VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

Jason Karp, professional coach, consultant, freelance writer

November, 2006

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In this issue:

VO2max Distance Running Clinic

Customized Training Programs

Exercise and Blood Pressure

Glycolysis

Menstrual Cycle and Strength

Athlete Spotlight

In Press

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VO2max Distance Running Clinic

On December 2nd, 2006, RunCoachJason.com will hold its first annual VO2max Distance Running Clinic for runners and coaches at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  Named after the most popular physiological variable related to distance running, the VO2max Distance Running Clinic will transform your running.  Speakers include professional coach, writer, and Ph.D. candidate Jason Karp, exercise physiologist Dr. Robert Robergs of the University of New Mexico, and U.S. Masters record holder and 2:08 marathoner Mbarak Hussein of Kenya (now a U.S. citizen).  Enjoy a laid back atmosphere with other runners and coaches while you learn the best scientific methods to take your or your athletes’ performance to the next level.  For more information, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/clinic.  To receive a brochure via mail, e-mail your address to jason@runcoachjason.com.

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Customized Training Programs

Want to run your best 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon but can’t make a long-term commitment with a coach?  Remember, you can always purchase my popular customized training programs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.  Just e-mail jason@runcoachjason.com.

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Exercise and Blood Pressure

If you’re one of the millions of people who have high blood pressure (hypertension), you may want to increase how often you exercise.  A recent study published in Journal of Hypertension found that the accumulation of four 10-minute walks is more effective than a single 40-minute walk in the management of pre-hypertension (an elevated blood pressure that typically progresses to hypertension).  Both multiple and single exercise sessions decreases blood pressure by the same amount, but the effect lasts longer after multiple sessions, with systolic and diastolic blood pressures being reduced for 11 and 10 hours, respectively, after multiple sessions and for 7 hours after the single, continuous session. 

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Glycolysis

(excerpted from Karp, J.R. Turn on the Power: Energy System Specific Training. Running Times. 336, pp. 16,57, May 2006.)

 

Anaerobic glycolysis, the predominant energy system used for races lasting from 30 seconds to two minutes (i.e., 400 meters/800 meters/400-meter hurdles), breaks down blood glucose to get ATP.  Even the mile (if run in less than about five minutes) relies heavily on anaerobic glycolysis for energy.  When oxygen is not supplied fast enough to meet your muscles’ needs, pyruvate, the last chemical product of glycolysis, is converted into lactate.  Concomitant, but not consequent, with lactate accumulation is a rise in acidosis in your muscles and blood.  The long sprint and middle-distance events elicit the highest lactate values and degree of acidosis.  

 

Training anaerobic glycolysis increases the number and activity of the pathway’s enzymes, which increases the rate at which the chemical reactions occur and the ability to regenerate ATP.  It also helps you to buffer the acidosis and become accustomed to the discomfort and fatigue associated with fast running, enhancing your ability to run at a fast pace.

 

To train glycolysis for the middle-distance events (800 meters/1,500 meters/mile), run intervals between 800-meter and mile race pace for 30 seconds to 2 minutes with a 1:1 to 1:2 work-to-rest ratio with active recovery periods (example: 10x400 meters at mile race pace with 1:1 work-to-rest ratio or 6x300 meters at 800-meter race pace with 1:2 work-to-rest ratio).  To train glycolysis for the long sprint event (400 meters), run at race pace or slightly faster and take longer recovery periods (example: 6x250 meters at 400-meter race pace with 1:3  work-to-rest ratio).   

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Menstrual Cycle and Strength

If you’re female and want to increase the size and strength of your muscles, you may want to let your menstrual cycle be your guide.  A study published in International Journal of Sports Medicine found that weight training (consisting of 3 sets of 12 reps) every second day during the follicular phase and once per week during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle increased maximal quadriceps strength by 32.6% compared to 13.1% by training once every third day over the whole menstrual cycle.  The ratio of maximal strength to muscle cross-sectional area was also greater following the menstrual cycle-based training (27.6%) compared to the more traditional training (10.5%). 

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Athlete Spotlight

Jonathan Little

 

Jonathan Little, a third-year law student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, ran 2:21:48 at the Chicago Marathon on October 22nd to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.  His third marathon was the charm, as he opened his marathon career with a 2:33:26 at the 2005 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and followed with a 2:23:17 at the 2006 Boston Marathon.  Formally coached by Coach Jason from July, 2003 to May, 2004, Jonathan still consults with Coach Jason as he now prepares for the Olympic Marathon Trials in November, 2007 in New York. 

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In Press...

Training Characteristics of U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers, my research article documenting how the best marathoners in the U.S train, with comparisons made between men and women and elite and  national-class runners, has recently been accepted for publication in the scientific journal, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance and is scheduled to appear in the March, 2007 issue.

 

The Errors of Our Running Ways, my article that examines four common mistakes—going out too fast in a race, doing speed work without first doing enough aerobic mileage, running workouts too fast or too slow, and not eating after a workout—with advice on how to correct them, appears in the Fall, 2006 issues of Duke City Fit, Colorado Runner, and The Coach, the United Kingdom’s track and field coaching magazine.

 

My Fitness News contributions on training your back, squat depth, periodization, genetics and strength training, abdominal training, and eccentric contractions appear in the November, 2006 issue of Oxygen magazine.

 

My Fitness News contributions on muscle tone, the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise, and exercise and metabolism appear in the December, 2006 issue of Oxygen magazine, on newsstands in November.

 

Also look for my quote on muscle cramps in the “Ask the Trainer” section of the November, 2006 issue of Shape magazine.

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To view past newsletters, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter.

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©2006 Jason Karp.  All rights reserved.