite biochemical limitation with respect to the overall maximal aerobic power between males and females.

Arterial venous oxygen difference (avO2 difference) is defined as the difference between arterial blood oxygen content versus the venous blood oxygen content. Increased avO2 difference levels indicate a greater volume of oxygen consumption by the exercising skeletal muscles. An enhanced level of avO2 is related to the enzymatic and other biochemical changes that occur within the muscles and that are also a result of aerobic zone training.




Aerobic zone training increases cellular myoglobin volumes by 80% in some studies. As oxygen enters the muscle fiber from arterial blood, it binds to myoglobin, a compound similar to hemoglobin. This iron- containing compound shuttles oxygen to the mitochondria. This increase in myoglobin volume occurs in both ST and FOG muscle fiber types, thus increasing their aerobic capacity resulting in a larger amount of intracellular oxygen used to rebuild ATP molecules.

Human skeletal muscle normally contains between 13 and 15 grams of glycogen per kilogram. Muscle glycogen to blood glucose is used extensively as the primary substrate, during each training bout above the aerobic threshold. The mechanism responsible for glycogen synthesis is stimulated after each session, while depleted stores are replenished. Endurance trained runners can store 2 to 2.5 times more volume of glucose to glycogen as untrained individuals with the same diet can. This increase in stores allows endurance trained runners to tolerate subsequent training demands. It has long been accepted that the maximum amount of carbohydrate that could be used by an elite distance runner is about 60 grams per hour. Studies now show that an ingestion of glucose and fructose will increase the rate to 105 grams per hour. Most sport drinks are just glucose polymers.




Conditioning in the aerobic zone uses glycogen/glucose as well as fatty acids as fuel to rebuild ATP molecules, depending on the aerobic intensity. Glycogen storage sites become more accessible, due to their closer proximity to the mitochondria as a result of endurance training. Along with increased glycogen stores, training increases the capacity of skeletal muscle to break down glycogen into glucose in the presence of oxygen. Endurance trained muscles, contain substantially more fat, stored as intracellular triglycerides, than untrained skeletal muscles. Oxidation of fat to CO2 and H2O with ATP production in the presence of oxygen is increased following aerobic training. Fat serves as a major source of fuel for skeletal muscle during endurance exercises. It has been documented that two times the amount of triglyceride muscle storage has been found after only 8 weeks of endurance running training.

These adaptations will occur at steady state tempo runs of 60-65% VO2 max and below. This, along with increased oxidative enzyme volume and activity, will bring about an increase in the aerobic threshold. Increased fat utilization is due to the enhanced ability to mobilize free fatty acids, and the improved capacity to oxidize fat. Improved aerobic threshold will result in a sparing of glycogen.

Aerobic enzymes increase the mitochondrial efficiency. This coupled with an increase in the size of the mitochondria increases a skeletal muscles’ aerobic capacity. Aerobic enzymes are dramatically influenced by aerobic zone training. For example, one study showed that training 60 to 90 minutes per day produces 2.6-fold increase in the activity of these enzymes. The training induced activities of the aerobic enzymes reflect both the increases in the number and the size of the mitochondria and an improved ATP production.

Now that the coach has the scientific evidence to support the use of extensive aerobic training regimes in the endurance events, a means for the implementation of workloads must be established. The best means for doing this is by setting up work based on physiological thresholds that scientists have identified in the human body. The two most well known are the aerobic threshold and the anaerobic threshold (also known as the lactate threshold). Both thresholds indicate crucial moments in aerobic running where a line is crossed by the physiological processes of the body, thus causing a modified effect to the changing workload.




The aerobic threshold is defined as the breakpoint or shift in the primary energy source in the aerobic system. The shift from fatty acids as the primary energy substrate to glycogen as the primary energy substrate occurs at an intensity approximately 65% of VO2 max, and at a heart rate of approximately 130-140 beats per minute. In the physiology laboratory, human blood would test at approximately 1.8-2.0 mmol of lactate.

The lactate threshold is defined as the breakpoint during exercise at which blood lactate production exceeds removal. This signifies a shift from the complete oxidation of substrate in producing ATP energy, to a significant contribution anaerobically in producing ATP energy. The anaerobic system breaks down glucose, with an accumulation of the by-product lactic acid. Below this threshold, energy is supplied by the aerobic system with no accumulation of lactic acid.

Improvement in both thresholds, and the shifting of both thresholds, will occur with aerobic zone training. Improvement in the aerobic threshold marks an increase in the use of fatty acids at increased running speeds, thus sparing glycogen/glucose. Improvement in the lactate threshold marks an increase in fuel sparing through an efficient breakdown of glycogen/glucose as a substrate. The running speed at the lactate threshold will increase with this sparing and more efficient use of glycogen/glucose.

The work done at the threshold intensities of each will markedly improve the stamina of the athlete. Because each of the thresholds is at different ends of the aerobic zone intensity continuum they must be addressed with workouts that are distinctively different in both volume and intensity from one another. Too many times coaches want to do a long run, but the runners themselves turn it into a tempo run workout with practice day racing that is much too fast for that type of workout. At other times runners cut the long run short before it gets its full training effect on the athlete. While the pace may be less intense training in the aerobic zone, there are still traps and pitfalls for the coach to watch for.




The long run is designed to work along the aerobic threshold and accomplish the following:

The Long Run

TOTAL VOLUME

20% of weekly mileage for events from the 800 meters to 5000 meters. 25 % for 10,000 meters and beyond.

INTENSITY PACE

Should be done as closely as possible to 65% of VO2 max pace as possible or slightly slower. Date pace workout.

HEART RATE

Because of human variation it is in a range between 130- 150 bpm. Gossip pace as it is called.

FREQUENCY Done once per week all season long. Always base it off of the 20% or 25% of that week’s mileage. 24 hour recovery.

TRAINING EFFECT

Fat is the main fuel. Cardiac benefits gained from increasing heart size, greater blood flow and volume, etc.

The tempo run is designed to work along the anaerobic threshold and below to accomplish the following:

The Tempo Run TOTAL VOLUME The total for the run should be between 3-9 miles. The most

common applications are from 4-7 miles. INTENSITY PACE

Should be done at a varying VO2 max pace based on the extent of the run. 75% VO2 max pace for 8 miles, 80% VO2 Max pace for 6 miles or 90% of VO2 Max pace for 5 miles as examples.

HEART RATE Because of variations in the extent of the run and human variations, the heart rate should vary between 150-180 bpm.

FREQUENCY In the 800 meters and 1500 meters training regimes, no more then once per week. For the 3200 meters and greater, up to two times per week. 24-48 hour recovery depending on volume and intensity.

TRAINING EFFECT

Carbohydrate is the main fuel. Fuel storage and usage issues are important. Cardiac benefits gained from increasing heart size, etc. Muscle enzyme development. Converting muscle fiber type.




Long runs and tempo runs are the most effective stimulus for eliciting the long term changes that must occur in the body’s infra-structure in the quest to develop as an endurance runner. It takes many weeks and months to see the evidence of performance that these changes will promise. A sensible training plan of stressing the long run intermixed with tempo running sessions is the surest way to develop fitness in the aerobic zone. It is important to instigate variety in both of these workouts so that not only is the scenery different, but the training effect, especially from the varieties of date paced tempo runs is different as well. Remember, date pace means fitness capacity for that day. Date pace will change continually due to a progression in fitness. All work done in the aerobic zone is based on date pace, in contrast to anaerobic work, which is based around goal pace.

There will be other aerobic mileage sessions in your training plan which are not structured as well as tempo runs and the long run. General mileage runs done during any training phase, but especially during general preparation work come to mind. There are a base number of miles that endurance athletes need to complete during each microcycle to provide enough stimuli to the aerobic structures and enzymes to be effective. These are referred to as base miles. Remember, these events derive most of their energy for muscular contraction from the aerobic system, so an appropriate aerobic workload must be done corresponding to the training age, chronological age and event selection of the athlete. A rough guideline for these variables is shown below, using both the mid-season and peaking periods as reference. A description of the athletes is as follows; novice: junior high age or younger, not much experience; emerging: senior high age, a year or two of experience; elite: senior high age or older, years of experience, possibly exceptional talent.

Weekly training mileage guidelines (mid-season microcycle):

ATHLETE / EVENT

NOVICE ATHLETE

EMERGING ATHLETE

ELITE ATHLETE

800 meters 20 miles 30 miles 40 miles

1500/1600 meters 30 miles 40 miles 50 miles



ATHLETE / EVENT NOVICE ATHLETE EMERGING ATHLETE ELITE ATHLETE



Weekly training mileage guidelines (peaking/tapering microcycle):

ATHLETE /EVENT EVENT

NOVICE ATHLETE

EMERGING ATHLETE

ELITE ATHLETE 800 meters 12 miles 18 miles 30 miles



There is frequently debate amongst coaches concerning the appropriate number of training miles to be run for these events. That sort of debate is good because mileage is an important training factor, and the discussion of it leads to an introspective look at one’s training plan. Do not get too excited about total mileage however, as it still always gets back to the aerobic and anaerobic energy contributions, and how to maximize these percentages for the individual athlete. An important step in the development of the athlete occurs when the stimulus moves from lots of easy, general mileage in the novice stage, to many more miles just outside of the comfort zone of the athlete in the emerging stage. Many athletes are incapable of this transition and will stay as joggers, rather than move into the training necessary to be successful racers. That is probably fine on a high school team as long as the coach takes notice of it, and then hopes not too many athletes choose that same route.

As an athlete moves into late emerging or elite status, the coach may wonder about the appropriateness of splitting workouts into two distinct sessions per day. This would usually be early in the morning and then later in the afternoon. The break-point for splitting workouts is about the 65 mile mark. It is difficult to run 70 miles or more per week in just one session per day as the training model. In chapter 8 we will look at rest and recovery between all types of workloads which will help in deciding if two sessions per day is appropriate.





CONDITIONING IN THE ANAEROBIC ZONE

Even though you probably coach endurance athletes, it is time to think like a sprint coach. In earlier chapters, evidence was shown that at race pace a significant amount of ATP conversion must occur anaerobically in order to be successful in the endurance events. That is energy production occurring within the boundaries of the cell membrane, but outside of the mitochondria. The adaptations to the tissue that result from aerobic training are different than those that occur from anaerobic training. The workout sessions themselves are structured differently, with far different adaptation goals. While all work that is done strictly in the aerobic system is based on a continuous run of a prescribed sub- maximal intensity, strict anaerobic work is broken into runs of various distances, with a worthwhile break between these runs in order for the athlete to achieve some level of recovery before the next one begins.

