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Three Ways To Enhance Your Running Performance

  • By Training
  • Published Jun. 4, 2009
  • Updated Sep. 28, 2009 at 12:56 PM UTC

LACTATE THRESHOLD

Essential for: Athletes half marathons.

Your lactate, or anaerobic threshold (LT) pace is defined as the fastest pace you can sustain for an extended period (20+ minutes) before lactate, a by-product of the fuel burned during hard exercise, starts building up in your blood causing muscle fatigue. Your LT pace will evolve (get faster) with proper training. Recreational athletes typically hit their LT at about 65 to 80 percent of their VO2 max, whereas elite and world-class endurance athletes tend to peak at 85-95 percent. This is what allows athletes such as Gebreselassie or Lance Armstrong to hold such a strong pace for longer distances.

Check out this Web site, where you can estimate your LT pace: www.runbayou.com/jackd.htm.

Nutrition Tip: A diet rich in healthy carbohydrates (potatoes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables) is essential for enhancing muscle glycogen stores during LT training.

SPORT ECONOMY
Essential for: All athletes, but especially marathoners.

Running economy measures the amount of oxygen you need to train, at any pace. Biomechanics play a huge role in running economy so enlisting the help of a professional to evaluate your running gait is often very helpful in enhancing sport economy – along with VO2 max and LT workouts. A third workout that helps improve an athlete’s running economy involves longer efforts, generally 25-50 percent longer in length than LT and VO2 max workouts, yet completed at a more aerobic conversational pace. These longer efforts should be completed once a week.

Nutrition Tip: Losing excess body fat will help yield dramatic improvements in sport economy, as leaner athletes simply require less oxygen to reach that finish line. To aid weight loss in a healthy manner, cut 250-500 calories from your daily nutrition intake or add 25-45 minutes to your regular energy expenditure.

Kim Mueller, MS, RD, owner of Fuel Factor Nutrition, is a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist who provides customized menu planning, nutrition coaching and race-specific nutrition programs to athletes worldwide.  You can contact her at kim@Fuel-Factor.com .

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