I have decided to donate my body to the development of exercise science. This will not involve any loss of spirit in this meat bag of mine, simply a redirection of my training program and a collection of data.

This experiment, like all training for runners, is an experiment of one. I want to observe both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of progressively greater volumes of running. How do I feel with progressively more mileage added in a gradual manner? At what point am I adverse to running more weekly mileage or greater durations on single long runs (2.5 hour runs, 3 hours)? Do I feel stronger, faster, more eager to run more? From a quantitative point of view, I want to see how far I develop the aerobic capacity from a steady diet of predominantly ‘high’ mileage and 2 days of very short (50-150m) anaerobic work (at an effort of 400-800m race pace) with lots of rest.

I will be testing in three ways:1. Lactate step test - Weeks 4, 8 and 12. This will test my running at 3 paces, 2 of which I will know to be slightly below my anticipated pace in which I would dramatically accumulate lactic acid in my blood stream. Each run will be for 1 mile (5-5:30 min) so as to be long enough to ensure that blood lactate will stabilize. This will allow me to determine my running velocity at 4.0 mmol/l (V4) of lactate in the bloodstream. I believe this to be a conservative and accurate estimation of OBLA. I will also do a 400m time trial 20 minutes after the step test, and use this as a representation of my anaerobic capacity in blood lactate concentration. 2. Steady state time trial- each week I am not doing test 1 or test 3 I will run 5 miles on the same course at 80% of my maximum heart rate. I have selected this intensity because it is certainly below the estimated lactate threshold and V4 from above. Thus it is being used as a means of evaluating sub maximal aerobic benefits of this training.3. 3 mile (or 5 kilometer) time trial- Weeks 3, 7, 10 and 12, I will test my near maximum aerobic capacity with a 3 mile time trial. This will either be in a race of a certified distance over a flat course or a time trial on flat road near my home.

Details about the training progression: Feb 3rd to April 26th-

What I am doing: I will be consistently running ever increasing amounts of mileage with much of it specifically intended to be at an intensity of steady state running below lactate threshold or V4, but not simply conversational or slow distance running. Some may say this is at my ‘aerobic steady state’, just below my slowest running intensity for significant accumulation of lactic acid, or even ‘comfortably fast’ or ‘rhythmic’ running. This will be effort based training and not related to objective pace. Because this is an experiment of the effects of running below the lactate threshold I will be evaluating my intensities on each run with a heart rate monitor (RS 200, Polar). I have an estimated maximum heart rate of 195 bpm and will express intensity in a % of this maximum. Note that runs at intensities above 75% of MHR will begin with a warm up period in the range of 70-75% of MHR and will last roughly 10-30 min depending on the run. More on where I am beginning from below in “Who I am”. I am going to define ‘Maximum steady state’ as the highest intensity that can be performed before the rapid onset of lactic acid in the blood. See lactate step test above for how this will be determined. More information on this testing is available in the training category.

The structure of my week is intended to be flexible, but will follow this general outline-

Sunday - Longest run of the week 2+ hours (HR - 70-80% of MHR)

Monday - am- 0-60 min easy (HR-70-75% MHR)

pm-60 + min easy (HR - 70-75% MHR)

Running form drills, Plyo’s and technique drills after run

Tuesday - am - 0-60 min run (HR-70-75% of MHR)

pm- 0-60 min run with runs from 15 to 45 seconds done at current 800m to 1600m race pace with 2-3 x’s as much rest between strides as time run. Volume of these will typically be 1500-3000m.

Explosive strength training after run

Wednesday- 90 + min run (HR-75-80% of MHR)

Thursday - 60 + min run (HR - 70-80% of MHR)

Explosive strength training after run

Friday - am- 0-60min run (70-75% of MHR)

pm - Test (see above): 5 miles at maximum steady state intensity, 3 mile time trail or lactate step test.

Saturday - 0-60 min at (70-75% of MHR)

Explosive strength training and/or Plyo’s after run

Increases in running volume (based on time rather than distance) will occur weekly with no more than a 10% increase per week. This will be added first to the Sunday and Wednesday runs. When I reach about 650-700 min of running a week I will evaluate further additions to my week and where they will occur. Every 4th week will be a ‘rest’ week with a 20% decrease in mileage.

Work will be recorded using my Polar HR monitor along with distances; times and values for tests will be recorded in addition this. I will periodically post this data on the blog.

Who I am: I have been running in some capacity since I was 14. The last 18 years have been inconsistent in the amount of running I have done, in particular the last 5. I have trained fairly consistently the last 14 months with only moderate intensity running (70-75% of MHR).The last 6-8 weeks have seen me average between 50-65 miles per week with my longest single run being 1:54.I have been measured as having my lactate turn point (based on gas exchange values) at a heart rate of 168-170 bpm and an intensity of 10.0 mph over a 6% gradient at that minute. More importantly the lactate step tests will give more detail on running intensities near the lactate threshold.

Why?: What is the motivation for such an experiment? As a professional coach with higher education in exercise physiology and experience working with runners of various abilities I continue to wonder what are the greatest contributions to improvement over distances that require nearly 100% of aerobic capacity (3,000m - 10,000m for competitive men and women). I feel too many athletes work near 100% of aerobic capacity for moderate to long bouts (3 - 8 minutes) as a means of developing their ability to race near this zone. It is my opinion that they do the aforementioned training while neglecting both the ability to run aerobically at high running speeds for long periods of time AND the ability to generate anaerobic power for short distances. I feel this is a reflection of the misunderstood value many runners have with the concept of VO2 max and the possible need to prove to themselves some level of fitness week in and week out. As a coach there is the need to impart to the athlete that work must be done for future gains to be realized. It is my belief that the delayed gratification can come with the observation of improvement in certain sub maximal running speeds at similar efforts to those previously performed.

My hypothesis: I expect to observe the following:1. My pace at the 5 mile ’steady state’ will improve gradually throughout the training period.2. My pace at V4 will improve with each of the lactate step tests.3. My 3 mile time trial will marginally improve (less than 1% between test 1 and test 2). I certainly hope to be wrong in this and have a greater improvement than ~10 seconds.I am committed to following this through for 12 weeks. Week 1 will begin on February 3rd.

You will note that I have included “Explosive strength training” and Plyometics into my regular training program. I contend that these are further work that is developmental to anaerobic power and will provide detail on the ‘what’ and ‘why’ for these exercises in future posts.As I approach week 12 I will assess if more time is needed to make deductions from this training experiment.I welcome your feedback on this experiment and any relevance this may have to your own training, or other points to observe and consider.

Long may you run,Sean Coster