It is important to understand that the anaerobic energy system is actually two systems. The alactic anaerobic system has vast power, but has a life of just a few seconds once an activity starts. The second anaerobic system has a capacity of a couple of minutes of sub-maximal power once an activity starts. This energy production occurs without oxygen and is termed the glycolytic process because the cycle by which it occurs is called glycolysis. Both provide many times the power of the aerobic system, but lack for the most part, the endurance component the aerobic system provides. These two systems will add to the energy supplied by the aerobic system, but in order to train them effectively, the stimuli will be exclusive to each system.

Anaerobic alactic energy system adaptations in anaerobic training are important to the activities that emphasize maximal muscle force production, e.g.; sprinting, and weight lifting. These rely heavily on the anaerobic alactic energy systems ability to replenish ATP molecules. Maximal sprint efforts lasting up to 6-7 seconds place demands on available stored ATP and the breakdown and re-synthesis of PCr and ATP. This capacity to perform at a maximal level for 6- 7seconds is often referred to as anaerobic power. Available ATP stores are used in the first 2-3 seconds and then additional ATP are rebuilt with energy supplied from another cellular molecule known as phospho-creatine (PCr).




The replenishment of ATP lies solely with the PCr system in the first 6- 7 seconds of maximal sprinting effort. Some studies have shown this to be at 2-4 times the muscular contractile force, or power output, than is necessary for effort at VO2 max. At these force levels the supply of available ATP and creatine phosphate will be able to meet the demands for ATP production for the first 6-7 seconds. Several studies have determined that the PCr and ATP stores increase their volume up to levels of 30 seconds of energy conversion through bouts of alactic training.

Along with the metabolic increases in the supply of stored ATP and PCr, and the increased volume and the activity of anaerobic enzymes, there is another series of adaptations to consider. Those adaptations to maximal sprint training are not metabolic, but in the area of strength gain, recruitment process, synchronization, coordination, and the efficiency of movement of the FT muscle fibers. These adaptations occur because of the greater loads being placed on the muscle fibers to generate maximal force.

With sprint training the neuromuscular system adapts to produce more force and maintain this force for a longer period of time, in this case 6-7 seconds. So training at maximal speeds will improve the skill and coordination for performing at higher intensities through the full spectrum of events. Anaerobic alactic, along with the anaerobic glycolytic training will optimize neuromuscular fiber recruitment, allowing more efficient movement. Training at both maximal and fast velocities, and training with heavy loads (strength training) improves the efficiency, thus economizing the use of the muscle’s supply of energy.

The limiting factor in the performance of the alactic system is the depletion of the ATP, PCr and enzyme stores. Without ATP, the substrate P + Cr, and the necessary enzymes, the system will no longer supply the needed ATP for maximal contractile force and must rely then on anaerobic glycolysis to maintain the replenishment of ATP. The glycolytic system will not produce ATP energy as quickly as the alactic system, but much more quickly than the aerobic system. The limiting factor in this system will be the effects of acidosis, or the lowering of blood pH, due to the production of and disassociation of the lactic acid molecule.




The major source of fatigue in the anaerobic glycolytic energy system is the accumulation of hydrogen ions, which create an acidic environment within the blood and muscle cell. This is due to the disassociation of the hydrogen ion (H+) from the carbohydrate nutrient as lactic acid forms. This accumulation of H+ ions raises the acidity of the muscle and interferes with both metabolism and the contractile process.

Right: THE LACTIC ACID MOLECULE (basically a glucose molecule, a simple carbohydrate, cleaved in half. The problem particles are the H+ ions that get free).

The body has buffers; sodium bicarbonate, muscle phosphates, and hemoglobin which combine with these H+ ions to reduce the muscle fibers’ acidity, thus delaying the onset of fatigue. Sodium bicarbonate for instance, will release earlier in the process and in greater volume due to anaerobic training. Eight weeks of anaerobic glycolytic training has been shown to increase the muscle buffering capacity by 12% - 50%. Interestingly, aerobic training has no effect on buffering potential. Changes in muscle buffering capacity are specific to the intensity of the exercise performed.

With increased buffering capacity, sprint trained athletes can accumulate more lactate in their blood and muscles and continue to perform anaerobically at high levels of intensity. The disassociated H+ ions from carbohydrate cleavage, and not lactate, causes fatigue by interfering with the contractile elements in the anaerobic system. With enhanced buffering capacity, muscles can generate energy for longer periods before a large accumulation of H+ inhibits performance.




As with anaerobic alactic training, adaptation of muscle fibers occurs in the recruitment process as glycolytic work intensifies. More muscle fibers are recruited to perform at higher and higher levels of intensities. With this improvement in the neuromuscular recruitment process, the economy and efficiency of the sprint-trained individual increases significantly, improving performance at all levels. These strength gains, by way of the recruitment process, allow the muscle to generate more force and to maintain this force for a longer period of time. This strength gain and increased neuromuscular recruitment process will also economize the sprint-trained athlete’s use of the muscle’s supply of energy.

In the middle of the last century, two physiologists, Woldemar Gerschler and Dr. Herbert Reindel, both from Germany began the pioneering scientific work behind using interval sessions and repetition running to condition the anaerobic system. Their research work and training application was based around rest intervals needed by the athlete to continue deep into work sessions of short duration, running at maximum or near maximum intensity. It was shown that during repeated bouts of intense work the body’s internal chemistry changed, mainly due to the continuing onset of acidosis. Gerschler and Reindel began examining what rest interval would be adequate to allow the athlete just enough recovery to be able to keep repeating the prescribed work intensity. This was the birth of doing fast sessions by separating the work into repetitions and sets. It was determined that in recovery, the body recovers two-thirds of the way back to baseline homeostasis in the first one-third of the time need for complete recovery. The rest interval was then set at that amount of time, hence the origination of the word interval in training. Coaches can then use that time, or shorten or lengthen it, depending on the training effect that is desired. This is the mainstay of sprint training, but with the anaerobic energy contributions that must be met in endurance races, it is vital there as well.

Anaerobic alactic training will generally be done in the form of flying efforts of 30-60 meters in sets of 2-4 repetitions with 90 seconds to 3 minutes in between repetitions. These repetitions are done in 2-4 sets with 8-10 minutes between sets. The total volume ranges between 360 to 600 meters for an entire session. For an endurance athlete, these sessions are crucial to assist with pace variation found in races—the start, finish and surges, for example. The shorter the race distance, like




the 800 meters, the more training sessions that will be needed, with perhaps once per week with some athletes. The 5K athlete will find benefit with a session of once every two weeks. Since this workout emphasizes maximum speed, the correct surface would be the track with spikes on.

The principle adaptation to anaerobic glycolytic training is to increase the buffering capacity of the neuromuscular system. In other words, the ability to continue to perform with increased levels of lactic acid, more specifically hydrogen ions (H+). This type of training is designed to pinpoint specifically the anaerobic glycolytic system, energy production without oxygen, as the sole source of fuel or substrate breakdown.

The training parameters of the glycolytic system are confined to efforts that are completely anaerobic in fuel breakdown. This can be accomplished with training regimes of repetitions at 90-98% of maximum effort. These repetitions are usually between 80 and 300 meters, and are done in sets with a total volume of 600 to 1300 meters per session. The sets are designed to increase anaerobic capacity and the ability to perform with a higher tolerance to acidity. The session’s sets are usually designed with 2-4 repetitions, depending on the extent of the effort, and no more than 2-4 sets. Incomplete recovery in between repetitions of a set will increase the ability to perform with a higher tolerance of acidity. The set must be designed so that the athlete may be able to maintain the intensity throughout the entire set and session. Working in sets increases the amount of volume of the entire session while the intensity is maintained. Recovery from anaerobic bouts of exercise thoroughly stresses the aerobic system, reducing the period of time between subsequent exercise sets, will further stress the aerobic system.

Recovery between repetitions of a set is generally between 3-6 minutes. The incomplete recovery must be matched with both the intensity of the set and the entire session, and also with the volume of the set and the entire session. Recovery between sets must be complete. Recoveries between 8 to 20 minutes are needed between sets. Recovery techniques, such as, jogging between repetitions and sets, helps eliminate by-products of the anaerobic system.




Anaerobic Glycolytic Training Sessions:

SPEED ENDURANCE

SPECIAL ENDURANCE I

SPECIAL ENDURANCE II

INTENSITY 95-100% 92-98% 90-95%

EXTENT 60-150 meters 150-300 meters 300-600 meters

REPS PER SET 2-5 1-5 1-4

SETS 2-3 1-2 1-2

VOLUME 300-1200 meters 300-1200 meters 300-1600 meters

Endurance coaches often wait too long into the season before they start fast sessions with their athletes. Studies have shown that it takes between 8-12 weeks to build the bicarbonate stores necessary for optimum lactate tolerance. Most high school seasons are between 13- 15 weeks long, and that includes the peaking period. It is never too early to start these fast sessions, but always maintain the integrity of the rest interval differences, and the training effect they will produce. The athlete will have a longer period to complete recovery early in the season, so the rule of two thirds will also create a longer rest interval early.

Efficiency work and capacity work are the two parameters used to apply interval runs and repetition running concepts respectively. Efficiency implies doing something over and over repeatedly, while capacity denotes doing something once; or maybe twice, in a very precise manner. As you do interval work early in the season you are nurturing the athlete’s ability to be efficient in their running. Basically, this is the ability to hold a stronger race pace lap after lap. Capacity work is the ability to increase the pace as you push toward the finish of the race. This is achieved through repetition runs later in the season and is a necessary technique in holding sharpness in the peaking period. A training progression may look something like the table shown below.




Speed Training Progression:

Training Stimulus

General Preparation

Phase

Specific Preparation

Phase

General Competition

Phase

Specific Competition

Phase

Intervals:

Efficiency Work

Begin with a close watch of the rest interval. A variety of different distances

Heavy emphasis, with a variety of session types in regard to extent and intensity

Done infrequently. Completed as one intense set when they are done

Not done

Repetition:

Capacity Work

Only found in races

Only found in races

Races plus workouts that are near race pace but slightly shorter

Racing less. Workouts simulate races in duration and intensity

Now that the scientific foundation is in place for doing anaerobic glycolytic work, and the training progression fits with the physiological changes that will occur in the body, it is time to examine several different kinds of training units that will go into the training plan.

It is important to recall the following key points:

• Speed endurance is the last of the four components in a macrocycle to work on.

• Maximum speed sessions can be done very early in the season if the rest between reps is robust.

• Do the fast work in the early units of a session.

• Adjust the rest intervals on the fly if performance is suffering, do not be stubborn.

• Make the workout fit the projected outcome.

