Week 13, Training for 50K Trail Race

After Sunday's epic run my body was tired both physically and emotionally. I needed extra nutrition on Sunday and Monday, and extra rest and mobility exercises. By Tuesday I was feeling about 70% back to normal, and by Wednesday I hit homeostasis. 

 Week 13 Training Plan: (2nd - 11th November)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Rest and Recover, Core strength 30 minutes.

Wednesday: Run on flats 4 miles HR not to exceed 143, Strength 30 min.

Thursday:  Run 7 miles @ 8:15 pace with 1 mile @ 6:50 pace, Mobility 30 minutes.

Friday: Recovery day, CORE & Mobility 30 mins each.

Saturday: Go have fun and ride bike outside for 90 minutes. 

Sunday: Trail run 4 hours with 3000+ feet elevation gain.

The beginning of this week was great having both Monday and Tuesday set aside for rest days, then coming back with an easy run on Wednesday. Since it has been a while that I've done any speed work due to focussing on endurance of late it was time to hit a hard effort on Thursday.

Thursday was so much fun getting out and really pushing the pace. Since my focus for so many weeks has been on longer distances my pace has slowed down, so it was a bit hard to hit my fast 1 mile effort prescribed pace. I was able to maintain my elevated pace before the 1 mile effort and again after so I was happy with that. It is true you cannot trail well for both speed and endurance, one will suffer at the other ones gain. 

Friday was another rest day, so I spent the day trying to upload my videos from the last few weeks. My poor iPad is on it's way out, it knows I ordered a new one so it's giving me even more grief, thus the reason it's taking so long to get my videos out. Between attempts at uploading, I spent time working my mobility for my legs so that they would be all nice and happy for Sunday's big run.

Before we get to Sunday I had to go have fun on my bike Saturday. I bought new wheels a few months ago and it's taken me a while to get them set up. Tire and pump issues, but finally thought I had it resolved. I jumped on my bike and a very chilly Saturday afternoon only to turn around 3 minutes later due to brake and drivetrain issues. So frustrating especially since I'm a mechanic, but I don't have the tools to make the adjustments this time. Off the road bike and onto the Mountain Bike then. Off I got to hit some dirt near my house, but keeping it to the flats as much as possible.   

Saturday afternoon and evening meals were very important in preparing for Sunday's run. The goal was to get plenty of proper nutrition and hydration so that I will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. My lunch consisted of lean turkey burger with some yellow mustard, roasted broccoli, and buttered baguette. Then dinner was grilled asada chicken thigh with roasted cubed yams and butter, and a small kale salad (kale, lemon juice, shredded parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper). Oh yeah and about 60 ounces of water throughout the day on Saturday. 

I got to bed by 10pm Saturday and up by 6:30am Sunday.  My breakfast was a cup of coffee with oat milk, 2 slices of toast with butter, cinnamon and brown coconut sugar. Right before I started my run I ate one of my homemade no bake energy bites (super easy to make: banana, oats, peanut butter, shredded coconut, protein powder, chocolate chips/dried cranberries/dried blueberries/ect). Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try for yourself.

This week I stayed close to home for my route and headed to South San Jose near the reservoirs. I started at the new entrance for Calero Reservoir where all the mountain bikers start. There was an 8 mile loop that I did here, before meandering my way over to Almaden Quicksilver park at the Hacienda entrance. Once there I made my way through another loop taking Mine Hill trail to Cape Horn Pass, Hacienda trail, Virl O Norton trail and popped out at the Mockingbird hill entrance to Quicksilver. Dove back in to Hacienda where the trail had about 4 really steep nasty sections of which I walked all of these as they were too steep to try and run. Eventually Hacienda starts going back down hill and meets back up with Mine hill trail and I then ran down the road to the trail head back to the Calero trail system and finished my run. 

In all this was a really fun route. I brought a different backpack today (this one does not leak) and had a straw into the water reservoir, and I started my hydrating at about 20 minutes into the run instead of my usual 45 minutes. This made a HUGE difference as I did not feel any muscle cramping, my lips never got chapped and my mouth never felt dry. Plus when I was eating my nutrition I didn't need to drink my hydration to give me enough moisture in my mouth to help break it down. This run, in addition to my previous foods, I added chicken nuggets to the mix. OH WOW!!!! That was a treat. Most of my other foods are very carb centered and sweet tasting, but these being a bit more protein centered and savory, they actually made my mouth water when I ate them. Those are a definite for my event in December. 

