VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

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

Director & Coach, REVO₂LT Running Team™

September, 2009

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In this issue:  

FitnessFest

VO₂max Distance Running Clinic DVDs

San Diego State University Cross Country

VO₂max—An Aerobic Parameter with an Anaerobic Component

Exercise On an Empty Stomach

Coaching Consultations

The Final 8 Weeks of Marathon Training

In Press
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FitnessFest

For those of you in the Tucson area, I will be speaking at FitnessFest October 1-4 at the University of Arizona Recreation Center in Tucson, Arizona, where 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.  

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.  

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VO₂max Distance Running Clinic DVDs
If you missed my VO₂max Distance Running Clinic, which contains 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!  To order, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.

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San Diego State University Cross Country

I recently began coaching the women’s cross country team at San Diego State University.  The Aztecs, who compete in the competitive Mountain West Conference, open their cross country season at the Fullerton Invitational in Fullerton, California on September 5 and will host the Aztec Invitational on September 19 in San Diego’s Balboa Park.  If you live in the San Diego area and want to see the Aztecs in action, you can attend the cross country meets, which are free to the public.  For more information on the San Diego State University cross country team and race schedule, go to http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/sdsu-w-xc-body.html.

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VO₂max—An Aerobic Parameter with an Anaerobic Component

Although VO₂max refers to the maximal amount of oxygen consumed per minute, and is therefore considered an aerobic variable, the speed at which VO₂max occurs involves a considerable contribution from anaerobic metabolism, as it occurs at a speed faster than your lactate threshold.  This point seems to be lost on many runners and coaches, as this tells us something about the relationship between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism.  Although counterintuitive, the fastest rate of oxygen use occurs when there is also a lot of energy being produced without oxygen.  As I’ve discussed in past newsletters, the most potent way to improve VO₂max is to run intervals lasting 3-5 minutes at about 3K race pace, a workout that also includes a considerable anaerobic contribution.  Races for which a high VO₂max is considered important (800 to 5,000 meters) have a high anaerobic contribution as well.  The biochemistry behind this matter is complex: when the Krebs cycle and electron transport chain are working at their fastest rates, glycolysis is also working.  In other words, the fastest aerobic motor occurs when an anaerobic motor is also running.

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Exercise On an Empty Stomach

Have you ever been told you’ll burn more fat if you do cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast when your blood glucose is low?  While research has shown that exercising after an overnight fast does increase the amount of fat used during exercise, especially when the exercise is performed at a very low intensity, it does not burn more calories, which is what’s really important for fat and weight loss.  Other research has shown that fasting decreases the ability to sustain a given exercise intensity compared to eating breakfast first, which means you’ll burn fewer calories when fasted.  So if you exercise first thing in the morning, eat first.  

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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.  Act before September 30, 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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The Final 8 Weeks of Marathon Training

One of my athletes, long before I met him, ran 25 miles a few days before his first marathon so he could feel confident going into the race.  Crashing 20 miles into the marathon, he realized that running that long that close to the marathon was a big mistake.  If you’re one of the thousands of runners who will be running a marathon this fall, every run from now until your marathon is important.  One of the key ingredients during the last eight weeks of marathon training is the lactate threshold run.

The lactate threshold, or what I call the acidosis threshold (AT), is an important physiological variable that demarcates the transition between running that is almost purely aerobic and running that includes significant oxygen-independent (anaerobic) metabolism, and represents the fastest speed you can sustain aerobically.  It is the best physiological predictor of distance running performance.  The longer the race, the more important it is to train your AT.  

AT training increases your AT to a faster speed, allowing you to run faster before you fatigue.  The goal of marathon training is to raise your AT and to increase your ability to sustain as high of a percentage of your AT as possible.  For average runners, AT pace is approximately 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace (about 80 to 85% maximum heart rate).  For those more trained, it’s about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace and about 20 seconds per mile faster than marathon race pace (about 90% maximum heart rate).  Subjectively, these runs should feel “comfortably hard.”  

I typically use four types of AT workouts with the marathoners I coach: 1) continuous runs at AT pace, starting at about 3 miles and increasing up to 7 to 8 miles (or about 45 to 50 minutes, whichever comes first); 2) intervals run at AT pace with short rest periods, such as 4 to 6 x 1 mile at AT pace with one minute rest; 3) shorter intervals run at slightly faster than AT pace with very short rest periods, such as 2 sets of 4 x 1,000 meters at 5 to 10 seconds per mile faster than AT pace with 45 seconds rest and two minutes rest between sets; and 4) AT/LSD combo runs, medium-long runs (12-16 miles) with a portion run at AT pace, such as 10 miles easy + 4 miles at AT pace or 3 miles easy + 3 miles at AT pace + 3 miles easy + 3 miles at AT pace. 

In the final eight weeks of your marathon preparation, do one to two AT workouts per week and alternate your long run with an AT/LSD combo run.  4-5 weeks before your marathon, try to find a half-marathon race.  It not only serves as a great AT workout, it will help you predict your upcoming marathon pace.

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In Press...
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. 

“I Can’t Catch my Breath:” Lungs and Running Performance, my article that defuses the myth that the lungs limit running ability and what you can do to stop feeling out of breath, appears in the September/October, 2009 issue of Washington Running Report.

The Myth of 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 Summer, 2009 issue of Duke City Fit, Albuquerque, New Mexico’s premier fitness magazine.

Build Better Bones, an excerpt of my article on exercise and bone health for women, appears in the September, 2009 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal.

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, on newsstands in September. 

Also look for my quotes on trends in the personal training industry in the September, 2009 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal and on Boston qualifying times for heavier runners in the September/October, 2009 issue of Marathon & Beyond. 
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To view past newsletters, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter.

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©2009 Dr. Jason Karp.