• Use heart rate as a means to measure partial recovery. Try using heart rate beat checks in the carotid artery and aim for 110 bpm before starting the next rep.




Several different types of interval style workouts are presented in the following charts. Note that they are based on the phase of the macrocycle, the preferred event for the athlete, and the skill level.

Interval Style Sessions – (example is a 4:20 miler)

PHASE WORKLOAD EXTENT DURATION REST

General Preparation

2 sets of 3 repetitions

400 meters each and 2400 meters total

60 seconds

4 minutes between reps and 10 minutes between sets


1 set of 8 repetitions


59 seconds

3 minutes rest between repetitions

General Competition



73 seconds


Interval Style Sessions: (Example is a 16:00, 5K runner)


General Preparation



46 seconds





98 seconds


General Competition



28 seconds





Interval Style Sessions: (Example is a 2:17, 800 meter runner)


General Preparation



70 seconds





88 seconds


General Competition



16 seconds


Repetition running is only done during the preparation period in the form of races and is seldom used in workouts. Later in the macrocycle it is an excellent technique in keeping the athlete at their best during the competition period. In other words: intervals get you there and repetitions keep you there! While intervals are based on a model of incomplete rest, repetition running has a near to complete rest component between bouts of work. Repetition running style workouts are shown in the following charts based on the phase of the macrocycle, the preferred event of the athlete, and the skill level.

Repetition Running Sessions: (Example is a 5:00 miler)


General Competition



43 seconds

14 minutes between each repetition




109 seconds





Repetition Running Sessions: (Example is a 9:30, 3200 runner)


General Competition



26 seconds





68 seconds


Repetition Running Sessions: (Example is a 18:30, 5K runner)


General Competition



115 seconds





58 seconds


Repetition running stresses the most efficient sprint mechanics possible, coupled with the fastest velocity that can be run for that distance. This will supply the proper stimulus to hold and maintain the anaerobic enzyme supplies, muscle fiber recruitment, and the ability to tolerate increasing acidosis. Coaches may want to use endurance athletes on the mile relay at each meet, or maybe even a distance runner mile relay, to stress the type of work needed to maintain anaerobic fitness.





COMBINED ZONE TRAINING

All races in the endurance events include both an aerobic and anaerobic energy contribution to be successful. At racing speed, the aerobic system just cannot supply ATP energy quickly enough and must rely on the quicker, but much more inefficient, anaerobic glycolytic system. The coach determines the proper event focus for each endurance athlete, and then determines the workload commitment that must be met in order to achieve the energy level demand percentages that will be reached in both systems for that event.

As stated in previous chapters, there are workloads that are all aerobic and workloads that are all anaerobic, but there are also plenty of workloads that strike a balance between the two systems. Doing only all aerobic work sessions or all anaerobic work sessions will not condition the athlete properly, and will ultimately lead to negative physiological issues. Combined zone training emphasizes a mix of both the aerobic and anaerobic systems into each microcycle of training. This mixed style of work, emphasizing sessions of only anaerobic work or aerobic work, is the best model for endurance event development. The key to training is incorporating these different types of work into one training schedule that has the work sequenced into sessions that allow one energy system to recover while taxing the other, or even using a combined zone session that will partially stimulate both systems.

The endurance events are usually split into two groups: the middle distance and distance events. It is important for the coach to examine different characteristics of these two groups while beginning to sequence workouts for each into one plan. An examination of the cumulative demands, not just on the energy systems is worth a look.

The Middle Distance Events: The 800 meter run is a classic middle distance event. It is the most unforgiving of all endurance events, if a mistake is made, there is little time to correct it. The 800 meters is metabolically defined as 40% aerobic and 60% anaerobic. A strong endurance base must be set and VO2 max must be developed over an 8-12 week training period. The anaerobic component is vital because of the acidosis effect that accompanies the effort. To counteract this, lactate tolerance must also




be established over an 8-12 week training period. Intervals early and repetition late will establish the needed buffering components in the blood to tolerate the effects of a lowering pH. In setting a race distribution model, the objective for the athlete should be to run the first 400 meters as close to 93% of maximum 400 meter velocity as possible and the second 400 meters as close to 89% of maximum effort as possible. Each race may not be run this way because of the competition factor, but the athlete should be capable of that distribution.

The 1500/1600 meter run may be the toughest event to train for because of its equal 50%-50% energy distribution, aerobically to anaerobically. Aerobic power becomes a more important factor than in the 800 meters, so development of the VO2 max system is essential. Working at the anaerobic threshold is also important as establishing glycogen storage sites become a factor in the 1500/1600. Lactate tolerance is again vital and like the 800 is established early with intervals, and late with repetition runs. Mileage must be about 25% higher then in the 800, and is accomplished with longer aerobic threshold runs. The racing model in the 1500/1600 is more forgiving then the 800 run. The 800 is a power race with the 1500 being more of a rhythm race. Physiologically, a good steady pace is the most economical, but the fact remains that success will always go to those athletes who can manage great pace variations.

The Distance Events: The 5000 meter run is a classic VO2 max race. Because it is run at about 95-97% of VO2 max pace, it is the key element to most fully develop. The 5K energy contribution is 80% aerobic and 20% anaerobic. Racing at this distance requires long runs in practice, with the longest being about 20% of the total mileage for that 7 day microcycle. Of great importance is the psychological benefit derived when the athlete realizes that they can overcome long, slow distances, continuously. Athletes also develop self-confidence in their ability to sustain activity over an extended period of time. Tempo runs are also a big part of the 5000 meters training model. Much care should be taken to shape the parameters of tempo runs off of the anaerobic threshold pace in both volume and intensity. Because the 20% anaerobic contribution creates a race in the critical zone, repetitions and intervals should be set up similar to the 1500 meter plan, just not




done as often. The racing model for the 5000 meters becomes a two part story. First, the race strategy of being competitive early, but not to run too fast in the early stages of the race. The agony of acidosis promotes the inhibition of muscle tension and leads to rapid discomfort. Whatever your goal, the last 4 laps of the race must be a relentless sustained drive. These laps must be faster then the race pace established early on to expect success.

The 10,000 meter race is in the outer extremes of the endurance events. It has such a small anaerobic contribution that unfortunately, at times, it is overlooked. Successful athletes in this event have a predominance of slow twitch muscle fibers, and have a fantastic blood delivery to these fibers. Total mileage in the microcycle is greater, and the long runs may approach 20 miles. The VO2 max system must be developed over an 8- 12 week period with at least one specific workout per microcycle. Tempo runs at the anaerobic threshold, and faster, are a must and are done over all the microcycles. Because many times the last 400 meters of a 10,000 are run faster then that of the 5,000 meter race, repetitions and intervals are also a part. Repetition running sessions especially will be longer. The racing model expands upon that of the 5K. Because the 10,000 is run at about 92% of VO2 max, the early laps will seem easy.




Again, care must be taken to be paitient. The climate becomes a big factor in this race, and that needs to be addressed from the outset. When preparing for the final 4 laps, concentration and arousal must be at its highest. This is why mental and physical rest before competition must be at its greatest for the 10,000 meters.

VO2 max is an important component to every distance and middle distance training model. The training pace for each day is established off of this valuable marker. The concept of VO2 max is familiar to both the laboratory physiologist and the educated endurance coach alike. You cannot be a runner or distance running coach without completely understanding and applying the concept of VO2 max. The body’s ability to utilize atmospheric oxygen is essential to distance racing success. Basically, VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that muscles can consume per minute. It is therefore referred to as aerobic power since it is a measure of the rate at which oxygen is consumed. Runners with a high VO2 max are able to transport and then extract tremendous amounts of oxygen into the working muscles. Maximizing the amount of oxygen that can be processed by the body must be the goal of any endurance coach. VO2 max is considered to be the best indicator of a person’s aerobic fitness and many physiologists view the 5k as the classic VO2 max racing distance.

Physiologists have defined VO2 max to be: The maximal amount of oxygen that the heart can pump to skeletal working muscles through the blood, and that the muscles can then extract to produce energy. It’s the multiplication of the heart rate, times the amount of blood pumped per beat [cardiac output], times the proportion of oxygen extracted from the blood and used by working muscles. Thus, VO2

max determines the capacity for aerobic exercise. Everything else being equal, the more energy that can be produced aerobically, the faster a pace that can be maintained. Although VO2 max is considered an aerobic variable, the velocity at which VO2 max occurs involves a considerable contribution from anaerobic metabolism, as it occurs at a speed faster than lactate threshold. This is a very important point to consider and tells us something about the relationship between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism.




It may seem illogical, but the fastest rate of oxygen use occurs when there is also a lot of energy being produced without oxygen. The aerobic processes are working at their fastest rates only when anaerobic glycolysis is also contributing. In other words, the fastest aerobic motor occurs when an aerobic motor is also running.

Ultimately, training and genetics determine what a person’s VO2 max will eventually be. Males genetically reach their VO2 max at about age 20, with females somewhat sooner. Inactive people, or young runners just getting started, can expect to increase their VO2 max values by 20%- 30% with six to eight months of consistent distance training. Beyond that, it is very difficult to increase the VO2 max value by something as simple as increasing weekly training mileage. Beyond 75 miles per week, mileage will not be the stimulus. Small, increased percentages that elite, experienced runners hope to make come from direct hits of VO2 max training stimulus, and even then as they move closer to the genetic ceiling, increases are hard to come by. The most effective way of determining present day VO2 max is to be tested at an exercise physiology lab. Most major universities have access to information as to how to go about the process. If this is done, the subject will be given a number of scientific laboratory values that are interesting, but do not translate into the next workout. The numbers to be gained are these: it is the speed at which the athlete can run 3200 meters under race conditions. This is a modification of the Cooper Test and will work effectively on high school aged athletes. With this value one can determine percentages of load stimulus and establish target times for VO2 max workouts.

Let’s look at a specific example: Billy is 17 years old, and has a lab tested VO2 max of 72 ml/kg/min, which is very high. There is a lot of genetic capacity in this runner. The coach establishes a workout plan that each week contains a primary and sometimes a secondary workload that provides a specific stimulus to the VO2 max of each individual athlete, including Billy. Each runner has a different pre- determined workout load on days this is stressed. Looking at Billy specifically; he has recently run 9:15 for the 3200 meters, thus that is his VO2 max in practical training terms. A primary workout would be repetitions of 4 x 1600 meters. Billy’s goal time for each repetition of work would be 102% of his VO2 max pace, or about 94% of his 1600




race pace. Again, since Billy just ran 9:15 for 3200 meters, his pace would be 4:37 per mile for his VO2 max pace. Thus, his goal time for each of the repetitions would be 4:34. His rest interval approximately his work, so the total rest is 4:40 between each repeated run. Exercise physiologists have shown that the most effective way of loading the VO2 max system is by running one high-volume workout at 97% - 102% of VO2 max per week. It is also beneficial to complete a second, lower volume VO2 max workout during certain microcycles in the specific preparation and general competitive phases of the training model. Plus, a 5k or 3200 meter race once per week provides additional minutes of stimulus in the VO2 max velocity zone.




