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Breaking the Wall & maximizing your training time BY STEVE LONG.

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1 Breaking the Wall & maximizing your training time BY STEVE LONG

2 The Wall  Dramatically falling off your original pace.  A physical and mental collapse under significant endurance stress.  Two-fifths (40%)of all marathoners report hitting the wall.  Severe performance-limiting depletion of carbohydrate reserves.  Up to 2% do not finish due to depletion of carbohydrate reserves.

3 Significant fuel sources of a marathoner  Fat  Your body has enough non-essential body fat to fuel 4+ marathons.  Accounts for a greater proportion as available glycogen is depleted.  100 kcal per mole of respired oxygen. (1 kcal = 1 food calorie)  Carbohydrates  Your body cannot store enough carbs to fuel 1 marathon.  Glycogen is stored in your muscles and liver.  Running stores are almost exclusive to your leg muscles.  Account for a greater proportion at higher intensities.  120 kcal per mole of oxygen.

4 VO2 Max  VO 2 max is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption as measured during incremental exercise. Maximal oxygen consumption reflects the aerobic physical fitness of the individual, and is an important determinant of their endurance capacity during prolonged, sub- maximal exercise.  VO 2 max is expressed either as an absolute rate in litres of oxygen per minute (L/min) or as a relative rate in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body mass per minute (e.g., mL/(kg·min)).  “Aerobic capacity” (O2) vs. “aerobic endurance” (energy)  Timed mile, all out mile, hard mile as indicator  Determines training intensities (VO2 max, anaerobic, aerobic, recovery)

5 Metabolic Substrate vs Intensity

6 How pace plays into “The Wall”  The power expended by a runner increases linearly with running speed over the entire aerobic range, and therefore the total energetic cost of running depends only on the distance run and not on running speed.  Why? If you run faster, it takes more energy, but you get there faster. If you run slower, you use less energy, but it takes you longer to get there.  So, on race day … distance is the only determiner of total energy expenditure.  Note: this does not take into account several other limiting factors in a marathon that make pace important. (i.e. lactic acid levels, muscle breakdown, dehydration, core body temperature, etc.)

7 Aerobic capacity vs. aerobic endurance  Timed mile=5:00 (capacity)  Lactate threshold (88-92%)=6:00-6:10 (aerobic endurance)  Marathon pace (80-90% HR)=6:20-6:30 (marathon endurance)  Marathon time=2:45-2:50  Timed mile=5:30 (capacity)  Lactate threshold=6:30-6:40 (aerobic endurance)  Marathon pace=6:50-7:10 (marathon endurance)  Marathon time=3:00-3:10

8 Distance to “The Wall”

9 Tips to maximize your training time  Everything is a progression!  Maintain long run throughout your training (8 to 20-22 miles).  Early phase: Focus on VO2 max training.  Goal: To get your timed mile as low as you can.  Types: Short Intervals (200m-400m), (use Daniels Formula), hill workout, longer intervals (400-1200m), sustained longer hard runs (1200m-3200m).  Middle phase: Focus on threshold or tempo runs, understanding pace, getting comfortable at faster, longer speeds in training; maintain a couple VO2 max runs throughout, 1 or 2 indicator race(s).  Late phase: Focus on longer threshold or tempo runs (6-14 miles).

10 My favorite workout for a marathoner  Progression of threshold/tempo run  Timed mile at 5:30 (VO2 max/aerobic capacity)  Marathon potential around 3:00-3:05 @ 6:55-7:00 pace  2 up, (1 @ 6:35 pace, 1 @ 7:00 pace) x 2-3+, 2 down = 10 miles  2 up, (2 @ 6:35 pace, 1 @ 7:00 pace) x 2-3+, 2 down = 13 miles  3 up, 6 mile tempo @ 6:40 pace, 4 down = 13 miles  2 up, 8 mile tempo @ 6:40-6:45 pace, 3 down = 13 miles  1 up, 12-14 mile tempo @ 6:45, 2 down = 15-17 miles  Up = easy, then move toward marathon pace  Down = marathon pace + :20-:30 seconds  Why? (glycogen depletion, running economy, lactate management)

11 Citations  Rapoport BI (2010) Metabolic Factors Limiting Performance in Marathon Runners. PLoS Comput Biol 6(10): e1000960. doi:10.1371/Journal.pcbi.1000960  Daniels, Jack (2005). Daniels' Running Formula (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-7360-5492-8.  Margaria R, Cerretelli P, Aghemo P, Sassi G (1963) Energy cost of running. J Appl Physiol 18: 367-370.

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