How do I know if my endurance training is working?

Calling all endurance athletes....in this post I will be writing about a technique that is often used to evaluate how well your endurance training is working, an evaluation workout of sorts.

Basically, the main premise behind endurance is to persist, to resist fatigue. Good endurance fitness is established by pushing your aerobic fitness and improving your economy (mechanics).

When you have a lousy run because you are fatigued from recent training, this fatigue will manifest itself in reduced aerobic power and running economy...this can actually be measured through changes in the way your heart rate responds. You will see a higher heart rate than normally seen at a given pace, sure sign you are not recovered from the previous workout....i.e. your body has to work harder to produce the power to keep you at the given pace mostly due to poor running economy. This phenomenon is applied to the endurance training evaluation workout and is typically referred to as decoupling.

During long runs at a steady pace your heart rate will remain consistent for a while and then begin to slowly increase due to decreasing mechanical efficiency. The affect is known as decoupling. As your endurance increases, you will be able to go longer at a given pace before your heart rate and pace become decoupled, and the degree of decoupling will decrease.

The Endurance Training Evaluation Workout Protocol:

For long runs over an hour, split the run into two equal halves of distance. For each half determine average speed and average heart rate. Use the average speed and heart rate for each half to determine a speed/heart rate ratio. Then determine the percent difference between the two halves speed/heart rate ratios. This percent difference is referred to as the decoupling ratio. The goal is to have a decoupling ratio less than 5%, those that are below 5% are considered to be welled trained endurance athletes.

Here is an example:

- First half average speed was 8.1 mph and average heart rate was 140 bpm.
- Second half average speed was 8.0 mph and average heart rate was 145 bpm.
- First half speed/heart rate ratio was (8.1/140) = 0.058;
- Second half speed/heart rate ratio was (8.0/145) = 0.055;
- The percent difference between the two, the decoupling ratio, is ((0.058-0.055)/0.058)x100 = 5.2%
- In this case greater emphasis on endurance training is needed until the decoupling ratio falls below 5%.

For all you endurance athletes out there, give this evaluation a try on your next long run to see where you are at with your endurance fitness. I hate to say this, but a treadmill is the perfect place for this evaluation as your environment is as consistent as it could be for both halves of the run and forces a very steady pace.

That's all for now. Stay tuned...Dr. Tabata is coming for a visit. Some of you know what I am talking about. In a future posts I will discuss the Tabata Protocol....4 minutes of hell!!

Later
Mikey