The greatest gains in VO2 max development can be made by running repetitions of 2 to 6 minutes duration at 97% -102% of VO2 max pace. The most effective workouts are repetitions of 800 meters to 2000 meters. These are done on the track or very accurately measured road courses, because goal times are so important. Repetitions shorter than 800 meters aren’t nearly as effective in providing this stimulus, because the athlete does not accumulate enough time in the optimal intensity range. For example, if Billy runs 500 meter repeats, it will be easy to hold VO2 max pace. Billy would have to do many of these to stimulate the system. He would be better off running the 500 meters much faster and thus working the anaerobic lactate system for a different training effect that day.

It is important that strict percentage goal times are followed for each workout. If Billy, who is a 4:15 miler, would have run his first 1600 repeat in 4:25, a time he certainly is capable of, it would be very difficult for him to run a 4:34 average without much fluctuation. If Billy’s coach had set up this workout based on his 15:20 5k pace, his 1600 goal for repeats would have been about 4:50, much too slow to stimulate his VO2 max system.

A good secondary workout to accompany the mile repeats during a microcycle would be 8 x 800 meters in 2:17 (for Billy) with a 2:20 active interval recovery period. Most coaches have a 12-15 week cross-country season. Try to schedule 24 VO2 max workouts, with one per week throughout the season, and two per week for the first eight weeks.

Sequencing proper workouts is the cornerstone of great distance training programs. Knowing the training pace to boost the lactate threshold, aerobic threshold, and VO2 max is vital. The coach and athlete may be tempted to train harder on the days one does VO2 max work, or maybe shorten the recovery. Proceed with caution. Moving out of the 97% -102% window will leave the athlete too exhausted for the next race or workout.

When athletes run races of any length, they do not run at some arbitrary intensity. The percentage of VO2 max that can be sustained for a specific amount of time is predictable. 100% of VO2 max can be sustained for only about 10 minutes in trained runners. The longer the




race, the lower the percent VO2 max at which the athletes will run it. VO2 max is a date pace workout and the velocity of the work will get faster during the season as the overall VO2 max fitness shows improvement.

VO2 max Training Examples---Date pace=10:30 for 3200 Meters as a Starting Point


General Preparation [DP=10:30]

4 times 1600 meters

Each repetition done in 5:15

6400 meters of total work

Rest between each repetition is 5:15

Specific Preparation [DP improves to 10:10]

7 times 800 meters




General Competition [DP improves to 9:55]

12 times 400 meters

Each repetition done in 74


Rest between each repletion is 75 seconds

Specific Competition [DP improves to 9:40]

3 times 1600 meters




While VO2 max is defined as the distance that can be run in 10 minutes, or conveniently the time for 3200 meters, more volume can be done by breaking the load into segments with an interval of rest. The famous Swedish physiologist Per-Olaf Astrand established in the 1960’s that by breaking VO2 max work into segments, a greater volume of work can be done at that velocity. The intervals with work just slower (<3%-8%) than VO2 max pace are termed extensive intervals, and just faster (>3%-8%) are termed intensive intervals.




The extensive intervals uses rest time that is less then the time of work being done, and the intensive intervals rest time is greater then the standard 1:1 VO2 max work/ rest ratio.

Hill training constitutes another component of combined zone training. The extent of the work will be based around event selection with cross- country constituting the greatest emphasis since the nature of the terrain requires considerable specificity of training. When the microcycle mileage assumed by the athlete reaches its maximum for the season, the introduction of hill work will enhance the quality and variety of their training. Because it slows the pace of the work, but maintains its intensity, it also helps delay the peaking process until the aerobic and anaerobic processes become absolutely fit. An important physiological element develops when athletes train near their anaerobic threshold, while simultaneously applying muscular strength to overcome added resistance. All other things being constant, athletes who have developed greater aerobic features and strength by incorporating hills in their training program will show less blood lactate accumulation given a sub-maximum work load.

Perhaps the greatest early proponent of hill running was the New Zealander, Arthur Lydiard. He advocated 5 weeks of hill training spread over the specific preparation and general competition phases of the training plan. Lydiard felt that the physical effects of hill training were a longer and more powerful stride pattern. In particular, the knee-lift, ankle flexion, and hip extension shown by athletes will improve. Athletic speed is dependent on strength, and one of the goals of the hill period is to enhance muscular strength in preparation for the specific competition phase to follow. As athletes get stronger they also obtain the durability required to avoid injury.

Further examination of Lydiard’s pioneering work in hill training suggests breaking the 5 week block of time into 3 microcycles followed by a long microcycle away from them, and then 2 microcycles to finish the block just before the specific competition phase begins.

Hill training can incorporate two different strategies for the athlete. The hill work could be done as the major unit of the training session or it could be done simply as a continuous run over a hilly course. Hills




come in various lengths and degrees of steepness. A popular workout is to treat the hill repetitions as if they were 300 meter repeats on the track. The hill session can be set up with a duration goal of ~2000 meters total or 7 repeats of a 300 meter hill. Depending on the steepness, the rest may be set for about 3 minutes which is about the time it takes to lightly jog back down a 300 meter hill. Add in a 2 mile active warm-up beforehand and a 3 mile continuous cool-down afterward and the athlete would have about a 6-7 mile work session in the combined zone. Coaching cues for such a session would include promotion of an aggressive knee lift, a tall but in posture, a quick take- off of the foot, and a set of eyes looking up the hill. Athletes can acquire some important mental and physical skills by running hills of this length. These skills relate to the manner in which they impact muscular force, and endure physical and mental fatigue. A workout like this would be done once each microcycle that hills are being stressed. The grade should be 2%-3% in steepness.

A hill workout session done as part of a continuous run would mimic the skills needed to be successful in a cross-country race. The course could be of any distance between 5-8 miles and should provide enough hills for the athlete to stay alert as to how to properly attack and crest the hills. This workout should be timed and done at a pace near the anaerobic threshold. Basically, set up like a hilly tempo run. This type of workout should also be done once per microcycle during the period of hill running development.

The pieces are now almost in place to able to construct the final full- scale workout plan for the endurance macrocycle. All that remains is a brief look at rest and recovery issues, within and between, these various combined zone work sessions that will be incorporated into the plan.




Rest is recovery from metabolic fatigue caused by the effects of training. Fatigue can show up as many forms in the body. Fatigue may be the result of the following:

• The accumulation of by-products such as lactate salt and hydrogen ions in muscle cells and blood.

• Essential nutrient depletion like muscle glycogen and blood glucose in the working areas of the body.

• Changes in metabolic functions caused from increases in acidity or changes in body core temperatures.

• A limitation in nerve cell function caused by an abundance of extra molecules.

• Disturbed body equilibrium caused by severe demands on the hormonal system.




Fatigue may be something that is short term such as what occurs between work sessions in an interval style workout, or it may be chronic such as what occurs with structural losses from extreme loading of training stimuli. If it is long term, then rest must be long term as well. High lactate concentrations on tendon and ligament surfaces, micro-traumas in cell structures, mitochondria swelling, and damage to cell structures and the outer membranes are all characteristic of chronic fatigue. The recovery from these problems usually is dependent on proper amounts of sleep, an emphasis on proper nutrition, replenishment hydration, massage, and other forms of simple sports medicine. Many of these problems clear up with a few days off of running and straightening out personal habits.

Short term fatigue, followed by partial or full recovery, is the goal of interval and repetition style running. The coach dictates through rest between bouts of work the level of the recovery. During the rest period the athlete may be actively recovering or passively recovering. In other words, walking/jogging or standing/sitting. Which recovery technique is the most effective? The graph below illustrates that recovery, as measured by lactate in the blood, is quicker through active recovery than it is through passive recovery during an interval session.

There may be sessions that the coach wants to slow recovery to callous the runner. Other workouts will benefit from a more complete recovery. That will all be dictated by the length of the rest period and the recovery technique.

Day to day recovery is the other vital component in sequencing work in the combined zone. The recovery period will be dictated by the volume, extent, and duration of the stimulus. It is also contingent upon whether the work is aerobic or anaerobic, the training and chronological age of the athlete, and where the work is placed in the phases of the macrocycle. Hard day/easy day is a very simplistic way of looking at training theory, but it does have some advanced application if applied to the energy system recovery instead the whole body. The basics behind training theory are to apply the proper training stimulus on a daily basis, not just reduce it to an all encompassing hard day followed by an easy day. On the chart below are many of the workouts detailed in this book. Following each




workout is the physiologically based recovery period and the reason for it. This chart will be valuable in the development of the final step in training design, sequencing the combined zone workouts.

Rest and Recovery Parameters in Endurance Training:

STIMULUS

RECOVERY PERIOD

REGENERATION

Normal long run 24 hours Muscle and liver glycogen and muscle tissue damage

Hill runs 24 hours Neuro-muscular

Recovery runs 24 hours Glycogen and neuro-muscular

Moderate tempo runs 24 hours Glycogen, and neuro-muscular

Alactic intervals 24 hours Neuro-muscular

Endurance event races

48 hours Muscle glycogen, muscle tissue damage, neural

Long runs >20% of microcycle total

48 hours Muscle and liver glycogen, cell repair, neuro-muscular, central nervous fatigue

Long tempo runs 48 hours Muscle and liver glycogen

Glycolytic intervals 48 hours Muscle tissue damage and neuro- muscular

Glycolytic repetition runs

48 hours Muscle tissue damage and neuro- muscular

VO2 max work 48 hours Muscle glycogen, cell repair, neuro- muscular, tissue damage

Strong glycolytic intervals

72 hours Muscle tissue damage, neuro- muscular, cell repair

Fast tempo runs>6 miles

72 hours Muscle and liver glycogen, muscle tissue damage, cell repair, neuro- muscular

Long tempo runs>8 miles

72 hours Muscle and liver glycogen, muscle tissue damage, cell repair, neuro- muscular, central nervous fatigue




The next sets of charts put the combined zone training plan together phase by phase and event by event. There will be four sets of charts that cover the shorter endurance events: the 800 meters, the 1500 meters, the 3200 meters and the 5000 meter events. Each event is broken down into the four phases of training contained in each macrocyle and within each phase will be a mesocycle consisting of two microcycles that would be representative of that event and time. Only the major unit of the training session is shown in the charts. The entire workout would further consist of a general and specific warm-up, specific strength work, additional base mileage at the aerobic threshold, and a cool-down, besides all of the other psychological elements that go into a training day.

