VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

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

Director & Coach, REVO₂LT Running Team™

October, 2009

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In this issue:  

FitnessFest & Southwest ACSM Conference

VO₂max Distance Running Clinic DVDs

How to Survive Your PhD

Boston Marathon Training Program

Negative Splits

Coaching Consultations

In Press
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FitnessFest & Southwest ACSM Conference

This month, I will be speaking at FitnessFest October 1-4 at the University of Arizona Recreation Center in Tucson, Arizona, and the Southwest Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Conference October 23-24 at the Marriott Hotel in San Diego’s Mission Valley.

At FitnessFest, I will be giving three presentations — Fitness Myths, Misconceptions, and Misinformation, Battling Hercules: Getting Fitter and Stronger with Periodization Training, and Top 7 Lessons for Coaching Runners.  

At the Southwest Chapter ACSM Conference, I will be presenting The Resting Metabolic Rate Debate, which will shed light on the conflicting research on the effects of exercise on resting metabolic rate.  

FitnessFest is the largest fitness and wellness conference in the Southwest, attracting novice and veteran group exercise instructors, personal trainers, aquatic instructors, and mind/body practitioners.  For more information and to download the event brochure and convention schedule, go to http://www.waterworksonwheels.com/fitnessfest.  

The Southwest Regional Chapter of ACSM, the world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization, includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.  For more information and to download the conference schedule, go to http://www.swacsm.org/annual-meeting.htm.  

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VO₂max Distance Running Clinic DVDs
If you missed my VO₂max Distance Running Clinic, which includes presentations on VO₂max, lactate threshold, periodization and training theory, running secrets to make you faster, and combating fatigue, the DVDs of each individual presentation and the entire clinic are now available!  These DVDs contain cutting-edge information that will help you reach your running goals!  To order, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.

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How to Survive Your PhD

My soon-to-be published book, How to Survive Your PhD, is now available on pre-order from Amazon.com.  If you know anyone in graduate school who wants a unique self-help book that simplifies and facilitates the PhD process and offers provocative advice about exactly what they’ll need to know to succeed in graduate school, write their dissertation, and earn their PhD quickly, click here.

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Boston Marathon Training Program

From November 21, 2009 to April 19, 2010, I will coach REVO₂LT Marathon Training™, the official marathon training program of RunCoachJason.com for runners who will run the 2010 Boston Marathon.  An acronym for the three main physiological factors of distance running performance — Running Economy, VO₂max, and Lactate Threshold — REVO₂LT Marathon Training™ is a unique, science-based program that targets each of these factors so that runners can run their best marathon. 

Runners in the program will be coached through mid-week track workouts and weekend long runs at various locations around San Diego.  Runners will also receive weekly educational seminars, a 10% discount at Road Runner Sports, free PowerBar products, a pre-marathon pasta party, an official REVO₂LT Marathon Training™ dri-fit T-shirt, scenic group long runs , an inspirational and motivational group atmosphere, and a monthly e-mail newsletter.  If you live in the San Diego area and are running Boston next April, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity!  If you don’t live in San Diego but want to train along with us, you can purchase the 5-month training program.  To register, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/marathontraining or download the flyer at http://www.runcoachjason.com/marathontrainingflyer.pdf.  

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Negative Splits
I used to coach a talented runner who ran the first mile of every race too fast, only to slow down dramatically during the latter segments and end up disappointed with the result.  He thought he was better than his workouts and he let his competitive spirit and pre-race adrenaline obscure his knowledge of his true fitness level.  It was frustrating to watch him start off so well and get slower with each successive lap of the track.

The faster you run the first mile of a race, the more your muscles rely on anaerobic metabolism to regenerate energy (ATP) for muscle contraction.  With the greater reliance on anaerobic metabolism and muscular work comes an increase in muscle and blood acidosis and the accumulation of a number of metabolic by-products that cause fatigue.  Whether the race is a mile or a marathon, you can’t put running time in the bank.  You will end up losing more time in the end than what you gained by being “ahead of schedule” in the beginning.  No matter how strong your will is, the metabolic condition caused by running too fast too early will force you to slow down during subsequent stages of the race.   

Although race strategy sometimes dictates that you change the pace during the race to challenge your competitors, the best way to run your fastest possible race is by starting out at the pace you can maintain the entire race.  While it may feel easy early on in the race to run the first mile at the same pace as the last, your patience will pay huge dividends during that last mile.  Ideally, the second half of your race should be equal to or slightly faster than the first half (i.e., negative splits).  To negative split a race requires accurate knowledge of your fitness level, confidence to stick to your plan when others have taken the early pace out too fast, and a good dose of self-restraint. 

When you race, you don’t run at some arbitrary intensity.  The percentages of your VO₂max and lactate threshold you can sustain for a specific amount of time are predictable.  The longer the race, the lower the percent VO₂max at which you’ll run it.  Research has shown that the speed at VO₂max can be sustained for only about 7-10 minutes.  Talented, highly-trained runners therefore race 3,000 meters (about 2 miles) at 100% VO₂max, 5,000 meters at 90-95% VO₂max, and a marathon at 80-85% VO₂max (about 95% of lactate threshold).  Your workouts, which should be performed at specific speeds that correspond to specific percentages of VO₂max or lactate threshold, are invaluable for providing you with knowledge of your fitness level and for predicting your average race pace (assuming you account for such things like the terrain and the weather).  As I tried to convince my overzealous athlete, your workouts don’t lie.  

For highly-trained runners, 5K pace is about 20-25 seconds per mile faster than lactate threshold (LT) runs, or about 10-15 seconds per mile slower than VO₂max intervals.  10K pace is about 10-20 seconds per mile faster than LT runs, or about 25-30 seconds per mile slower than VO₂max intervals.

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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 very 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.  Schedule a consultation before October 31, and you’ll receive a 20% discount.  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...
Running performance is influenced not only by factors related to oxygen consumption and use, but also by factors related to muscle fiber recruitment, force production, and fatigue resistance, which are often overlooked.  The Other Limiting Factor: How to Offset Muscle Fatigue, my article on how to improve muscular factors related to running performance, appears in the October, 2009 issue of Running Times. 

The Fat Burning Zone, my article that busts the myths of the fat burning zone and explains how you really can lose fat, appears in the October, 2009 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal, the premier trade magazine for fitness professionals.

Breathe Easy, my article on the role your lungs play in distance running and how you can improve their efficiency appears in the September 17, 2009 issue of Athletics Weekly, the world’s only weekly track and field magazine.

Boost Your Recovery, my article that discusses strategies for recovery from hard workouts, including refueling, rehydrating, reducing inflammation, and tapering, appears in the October, 2009 issue of the United Kingdom’s Ultra-Fit magazine.

Bench Presses and Push-Ups, my Chest Essentials piece on the best ways to do these two exercises for maximum benefits, appears in the September/October, 2009 issue of Maximum Fitness. 

Training by Time, my article on why runners should focus on the time spent running rather than on the distance, appears in the Autumn, 2009 issue of Duke City Fit, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s premier fitness magazine.

Also look for my quotes on Boston qualifying times for heavier runners in the September/October, 2009 issue of Marathon & Beyond and on how runners can find their sweet spots in the October, 2009 issue of Fitness magazine. 
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To view past newsletters, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter.

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©2009 Dr. Jason Karp.