[Reed]

Reed on May 20, 2019 at 2:48 pm · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #22255

Following up again, several months later. Here are the highlights from the past six months, with a couple of graphs attached.

What I did:

• Average workload of 4h57m per week.
• Looking at my running and occasional ski, row, etc., but excluding strength training, I’ve spent ~85% of my time in Zone 1 and another ~11% Zone 2.
• Average mileage of 18 miles per week, longest weeks around 26-27 miles. Probably 60-70% road.
• Stayed fairly healthy and consistent, averaging one day off every ten days. One exception: caught a bad cold after a vacation last month, took a week or so to recover.
• I’ve focused on consistency even without increasing the workload much. TrainingPeaks chronic training load (CTL) has fluctuated from around 32 to 38, basically flat.
• I gave myself freedom to mix up strength training, and not be too rigid. Main focus has been core stability, single-leg / hip stability, and mobility.

What I didn’t do:

• I did not get injured. Yay!
• I did not stick with my plan to add in muscular endurance work. I attempted a couple of these workouts, and they were killer (even scaling back substantially). Couldn’t recover sufficiently.

What has changed:

• Heart rate at aerobic threshold (AeT) has increased from ~170 last June, to ~175 last December, to ~180 today.
• Pace at aerobic threshold has increased from ~9:05 pace last December to ~8:03 pace today

My plan for the summer is to keep focused on consistent (and perhaps more hours of) Zone 1 work, consistent strength training, and adding in something like one Zone 3-4 workout per week. I had fun and made progress a few summers ago with Tuesday Z5 intervals (30-90 seconds on / off), Thursday Z4 intervals (10-15 minutes on, 5 minutes off).

Is there anything here that stands out, that I should try to do more of, do less of, or modify?

-Reed

PS: Please delete one of these posts, if there are duplicates. I seem to have some issue posting this.

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Reed on March 22, 2019 at 2:30 pm · in reply to: HAPE #18946

If you haven’t already, you might consider reading Charles Houston’s Going Higher: Oxygen, Man, and Mountains. Others may have additional resources to point you towards that might help you assess your risks and next steps.

[Reed]

Reed on January 12, 2019 at 1:54 pm · in reply to: How do I find the new articles on this site? #15864

Check out the “Resources” page – you can browse through all articles, or dive in to a particular category.

https://uphillathlete.com/category/resources/

[Reed]

Reed on January 4, 2019 at 7:20 am · in reply to: How many ME workouts in a week? #15710

At risk of being too simplistic: you’ll be providing a stimulus via a workout, then letting your body recover and get stronger. The time required to recover and get to a supercompensated state might be 6-12 hours for a short-duration, low-intensity run. Maybe 24-48 for a weekly low-intensity long run, 48-72 hours for a strength workout. And, within the context of a large ongoing volume of base training, it might take 5-10 days to recover and supercompensate from a muscular endurance (ME) workout. (I don’t have any real experience with ME workouts, so take this with a grain of salt.) If you can recover in 6-7 days, and basing your training on a 7-day schedule fits the rest of your life, great. If you need 10 days to recover, give yourself 10 days to recover.

[Reed]

Reed on December 27, 2018 at 3:12 pm · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15542

My understanding is that heart rate is highly variable from person to person. Formulas and averages work across populations, but the range is quite large.

I haven’t studied this in depth. A quick search brought me to a 2001 paper that suggested a linear equation for max heart rate of 208 – (age * 0.7).[1] Strong correlation of 0.9, but standard deviation of up to 11 beats per minute. I.e., 95% of 30-year-olds likely have a max heart rate between 165bpm and 209bpm. Not very helpful for an individualized training plan.

[1]http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/accj/37/1/153.full.pdf

[Reed]

Reed on December 27, 2018 at 7:50 am · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15534

Hi Greg,

I more-or-less followed the guidance for early base period training outlined in Training for the New Alpinism: (1) twice-weekly strength / core, (2) one long Zone 1 workout comprising 25-30% of total weekly volume, and (3) the rest Zone 1 or recovery aerobic. [1] The schedule that has worked for me, fitting in with professional and personal obligations, looks like this:

• Monday & Thursday, 30-45 minute strength
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, & Sunday, 35-45 minute run (typically on road)
• Saturday, 90-120 minute run (typically on trail)

I’m not very fast or very highly trained, so I could probably do more Zone 2 (just shy of Aerobic Threshold) work, but have been happy with my conservative approach. Consistency has been key. A consequence of that low-intensity focus has been that I have not really needed recovery runs or days off. (One exception: a 1h30m fasted run wiped me out for a day or two after.)

At that 177bpm / AeT, I can steadily breathe through my nose, hold a conversation, speak in long sentences. It begins to get a little challenging to breathe only through my nose.