In total my run was 4 hours on the nose, and this time I completed 25 miles and 3200 feet of elevation gain. This is the longest run I will do before the event now. Next week will be focused on recovery as it's been a solid 3 weeks of building up, my body needs a rest week. 

Thanks for reading.

Week 12, Training for 50K Trail Race

Recovery from last week went really well on Monday, and I had no problem getting my first run of the week on Tuesday. The big focus this week is being prepared for the long run on Sunday. This will be my longest and most elevation gained in a run. I need to take care of my sleep, nutrition, and stress this week.  

*Half Way point on Sunday's run.*

Week 12 Training Plan: (26th October - 1st November)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Run on flats 4.75 miles HR not to exceed 143, Strength 30 minutes.

Wednesday: Run on flats 4.75 miles HR not to exceed 143, Strength 30 min.

Thursday:  Run Hill Repeats (2 mile warm up, 5 x 7 minutes hard pace uphill, easy downhill, 2 mile cool down), Strength 30 minutes.

Friday: Recovery day, CORE & Mobility 30 mins each.

Saturday: Run flats 5.75 miles HR not to exceed 143, Strength & Mobility 30 minutes each. 

Sunday: Trail run 3.5 hours with 3000+ feet elevation gain.

*Ocean View before heading in toward Muir Woods.*

The big focus this week was 3 solid runs staying at the low end of my Zone 2 heart rate range, for me that is 135-143. I was able to manage that for my first two runs but with some difficulty. The problem I was having in keeping my heart rate low was managing to keep my form. I tend to bounce up and down more when I go that slow and then I feel my back and knees getting upset. After the first run trying to keep the HR at the low end I chatted with my coach and we decided to allow me to run "faster" but keep my HR in the zone. 

The second and third runs attempting to do Zone 2 were much better. I was able to keep my HR at 143 and no higher, and was also able to manage my run form. Run form at this point in my training is just as important as Heart Rate ranges and daily nutrition.

Unfortunately I was not able to get out to the trails on Thursday for my hill repeats. I planned on attempting it Friday morning but that also fell through. These things happen and I allow myself to be upset for a few minutes then I start focussing on my next workout. 

*Nutrition for Sunday's run. There is 1.7L of hydration, and 1000kcal. I drank all the fluid, but only ate 600kcal during the run.*

For Sunday's run I planned to follow the Rabbit Chase 30K route. It started in Stinson Beach at the Dipsea trail Trailhead, meandered it's way up the Steep Ravine trail (which included an 8 foot ladder ascent) and out to the top of the hill side for a full ocean view before heading inland and into Muir Woods. 

*Final results from Sunday's run.*

The trail system in that area I found to be confusing. There were so many trail heads, and many times there were no signs at the split offs. Luckily I had studied the maps so much that I had a good idea of when, by mileage, I needed to make my next turn. I still managed to make 2 wrong turns but neither of them resulted in my ending up in Santa Rosa or San Francisco so I'll take that as a win. 

At the end of the run, I sat down in a cute little park in Stinson Beach and enjoyed my post workout protein shake, more water, and snacks. I was feeling a little dehydrated and was craving what I thought was Ginger Ale, but turned out I ended up buying lime flavored bubbly water. 

*Video of my Sunday run adventures.*

I realized that with my bottles leaking as much as they did, I did not get enough water during the run, and also I put too much of my hydration formula in my bottles. I didn't figure out the too much hydration mix issue till Monday and Tuesday when my intestines were in a bind. The plan now is to decrease the amount of hydration mix in each bottle, and get better bottles. 

Time to get some solid rest and recovery before next weeks training and next weekends longer run. Stay tuned.

