01.10.08
Endurance Training for Distance Events
Endurance Training for Distance Events - Joe Vigil (USA), coach of 2005 Athens World Championship medalists Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi, was the Congress Keynote Speaker. Vigil praised the goal of eliminating all barriers to promote and improve Athletics – ethnic, national, financial, racial, economic, etc. The Congress participants exemplified this goal. Athletics is the most important sport of all and endurance training is vital for distance running and other disciplines as well, and this Congress was dedicated to that. His remarks stressed the importance of long term development of aerobic endurance and the improvement of Anaerobic Threshold fractionalization towards 90% (threshold vVO2 in relation to VO2 Max).
Success, according to Joe Vigil, comes by getting into the minds and hearts of the individual, and
Deena Kastor is proof of this: she ran 40,000 miles over eight years in preparation to get to the WC bronze medal! The aerobic component is the most difficult and long term to develop in distance running, especially in the developed world. Psycho-social ramifications of Africa have been revealed in a study which estimates that the average 18 year old east African is 18,000 miles ahead of an American in aerobic endurance training! There is little or no exposure to television, computers, automobiles; culture dictates endurance and cardiovascular development. For distance training, volume is acceptable until you reach 80-90 miles/week and then there is decreasing return and increased injury potential. Threshold Running becomes the key after obtaining the VO2 uptake. Africans run much more at threshold pace! Heart Rate at threshold pace is 168-172 beats – determine the velocity and then use this for percentages of threshold pace.
Athletes must Train to Train and then Train to Win – an athlete cannot compete week after week – this interrupts the training protocol and long term development. Preparation for competition includes course modeling and education. Mammoth Lake in California was the site of a long hill similar to the one in Athens; Vigil’s athletes trained specifically for the marathon by running the similar course seven times in the weeks before going to Greece! Kastor remarked that the Athens course was easy – nothing like Mammoth Lake! (Vigil also observed that women are tougher in training than men for mental and emotional toughness overall and in handling workouts. Men worry; women just get out there and do it!)
Technical and speed training is vital. Vigil incorporates neuromuscular training for speed and technical efficiency, and speed is included daily if only through 6×100 speed accelerations! The marathon takes a lot out of an athlete, but if one observed Kastor’s form at the end of the marathon in Athens, it was beautiful, and her last 5K was 16:05!
Protocol is athlete centered and administratively supported, but coach driven training! The coaches determine what happens, and administrators take care of funding, etc. Psycho-Social Relationships are stressed and athletic maturity improved – teach athletes what work and dedication means! Get ready to run with the best in the world! Athletes must also show integrity and values. In Portugal, Coach Vigil asked Ethiopian runners and coaches why they were buying anything at a clothes market regardless of size; they responded that someone in their village would be able to wear it. Meanwhile, the Americans were buying tailor made coats for themselves.
Testing is also possible without fancy equipment. Use the Balke Test, start training at 60% of Max VO2 uptake and go up from there! Adapt runners to MAX VO2 mile pace by running 3-5 x mile at that pace with 2-3 mins rest. Threshold pace will increase with greater mileage and Max VO2 pace will drop as well without any speed work. Start with 4-5 miles of threshold runs and work up to 14-15 miles at that threshold pace. With Drossin, as mileage increased over five years, threshold pace dropped to close to max VO2 pace and fractionalization of 83% (max uptake / threshold pace). Men are 10% higher than females in physiological terms, yet Drossin was much closer to the men than 10% on uptake. The difference was threshold pace due to strength / mechanical differences. The vVO2 is vital – know your athlete’s mile time and develop the training protocol based on that!
Critical factors for training are:
increase in strength, flexibility, reactive impulse (neuromuscular training)
improve fractionalization towards 90% (threshold VO2 in relation to VO2 Max) - Anaerobic Threshold pushed higher!
incorporate speed workouts faster than race pace to develop better running economy at race pace
have knowledge of the top 10-15 times in the world in your event and train to achieve those times!
Endurance athletes train 365 days a year – there is no down time! Vigil tests once a year for basic physiological data and runs four blood profiles a year – red blood cell mass, enzyme profile, etc. Diet is critical, and can be fixed after blood analysis. Immediate short and long term adjustments are made after training sessions, and Vigil is constantly reading research articles daily to keep up with the scientific aspects of training. Vigil’s typical outlook on life is reflected in his approach to distance training: “Do endurance training daily, eat as though you were a poor man, and don’t let your mind go to sea – have a curiosity in life!”