The 800 Meters – General Preparation Phase:

MONDAY Long run of 7 miles Long run of 7 miles

TUESDAY VO2 max of 3 by 1 mile repeats

Barefoot grass runs of 8 by 60 seconds

WEDNESDAY Continuous run of 5 miles Continuous run of 6 miles

THURSDAY Alactic intervals of 8 by 40 meters

VO2 max of 6 by 800 meter repeats

FRIDAY 5K tempo run on the grass Continuous run of 4 miles

SATURDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 4 by 400 meters

Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 4 by 200 meters

SUNDAY 3 miles easy to reach 35 miles

3 miles easy to reach 35 miles




The 800 Meters – Specific Preparation Phase:


TUESDAY Alactic intervals of 8 by 50 meters


WEDNESDAY 5K tempo run Continuous run of 4 miles

THURSDAY Continuous run of 5 miles 3 miles easy

FRIDAY Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

Track meet

SATURDAY Track Meet Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

SUNDAY 3 miles easy to reach 32 miles

VO2 max run of 1 by 2 mile to reach 30 miles

The 800 Meters – General Competition Phase:


TUESDAY Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

Alactic intervals of 8 by 40 meters

WEDNESDAY Continuous run of 4 miles Barefoot grass runs of 6 by 45 seconds

THURSDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 5 by 500 meters

Hill session of 9 by 300 meters

FRIDAY 5K tempo run Continuous run of 4 miles

SATURDAY VO2 max of 8 by 800 meters

Track Meet

SUNDAY Rest day to reach 30 miles Rest day to reach 30 miles




The 800 Meters – Specific Competition Phase:

MONDAY Continuous run of 5 miles Continuous run of 5 miles

TUESDAY Anaerobic glycolytic repetition running of 2 by 600 meters


WEDNESDAY Barefoot grass runs of 6 by 30 seconds


THURSDAY Continuous run of 3 miles Contiuous run of 4 miles

FRIDAY Track Meet Continuous run of 3 miles


Track meet

SUNDAY Rest day to reach 24 miles Rest day to reach 22 miles

The 1500 meters – General Prepartion Phase:

MONDAY Barefoot grass runs of 8 by 80 seconds


TUESDAY Long run of 10 miles Long run of 10 miles

WEDNESDAY Alactic intervals of 8 by 40 meters

VO2 max of 6 by 800 meters

THURSDAY Continuous run of 7 miles Continuous run of 6 miles

FRIDAY VO2 max of 4 by 1 mile Track Meet

SATURDAY Continuous run of 8 miles 5 mile tempo run

SUNDAY Easy run of 5 miles to reach 50 miles

Continuous run of 8 miles to reach 48 miles








WEDNESDAY Alactitic intervals of 6 by 50 meters

5 mile tempo run

THURSDAY Continuous run of 7 miles VO2 max of 4 times 1 mile

FRIDAY Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

Continuous run of 7 miles

SATURDAY Track Meet Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

SUNDAY Easy 6 miles to reach 45 miles

Easy 5 miles to reach 45 miles


MONDAY Long run of 8 miles Barefoot grass runs of 10 by 40 seconds

TUESDAY VO2 max of 7 by 800 meters

5K tempo run

WEDNESDAY Continuous run of 7 miles VO2 max of 12 by 400 meters

THURSDAY Hill session of 6 by 300 meters

Long run of 7 miles

FRIDAY Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 600 meters


SATURDAY Track Meet Track Meet

SUNDAY Easy 6 miles to reach 40 miles

Easy 3 miles to reach 35 miles





MONDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 5 by 500 meters

Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 800 meters

TUESDAY Long run of 6 miles Continuous run of 5 miles

WEDNESDAY Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 600 meters


THURSDAY Continuous run of 4 miles Anaerobic glycolytic repetition run of 1 by 600 meters

FRIDAY Track Meet Easy run of 2 miles

SATURDAY VO2 max run of 1 by 2 miles

Track Meet

SUNDAY Rest to reach 30 miles Easy run of 3 miles to reach 28 miles

The 3200 Meters – General Preparation Phase:

MONDAY Continuous run of 8 miles VO2 max of 5 by 1 mile

TUESDAY VO2 max marker run of 1 by 3200 meters


WEDNESDAY Tempo run of 5 miles Barefoot grass runs of 8 by 80 seconds

THURSDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 5 by 400 meters

Long run of 10 miles

FRIDAY Continuous run of 6 miles Track Meet

SATURDAY Long run of 10 miles VO2 max of 5 by 800 meters

SUNDAY Continuous run of 8 miles to reach 50 miles






MONDAY VO2 max of 5 by 1 mile Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

TUESDAY Continuous run of 8 miles 6 mile tempo run

WEDNESDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 6 by 400 meters

VO2 max of 2 by 2 miles

THURSDAY Long run of 10 miles Long run of 9 miles

FRIDAY Barefoot grass runs of 6 by 40 seconds

Track Meet

SATURDAY Track Meet Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 3 by 600 meters




MONDAY Hill session of 6 by 300 meters


TUESDAY Continuous run of 7 miles on a hilly course

Long run of 8 miles



THURSDAY VO2 max of 4 by 1 mile Hill session of 6 by 300 meters

FRIDAY Long run of 8 miles Continuous run of 6 miles

SATURDAY Track Meet Track Meet


Tempo run of 4 miles to reach 41 miles





MONDAY VO2 max of 3 by 1 mile VO2 max of 4 by 800 meters

TUESDAY Anaerobic glycolytic intervals of 5 by 500 meters


WEDNESDAY Alactic intervals of 6 by 30 meters

Tempo run of 4 miles

THURSDAY Continuous run of 5 miles Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 300 meters

FRIDAY Track Meet Continuous run of 3 miles

SATURDAY Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 600 meters

Track Meet

SUNDAY Long run of 7 miles to reach 35 miles

3 miles easy to reach 31 miles

The 5000 Meters – Cross-Country – General Preparation Phase:

MONDAY VO2 max marker run of 1 by 3200 meters

Continuous run of 8 miles on a hilly course

TUESDAY Continuous run of 9 miles Continuous run of 9 miles

WEDNESDAY Tempo run of 6 miles VO2 max of 5 by 1 mile

THURSDAY Continuous run of 8 miles Continuous run of 8 miles

FRIDAY Barefoot grass runs of 6 by 80 seconds

Cross-Country Meet




Long run of 12 miles to reach 60 miles




The 5000 Meters – Cross-Country – Specific Preparation Phase:

MONDAY VO2 max of 10 by 800 meters

Extensive interval runs of 5 by 1000 meters with 2 minutes rest between


WEDNESDAY Tempo run of 5 miles Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

THURSDAY Barefoot grass runs of 8 by 80 seconds


FRIDAY Continuous run of 9 miles Cross-Country Meet

SATURDAY Cross-Country Meet VO2 max of 4 by 1 mile



The 5000 Meters – Cross-Country – General Competition Phase:

MONDAY Hill session of 8 by 300 meters

Tempo run of 4 miles

TUESDAY Continuous run of 8 miles on a hilly course




THURSDAY VO2 max of 8 by 800 meters

Hill session of 6 by 300 meters

FRIDAY Continuous run of 7 miles Continuous run of 6 miles

SATURDAY Cross-Country Meet Cross-Country Meet


Long run of 9 miles to reach 47 miles




The 5000 Meters – Cross-Country – Specific Competition:


Long run of 6 miles

TUESDAY VO2 max of 2 by 1 mile Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 2 by 800 meters

WEDNESDAY Long run of 7 miles Continuous run of 4 miles

THURSDAY Anaerobic glycolytic repetition runs of 1 by 600 meters


FRIDAY Continuous run of 5 miles Continuous run of 4 miles

SATURDAY Cross-Country Meet Cross-Country Meet

SUNDAY Rest to reach 35 miles Continuous run of 5 miles to reach 32 miles





PERIODIZED STRENGTH TRAINING FOR THE ENDURANCE ATHLETE

Endurance runners will become more complete athletes through an intelligent implementation of various appropriate forms of strength training. As they become better and stronger athletes, they will record faster times through better performances. Historically, most distance runners have resisted a structured strength training program for a variety of reasons: they did not have the time to spend on it, they did not have access to facilities, they were embarrassed by their lack of strength compared to other athletes on the team, or they just lacked the drive to do it. The assumption was running alone was enough to reach full performance potential. With the contemporary research on endurance training and the various performance elements that are needed, coaches can now conclude that to achieve championship success in the track and fields endurance events it will involve resistance activities that are both embedded in other areas of the training plan as well as activities that will be event specific.

Successful performance in endurance training and racing depends on many physiological, psychological and nutritional factors. A critical factor in the physiological domain is the force production of the contracting musculature. While any form of running satisfies the definition of force production, it has been proven that a greater force production must be generated to achieve a more desirable training effect for greater adaptation: The Principle of Overload. One component of training performance that addresses this point is specifically targeted and workout embedded resistance training. Resistance training accurately describes all types of strength training. It is commonly thought that moving weight plates in the weight room are the only real type of strength training, but any work done against any type of resistance builds strength. Simply running up a hill, or into the wind, is resistance work and thus builds strength.

Scientific research shows that concurrent resistance and aerobic training does not inhibit either’s development in an endurance athlete. Runners who avoid resistance training for fear it will compromise their performances fail to realize that resistance training leads to




physiological adaptations, both acute and long-term, that will actually improve race performance.

The physiological gains from progressive resistance through a periodized training plan include: Increases in capillarization of the muscle fiber, increased availability of fuel to the muscles, improved muscular endurance through increases in cell mitochondria, increased inter-cellular fiber density, stronger bones, and stronger connective tissue. These are all goals of the running training program as well. Both will benefit the distance runner’s development. Additionally, the other biomotor benefits of resistance training include increases in flexibility, speed, endurance and greater neuro-muscular coordination of the organism.

When designing resistance training workloads, it is important to account for the unique physiological demand of the sport through the “specificity of training” principle. This refers to adaptations in the metabolic and physiological systems, depending on the mode of training imposed. For endurance runners, conclusions from the research indicate that strength development may in fact enhance running economy and protect against injury.