Regarding blood lactate meters – Nova Biomedical sells direct to consumer here: https://lactateplusmeter.com/index.php/ For a few other options, see http://lactate.com/ Not cheap, but it was a worthwhile purchase for me. It seems that most medical device manufacturers (e.g., Roche / Accutrend) don’t sell them in the US due to medical device regulatory hurdles and a limited market.

-Reed

[1] Training for the New Alpinism, pg. 246

[Reed]

Reed on December 26, 2018 at 10:19 am · in reply to: Recs for smallish fitness watch with decent wrist HR monitor? #15518

I’ve been using a Garmin Forerunner 235 for the past few years. I also used a Forerunner 935 and Forerunner 645 temporarily this fall. I liked the 935, although it’s not cheap.

• The 24/7 heart rate tracking is interesting, but I don’t find it very useful. When I have a harder week of training, my resting heart rate is elevated. When I’ve modified my training based on how I feel (take an easy day, take a day off), it’s been because of stronger signals that my body is sending, not because of resting heart rate.
• I find it a bit annoying to have inaccurate data from the optical heart rate monitor. Wearing a chest strap is pretty easy and (for me) comfortable. Futzing with the sensor when I know I’m running at a 150 beats per minute rate, but the watch says 175, is distracting.
• For skiing, a chest strap frees you up to have less exposed skin.

My wife has the Forerunner 35 and likes it a lot. Same points regarding optical / chest strap apply to that watch.

[Reed]

Reed on December 26, 2018 at 10:02 am · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15515

Following up, six months later – thank you again for your guidance. Feedback is welcomed, but I don’t have specific questions at the moment.

I’ve worked on taking to heart the refrain of continuity, gradualness, and modulation, with decent success:

• I’ve consistently kept to a simple schedule of two days per week strength, one long run, and shorter easy runs the remaining four days per week. Weekly volume of only 5-6 hours. Easy / recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks. 95% of running time below aerobic threshold (AeT). (See graph from TrainingPeaks, attached.)
• AeT heart rate increased to ~177 beats per minute from high 160s / low 170s. Treadmill test with 0.2 MPH increases. Anaerobic threshold (AnT) remains around 193bpm, based on 30-minute field test. (Graph also attached.)
• Delta between AeT and AnT shrank to ~8.5% from ~11%.
• Running pace on flat pavement at AnT improved to 7:11 / mile from 7:55 / mile. Not breaking any records, and winter vs. summer may be a factor, but encouraging when the rest of my runs have been at a relaxed 10-minute / mile pace.
• No injuries. Scott’s Killer Core Routine twice weekly has developed muscles in my torso that I didn’t know I should have. 🙂 And it has improved my range of motion. I wish I had started doing the routine years ago.

I’ve treated the past 4-6 months as an extended base / transition period. My plan is now to pursue a Max Strength period, following my same schedule listed above. Modest increase in volume, keeping >90% of running time in Zone 1. I’m planning a nine-week block: two hard weeks, one recovery week, repeat 3x.

Following that, I intend to do a similar nine-week block adding in (not replacing!) one muscular endurance workout per week. I don’t want to invent my own, so I’m looking to the routine provided here: https://uphillathlete.com/mountain-climbing-strength-workout-muscular-endurance/

Happy holidays, and best wishes for a great 2019!

-Reed

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Reed on September 12, 2018 at 5:43 am · in reply to: Scheduling workouts #13404

Hi David,

Experiment with different approaches, and see what you find to be most valuable. Simple is good. Tracking is useful. No need to over-engineer it at the outset. 🙂

For tracking running, rowing, etc. (hours & heart rate based), Garmin+TrainingPeaks works great for me. For strength training and other metrics (aerobic threshold tests / zone assessments), I have a Google spreadsheet that goes back many years. A simple notebook also works fine.

It’s been helpful to be able to see trends on a day-to-day / week-to-week basis, as well as to look back over a month / season / year, and adjust plans for the future.

-Reed

[Reed]

Reed on September 11, 2018 at 11:07 am · in reply to: Scheduling workouts #13397

Hi David,

Here’s what I’ve found to be useful:

• Set up TrainingPeaks with appropriate running heart rate zone numbers
• Plan workouts in TrainingPeaks. If you specify the time, you can display your workouts in Google Calendar pretty easily
• Track workouts on a Garmin watch (I’ve been using the Forerunner 235, usually with a heart rate strap)
• Garmin watch -> syncs to Garmin Connect on my phone -> syncs to Garmin’s service -> syncs to TrainingPeaks. One-time setup, the you’re good to go
• Manually adjust the TSS numbers for strength workouts. From Scott J., “For the TftNA general strength and core workout [use] a TSS of 50-70/hour. For the TftNA Max Strength with core warm up [use] a TSS of 80-90/hour.” [0]

-Reed

[0] https://uphillathlete.com/forums/topic/ctltrainingpeaks-and-tfna/

[Reed]

Reed on July 2, 2018 at 5:58 pm · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #10654

Hi Scott & Scott,

Thank you for the feedback. Today, I did a halfway successful field test – 15-20 minute warmup, then 25 minute all-out. (No good reason. Heart rate monitor malfunctioned. I didn’t push through for a full 30+ minutes.)

