What is it about training at 70-80% VO2 during base that makes it better for you than training at 80-100% VO2? Would significant training at 80-100% VO2 during base be counterproductive?
What is it about training at 70-80% VO2 during base that makes it better for you than training at 80-100% VO2? Would significant training at 80-100% VO2 during base be counterproductive?
Why dont you try to do every one of your runs at 100% VO2max for 6 weeks (including long runs) and report back to us how you feel?
Well if your going to be a smartass then dont respond. Of course I'm not talking about doing them all at 100% VO2, but what about reducing mileage by 10-15% and running at a faster pace? Is that counterproductive?
You do realize V02 max pace is the highest speed you can maintain for 10 minutes, right? That training is productive when used sparingly during the competitive season. Base phase should be mostly aerobic threshold pace or slower. I will sometimes mix in marathon pace runs and down to half marathon pace(slightly slower than anaerobic threshold) in the later phases of base work. If you feel good you can run some days faster. It is helpful to vary intensities and distances of runs throughout your base, but don't exceed anaerobic threshold pace except for a race or two that provides a beneficial stimulus to further improvement.
The harder you run over a given distance, the longer it takes to recover. And by cutting weekly mileage (or time spent running) you are cutting out time spent inducing the changes necessary to improve aerobic ability. Hold on. I know the compensatory changes occur during rest, not during the workout. But this further gets to what I'm saying. Running up over 80% of VO2max for ALL your runs is too hard for BASE building time. You will not recover, or you will have to sacrifice mileage/total running time. Either way, you will not be getting the benefits you want/need right now at this part of training. Right now is when you want to have that high volume and manageable intensity. I'm not going to tell you to plod along, but you should be very comfortable on most days. Add in some strides 2-3 days a week after an easy run of short-moderate length to keep that quick feeling, and run ONE tempo a week at ~82-88% VO2 max pace (most people's threshold pace). All you probably need is about 20-30 minutes of that.
thanks for the info
your post raises an obvious question that probably has an obvious answer. Why do you need to recover during the base period? assuming of course that you are capable of running hard daily or near daily without getting injured, which many people, particularly younger athletes, are capable of doing. i ask because ive been running hard 5-6 days a week during summer training for 4 years now, up to 90 mpw, without injury. early season races always suffer for it, but i always run very fast (for me) when it counts in my season.
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