Contemporary scientific research indicates that low volume resistance training of moderate to high intensity, when incorporated into an endurance training program will significantly improve upper and lower body strength as well as running economy. Running is considered a whole body exercise, not just an action performed by the lower extremities. The benefits from increased upper body strength help delay fatigue in the arms and postural muscles during the race and common sense says that when a miler complains about tightness and weakness in the shoulders during a race that the shoulder area needs some strength work. That is far from being the total answer. What really happened was muscle fatigue in the farthest peripheral muscle groups (hand and wrist area) occurred first. As the race continued, the fatigue moved from the peripheral areas to the central area (shoulder), fatiguing all of the muscle groups along the way. The athlete should have strengthened the more peripheral groups, to delay the onset of fatigue there, and thus spared the bigger muscle groups of fatigue during the race. Once the big muscle groups in the shoulder fatigue,




the diaphragm compresses, and the performance dramatically suffers for the athlete. As the shoulder and diaphragm muscles become fatigued, they may compromise the efficiency of expansionary movement and increase the oxygen demand for running as additional motor units are recruited. That demand will not be met with a compressed diaphragm.

Greater leg strength also enhances mechanical efficiency and motor unit recruitment patterns of the endurance runner. Oxygen cost at each running speed may be reduced if a more efficient pattern is induced through an increase in leg strength. Simply put, improved running economy of the runner results, and thus betters the performance level.

Another benefit from resistance training is that it may protect the athlete against injury. Overuse injuries are often associated with the repetitive overload typical of running activities. While running, the lower extremity must absorb a force up to five times body weight at heel strike. For the endurance runner who logs many miles each week, and therefore has millions of heel strikes each year, the cumulative effects of impact can be traumatic.

Muscle weakness and imbalance are factors related to impact related overuse injuries. It would seem that resistance training is imperative for ensuring that there be little or no damage to the muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments from the high intensity loads placed on the body during training or competition. Muscle imbalance implies a negative strength ratio of the agonist and antagonist muscles in an extremity, or asymmetry in agonists or antagonists muscles between the extremities. A distance runner may be at a higher risk of sustaining an injury for example, if their hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio is 60% or less in one leg or the other.




A resistance training program targeted to developing balanced strength between the extensors and flexors of the hips and legs will ensure safe execution of the powerful strides so essential for end-of-the-race sprints to the finish. Strengthening the muscles of the feet, legs, and trunk in order to relieve strain on the spinal column is also a good reason for the endurance runner to perform resistance training on a regular basis. Strengthening the feet has become an acute problem. Properly fit training shoes have become so sophisticated that the muscles of the feet do not have to develop strength for support. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, a certain amount of barefoot running on the grass during each microcycle should give the strength training necessary to develop this support.

Adaptations to the large muscle groups, both in the upper and lower body, are of critical importance since running is primarily a large muscle group activity. This is called the “pillar strength” of the athlete and its development is vital to the recruitment of the proper muscle groups used in movement at any speed. Postural muscle groups are of particular importance because of the effects of gravity and its’ contribution to fatigue in running.

Just as with aerobic, anaerobic, and combined zone training, periodization of strength training for the endurance running events must include an organized approach to whichever strength components are critical to the specific event and to the individual athlete. Training for strength must be sequential and progressive in its development through the course of the macrocycle. Each endurance running event, whether a middle distance or distance events will demand different adaptations and strength capabilities. For example, the 800 meters has a much greater explosive component then the 5K has.

The annual plan for strength training resembles that of the annual running plan. The basic model is that of the well documented Matveyev research, shown in an earlier chapter, and is based on progressive loading, adaptation, and reversibility. Absolute strength takes the longest to develop and may take several months to achieve maximum training effect. Elastic strength takes the least amount of time for adaptation at about 20 days. A large amount of the resistance work is actually just “body weight” exercises; however absolute




strength and strength endurance can only be achieved by workloads in excess of body weight.

Resistance work has five general categories:

• (ND) Neuromuscular Development Drills;

• (RF) Running Form Programming Drills;

• (GS) General Strength Drills;

• (P) Plyometrics; and

• (W) Weights

These are divided into Absolute Strength (high tension - low velocity), Power Strength (moderate tension - moderate velocity), Strength Endurance (moderate tension - high velocity), and Speed Strength (low tension - high velocity).

Only in the weights category do you need to spend necessary time in the weight room. The remainder of the categories is done outside, inside, wherever work can be done.

An example of a possible annual plan, based on championship competitions around June 1, and November 1, is shown below. It is matched with corresponding developmental work that is part of the running plan. Phases and microcycles should be complimentary between running and resistance workloads. When doing base work running, absolute strength work should be done, and when emphasizing anaerobic running, the same should be done with the resistance work. The idea is to do a number of the five categories each month, but not all five. The weights build from general to specific.




A possible resistance training annual plan:

SEPTEMBER ND Training, RF Programming, GS Drills, and W - Absolute Strength (85-95% absolute max).

OCTOBER ND, RF, GS, W - Power Strength (70-80% absolute max).

NOVEMBER ND, RF, W - Power Strength.

DECEMBER ND, RF, W - Strength Endurance ( 50-65% of absolute max).

JANUARY ND, GS, W - Strength Endurance.

FEBRUARY ND, GS, W - Absolute Strength.

MARCH ND, RF, GS, W - Power Strength.

APRIL ND, RF, P, W - Speed Strength (30-40% absolute max).

MAY ND, RF, P, W - Speed Strength.

JUNE ND, W - Absolute Strength.

JULY ND, W - Absolute Strength.

AUGUST ND, GS, W - Strength Endurance.

Once the annual plan has been developed, the five categories of work must be defined and routines outlined. There are many different exercises, drills, and rituals that can be established for each of the five. It is important to have a large enough selection so that the athlete does not get bored, yet not too many as to have the athlete feel overwhelmed.




Some well known conditioning suggestions:

• ND TRAINING (To be done 20 different days on designated months): • A Skip (3 * 50 meters) • B Skip (3 * 50 meters) • C Skip (3 * 50 meters) • Carioca (3* 50 meters) • Straight Leg Bounding (3 * 40 meters) • Skipping For Distance (3 * 60 meters) • Butt Kicks (3 * 50 meters) • Backward Thrusts (3 * 50 meters)

• RF TRAINING

(To be done 8 different days in designated months): • Barefoot Running (1 * 10 - 15 minutes) • Running At Seasonal Goal Pace (3 * 90 seconds) • Running At Faster Then Seasonal Goal Pace (3 * 30 seconds) • End Of Practice Strides (8 * 80 meters) • Dorsal-flexion Drills (3 * 50 meters) • Arm-flexion Drills (3 * 50 meters) • Running With Batons (4 * 400 meters)

• GS DRILLS

(To be done 8 different days in designated months): • Hill Repeats (6 * 300 meter hill, jog recovery) • Flexible Assistance Cords (3 * 50 meters) • Bungee Cords Resistance (5 * 30 meters) • Parachute Runs (3 * 400 meters) • Lunges (3 * 10 walking steps) • Headwind Running (Run into the wind on windy days) • Stadium Stairs (3 * 3 min on a stair - lateral running circuit) • Jump Roping (4 * 2 min)




• P DRILLS (To be done once every 5 days in designated months): • Vertical Power Bounding (4 * 6 reps) • Horizontal Power Bounding (8 * 25 meters) • Depth Jumping (12 inch box -- 5 * 5 reps) • Vertical Double Leg Bounding (4 * 6 reps) • Horizontal Double Leg Bounding (8 * 25 meters) • Medicine Balls - one on one (4 * 3 minutes, 8 lb ball)

• WEIGHT WORK

(To be done 3 times weekly in designated months):

Absolute Strength: Recovery time is 48 hours. • Power cleans, lats, bench press (4 reps, 3 sets @ 90% max

each) • Reverse curls (4 reps, 3 sets @ 90% max) • Preacher curls (4 reps, 3 sets @ 90% max) • Russian dead lift (3 reps, 3 sets @ 90% max) • Heel raises (50% of body weight on bar on shoulders, 6 reps, 3

sets) • Wrist curls (50% of body weight on bar, sitting, 6 reps, 3 sets) • Dips (max) • Pull ups (max)

Power Strength: Recovery time is 48 hours. • Power cleans, lats, bench press (10 reps, 3 sets @ 70 % max

each) • Front curls (10 reps, 3 sets @ 70% max) • Incline press (8 reps, 3 sets @ 70 % Max) • Dips (80% of max number) • Push ups (to exhaustion) • Pull ups (50% of max number) • Arm action running (15% of body weight [dumbbells] 50 reps) • Flys (15% of body weight [dumbbells] 50 reps) • Wrist curls (30% of body weight on bar, sitting, 6 reps, 3 sets)




Strength Endurance: Recovery time is 72 hours. • Power cleans, lats, bench press (40 reps, 2 sets, 50% max

each) • Russian dead lift (30 reps, 2 sets @ 50% max) • Incline press (20 reps, 2 sets @ 50% max) • Arm action running (10% of body weight [dumbbells] to

exhaustion) • Push ups (40 reps, 2 sets) • Power lunges (3 reps, 10 steps each, 45 lb bar on shoulder) • Heel raises (30% of body weight on bar, on shoulders, 10 reps,

3 sets) • Abdominal crunches (50 reps, 2 sets)

Speed Strength: Recovery time is 36 hours. • Power cleans, lats, bench press (FAST - 10 reps, 5 sets @ 30%

max) • Half squats (6 reps, 4 sets @ 40% max) • Arm action running (FAST - with lightest dumbbells to

exhaustion) • Abdominal crunches (FAST - 35) • Dips (FAST - to exhaustion) • Stationary circuit (FAST - with 40 lb bar, do not set it down

until completely done, 10X overhead lift, 10X reverse curls, 10X front curls, 10X pull up hands together on bar, 2 sets)




Shown below is a sample worksheet that every athlete could use for each month to monitor their individual program. The goal is to make record keeping simple. Just circle the tasks done for the day and add any notations and notes in the blank.

Monthly Strength Report – Endurance:

DAY 1 ND GS RF P W DAY 16 ND GS RF P W









DAY 10 ND GS FR P W DAY 25 ND GS RF P W










ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE ENDURANCE EVENTS

The environment plays a large role in the conditioning and racing performance of endurance athletes. Environmental conditions are seldom perfect despite the attempts of coaches to creatively schedule workouts and races. Heat, cold, wind, and altitude factors all play a contributive role in the athlete’s everyday training and racing scheme. The systems of the body react to a changing environment. This physiological phenomenon is known as acclimation and it takes a period of time for the body to adapt to these changes.

Because of the latitude of the United States the greatest environmental concern for the athlete will be ambient heat and the additive contribution it makes with metabolic heat to cause collective heat problems in the athlete.

Heat can be a major stressor to an endurance runner and can compromise athletic performance. In addition to compromising performance, heat stress can also cause adverse health effects such as heat cramps, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Acclimatization to heat stress is possible through regular training as the weather gradually warms or over a set length of time when traveling to a warm environment from a cool one.