Week 11, Training for 50K Trail Race

It's crunch time, there are 6 weeks till my event and I'm getting excited. I also have a small calf issue that I've had to be very careful with over the past week and a half. The calf strain happened 2 weekends ago during my 16 mile trail run. On my way back down the Quarry Loop trail, which serpentines and is rocky and steep in some sections is where it happened. In one of the the steep turns I was going too fast and I felt my foot slide in my shoe and felt a light pull in my left calf. I didn't stop as it was so minor at the time I thought it would be fine.

Throughout the following week it didn't bother me until I got off my bike after this past Saturday's Tour de Cure bike ride. Due to the recurrence of pain my Sunday run became a Sunday mobility, ice, and compression day, so did Monday.   

Week 11 Training Plan: (19th - 25th October)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Run 4 miles steady 8:10 pace, Strength 30 minutes.

Wednesday: Hill Repeats, 4 x 7 minutes on hills, Strength 30 min.

Thursday:  Bike spin on trainer 40 minutes, Zone 2 high cadence, Strength 30 minutes.

Friday: Bike spin on trainer 40 minutes, Zone 2 high cadence, Mobility 30 mins.

Saturday: Trail run 14 miles at Rancho Preserve, Mobility 30 minutes. 

Sunday: Trail run 14 miles at Rancho Preserve, Mobility 30 minutes.

Tuesday's 4mile run was the test to see how the calf was feeling, and it was to be kept of flat surface at a safe pace. Through the run, I felt no issues and kept my goal pace too. Good news I thought. Later that evening while walking in my socks in the house I slipped while turning and felt the pull in both the hamstring and calf. UGH! Back to mobility, compression and ice again.

By Wednesday morning the left leg felt back to normal so off the Rancho I headed for my hill repeats workout. Usually I park at a school a mile outside the park, but that takes 3.5 miles of running to get to the base of the climb I use for my repeats. So this time I decided to actually park in the park, and being it was 10am on a Wednesday I figured it would be easy to find parking. I mean really, shouldn't everyone be in school or working? Nope! The lot closest to the trail was FULL. Good thing there are a few more lots close to the trail.

Got my 2 mile warm up in, and off I went right into my first hill repeat. These were supposed to be 7 minutes in length where I am pushing the pace on the way up, turn around and take it easy coming down. The going up on my first attempt was good except I was only able to last about 6 minutes before deciding to turn around and head down. My lungs and legs were not happy to go further than 6 minutes on the first rep and turns out for the rest of them as well. On the final descent I slipped in the gravel part of the trail and strained the hamstring and calf again. NOOOO!!! These things once started can take time to heal. So once home I rested, iced and put on clean compression as I was wearing compression sleeves for this session due to wanting to keep the calf happy.

Thursday and Friday were a nice change from running to be able to ride my bike. Felt good to sit and get my cardio in instead of pounding the pavement. 

Saturday and Sunday's runs ended up being flat instead of on trails. I had to start at 6am on Sautrday due to a very busy day, and since 6am it's dark still, I was not about to go be Mountain Lion breakfast. So my option was stick to the flats at Shoreline and what a great morning for a run it was. I brought my headlamp and set off for my 14 miles. It was surprising to see how many other people are out o early, but I get it as the sunrise was amazing. My nutrition and hydration was spot on for today,  and I had 1L of my hydration fluid plus 400 calories that I ate during my 2 hours on my feet.

Time to rest up and get ready for next weekends long run at Stinson beach and heading up the infamous Dipsea trail.

Week 10, Training for a 50K Trail Race

 This has been a recovery week, and I surely needed it. After finishing my 16 mile trail run, I spent the rest of my Sunday getting plenty of rest and recovery. Unfortunately I did not sleep well Sunday night through Wednesday night. Each night I felt like I was having hot flashes, and was nauseous. Looking at my sleep tracker I was very busy tossing and turning all those nights. Needless to say My week didn't start off well. 

Week 10 Training Plan: (6th - 18th October)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Glute & Core Strength 45 minutes, Mobility practice 30 minutes.

Wednesday: Glute & Core Strength 45 minute, Mobility Practice 30 min.

Thursday:  Easy run 3.1 miles on the flats keeping Zone 2, Strength 30 minutes.

