Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Tuesday

15 miles with 2540 ft of climbing. I meandered around and down to Walker Ranch which I haven't run in forever, I was reminded today that it is a pretty sweet trail that I need to be on more often. I can be there in ~ 3 miles from my house and then access any or all of Boulder Mountain Park. I have a 27 mile run mapped that would take me from home to Green and back, something like 7000ft of climbing. One nice aspect of this run is that the 3 miles to Walker is all a somewhat severe downhill... meaning I get to finish with a nearly 3 mile ascent, the ideal way to finish a long run . There's that FKT hanging out there too. Easy jogging today as I have some hard intervals tomorrow. I want to build on to Sunday's 1/2 mile intervals and will either drive down to the flat to run or I will opt for a high altitude hill workout. Both completely different benefits but both still specific to my next 2 races. I'll leave that hang.  

11 comments:

skatona said...

Why are they two different benefits? Both are hard efforts, which is all the heart really understands, right?

Lucho said...

If I run hill reps at high altitude then the pace (which has implications to a specific goal... If I want to run a fast 10k then I need to run fast paces in workouts) will be slow and the lactate production is limited. It would build hill specific strength though.
If I drive down and run the same interval on a flat course then the speed will be high. So if I want to run a fast 10k then I can run goal pace.
It has more to do with pace than effort. So yes, your heart doesn't know the difference as much, but the muscles do. Which is still a significant aspect that can't be overlooked.

Thomas said...

If you do Green Mountain, you might bump into Anton Krupicka on the way. He'd have some handy tips for Leadville.

Lucho said...

I heard that Anton runs Green Mountain once in a while.
I would love to just meet the guy, I have a ton of respect for him. I've never run Green but I have followed his blog and looked a ton at his past training logs. Plus he's given enough interviews that you can get a sense of how he trains and races. I can imagine his advice though... "run".
I am going to follow a more Matt Carpenteresque approach which is very close to a traditional marathon program. Partly because I am familiar with this training and it's predictable for me. Also because I have a feeling I'm not done with the marathon or short races. I'm not as 'free' as Anton and I still enjoy the numbers a bit too. I wish I could be that mentally free though.
Cheers

Anonymous said...

Tim,
I have been running ~15-20 mpw for the last 4 years in semi retirment from IM. If I want to build up to 100 mpw over the next year or so, what would be a logical progression? and, in order to maximize fat burning at MAF pace, is it not prudent to watch diet,IE zone or paleo or something to keep inslin down and maximize fat as a fuel? Thanks, glad to see you are running well. Good luck wiht the LV build up!
Eric Jensen in MN

Lucho said...

Eric- Have you ever been injured from running? What is the highest run volume you've ever run in a week?
With diet, I know the paleo works well when the training load is moderate. Once the intensity or volume reaches a fairly high level though there has to be modifications, particularly with post workout nutrition. Some non-paleo foods are quite beneficial. My recommendation for any serious athlete is to eat as healthy as possible and eat to train. This means that if your performance is compromised for diet then change the diet. You do need a certain number of calories per day in order to recover and to perform in training, this is rule #1. If you can do it eating paleo then go for it. I am not 100% certain that diet has much affect on fat burning during exercise. For sure the timing of food intake plays a big role in post/ pre workout nutrition. If you you eat healthy, don't over eat, and run a lot at MAF you'll do well!

Anonymous said...

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the response. I was never injured running when doing IM training, mileage was around50-60. Highest ever was 75 with no injuries. then I kind of retired from competiton and ran high intensity low mileage with high intensity wts. Tried to run a marathon last year on 20 high intensity mpw and then got injured, duh! I want to run under 3 at chicago in 2011 and want to build my base and mileage slowly ever that time with some fun test road races and trail ultras for fun over the course of the next 2 years leading up. I respect your opinion and was just wondering what you thought.
Eric in MN

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, my marathon pr is 2:54.
Eric

Lucho said...

Eric- You might not know this from reading this blob but I am a huge advocate of high intensity. If you could see some of my training logs you would freak. BUT- I rarely see an athlete that can absorb and gain from such intensity, which is why I ramble constantly about MAF/ base training. Once you build a wide enough base, only then can you benefit from high intensity. So ya, 20 miles per week of high intensity will hurt anyone.
Since you have run 75 miles before then you should be able to bring your volume up somewhat quickly. I often tell athletes to simply run as much as you can... simple! Listen to your body for signs of breaking down (aches, twinges, pain, bleeding eye sockets...etc.) and rest when you feel you are no longer able to hold a normal pace at MAF. The drop off in pace VS HR VS PE (perceived exertion) is a good indicator. Extreme fatigue will usually present as a depressed HR at a high PE. But pace can go either way with fatigue. Often times you can run much faster because your HR is depressed, but PE will be very high.
I would suggest doing an UN-build structure in volume. For example:
60 miles
50 miles
40 miles
Rest week of 30 or so.
70
60
50
rest.
It makes more sense that coming off a rest week you would do the most volume when you're fresh. Then as fatigue accumulates you drop mileage. I used to do a building 3 week block but I found that by week 3, when fatigue was peaking, I was expected to do the most volume and I failed often to do this. The descending volume can work better.
I would also say to try to get your long run done early in the week if possible, this lets you get your week mileage goal with out pressure. So if you have a 70 mile week planned and wait until Sunday to run 20 miles and are too fatigued to do it then you miss a huge percentage of volume. Early in the week you are more fresh coming off the weekend (work stress/ fatigue only builds through out the week). This works for some and not for others.
With the MAF approach the intensity will be very mild, which is one of the main benefits. It isn't very risky. If you have never been injured with running then you should show no fear of volume alone. Just respect it.

Anonymous said...

What a great resource!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much. What an awesome concept to UN-Build! I like it alot. If you are ever in the Mpls area, let me know. I will give you a free chiro adj! We have some great ultras on the trail here and an AWESOME fall marathon, TCM. Again, thanks, I'll keep you posted.
Eric