[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on December 13, 2021 at 2:04 pm · in reply to: Difficulty with Uphill Intensity #60738

Thanks Brian!
Sounds like we are well matched. Regarding your intervals at the ski resort, are you running or hiking/ski striding? One thing I have learned is that I am a faster runner than walker (compared to others). Since running season ended, I have focused more on hiking and ski striding to strengthen those muscles compared to more running-specific muscles. But mainly I’m trying to dial in the workouts. Your intervals seem to be effective, and I’m probably not doing enough of those (though I have been doing some intensity at least 1x /week).

Our Aet and AnT HR’s are identical. There is also not much room between those (150-160). So the question is do we try to train to push our 150 pace higher, or should we be working to pull our AnT HR higher to allow for a more anaerobic range? Or perhaps the key is more strength/ME. Or perhaps I am thinking about this all wrong. But I feel there is some training component that I am deficient and should be focused on.

Good luck with your first skimo season. It’s a really fun sport!

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on December 13, 2021 at 1:44 pm · in reply to: Difficulty with Uphill Intensity #60736

Hi Dada ,
Thanks

Skimo races and Trail Races are quite varied event to event. Skimo for example: There are vertical races which usually involve 1500-2000 vert ft of climbing and last about 30 minutes. There are also long course races which range 4000-12,000 vert ft and last 2-5 hours. In general, I seem to be holding my own better in the longer and less intense the race, generally with ground being made up in the second half of long races. The real problem are the short intense races or the first third of the long races when others are really hammering. In those situations, I feel if I try to keep up, the wheels will shortly come off. Basically there is not much reserve capacity to push faster or harder beyond AeT pace.

As far as training, I just finished trail running season, with my last race being a trail marathon. I was more or less following the Mike Foote Big Vert Plan, which includes volume, vert, intervals, strength. Following a 1/2 marathon hill climb race at altitude (which I did reasonably well, but started slowing above 10,000 ft) in August, I focused more on distance, 1 mile repeats, and intensity for the marathon in November, as this had far less vertical gain/loss. .

At least 80% of my training is around Zone 1 or Zone 2 (Aet), with some intensity generally 1-2x per week and some strength training 1-2x/ week. Periodic ME w/o such has hiking steep hills with a weighted pack. Given I’m also a full time husband and dad with a full-time job, I am not always consistent, but I do pretty well given all the time constraints.

Regardless of all this training there are still a considerable number of 50+ year olds who are much stronger. They are mounting times I was when I was 45. Despite training smarter and likely better, I feel the my capacity for intensity has dropped off considerably in the last 5 years.

Thanks

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on July 2, 2021 at 5:17 pm · in reply to: Racing with HR #55390

Thanks Scott. I will start experimenting with calibrated breathing. I think most of us are experienced enough to race by feel and modulate our effort depending on the type and distance of the event. I’ve read TFTUA, and while it is detailed on training for a race, there is less information on race day strategy, specifically regarding pace and effort in a multi-hour race.

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 11, 2021 at 1:29 pm · in reply to: Racing with HR #54780

Thanks Rich. Yep I’m older than dirt as well, and only bought my HR watch in 2019. I also race by feel and knowledge of myself and the course. I wanted to see if people were racing with and finding benefit with active HR monitoring. Do you know if road marathoners use HR to their benefit on fast flat courses? Road cyclists certainly use HR and power in races.

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 11, 2021 at 7:44 am · in reply to: Racing with HR #54760

What exactly are we looking at here? I suspect the maximum HR one can average for a specific period of time.

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 11, 2021 at 7:41 am · in reply to: Racing with HR #54759

Thanks for your insight. You approach race day like I always have, and likely most people. I agree that Skyracing is so variable it is hard to really be guided by HR.

However, what many of these races have in common is a long uphill start.

I have run the Dolomyths and Tromso Skyraces, and I am set to run Pikes Peak this summer. All start with a very long uphill. Other than running a bit harder than comfort level to obtain a good spot in the trail queue, my question really focuses on the first 1-2 hour uphill portion of these of races. Are there recommendations or data to suggest it’s adventageous to pace by HR in the first half of a race, specifically the initial long steady uphill? For example, lets say race pace is somewhere near AnT. I’m guessing slowing down to hit the bottom half of Zone 3 is not much slower than running in the upper half ( which may feel comfortable early on), and by slowing a bit will one will reap gains later on? I have both passed and been passed by runners in the late stages of these relatively “fast” races. We all have. When this happens late in a race, then the 2 competitors are more or less “equals” when it comes to fitness on that particular day. Yet in this scenario, one runner is stronger than the other at the end. Obviously there are many variables, likely too many to come to any conclusion. But perhaps a more disciplined runner would come out on top more often than not compared to racing simply by “feel”? Thanks.

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on July 31, 2020 at 5:33 pm · in reply to: TSS Question: Hiking/Approach #44007

Thanks Scott. I did exactly what you said and it came very close to my own estimate. I cut out the breaks and it reduced the hrTSS to 398. I had manually set it to 350 by my own estimation. So pretty close!!

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 18, 2019 at 9:33 pm · in reply to: How do we know we are improving? #23689

Thanks briguy. Interesting article…

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 17, 2019 at 8:21 pm · in reply to: How do we know we are improving? #23654

Thanks Scott. Eloquently explained. For a less than elite athlete who is not perfectly trained (but has a lifetime of consistent base…albeit without a formal training plan), and who has 1-2 goal races in the upcoming months, do you feel that strategic “tune-up” races generally improve performance for later “goal” races, or do they hinder performance (due to time taken away from proper periodization)?

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on June 17, 2019 at 5:49 pm · in reply to: How do we know we are improving? #23650

Thanks for your thoughts and the “ramp test” protocol. I wonder if the only way to identify improvement is with formal testing and if there is any data as to the frequency such testing should be done. Physiologic adaptations to stress and training vary considerably. Altitude acclimatization takes days to start seeing improvements, strength can be seen in a matter of a few weeks and is easily measurable. But AeT improvement may be difficult to identify (for trail runners as opposed to cyclists with power meters, or track runners with pace) as we are not really stressing our bodies when we exercise below AeT. Should we be formally testing every month? 3 months? Year? Or maybe we don’t retest. As our AeT increases, the authors want us to do more Zone 1 work. So maybe our Zone 2 HR/pace will organically morph into Zone 1 workouts. But when/how do we know we are ready for intensity work outs and not “short-changing” ourselves by not focusing enough on AeT? If there is a theme to this book this is it!

[jtrachtenberg99]

jtrachtenberg99 on May 15, 2019 at 11:49 am · in reply to: Racing as Training #22044

Thanks Scott,

I have one follow-up question regarding racing/effort/HR. I’ll use an upcoming “training race” as an example. It is about 16 miles total, uphill a continuous 4500 vert, then back down. The downhill route is about 3 miles longer than the uphill.

The uphill is very steep and slow, and much of it is power-hiking. HR will certainly be in Zone 3 and approaching AnT at race pace.

But that is only half the race. Downhill will be very fast (for me)… around 6:15 min/miles. The effort will be quite significant, the legs will be feeling fatigued, but the HR will likely be in Zone 2 for much of that time.

My question is regarding the hard downhill effort. What type of training effect (both cardiovascular and muscular) does one get with a long, continuous, hard, fast, race-paced, and relatively exhausting effort with a relatively low HR that one is affording when running downhill?

Thanks!