How do you improve VO2 Max?

• givetallugot

  I know that having a high V02 Max is a good thing for distance runners because your blood is able to carry more oxygen to the running muscles.
  
  So, how do you improve V02 Max? Are tempo (threshold) runs and interval workouts the best method? How does lactic acid relate to VO2 Max?
  
  I've done a little research and have read Jack Daniel's book, but I still don't know if I understand it correctly. Please tell me if I'm right or wrong and please elaborate on my explanation.
  
  Your muscles need oxygen during exercise. The more oxygen your blood can deliver to your muscles, the better. Jack Daniel's said that tempo(threshold) runs and interval runs are the best way to increase V02 Max because you are running at a level close to maximum oxygen consumption.
  
  Daniel's classifies TEMPO RUNS (Threshold runs) as comfortably hard runs lasting 20-60 minutes at 88-92% of MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) and Intervals as repeated runs up to 5 minutes in duration at 98-100% of MHR. There are also easy runs (recovery runs) and repetition workouts (400 repeats) which are faster (but shorter in distance) than interval workouts and sometimes at race pace or faster.
  
  So am I correct in saying that tempo runs and interval workouts do a better job of increasing your VO2 Max as opposed to easy running and repetition workouts?
  
  How often should I be doing each type of workout (tempo and interval) during summer training if you factor in long runs and easy runs?
  
  Also, does having a higher VO2 Max help to better eliminate lactic acid?
• givetallugot

  OK. I figured out that tempo (threshold) pace is the pace at which your body burns and refuels lactic acid equally. If you run more runs at this pace you will increase V02 Max?
• givetallugot

  So two runners could have the sam V02 but have a different VVO2? What would be the reason for this?
  
  This is my third week of running after taking a week off. I did 30 miles, 42, and am going to do 50 this week. Then 50, 50, 60, 60, 60, 70, 70, 70, 80. I race Lou Cox and Strawberry festival in a couple of weeks. Ater that I'll focus on increasing mileage while also incorporating some 20-30 min threshold runs. I'm just doing normal runs right now at about 6:45-7 minute mile pace.
• givetallugot

  Nice article. Article said training at LT or faster than LT (interval or I-pace) will imrpove LT. Does this in turn improve V02 Max? Do they go hand in hand?
• said_aouita

  

  A couple interesting links- At least I think they are interesting. 609 prob' does not...
  
  http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=440141
  The above is a long thread which Bob Schul left a comment on page two. I think it's an interesting read which ya may enjoy give.
  
  and
  
  http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2010/02/interval-training-why-its-misunderstood.html
• givetallugot

  said- we did the Bob Schul stuff under Rohrer when he coached me for two years. We did 160s, 200s, 300s, and 400s at different paces. There was Fresh (easy), up-tempo, good, and build (a combination of all 3). If we did a build for a 400, we sould do the first 1/3 fresh, the next 1/3 up-tempo, and the last 1/3 good. It felt good to change and increase the pace.
  
  One of the misconceptions is that we did low mileage. We didn't do high mileage, but we didn't do low mileage either. We had a long run every week of 10-14 miles, a 15-20 minute threshold run once every two weeks, two grass track interval workouts a week with a lot of reps, an easy run or two, and a day off before the meet. Before workouts we got in a 1.5 mile warmup and we also got in a mile cooldown. That would add up. We also did a lot of mileage that summer so we could focus on speed.
  
  The workouts were somewhat difficult, but you felt good after finishing them. As Coach Rohrer always say, "You'll be tired after the workout, but you won't be wasted." lol
• said_aouita

  

  givetallugot wrote: said- we did the Bob Schul stuff under Rohrer when he coached me for two years. We did 160s, 200s, 300s, and 400s at different paces. There was Fresh (easy), up-tempo, good, and build (a combination of all 3). If we did a build for a 400, we sould do the first 1/3 fresh, the next 1/3 up-tempo, and the last 1/3 good. It felt good to change and increase the pace.
  
  One of the misconceptions is that we did low mileage. We didn't do high mileage, but we didn't do low mileage either. We had a long run every week of 10-14 miles, a 15-20 minute threshold run once every two weeks, two grass track interval workouts a week with a lot of reps, an easy run or two, and a day off before the meet. Before workouts we got in a 1.5 mile warmup and we also got in a mile cooldown. That would add up. We also did a lot of mileage that summer so we could focus on speed.
  
  The workouts were somewhat difficult, but you felt good after finishing them. As Coach Rohrer always say, "You'll be tired after the workout, but you won't be wasted." lol

  Was the 1.5 miles your warm up before the "Schul" workouts? What did you do in between sets under Rohrer?
  I loved 160s. Those things could make ya puke! Practically zero recovery. How many 400s did you do under Rohrer? Did Rohrer ever unexpectedly have ya do an all out 400m at the end of a workout?
• said_aouita

  

  ccrunner609 wrote: I wish I would of made that drive down to Milton with Reggie or Ryan to witness some of this Schul stuff.

  A few memorable Saturday workouts I'll never forget. Some good karma at that track. Even though it was faster when red.
• givetallugot

  Said- Yeah, we would do the 1.5 mile warm-up before the interval workouts or before tempo/threshold runs. We ran it on a grass track. Between sets we would do a 400 recovery jog. You were always moving in the workouts. Instead of stopping between intervals and sets, you would be doing recovery jogs which added to the total distance. We would do about 3-5 all out 400s on the Tuesday workout and maybe 1-2 on the Thursday workout. The Tuesday workout was the main workout of the week and the Thursday workout was an easier version.
  
  CC- Yeah, we did laddar workouts sometimes. Usually we had 3-4 sets. It might be 160s, 200s, 400s, 200s (Tuesday) or 200s, 300s, 160s (Thursday)
• said_aouita

  

  givetallugot wrote: Said- We would do about 3-5 all out 400s on the Tuesday workout and maybe 1-2 on the Thursday workout.

  Holy cow! I was guessing maybe an all out 400m thrown in unexpectedly once a month.
  
  (edit) ya ya ya....go ahead and "LOL" me 609.
  Give- In between sets was it steady jogging or strides? Here it comes....any back ward strides?
• GORUN

  ccrunner you think schul's whole philosphy has something to do with lactate threshold... i was thinking about it the other day... in his sessions you would keep your heart rate sub-maximal for like 2-3 hours, so therefore you wouldn't be killing yourself, however you would sustain, well i wouldn't use the word sustain but my vocabulary is rather poor so you would keep your heart rate at a general level of what 85% ish and it would probably go from 90% to 80% ideally? am i pretty close on that? and then thrown in that your running sub race pace the legs will get used to that pace therefore making the neuromuscular system stronger as well? am i close? said did ya ever wear a heart rate monitor for one of those workouts i'd love to see how that worked out... and what your average heart rate was for the whole thing, i'd guess that if you had a heart rate max of 200 you'd average around what 170-175... which would be ideal if your trying to work your threshold...
• said_aouita

  

  I wish I could have worn a HR monitor for Schul's workouts. Remember digital watches were still considered new technology in my day.
• givetallugot

  Said- We did both. After an easy set we would do strides and after a hard set we would do a 400 recovery jog. I don't recall doing any backwards running.
  
  We would have fun with these workouts. We would always try to guess what the next set would consist of. I liked doing builds (accelerations), where we would go fresh first 100, up tempo next 100, and good the last 100. I would always make some surges when I raced, especially in track. Those builds might have brought it out of me.