VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

Dr. Jason Karp, running & fitness coach, consultant, freelance writer

Director & Coach, REVO₂LT Running Team™

March, 2009

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In this issue:  

Dr. Jason Karp to Speak at San Diego Science Festival

RunCoachJason.com Profiled in IDEA Fitness Journal

Dr. Jason Karp to Teach at Miramar College 

3K to 10K Fatigue

Signals

Coaching Consultations

In Press

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Dr. Jason Karp to Speak at San Diego State Science Festival
This month, I will be speaking at the San Diego Science Festival on March 9 and 11.  The festival, which runs throughout March, will be held at venues all over San Diego.

On March 9, I will be presenting The Science of Running a Marathon from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Scripps Ranch Branch of the San Diego Public Library, followed on March 11 with The Science of Exercise and Weight Loss from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Central Branch of the San Diego Public Library in downtown San Diego.  The events are free to the public, however you must pre-register online to secure your seat: http://www.sdsciencefestival.org/sdsf-event-registration.html.

The San Diego Science Festival is one of the largest celebrations of science on the West Coast.  From the science of earthquakes to the chemistry of love, the San Diego Science Festival makes science accessible, interactive, and fun, highlighting the impact of science and innovation on our lives.  For more information on the San Diego Science Festival, go to http://www.sdsciencefestival.com.

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RunCoachJason.com Profiled in IDEA Fitness Journal

Dr. Jason Karp and RunCoachJason.com are profiled in the March, 2009 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal, the premier fitness industry trade magazine of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, the world’s largest association for health and fitness professionals. 

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Dr. Jason Karp to Teach at Miramar College 

This month, I will begin teaching a course on applied exercise physiology in the Fitness Specialist Certificate Program at Miramar College in San Diego. 

The program trains students for positions in the fitness industry, including exercise testing technicians, fitness instructors, strength training instructors, aerobics instructors, and personal fitness trainers.  For more information, go to http://www.sdmiramar.edu.

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3K to 10K Fatigue

Continuing with our discussion of fatigue, this month we examine the 3K to 10K.

Races between 3K and 10K are primarily aerobic.  So, limitations in aerobic metabolism, due to inadequate blood flow to and oxygen use by the muscles, are the major causes of fatigue.  However, since any race that is run faster than lactate threshold pace includes a significant anaerobic contribution, metabolic acidosis and accumulation of metabolites also contribute to fatigue in these longer distances because they are run faster than lactate threshold pace.  That’s why it’s important to also do anaerobic work for these longer distances. 

To combat fatigue in the 3K to 10K, you need to do relatively high mileage, tempo runs, and both long and short intervals.  While both the low and high ends of this racing range require all of these types of training, what differentiates the training between the 3K and 10K is how much emphasis you give to each.  The 10K necessitates more mileage, tempo runs, and long intervals than does the 3K.

Long intervals (3 to 5 minutes) increase your heart’s stroke volume and cardiac output, sending more blood and oxygen to your muscles and increasing your VO₂max.  You should come close to reaching your maximum heart rate by the end of each work period.  Research has shown that high-intensity training (95 to 100% VO₂max) is the optimal stimulus for VO₂max improvement. Try 4 x 1,000 meters or 6 x 800 meters at VO₂max speed (about 2-mile race pace for good runners) with equal (or slightly less than equal) time as recovery.  Short intervals (45 seconds to about 2 minutes) improve your ability to buffer acidosis and increase anaerobic capacity by increasing the number of enzymes involved in glycolysis.  Try 6 to 8 x 400 meters at mile race pace with equal time as recovery or 2 sets of 4 x 300 meters at 800-meter race pace with double the time as recovery and 5 minutes recovery between sets.  

Tempo runs improve your lactate threshold, the fastest speed you can sustain aerobically and above which fatigue-inducing acidosis occurs.  Increasing your lactate threshold pace allows you to run faster before you fatigue because it allows you to run faster before oxygen-independent metabolism begins to play a significant role.  Try 3 to 4 miles at lactate threshold pace (about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace or about 10K race pace for recreational runners, and about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace or about 15 to 20 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace for highly trained runners) or 5 x 1 mile at lactate threshold pace with 1 minute rest.