Questions for the coach concerning heat:

• What is heat?

• How does the body respond to heat stress?

• How can an athlete acclimatize to heat stress?

• What are the warning signs, treatment methods, and preventive measures for heat illness?

• How heat stress is measured and how can an athlete or coach use the measurements?




By definition, heat stress is a combination of metabolic and climatic heat stress. The internally generated heat from the body during energy metabolism creates metabolic heat stress. Climatic heat stress is a combination of external environmental conditions that the stress the body’s thermoregulatory system. These conditions include ambient temperature; air humidity, air movement, and radiant heat (from the sun and nearby warm surfaces).

As athletes experience heat stress, their body temperature rises. Human body temperature is influenced by both metabolic and climatic heat sources. There is continuous exchange of heat between the body and the environment. This exchange of heat occurs via several different routes: convection, conduction, radiation, and evaporation. Human body temperature is a direct reflection of the net heat storage in the body, or in other words, the difference between the increases and decreases of thermal load on the body.

The body’s response to climatic heat stress is termed climatic heat strain. Climatic heat strain, also known heat stress response, entails the physiologic mechanisms used by the body to permit better tolerance of climatic heat stress.

The body’s physiologic response to heat:

• Body and skin temperature: body and skin temperatures increase and, in turn, enhance the transfer of heat (via convection) from the body to the external environment.

• Sweat rate: sweat increases and, in turn, enhances the transfer of heat (via evaporation) form the body to the external environment.

• Cardiac Output: cardiac output increases and total blood flow to the skin increases, and, in turn, enhance the transfer of heat (via convection and evaporation) form the skin to the external environment.




Convection is responsible for transferring heat from both the working muscles and the skin surface. More specifically, the following convection-related heat transfer mechanisms occur during exercise:

• Metabolic heat moves by convection from the working muscle to the blood stream.

• Heat is then transferred by the venous circulation to the body core, increasing the overall body temperature.

• The core temperature is monitored [and the change detected] by the thermoregulatory center in the hypothalamus region of the lower brain.

Heat is transferred to the skin via convection. The rate of the heat transfer is dependent upon the temperature differential between skin and the environment [the greater the ratio the more heat transferred] and the heat transfer coefficient, which varies with available body surface area and wind velocity [the more exposed surface area and wind the greater the heat transferred]. Minimal body fat and loose- fitting clothing also enhance an athlete’s convection potential.




Evaporation is the most important heat dissipation mechanism in warm environments. More than 80% of the body heat loss is achieved by evaporation when environmental temperature exceeds 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Fit athletes can produce up to 30 ml of sweat per minute, but not all of this is available for heat elimination. Evaporative rate is determined by the evaporative heat transfer coefficient, which is related to air velocity and the water vapor pressure gradient between the skin and environment. This latter is determined by the relative humidity of the air.

In general, the body is able to enhance the dissipation of heat through a variety of physiological mechanisms. Well-trained endurance runners can sustain a core temperature of 102 -105 degrees F (39-40.5 degrees C) for prolonged periods of time, approaching (with a limited safety margin) but not exceeding the critical thermal maximum 108 degrees F (42 degrees C). The well-trained endurance runners are capable of this because they have already adapted to metabolic and climatic heat stresses (in part or in full) from their rigorous training regimes.

Partial adaptation to metabolic and climatic heat stress occurs with training at moderate temperatures, but full acclimatization can be achieved only with repeated bouts of exercise in the heat. Furthermore, training in hot, humid conditions has a greater influence on the ability of an athlete to produce sweat compared to training hot, dry conditions. Five to ten days of training in hot, humid weather, at a reduced intensity (60-70% of the usual load to avoid heat injury), are recommended for full acclimatization. A prolonged period of training in such challenging conditions is not necessary. By the end of two weeks of training at an intensity range of 40-95% of maximal aerobic power, 95% of adaptive changes already described will have occurred. However, tapering for athletic competition must be incorporated carefully into the acclimatization process, because loss of heat adaptation is rather rapid, that is within days following cessation of adaptive training.

Heat illness occurs when the athlete has encountered heat stress that it can no longer control. An athlete will experience levels of heat illness when thermoregulatory mechanisms fail to compensate for elevations in core temperature caused by climatic and the metabolic heat load.




Heat illness may encompass a wide spectrum of symptoms of varying severity, ranging from heat cramps and dehydration to heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.

Prevention of advanced heat stress includes an intake of electrolyte solutions, a high potassium diet, hydration during the workout, running during a cool time of day, and clothes that do not trap sweat.

Cold Adaptations Endurance event performance can be adversely affected by local effects of cold on the skeletal muscles, slowing of reflexes, and metabolic changes that alter the fuel supply to muscle tissue and the brain. As a performance example: the maximal contractile force of skeletal muscle is decreased by cooling. The body may compensate for this by recruiting fast-twitch glycolytic muscle fibers, thereby using stored glycogen at a faster rate and hastening fatigue.

The body responds to cold in unique, necessary ways. Retention of metabolic heat is the primary goal. Two physiological responses seek to restore thermal homeostasis: reduced heat loss via constriction of skin blood vessels, and increased metabolic heat production via shivering and even greater survival physiological responses if necessary. All of this leads to greater and greater energy expenditures to the body.

In cold climate there are multiple environmental stressors that disturb homeostasis in the body’s systems. Air temperature that is below skin and core body temperature is the most obvious. In this condition the balance of heat production versus heat loss is disrupted; heat loss exceeds production and the central core temperature decreases. If left unchecked, the resulting condition could result in injury from frostbite or even hypothermia. Cold stress becomes a major factor in post-race protocol following an endurance activity in which much heat was generated, but no longer is, and the ambient temperature gradient is severe. An accompanying factor is the dry air that is usually coupled with cold temperatures. The affect of cold, dry air on the smooth muscle that surrounds lung and bronchial airways can be severe. Inhalation of cold, dry air stimulates exercise-induced bronchi spasm whereas warm, moist air is tolerated more effectively by asthmatics and other sensitive individuals.




To offset and respond to the effects of the cold, the body responds in several ways at the tissue level. Tissues involved would include nerve, brain, skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, blood vessel, and endocrine. Plus, at least 5 hormones respond to the condition. All of these will put more unwanted stress on the body’s systems, thus increasing recovery times while decreasing performance. The three direct results of cold stress will be:

• Increase heat production

• Reduce heat loss

• Mobilize metabolic fuels

Heat production increases when the rhythmic muscular contractions of shivering begins. These contractions affect the elasticity of the muscles and lower range of motion. These contractions do no work; only produce heat, so they are a negative factor to performance. Heat loss is reduced when the cutaneous blood vessels constrict, thereby lowering the volume of warm blood flowing to the outer muscles and skin. Blood moves to the core, again a negative factor to performance. Metabolic fuels are released into the bloodstream when the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine are secreted and when cortisol is released. These fuels are now not available for muscular work. At this point the immune system is susceptible to a viral attack in the bronchial region, especially if there are micro-tears due to dryness in the mucous membranes.

Exposure to exercise in cold air will provide an obvious challenge to the homeostatic balance of the body. Stepping outside to run in temperatures below 45 degrees will immediately decrease the skin temperature and cutaneous vessels constrict strongly. Blood is diverted away from the skin to the central veins, and stroke volume increases due to increased venous return to the heart. Cardiac output and heart rate are thus maintained at levels below what they would be in a warmer environment. Vasoconstriction in skin and muscle, coupled with a lower muscle temperature, may increase the rate of anaerobic metabolism. This will reduce the clearance rate of metabolic by- products, such as lactate from the muscles.




Prevention of cold stress: • Dress in layers, not cotton • Use a wind-proof layer on the outside • Begin a run against the wind • Do not linger in the cold • Acclimate to the cold and dry air • Hydrate as if it was summer • Stretch indoors • Cool down indoors if possible • Cover head and hands, 75% of lost heat is here

Altitude Considerations The hypobaric environment is low atmospheric pressure associated with high terrestrial altitudes or artificial “high altitude” enclosures. Sea level is where atmospheric pressure is the greatest. Above sea level, the atmospheric pressure diminishes by 50% for an increase of about 5000 meters. Thus, air has a lower density at higher altitude because the gas has expanded. Even though the percentage of oxygen and other gases does not change as altitude increases, the thinner air presents less oxygen to the lungs, alters physiologic responses, and produces unique illnesses because of the decrease in gas density.

There has been much discussion since the1968 Mexico City Olympics, but very few longitudinal scientific studies done that discuss the effects of altitude training in endurance athletes. The research is clear on this however, the fastest distance races are run at sea level (everything else being equal), but are there advantages in training daily in a hypobaric environment? How about actually living in a hypobaric environment?

The distinctive result of exposure to high altitude is hypoxia. In metabolic terms, hypoxia is a state in which the rate of oxygen utilization by cells is inadequate to supply all of the body’s energy requirements. The body judiciously defends its oxygen supply to the brain and other organs by initiating numerous responses to hypoxia, some of these are immediate, but temporary responses, and some are systematic chronic adaptations that need to be addressed.




The body’s systems most affected would be: respiratory, cardiovascular and central nervous.

• Respiratory: Pulmonary ventilation increases immediately. Artery chemoreceptor senses a lower oxygen level in the blood.

• Cardiovascular: Cardiac output increases substantially,

immediately, due to an increase in heart rate. In response to hypoxia, stroke volume decreases for a given work rate. Polycythemia, which is the body’s ability to increase the rate of blood cell production, is considered to be one of the classic, rapid responses to hypoxia because it increases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. But the increase in hemoglobin that occurs during the first two days at altitude actually is due to a loss of plasma volume. This will also raise the viscosity of the blood, sludging up the capillaries. This natural polycythemic adaptation is stimulated by the production of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) by the kidneys.

• Central Nervous: Very sensitive to hypoxia. Fatigue in sensory and motor neurons occurs quite rapidly. Most obvious in sensory, but alteration of motor is just as evident. Coordination of muscle groups is lost. Sleep is main regenerator of this system and is affected. Sleep is more difficult to achieve at altitude because of the build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood due to a higher breathing rate.

Above 1500 meters, the decline in maximal aerobic power (VO2 max) due to altitude exposure equals approximately 3% per 300 meters; this effect is absent below 1500 meters. This does vary somewhat from individual to individual because VO2 max is a summation of many processes. Although anaerobic glycolysis compensates for the reduction in aerobic capacity at altitude, this response does not occur during maximal exercise because anaerobic metabolism is also greatly restricted.

