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Narrowing the very small AET and ANT Gap

Creator

Topic
October 25, 2020 at 12:13 pm #46242

vanallen.jt
Participant

I am listening to Training for the Uphill Athlete and it is excellent. Buying the print version is next.

I have completed my DIY tests for AET (148/149 BPM) and for ANT (154 BPM) leaving me with AET which is over 96% of ANT. I wasn’t surprised in this result as my AET pace was quick and in the few number of races I have done I have had a lot of success.

My question is: I cannot sustain even 90% of my AET pace for the bulk of training – simply too hard on my legs – and am weary of too much interval work based on much of what is covered in the beginning of the book. So, where do I focus (what type of workouts) my training energy?

Perhaps the book will make it more clear when I reread but it seemed like the path to “gains” is not so clear when the AET / ANT gap is quite small.
Creator

Topic

Posted In: General Training Discussion

Inactive

Anonymous on October 26, 2020 at 9:31 am #46279

JT;

I’m glad you are finding TftUA helpful.

With a small spread between AeT and AnT like you have you will do next to no training in Z2. It is too fast. Doing much in Z2 will be a fast way to become overtrained. The fitter you are the more polarized your training intensity needs to be. In your case you will see the best gains by doing your aerobic base training in Z1 and adding more time in Z3 and Z4 to your training plan. Avoid Z2 unless it is a specific long tempo session where you plan to have a recovery day or two afterward.

I hope that helps.
Scott

Inactive

Anonymous on December 4, 2020 at 11:40 am #47819

I don’t think that the DIY tests can be accurate within five beats.

Once thresholds get below a 7-8% gap, you’ll need to test with lactate or a gas exchange test. Using the field tests will be too imprecise and the risk of training at the wrong intensity will be too high.

I would get a lab test done before making any firm conclusions.

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