Friday: Easy run 3.1 miles on the flats keeping Zone 2, Mobility 30 mins.

Saturday: Tour De Cure ride 4.5 hours with some significant climbing.

Sunday: Trail run 14 miles keeping Zone 2 as best I can with the hills.

Luckily Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days from running and riding but I still needed to get in my strength workouts, and my mobility workouts. I was fine doing those, but mentally I was struggling. I also felt like I was coming down with a cold. My eyes were heavy and itchy, I had a slight sore throat and some post nasal drip, not to mention my energy level was a 2 out of 10. 

By Thursday I had enough of being tired. I called off my late morning and afternoon work commitments and tried to nap. This nap was semi-successful in that I did sleep, but not for as long as I was hoping for. Needless to say I was still able to get some sleep Thursday into Friday and even woke up feeling refreshed. 

Friday I had to take my car in for service in the morning, then was going to do my run when I got home. This was a great plan especially since it was going to get into the low 90's again. On my morning run the temp was already 75 degrees when I started, but the light felt like it was 5pm. It's definitely fall even if the temps are not fall like. 

Friday evening I prepared all my food and water for Saturdays long ride. This helps me rest better knowing I'm all ready for the morning. The good news about these rides is there are plenty of places along the way to stop and refill my water bottles. The ride was going to be around 6 hours in length so I packed enough food for 200 kcal an hour plus water with Clif Hydration at 20 ounces an hour. In all the ride  went really well, we all stayed together and enjoyed a nice lunch break in Pescadero. The air was so clear that when we go to Hwy1 you could clearly see the ocean. Also by this time the temperature had risen and we were all feeling quite warm. I was able to get a few bits a pieces of video from the ride, but unfortunately during the last descent my camera flipped down and I didn't know it. When I got to the bottom of the descent I saw my camera pointing at the ground and realized I may have missed the entire Kings Mountain descent. Oh well, I'll just have to ride that road again and make sure that darn camera stays facing forward.

**Here is the video from Saturday's Tour de Cure ride.**

Sunday's run ended up getting cancelled. Long story short, my long run from last week ended up causing a strain in my left calf. It was fine most of the week, however when I got off my bike after Saturdays ride, something went pop and it hurt the rest of the day. With my event coming up in only 6 weeks I need to stay healthy so the run had to be canceled. 

These things happen in training, and you just have to go with them. When we try to push through is when we create bigger problems. So instead of running, I will be focusing on recovery through rest, ice, compression and gentle mobility exercise to keep the knee and ankle moving while I'm not running. We shall see how next week goes. 

Week 9, Training For 50K Trail Race

Anniversary weekend is over and full recovery has occurred. Time to hit the pavement again. This week I'm going to be doing a bunch more Zone 2 training with some Zone 4/5 thrown in for extra adaptations. It also helps after doing a lot of the long slow Zone 2 training to break up the monotony with some higher effort Zone 4/5 training.

 Week 9 Training Plan: (5th - 11th October)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Run: Hill Repeats 4 x 1/2 mile, Strength 30 minutes.

Wednesday: 75 minute fun leisurely Bike ride, Core strength 30 min.

Thursday: Run 8.5 miles on the trails keeping Zone 2, Strength 30 minutes.

Friday: Trainer ride 1 hour working Neuromuscular Activation, Mobility 30 mins.

Saturday: Outdoor team ride 4 hours lots of climbing.

Sunday: Trail run 16 miles keeping Zone 2 as best I can with the hills.

First workout of the week happened at Rancho San Antonio preserve again. This time instead of parking at the elementary school outside the park, I drove into the park and got a front row space near the bathrooms. From here it was just a smidge over 2 miles to the start of the hill I decided to use for todays hill repeats. Normally I go up Rogue Valley trail  to the top, but it would have been a 2.6 mile warm up just to get to the base of the main climb. Instead I opted for a new to me trail, the Chemise trail just off lower Rogue Valley. Turns out this trail is quite steep in places and I definitely got the leg strength workout that was planned, which also gave me some great Zone 5 training as well. The best part about this trail is that no one else was on it. Maybe it was the time of day or maybe just because it's so exposed people don't want to use it. But I loved having the trail to myself to huff and puff and slog my way up and down it 4 times. Unfortunately I forgot my GoPro so I have no video or photo of the trail (from that day), but trust me from my other pics and video's there is no difference between this one and all the others in the park. It's wide, dusty, and steep. 

