hey Steve
petty stuff really. Wellnow's main recent argument was fat utilisation increases the longer you run. Spaniel nicely supported you on this and i 'thought' closed wellnow's argument down. Then you went and called wellnow on his claims and asked him to provide evidence to back them up. Specifically regarding the 'dubious' nature of certain concepts he refuses to accept exist.
Wellnow, if you have an issue because Steve presents things quite straight forward and with clear boundaries - it is your issue. Your ego. Give it up litte man and join in the (temporary) positive energy we had going there. PS still waiting for those nice defintitions Steve asked for.
Anyway, i am now a lot more secure in my own science thanks to the recent postings from Steve, you have done nothing to help this situation other than constantly looking for angles to chop him down. Petty as i said and not helpful to the overall discussion.
Where am i at now? Well i still know the paces my athletes run at when they are working at or past the edge of their comfort zone. This is where the central governor apparently does its job of limiting us. Sure we like to stay inside our nebulous 'comfort zone'. Sure the homeostsatic principle (which is all the central governor is) keeps us in place. Sure it is difficult to push past the comfort zone (but i bet i do it a lot better than most as i've been practising my whole life (pr 8084 decathlon).
Now i am more aware of what the lactate steady state is and i'm more certain in my knowledge of what constitutes recovery training. Will it change my training methodology. NO. Why? Because they things i have learned here are already covered by my present coaching methodology.
eg a week in GPP for a 16 year old with 2 years background (ie now for Australia)
MON - am easy 30, pm hard 45-60
Tues - am easy swim pm 7x3min/1min + circuits
wed am easy 30, pm hard 45-60
thurs am rest pm 12x1min/1min + circuits
fri am medium 30 pm rest
sat am 5-6km XC race or very hard 15-20
sun easy to medium 60-90
Easy is whatever, 120-135bpm usually, may involve a stop and stretch during.
medium is around 145-160bpm.
Hard is whatever the MLSS or LT or aerobic capacity or in between. (usually above 160bpm) The athlete knows. He pushes one run too hard and can't finish, the next is too easy and he finishes too strong. Over time he fine tunes this and becomes consistent, gets right on his edge and it's all go from there.
Very hard - akin to threshold? similar to his 5-6km XC races.
My program follows a 3 weekly macro-cycle. The week above bascially repeats for two weeks (there is variation usually week 2 has a slightly higher volume and lower intensity). Week 3 is basically 'lets return to normal' before we have to begin the next 2 week slog. It contains more recovery, much higher intensities and more fun. I try and have the bigger races fall at the end of week 3 for obvious reasons.
Would appreciate any critical thought on what i have said please.