Last month, we discussed a general training calendar for the types of workouts we described in June’s Science of Speed Column. (To review either of these articles, visit the Mid-Atlantic Monthly archives at http://www.emultisport.com).  Hopefully you have already laid a solid base and put in lots of threshold workouts. If you are peaking for an upcoming Ironman race, then you should have a diet salted with some VO2 workouts and heavy in high intensity lactate tolerance workouts. If your peak event is in the fall, then your diet should still be quite full of VO2 workouts with some lactate tolerance icing. This month we are sharing some high intensity recipes for the three events, coming from the coach’s own recipe book, guaranteed to stimulate your masochistic athletic appetites. Common to all three sample workouts is the INTENSITY --- rest intervals should be sufficient to allow HARD efforts when doing VO2 work, as compared to Lactate Threshold efforts, where the goal is to shorten the rest to allow for increased time with your heart rate in the target zone. VO2 efforts improve race form, elevating your aerobic capacity and “speed-endurance”. At the end of each you want to produce the most power possible.

Let’s start on Monday with a ladder swim workout, from 300 m down to 50 m repeats. Begin with 1 X 300 m at ~90% max effort, with 2-2.5 min recovery. Ready? Now add 2 X 150 m with just 10 sec recovery, followed by 3 X 100 m with 7-10 sec rest. Is this coach nuts? Now swim 3 X 50 m with 6-7 sec breathers, and 3 X 50 m with a generous 1-2 sec gasp between reps, finishing at ~98% max effort. Make sure your lifeguard knows CPR.

On Wednesday you can try a VO2 cycling workout on your favorite long hill (preferably with increasing grade). Like your own mini-stress tests. Try 2-6 X 3-6 min (although up to 8-10 minutes could work too) repeats up the hill. Here the key is EFFORT, with the hill providing the needed incentive to keep your heart rate UP. Aim for hills that are at least 1 mile long, with grades of 4-8%. Stay in the saddle as long as possible when climbing, as this also helps improve hip muscle strength that will pay off later as well. Start slow, and build. Yes, your quads may burn a little, not to mention your respiratory muscles.

Lastly, on Friday you can hit your local track for some 1000-m up to 1-mile running intervals. Start at 5K pace and then accelerate for the final 1-2 minutes (depending on the distance). Run 6 X 1000, or 2-3 X 1 mile. Or, try 4 X 1200 m, while increasing the tempo of the last four 200’s by 1 sec, for example 45, 44, 43, and 42 sec. You get the idea—not starting at 38 sec and finishing at 48 sec. Here the rest interval should be equal to the length of the effort. Concentrate on form, head up, shoulders back, and cadence FAST.

Now don’t try to be a hero—perform some base training on the in-between days to allow for recovery. Active recovery is good, maintaining volume, without overstressing the cardiovascular system. It is possible to combine two hard workouts (preferably in different disciplines) on back to back days, or sometimes even on the same day, but for most, alternating hard/easy days works just fine. As we mentioned in previous columns, overtraining from too much high intensity work does not lend to maximizing performance. The idea is to provide enough work to stress the body, then get stronger through supercompensation, a high tech term that just means recuperating to a level of greater fitness.

We hope you will enjoy the coach’s special athletic delights. Next month we will share some very mild recipes for tapering strategies. Sure this talk about diet is corny (incidentally, corn is a carb with a high glycemic index), but it is that time of the season when we are all watching our weight, thinking about increasing our LEAN muscle mass, and dropping those excess pounds. With this in mind, we'll address common diet/nutrition/performance myths and state of the art thinking sometime soon.

Dr. Dan Moser, Ph D, is the director of research and clinical services at ELITE Health & Wellness (http://www.elitewellness.com).  Coming from a background in track and field, he has  more than 10 years of experience testing professional and recreational athletes, including triathletes, runners, cyclists, in-line skaters, and hockey players.
 
Jeff Devlin is an endurance coach and former professional triathlete, who offers practical insights into the application of the latest science. Jeff holds five national championship titles and two 3rd place finishes at the Hawaii Ironman. He runs his own international coaching business, Human Performance Engineering (http://www.jeffdevlin.com).