**This is the steep section on Chamise trail I took from my video's of Sunday's run.**

This week I got to ride outside for a fun filled leisurely 75 minute stroll which took place just before lunch on Wednesday. It was a perfect day to be outside, the sun was shining, the temps were a cool 65 and hardly a car on the road. Can't ask for much better than that. The nice easy bike spin was really goof for stretching out my legs from the hill repeats I did on Tuesday, and to prepare my legs for more hills on Thursday.

Thursday's run was just an easy Zone 2 trail run at Rancho again. I took my usual route up Rogue Valley to the top and today I just got to turn right around and head back down. The leaves were noticeably different than the last several runs here. You could tell fall is here, as there were many laves falling or already on the ground. The light coming in through the trees felt different, and the air again cooler.

**This was taken at mile 7 of Sunday's run. This is looking towards Cupertino/San Jose.**

Skipping Friday's trainer ride as it was not much to report, just an hour doing high cadence spinning while keeping my heart rate low. Only good thing about those sessions is that I usually get to watch some crazy YouTuber doing insane stunts and generally just get to zone out for a short bit. 

Saturday however was supposed to be 4 hours of climbing, which got changed to a 3 hour ride with some climbing. Once out on the route and about 45 minutes in my legs were starting to feel more tired than normal. At that point we were about to climb Page Mill road. That is not an easy road to climb, and I made a last minute decision to save my legs for the onslaught they were going to get Sunday for my run. So instead of heading up Page Mill from Altamont, I headed down the hill and stayed on the flats for the rest of my ride.

**On the Quarry Trail loop headed back down the hill toward PG&E trail.**

I made sure to get plenty of rest Saturday night, plus I wore my compression sleeves for several hours after my bike ride to make sure my legs got plenty of recovery. Then before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to run my longest run since 2014. For breakfast I had 2 slices of toast with butter, cinnamon and a sprinkle of brown coconut sugar plus a cup of coffee with oat milk. 

In my backpack today I planned for being out running for about 3 hours. So I brought 1.5 liters of fluids in my 4 bottles that fit nicely in this new pack. I filled 1 liter of that with the Clif Hydration mix I've been using, and the remaining 0.5 liter was plain water. I also brought food for 200 calories an hour plus extra in case I was out longer than expected. Also since this was a new trail for me and quite far from any homes or roads I also packed a small can of pepper spray as I was told the chance of seeing a mountain lion up there is petty good. I also brought a map of the park that I folded and put into a plastic baggie so I can read it without it getting soaking wet from sweat. In the baggie I tossed a couple band aids and some moleskin just in case I got blisters. Last but certainly not least I brought my GoPro. 

The run started off my usual from the car park to the Farm is 1.75 miles, then the course starts to increase in elevation just a slight bit, maybe a 1 or 2% grade. The Rogue trail is where I started, and at mile 2.5 in my run I turned off onto the Chemise trail. Initially it looks steep, but it didn't feel that bad. However at mile 3.5 till mile 5 that trail gets very steep. It was steep enough that I would alternate between fast walking and super short step running. This trail is also very open with no shade until the top, but great views of the Rogue Valley trail and out towards Los Altos and Cupertino.

Once I hit the top of Chamise at the start of the Black Mountain trail connection the trail "flattened" out a bit. But that flatter trail enjoyment didn't last long. It was about mile 5.8 when the trail kicked back up for the next 2.4 unrelenting miles. The steepness of the trail meant that there were many switchbacks, but also at times some pretty amazing views of the South Bay. All these amazing views I'm talking about can be seen in the video just below. 

 

Now the steepest part of the trail was yet to come. At mile 7.5 is when I hit the last section of trail that would lead me up to the top of Black Mountain. To get close to hear by car you would drive to the intersection of Page Mill road and Skyline Boulevard, just to give you an idea of where I was. At my highest point I was at 760 meters up or 2500 feet of elevation. The peak of Black Mountain trail tops out at 850 meters, so you can see I still wasn't even at the top, but for my legs today I was. 

