17 miles. Didn’t mean to go that far when I headed out but it worked out. Ran down to the Big Dry Creek where I met David P for some miles on the trail. First time running with him and it was good. I was not feeling particularly spry after yesterday’s effort, but he was kind to me while keeping me honest (averaged 7:40 pace even with my slower stuff before and after him).
70.9 on the week. Nine and a half hours and another flat week with 1705 of climbing. 2 solid workouts (Wed, Sat) and today’s long run was ssolid on tired legs. Keep on truckin’.
Lessons learned this week include considering where to put the leg weight work in the mix, and consideration of my brew habit.
I don’t have much of a bucket list. I am not the sort that sez I have to go and get these things done by way of putting them on a long term list. Perhaps I have a bunch of shorter lists. Or no list. But there are some things that draw me. Hardrock, at least pacing again, draws me. Winning another burro race draws me. And the Nipmunck Trail Marathon draws me. I did so many miles on that trail walking, jogging, sharing with folks and following its blaze that it has an attraction that calls to me. Call it a draw me list.
I had a bunch of stuff written on LT runs. LT runs being those runs where the lactate begins to collect in your blood faster than you can flush it or utilize it, get confusing. We call them all sorts of things. Tempo, LT, threshold, marathon paced runs, etc. And hence they get confusing.
Research says that the largest contributor to athletic decline in the masters runner is loss of V02 max. V02 max is part of the “big three” in run training (with the others being economy and lactate threshold). The other two factors in the conversation don’t decline as much. While I have been a consistent trainer over the years, I have slowed 11-14% over the 5k distance over the last dozen years. Some of this is attributable to age, but some of this decline has been because of less focus on V02 work.
There is significant research out there however that concludes the most effective path to fitness gains is not V02 work, but is ACTUALLY LT work. V02 max work is going to be those intervals in that 2-5 minute range, and are going to be at paces that are faster than 5k (like the half miles I did on Wednesday). VO2 max or even the stuff that is shorter and faster (200s and 400s) work come with the greater risk of injury, and at some point don’t prepare you for the longer outright effort of a race.
Side note 1 -- If one is an ultra runner, VO2 max focus as they age may not be as important - as economy is probably the most important over great distances. Personally, I am of the belief while specificity in training is key, gains in one area help bolster the others to some degree. It comes down to how you want to spend your training buck.
Side note 2 –- what I see many HS coaches focusing on is not so much LT, or even VO2 max but that slow growth via increasing mileage, or focusing on economy. In other words, a kid focusing on miles is probably a better way to move their results than taking a 40 something who has run for 30 years and having them focus on MAF… Maybe.
I guess I still have a lot written on them. But I have still not said what they are. These are those runs where you are fine holding that pace for the medium period (let’s say 20 minutes to an hour) , but feel that build grow to the point of it becoming pretty damn hard over the course of the miles.
For me, in the mid 90s, this was a run that was where I connected up with guys for an easy run. And they are running easy. I thought I was but I was not. I was a bit over my head but can clearly thought I could handle it … and I did. For a while.
If you really want to calculate your LT, it is like V02 – you need to go to a lab and have them prick your finger to measure lactate values. Or you can model it based off of your other efforts. Again, all models are wrong but some are useful. The most basic rule I have heard in calculating and that I would subscribe to is what is your race pace for an hour, or maybe a 10 miler (or even half marathon).
Good set of articles by Crowther over here.
I guess I still owe a post on what an LT run is.