Studies suggest that anaerobic events are not affected by altitude exposure. Sprinters may gain nothing, and may lose speed. Distance runners usually improve their times after many weeks of training at




altitude, but do not match high altitude natives. A well known consequence of acute exposure is a reduction in maximal aerobic power. Highly trained athletes appear to be even more susceptible to a reduction in VO2 max, because of the large reduction secondary to pulmonary gas-exchange limitations at high work rate. Therefore, because of this reduction in oxygen transport, some elite athletes are not able to maintain the high work rates or training velocities at altitude necessary to maintain competitive fitness. Most endurance runners today benefit from training at altitude. However, there are some consequences that must be addressed in the athlete’s training regime, two of which are a partial loss of VO2 max and another being the inability to build chemical buffer stores to help in neutralizing the effects of acidosis.

The environment plays a key role in the conditioning of endurance athletes. Sometimes workouts are lessened or even eliminated due to climatic concerns. Just one more consideration for the coach.





CONCLUSION

Every day brings opportunity, challenge, heartache, ecstasy, and gratification to the endurance coach. Coaching endurance athletes is more about the process than it is about the conclusion. It is a world full of independent, dependent, and controlled variables that very few coaches ever feel like they have a complete grasp of. No two athletes adapt identically to the very same training stimuli, as much as you might want them to. Some days it is more about psychology than it is physiology. The coach occupies a place in an athlete’s life that can be filled by no other person. Coaching - it is not what you do, it is what you are.

The information that is in this book is the application of accepted sport science to the endurance coaching situation. I hope it gives you answers on why you do certain things, when you do them, and how you do them. I have tried to give you basic science concepts with their application. Science is unique. You cannot pick and choose what science you care to believe. Accept the scientific concepts and apply them to the particular situation that you coach under. Modify your application, but never discard the concepts.

There can never be just one manual on how to coach endurance athletes. There may be one book that describes the physiology of the human organism, but never one book on the application. Science is a body of knowledge that builds upon itself, coaching is that way too. Take great care in customizing your own endurance philosophy and application of the concepts. Trust your own judgment once you have built a knowledge base that can support your own scrutiny. Spend more time with scientists than you do with coaches and you will build such a base.

I would like to acknowledge the many scientists and coaches that I have worked with in my career customizing my own endurance program and who were also instrumental in all of the information in this book. Scholarly thanks to my academic mentors in this sport: Ralph Vernacchia Ph.D., Jack Ransone Ph. D., Robert Vaughan Ph. D., Joe Vigil Ph. D., David Martin Ph. D. and Larry Judge Ed. D. Thanks to the great coaches that have worked with me over the past 25 years




and answered all of my questions: Al Schmidt, Steve Dudley, Vin Lananna, Tony Veney, Gary Winkler, Boo Schexnayder, Brooks Johnson, Patrick Shane, Cliff Rovelto, Gary Winkler, Gary Wilson, Gordon Thomson, and Loren Seagrave. A special thanks to my USATF Level 2 teaching team: Al Schmidt, Troy Engle, Mike Smith and Houston Franks. A big thank you to: Mike Corn at USATF and USTFCCCA. And as always, to my junior high cross-country coach and wife Shelly, thank you for your patience.





GLOSSARY OF ENDURANCE TRAINING TERMINOLOGY

Acidosis: High blood acidity caused by an excess of H+ ions from glycolysis.

Alactic: A process in the cell that regenerates ATP without lactic acid accumulation.

ATP: The energy particle used by the body for muscle contraction.

Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity.

Aerobic: With oxygen.

Angiogenesis: Building more capillaries along muscle fibers.

Anaerobic: Without oxygen.

Annual Plan: The length of a training period that embodies 1-3 mesocycles.

Biological Age: The physical maturity of an athlete.

Cardiac Output: A measurement of blood flow by the heart, it is stroke volume times heart rate

Center of Mass (COM): The point on a body where forces are applied.

Chronological Age: The athlete’s age.

Coordination: Refers to the timing and sequencing of movement.

Density: The number of training units per unit of time.

Duration: How long a workout will last.

Endurance: The limit of time over which work of a given intensity can be performed.

Extensive Intervals (VO2 max): 91% to 97% of VO2 max pace, less rest then standard VO2 max runs.

Fitness: The degree of adaptation to training.




Flexibility: The capacity to perform movement through a range of motion (ROM)

Force: Mass times acceleration.

General Training: General exercises that usually don’t contain any specific element of the technical or metabolic demands of the event. General training helps improve non-specific work capacity of an athlete; also referred to as foundation training.

Glycolysis (Glycolytic): A process in the cell that converts fats and carbohydrates to ATP without O2.

Inertia: A body’s resistance to acceleration.

Intensity: The strength of the stimulus or concentration of work per unit of time; the quality of effort.

Intensive intervals (VO2 max): 102% to 109% of VO2 max pace, more rest then standard VO2 max runs.

Intervals: A set of runs (repetitions/sets) with partial recovery between.

Law of Overload: The principle stating that the nature of loading must challenge an athlete’s present fitness status.

Law of Reversibility: The principle that states that when there is no training load, and consequently no need to adapt, the fitness level of the athlete will return to a level consistent with the demands of the training.

Law of Specificity: The principle that states that the training load must be specific to the individual athlete and the specific metabolic and technical demands of the event for which the athlete is training.

Macrocycle: The largest division of the training year or season consisting of a preparation, competition and transition period.

Mesocycles: A training period that typically consists of 4-6 micro cycles

Microcycle: A group of training sessions usually performed over a seven-day period.




Mitochondria: An animal cell structure that is the site of aerobic respiration.

Modeling: A training unit in which the requirements of competition are stimulated.

Motivation: The intensity and direction of achievement behavior.

Myoglobin: The protein in an animal cell that accepts O2 molecules from the hemoglobin outside of the cell (blood).

Negative Acceleration: Means deceleration, or decreasing the velocity slower and slower.

Overtraining: A physical and mental state caused by too much exertion over a sustained period of time.

Peaking: Tapering training for a major or championship event.

Periodization: The continuous cyclical structure of training to achieve optimal development of performance capacities.

Phase: A collection of mesocycles in pursuit of a specific objective.

Preparation Period: A period of foundation training and developmental competitions.

Progressive Overload: The methodical increase in the training load above that which the athlete is accustomed.

Repetition: Number of intervals in a set.

Repetition Running: A set of runs with full recovery between.

Single Periodization: An annual plan with one macro cycle.

Specific Training: A type of training that is more specialized then general training. The specialized blocks of time always follow general blocks in training.

Speed: The capacity to move the body or a body segment rapidly.

Speed Endurance: Any interval or run where an athlete must maintain near top speeds for a lengthened period of time.

Strength: The ability to apply force.




Stroke Volume: The amount of blood pushed from the heart in a single beat.

Super Concentration: Returning to a level of fitness beyond that of the original, following the fatigue resulting from training.

Tapering: Modifying the intensity, volume and density of training in preparation for a peak performance.

Training: The process of acquiring fitness specific to an event.

Training Age: The number of years spent in training for an event.

Training Theory: The interpretation of relevant work, which provides a systematic and scientific program to mesh with practical coaching experience.

Training Session: The combination of training units of a complementary nature (typically referred to as a workout)

Training Unit: The segment of a session that meets the objective of single training component/biomotor ability.

Transition Period: The link between two macro cycles when the primary objective is restoration.

VO2 Max: Aerobic capacity, the best measure of aerobic fitness.

Velocity: The rate of change of position in a given direction.

Volume: The extent of training; the quality of work performed.

Weight: The force of attraction between an object and the earth.

Work: Force times distance in the direction of the force.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Coach Scott Christensen is the men’s cross-country and track coach at Stillwater Senior High School in Stillwater, Minnesota. Coach Christensen is also the Chair of Endurance Coaching Education for USA Track and Field and has lectured throughout the United States at various clinics, speaking on endurance training, high performance psychology, and long distance training issues.

Christensen spent 14 years lecturing at USA Track & Field Level I, Level II, and Level III Coaching Education Schools, and is the Lead Endurance Instructor for the USTFCCCA Coaching Academy.

Most recently, Christensen has instructed at the USA Track and Field Elite Junior Coaches Camps at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego and at the Disney Sports Complex in Orlando.

In 2003, Christensen was the Junior USA Team Leader at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2008, he was the Senior Team Leader at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Christensen has coached for 30 seasons at Stillwater High School as the endurance coach, besides being the head coach. The Minnesota native arrived in Stillwater in 1980, after spending four seasons as a member of the cross-country and track teams at Gustavus Adolphus College. He was captain of both teams during his senior year. Following graduation, he served one season as the assistant cross- country coach at Gustavus.




Christensen, who is in the Minnesota Coaches Hall of Fame, has been the mastermind behind 9 state team titles in Minnesota and has coached 21 individual state champions including 5 in the 1600 meter run. He has coached 63 All-State endurance athletes in Minnesota while at Stillwater.

In addition, Christensen’s athletes have gone beyond high school to 21 NCAA Division 1 All-American honors. Four of his alumni have broken 4:00 in the mile and 4 of his athletes have run under 13:45 for the 5000 meters. Luke Watson has earned a spot on 5 USA National Teams in cross-country and competed in the World Cross-Country Championships, one time as a Junior and 4 times as a Senior. Sean Graham was the NCAA Division 1 Southeast Region cross-country runner of the year and champion. Jake Watson and Andy Tate have both run under 8:45 for the 3000 meter steeplechase. In 2007, Ben Blankenship was fifth at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships in the 1500 meters.

At Stillwater, Christensen’s high school cross-country teams have been rated in the top 10 nationally during 5 different years. In 1997, The Harrier magazine named Stillwater the National High School Champions after an undefeated year in which their top runners all earned NCAA Division 1 scholarships. In June of that year, 4 of those runners ran 7:41 for the 3200 meter relay, earning a 4th place finish at the National Scholastic Meet in North Carolina (now the Nike Outdoor Championships).

Minnesota has two divisions for their 405 cross-country teams. At the Minnesota State Meet, competing in the big-school division, Stillwater has finished in the top 5 teams, 11 of the past 15 years, with 8 top 3 team finishes during that time.

Christensen competed in 25 marathons following his college career, including running the Boston Marathon 10 times. His best of 2:30.29 was run twice at Grandmas’s Marathon and he placed 6th there in 1979. He still runs about 40 miles per week and races occasionally.




At Gustavus Adolphus College, Christensen majored in biology and chemistry and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He is currently finishing a Master’s Degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska. At Stillwater High School, he is Chair of the 9 member Life Science Department and teaches the Anatomy and Physiology course.


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