This is where I stopped talked to the camera tying to get a good picture of the steepness of the last section of trail, and just to take in the amazing views from here. At this point I could truly say it was all downhill from there. One the way down I had to take the Quarry loop trail which hooked up with the top of PG& E trail. The Quarry loop trail was really interesting as I felt like I was in a maze. The trail itself was a single track trail, with the brush along the side being only 6feet in height and it just twisted and turned for the next 2 miles. The neat part about this trail is even tough it was narrow, steep and eerily like a corn maze, every now and then you would get a view of the Bay and this day did not disappoint. The sky was so clear and blue and fresh I couldn't help but to turn on the GoPro and try to catch as much as I could. 

**View from the top of my run at 8.1 miles and 2600 feet of elevation, and I'm still not at the top of this trail, it goes up another 200 feet.**

Once I got to the bottom of the trail and back to my car, I had my post workout protein shake ready to guzzle down. I also ended up guzzling down my last 500 mL of water I hadn't drank yet. Note to self need to drink more water during the run, drinking 1 liter for 2 hours and 40 minutes of running is not enough for me.    

For he rest of the day Sunday I keep pretty quiet. My compression sleeves were on for about 3 hours, and I sat with my legs elevated as much as I could. A good hearty meal was also in store for me about 2 hours post end of the run. This lunch consisted of a toasted turkey sandwich with mayo, and a side of romanesco broccoli and cauliflower, sauteed in a butter garlic cream sauce, plus more water.

This week ended my 4 week cycle of building up some decent long miles. Next week will be a rest week, but there will still be plenty of activities.

Week 8, Training for 50K Trail Race

This is the start of week 8, which leaves me with 10 week still me event. I feel confident that things are progressing as they should and that I will be ready for my event on December 5th. 

Week 8 Training Plan: (28th September - 4th October)

Monday: Rest and Recovery, Mobility 30+ minutes.

Tuesday: Bike trainer 30 min, Strength 1 hour, Glute Activation 10 min, Run 3 miles.

Wednesday: Run 8 miles with 1 mile at sub 5k pace, Core strength 30 min.

Thursday: Bike 1 hour focus on cadence and a couple max sprints, Strength 1 hour.

Friday: 5 miles zone 2, Mobility 30 mins.

Saturday: Outdoor team ride 3.5 hours.

Sunday: Trail run 14 miles keeping Zone 2 as best I can with the hills.

One thing I need to take care of this week is a new pair of running shoes. I've already replaced my old trail runners, but now my road shoes are in need of retirement. My current road shoes just topped over 700 miles on them. Most running shoes recommend you change your shoes every 300-600 miles. Since I'm a smaller person and I haven't put mine through too much rain or races they haven't really been overstressed so I kept them a bit longer.

Lucky me, when I find a pair shoe shoes that work for me I generally buy several pairs since I know they change so frequently I hate having to go through the search every 6 months. This means I still have one more pair of Brooks Launch 5's that I can pull out and start using, but that also means I have to start looking for something new. The reason I have to look for something new is that Brooks is currently on version 8 of their Launch shoes. I had bought a pair of their 6's but they turned out to have changed them so much I only used those ones for 200 miles before I gave up. They were too heavy, stiff and the upper was very stiff as well. I was lucky to find a couple more of the version 5's so I ordered all I could get. 

Back to the training for now. Tuesday was fun, it started out with my 30 minutes on the trainer, then I ran out of time and had to get back to work. I ended up doing my 10 minute core program and 3 mile run a bit later in the day, which worked out well since it never got that hot.

Knowing it might get hot on Wednesday and I had an 8 mile run with one of those miles at 5k pace, I really wasn't looking forward to doing that in the heat. But, I got lucky as I ended up having time in the morning at 8:45 to start my run. Oh what a great time to have run as it was only 62 degrees when I started. Even when I finished it was still in the low 60's though you would never know it seeing as I was drenched in sweat. Ick!