Results

• Average heart rate ~193-196.
• Blood lactate 7.0 mmol/L, about 60-90 seconds after stopping.

My interpretation

• I didn’t do the test correctly.
• Assuming my test results are still reasonable, my AnT is closer to 190-195 BPM. So, plenty of room for my AeT to get higher and close the ~13% gap between AeT-AnT.
• Zone 4, therefore, starts at ~190-195.
• I’ve got to get off of the computer and get onto the trail, or into the rowing shell, or into the water!

Sound about right?

-Reed

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Reed on April 25, 2018 at 3:17 pm · in reply to: Confusion – Zone 1 + 2: TftNA vs TrainingPeaks #9537

Hi Scott S.,

Is there a way you’d suggest thinking about the bottom of Zone 2 and the bottom of Zone 1? What I’m reading in this thread is that not only does Zone 3 shrink / disappear, but a large range of aerobic work—conversational pace, lactate <2mmol/L—is too strenuous for high volumes.

In much of the reading I’ve done, people like Joe Friel have used Zone 4 as “sub-lactate threshold” (see https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones/, TrainingPeaks built-in zone calculations, etc.).

More traditional lactate test data points in the attached picture, using an exponential fit rather than just connecting the dots. The three tests align to the first graph I posted – specifically the 2mmol/L (top of Z2) and 4mmol/L (top of Z4) data points. (The first test had some issues, but whatever way you slice it I wasn’t in shape.)

-Reed

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Reed on April 25, 2018 at 1:00 pm · in reply to: Confusion – Zone 1 + 2: TftNA vs TrainingPeaks #9533

Scott J.,

I’m a visual learner, and have several lactate tests’ worth of data to draw on. Maybe this can help others, too. In the attached graph:
– Top end of Z4 / Sub-Lactate Threshold is where blood lactate concentration hit 4mmol/L – AnT
– Bottom of Z4 / top of Z3 is simple average of AnT and AeT
– Top end of Z2 / Aerobic is where blood lactate concentration crossed 2mmol/L (or best guess, in the left-hand bar) – AeT
– Bounds of Z1 are estimates, and of course that’s really a gradient not a sharp line

My interpretation based on your explanation:
– Aerobically deficient, or at least poorly trained, towards the beginning of my first structured training cycle a few years ago. I could train all I wanted in Z2 / Aerobic, and even a decent amount in Z3; the training stimulus was purely aerobic.
– Moderately trained, a few weeks before my first 50k (end of that training cycle). I had substantially improved my top-end lactate threshold as well as dramatically tightened the gap between AeT and AnT, down to ~9% of AnT. Training distribution was bimodal, mainly Z4 15-minute intervals / Z5 3-minute intervals and long-duration Z1-Z2.
– Highly trained (for me!), a few weeks before a road marathon. Numbers similar to a few months prior. ~5% gap between AeT and AnT.

For that road marathon, I was self-coached, using Pfitzinger’s marathon prep plan without sufficient base training and using Joe Friel’s heart rate zones. It looks as though I did a substantial amount of running at the top end of Z2 and even into Z3. It sounds as though the challenges I encountered were perhaps largely caused by overtaxing my neurological system and muscular endurance capacity.

Am I correctly understanding what you wrote in your initial response?

-Reed

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Reed on April 11, 2018 at 10:33 am · in reply to: Looking for a lab #9263

I did a bit of research into blood lactate testers a year or two ago.

– Roche / Accutrend is a high-quality medical device manufacturer, and you likely can’t go wrong. They do not sell blood lactate testers in the United States (or at least not without a prescription) but do in other parts of the world. They sell blood glucose testers, but similarly only as regulated medical devices for diabetes.
– I purchased a Nova Biomedical Lactate Plus tester. This is available on lactate.com. I purchased directly from the manufacturer (https://lactateplusmeter.com/index.php/). It has worked quite well.
– I’ve only followed a warmup / 3-minute run / increase by 0.5mph protocol, and a similar 3-minute-interval protocol on a rowing ergometer. Perhaps there are better protocols to consider, per Scott’s first reply above?

[Reed]

Reed on April 3, 2018 at 10:13 am · in reply to: Mobility, myofacial release, imbalances / restrictions / injury #9066

Hi Steve,

Yes, that’s where found Jason Crandell’s classes. My wife and I have enjoyed the first few that we’ve done. I’d never done a video yoga class at home, and I was surprised at how much I liked it – better in many ways than joining a yoga class in-person! Thanks again for the recommendation.

-Reed