It is now February and hopefully you have been training consistently over the past 2-3 months. I am frequently asked, shouldn’t I be doing lots of long aerobic miles and avoiding any higher intensities in order to build my aerobic base for the season. The answer to that question….sometimes yes…sometimes no. You can’t just go out and start doing long miles without building up to it.
First, with time constraints, cold weather, limited daylight and the fact that the volume of training through November and December is mostly likely lower – long aerobic miles just don’t make sense for most athletes.
Second, if you are starting back from a long layoff, just beginning or coming back from illness, injury or “burnout” you will need to do all lower intensity aerobic training but hardly any of it long (see Short Slow Distance). By long, I mean a bike ride of at least 2 hours – but most likely longer than 3 hours or a run of at least 1 hour – but most likely longer than 90 minutes.
Starting to build up to one weekly session of this length IS appropriate for this time of year. Building conservatively and gradually is important – no more than 10% per week. Unless you are training for longer, ultra-distance events (i.e., 5 or more hours) or multiple-day events and have the training time available – once every 1-3 weeks should be fine. Try to build to at least 80-85% and possibly as much as 110% of the actual time that you expect your event to take. Even if your event is far less than 1 hour you will still benefit from a run of 60-90 minutes and a bike ride or 2-3 hours, occasionally.
Your base training period IS when you want to build your aerobic capacity and strength to its maximum levels for the upcoming season. Don’t get me wrong, putting in 80 mile run weeks and 400 mile bike weeks will do just that. However, long intervals and hill repeats reaching about 90-95% of your maximum effort or VO2 max pace will do the job in far less time – and with far less risk of injury. Hill repeats will also build strength for both cycling and running. Another bonus – efforts on hills will make it “mentally” easier to reach that higher end intensity than doing them on the flats. The length of the intervals or repeats should be about 3 to 6 minutes. Recovery between intervals should be complete and allow your heart rate to drop below about 60% of your maximum heart rate.The key to this training is that the efforts are progressive, building efforts. Your pace and heart rate should gradually get higher throughout the first 2 to 3 minutes and then “open it up” for the last 1 to 2 minutes. These efforts are primarily “aerobic” but it tap into your “anaerobic” energy systems as well. Your heart will be pumping a lot more blood – per beat – particularly during the recoveries. You will be training your body to utilize more oxygen and consequently, raise your VO2 Max . (This is the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in and actually use during exercise. The higher your VO2 max, the higher your aerobic capacity and the more you have to work with. Think of it as the size of your engine.) As your fitness builds you can lengthen the intervals and the amount of time you can maintain that high end pace and heart rate. When you are really fit it is possible to maintain your VO2 max pace for up to about 10-12 minutes.
How often should you do this type of training? Well, that depends too. The maximum frequency for cycling or swimming could be 4 times per week but typically 1 to 3. The maximum frequency for running could be 3 times per week but typically 1 to 2. Your personal strengths, weaknesses and available training time will play a role in how much of this training should and can be done. REMEMBER, put more energy into overcoming your weaknesses NOW and sharpen up your strengths LATER as you get closer to your racing season.