The end of the week training got switched around due to my 5 year Wedding Anniversary on Saturday. I knew I wasn't going to be able to manage the 14 mile run on Sunday morning, so we switched the long run to Saturday morning, and the bike ride to Friday. Unfortunately the air quality was terrible on Friday so I ended up having to do a 2 hour indoor trainer session, but I got it in and felt great after. 

Saturday morning I got up late and didn't eat breakfast before my run. Instead I brought breakfast with me and started eating as soon as I started my run. This normally has been fine for my runs up to 12 miles. However, today was not so. At about mile 5 I was already feeling pretty tired compared to how I normally feel on the trails. I do however have to say this week I chose to go up PG&E trail which I haven't done in a way too long. I'd also forgotten how much steeper PG&E is compared to Rogue Valley which I normally ascend. By mile 5.75 it hit the junction between heading back down the Rogue Valley trail and finishing my miles on the flats, or to keep going up the steeper part of PG&E for the next mile and a quarter. Due to feeling tired and possibly under nourished I opted for descending and hitting the flats to finish. This turned out to be a wise choice as I was struggling just to finish my last 2 miles on the flats. In all this was still a great fun and I took some short video clips while out there that you can watch here. 

Sure enough Sunday came along and I was feeling a bit in need of recovery from the previous nights alcohol enjoyment. I planned on doing my final run n the afternoon, but all day I was feeling nauseous and decided to just not push it. Instead I did spend some time doing my mobility routine and that was all I could get in.

With all the mention of Zone 2 training these past few weeks I have decided to write a blog post about what that actually means. If you are interested in reading that, here is the link. 

 

Zone 2 Training For Endurance Sports

You have probably heard a lot lately about how Zone 2, or steady state training is bad for you. When I'm asked that question, I respond with "that depends". Ugh, I know terrible question, but it really does depend on what your goals are. If you are looking to improve your general health and fitness along with your strength and body composition, especially for women, then you bet Zone 2 is not going to be your main focus. However, anyone who has trained for a specific goal or event will have some form of structured training which is based on different training zones. Or more specifically heart rate training zones, and yes Zone 2 is the main one you'll be training in.

These Zones are numbered 1 through 5, and sometimes 5+. While training all the different zones is necessary for performance improvement, Zone 2 training is by far the most important part of the endurance training program. The purpose of each training zone is to elicit specific physiological and metabolic adaptations in order to improve performance, and it's important to know what physiological and metabolic adaptations occur while in each zone and how they can be improved in training. 

To understand this, first we need to have an understanding of basic physiology and muscle metabolism. Oh yeah I said it more Bio-Chem here. If you don't care to read about the wonderful world of bio-chem skip down to the section on How Do You Find Zone 2.

Energy Systems

Three energy systems contribute different amounts towards re-synthesizing the compound Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the "energy currency" of our body. With the help of our mitochondria which processes ATP, this is how we get our muscles to make the contractions for movement. The main energy system we utilize depends on the intensity, type and duration of the exercise being performed, as well as the fuel sources available and the fitness levels of the individual. These systems are also dependent on whether we use oxygen (aerobic) or not (anaerobic). They are:

1. The ATP-CP System (Anaerobic): lasts up to about 10 seconds of very high intensity efforts. An example of this would be doing an explosive Olympic lift, or a 100 meter sprint. The ATP-CP system uses a stored molecule in the muscle called creatine phosphate (CP) to resynthesize ATP. It is the breakdown of this molecule that releases the energy needed to rejoin the ADP and free phosphate to form ATP. This system is anaerobic as it works without oxygen, and does not produce any waste products. This is Zone 5 & 5+

2. The Lactate System (Anaerobic): is the active system used from 30 seconds to 3 minutes of high intensity efforts. An example of this would be doing a set of HIITS, and anything up to about an 800 meter sprint. The Lactate system uses glucose to help create ATP. It breaks down the glucose molecule into pyruvic acid through anaerobic glycolysis (the splitting of sugars). Through this anaerobic glycolysis system chemical energy is released and used to synthesize two ATP molecules for every glucose molecule used.  This is Zone 4.

