Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers

“Athletes who overuse high-intensity training methods will usually have a low AeT because their aerobic metabolism has become detrained while the anaerobic metabolic pathway has become very powerful.”

“Strength is largely a neurologic quality while endurance is largely a metabolic quality. Restating this: Strength depends on the brain’s ability to recruit the greatest number of muscle fibers for a task. Endurance depends on the rate of metabolic turnover of ATP molecules. We use the modifier largely above because these two qualities overlap and are interdependent in endurance sports.”

“In the majority of endurance-trained athletes, the AeT corresponds to the point where the blood lactate concentration has risen modestly (1mMol/L) above a baseline reading to a value of about 2mMol/L.”

“While genetic gifts play the dominant role in preselecting who is going to be good at power and speed sports, perseverance and the ability to suffer are the hallmarks of the successful endurance athlete. No wonder endurance sports appeal to the type A personalities for whom more equates to better. A question we often get is, “Just how much is enough?” That is an impossible one to answer. What might not even count as much of a warm-up for Kílian, something he would do before breakfast on a recovery day, might overload others. It all depends on your capacity for this type of work.”

“AeT (top of Z2) and the LT (top of Z3). This gives the broad separation of the aerobic zones (Z1 and Z2) for easy to moderate training from the anaerobic zones (Z4 and Z5) where training is very hard and of shorter duration. This leaves Z3 in the middle as hard training.”

“The Oxygen-Delivery System”

“in a serious way, but don’t take it too seriously. Train well, but don’t make it your whole world. It shouldn’t feel like an obligation. That’s when it starts to be a problem. I train because I enjoy it.”

“Eventually the lactate removal rate can’t keep pace with the lactate production rate. This point is normally referred to as the LT. It represents the maximum intensity at which lactate levels will remain elevated but stable for up to an hour at a time. Above this intensity, lactate levels climb quickly and the athlete will eventually be forced to slow down.”

“En casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo.” (In the blacksmith’s house, a wooden knife.)”

“A – means you felt like Superman and had plenty in reserve. B – means it was a good workout. You completed the task with no problem. C – means you did the workout but felt flat or off. D – means you could not finish the planned workout or had to reduce it. F – means you could not train that day due to fatigue or illness.”

“​Capacity Training: Training that improves the long-term performance potential of the athlete. Capacity Training is commonly prioritized during the Base Period. This training acts to improve the fundamental qualities needed to support participation in the event itself and Utilization Training. As such, it is often not sport specific. ​Utilization Training: Training that improves the near-term performance results of the athlete. Utilization Training is commonly prioritized during the build-up to the competition period or the targeted event. This training models the specific demands of the event an athlete is training for.”

“You will never maximize your endurance potential without first maximizing your basic aerobic capacity (AeT).”

“much capacity is sufficient? When you’ve raised your AeT to be within 10 percent (elite athletes can have a Z3 spread of 6–7 percent or only 10 beats) of your LT as measured by either heart rate or pace. With more than a 10 percent spread between thresholds, an athlete still has aerobic deficiency and needs to build more aerobic base. Those who have less than a 10 percent spread between thresholds will need to reduce or even drop Z2 training, substituting Z3 workouts. Here’s how to do the 10 percent test: Determine your AeT using one of the methods described on pages 152 to 155 (AeT Testing). Then do the LT test (see page 155). Calculate the percentage difference between the AeT heart rate and the LT heart rate by dividing the higher heart rate by the lower heart rate. We know this is not the conventional way to calculate percentage, but it works well for our purposes. Example: Suppose your AeT heart rate is 128 as determined by a laboratory test. Your LT hill-climb test shows an average heart rate of 150. 150/128 = 1.17. This shows that the LT heart rate is 17 percent greater than the AeT heart rate. You still have a lot of potential to improve your aerobic base with Z1–2 and should not be too eager to move to adding Z3 or higher intensity yet. ZONE”

“The best way to decide how much emphasis you still need to place on basic aerobic fitness versus adding more high-intensity endurance training is to refer back to the Ten Percent Test (see page 91). If the difference between your AeT and LT (in terms of heart rate) is 10 percent or less, you should include up to two weekly high-intensity aerobic endurance sessions in your Base Period. If your AeT-to-LT spread is greater than 10 percent, delay the introduction of Zone 3 workouts and limit the higher-intensity workouts to no more than once a week.”

“A good rule of thumb is that if you have more than two Cs in a row, or a C and D within one week, you need to stop and assess what is going on.”

“The book The Roll Model by Jill Miller is a masterpiece on how to use the ball-rolling techniques to speed recovery and treat chronic musculoskeletal problems”