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Signals
How much you adapt to a training stimulus, whether running or lifting weights, ultimately depends on how responsive your cells are to signals.  Muscle cells are able to detect all kinds of signals: mechanical, metabolic, neural, and hormonal, which are amplified and transmitted via signaling cascades and lead to the events involved in gene expression.  This signaling is fast, occurring within minutes of completing a workout.  Signaling results in the activation of transcription factors, proteins that bind to a specific part of DNA and control the transfer of genetic information from DNA to RNA. 

Many of the physiological and biochemical adaptations to training begin with your DNA, with the copying of one of its double helical strands (a process called replication).  The replicated DNA strand, under the action of transcription factors, is then transcribed into messenger RNA (a process called transcription), and the messenger RNA is then translated into a protein (a process called translation).  Finally, the protein is transported from the nucleus of the cell where transcription and translation occur to the place where it will function.

While a single bout of exercise alone, especially if it is new to you, introduces a specific signal and activation of transcription factors, repeated bouts of exercise will lead to a concerted accumulation of messenger RNAs that can be translated into a host of structural and functional proteins.  In the case of endurance training, the accumulation of proteins is manifested, for example, as an increase in the number of mitochondria, the microscopic energy factories responsible for aerobic metabolism.  

When you begin a training program, you will experience many signaling responses and subsequent adaptations.  However, continual training at the same level decreases the exercise-specific signaling responses involved in the adaptations to training.  In other words, if your training stays the same, you can expect your fitness level to stay the same.  For example, if you run 10 miles when you’re used to running only 7, you will send a strong signal to make specific adaptations (increase in mitochondria, muscle glycogen content, etc.).  If you continue to run 10 miles every Sunday for a period of time, you’ll continue to send signals to make adaptations until those adaptations are fully realized.  After you have run 10 miles so many times that you have become habituated to it, a 10-mile run will no longer be enough of a stimulus to initiate any further adaptations.  Therefore, if you want to force more adaptations, you must run longer than 10 miles.  To become a faster runner, you have to gradually and systematically increase the amount of stress so that you increase the signaling response.

Want to know more about signals and how to increase the amount of stress?  My popular DVD—Chasing Mercury, Battling Hercules: Getting Fitter and Stronger with Periodization Training—provides an overview of training theory, reviews research findings, discusses the use of training cycles, and provides examples of how to properly organize all of the components of training.  To order a DVD, just go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.
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Coaching Consultations

Are you having trouble meeting your running and fitness goals?  Do you coach other runners and want to know how to improve their performances?  RunCoachJason.com can help.  We offer the best consultations for runners, coaches, and personal trainers.  If you want to improve your running performance, or you want the opportunity to have your fitness and running questions answered immediately, you can talk to Coach Jason live.  For a list of consultation topics and to book a consultation with Coach Jason, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/consulting. 

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In Press...
Ultimate Training: Guide For 10K Through Ultramarathon, my article that discusses the multiple training components for long distance running events, including sample training programs for the 10K, marathon, and ultramarathon, appears in the 2009 Annual Race Issue of Trail Runner.

Five Lessons I Have Learned Form Physiology and How They Can Make You a Faster Runner appears in the March, 2009 issue of the United Kingdom’s Ultra-Fit magazine and the March, 2009 e-newsletter of Can-Fit-Pro, Canada’s premier fitness association.

Do you have short limbs?  You may be at a greater risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia when you get older.  My short piece on this subject appears in the March, 2009 issue of Maximum Fitness. 

How Fast Can Johnny Run?: Assessing Sprinting Ability, my article that describes the various ways coaches can evaluate possible sprint talent, appears in the March, 2009 issue of Track Coach, the official technical publication of USA Track & Field. 

Which is the Best Type of Cardiovascular Equipment?, a podcast of my article that examines the research on the best cardio equipment for burning calories, can be heard live at http://www.itrainerlive.com.

Also check out my workouts to get you in shape for four winter sports—running, basketball, racquetball, and skiing—which appears in the March, 2009 issue of Men’s Health.

Also check out my quotes on peaking in the March/April, 2009 issue of Marathon & Beyond and on heart rate monitor technology in the April, 2009 issue of Runner’s World, on newsstands in March. 
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©2009 Dr. Jason Karp.