3. The Aerobic System: this is the active system our body uses to sustain long duration low intensity efforts. Think 5k, 10k and up. This system needs oxygen to be present for the creation of ATP and will use one of three processes (Aerobic glycolysis, Krebs cycle or Electron transport chain feel free to look those up if you are curious) to create it. It's a slow process and thus is it used for lower intensity demands but can continue for long periods of time. This is Zone 1 & 2.

**Found this chart on a Google search, not my own. It gives a good visual of what I was talking about as far as how long each energy system lasts, and that there is some overlap between them.**

Physiological and Metabolic Adaptations of Zone 2 Training

Performing most of your training in Zone 2 will help you build endurance, durability and strength. In addition, these easy training sessions help you...

1. Increase the number and density of your mitochondria - as you know from reading earlier the mitochondria is where the muscle gets it's energy to cause muscle contractions.

2. Increased capillary pathways - means more oxygen carrying capacity, and more ability to keep going.

3. Increase Stroke volume - amount of blood pumped out per beat; more blood means more oxygen and longer duration exercise.

4. Increased Fat burning capability - your body can more easily access the fat and use it for energy.

5. Increased lactate clearance - the mitochondria had the ability to break down the lactate and reuse it.

6. Increased blood plasma - the liquid part of the blood that carries cells and proteins.

7. Allows you to increase your training volume without beating up your body.

How Do You Find You Zone 2

There are a couple ways to calculate your heart rate ranges. If you do not have a heart rate monitor or prefer not to use one, you will have to train by feel. Without the heart rate monitor, you should feel like you can breathe through your nose while you are exercising and you can carry on full sentences. However if you want to have a bit more data, you will need a heart rate monitor. 

One of the best ways to get started with heart rate training is to calculate your heart rate reserve (HRR). First start with gathering the following numbers:

1. Max Heart Rate: 220 - your age = MHR

2. Find your Resting Heart rate (RHR), this is taken immediately when you wake up, before sitting up.

3. Find your Hear Rate Reserve (HRR): Subtracting your Resting Heart Rate from your Max Heart Rate. 

4. Multiply HRR by the Zone percentage you want to calculate, Zone 2 = 65-75%

5. Add back in your RHR to each of the calculated numbers in #4 to get your range for Zone 2.

For the other zones, the ranges are: Zone 3 multiply by 75-85%; Zone 4 multiply by 85-95%; Zone 5 multiply by 95-100%; Zone 5+ anything higher than Zone 5.  

Here is an example: Let's say you are 43 years old, with a resting heart rate is 55 beats per minute.

MHR - RHR = HRR

(HRR x 65%) + RHR = Lower end Zone 2

(HRR x 75%) + RHR = Higher end Zone 2

220 - 43 = 177 MHR

177 - 55 = 122 HRR

122 x 65% = 79.3

122 x 75% = 91.5

79.3 + 55 = 134.3, Zone 2 low end

91.5 + 55 = 146.5, Zone 2 high end

According to this method this person's Zone 2 Heart Rate is 134 to 146 beats. This means in order for this person to train at a Zone 2 training threshold they would need to keep their heart rate in that range, preferably closer to the lower end. Now this isn't the most accurate way to get your zones, but it's the best way for someone new to heart rate training, or just new to training in general. If you are interested in the more advanced method of attaining your actual Zone 2 threshold please feel free to ask me for help.

What About Zone 3?

You may have noticed I did not mention Zone 3 in the energy systems above. The reason is that Zone 3 is this grey area in performance training. Your body uses a mix of Lactate and Aerobic systems, with no specific ratio of either. So when you hang out in the Zone 3 "Grey Zone" your body isn't getting the best adaptations it can due to the mixing of the systems. In this zone you aren't going fast enough to improve speed or power, and you aren't going slow enough to improve the cardiovascular benefits mentioned earlier, plus the recovery time from Zone 3 is much more than Zone 2. 

To wrap things up. Knowing what your heart rate training zones are will benefit you in many ways. It's not just for endurance athletes, but also those trying to keep a good health and fitness routine. So the next time you head out for your workout, make sure you know what the purpose of your training session is, and know what zone or zones you should be working out in. 

Give this a try and let's see how you feel doing your Zone 2 training with these new numbers.