We’ve been discussing how Lactate Threshold trumps Max Heart Rate for Endurance Training (LT over Max HR) and in the last post I explained how to test your Lactate Threshold (Test your LT)

Once you have done the two step test and properly determined your Lactate Threshold you will be able to set your training zones as follows:

• Zone 1 – Recovery: Below 80% lactate threshold
• Zone 2 – Aerobic: 80-90% lactate threshold
• Zone 3 – Tempo: 90-99% lactate threshold
• Zone 4 – Lactate Threshold – 100%-104%
• Zone 5 – VO2 max: 105% – Above lactate threshold

Equip your watch (and connect your heart rate straps) to record data for zone training. 

Re-testing lactate threshold every 2-3 months (depending on the fitness age of the athlete) is required as zones will need adjusting as fitness improves, meaning your field tested data stays accurate and allows for fully robust training sessions. 

As you improve your aerobic fitness, you would expect your average heart rate during a 30 minute lactate threshold time trial to decrease. 

This is because the heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and oxygenating the muscles as cardiovascular fitness increases.

There are a few key reasons why heart rate at lactate threshold pace decreases with training:

• Increased stroke volume – The amount of blood pumped per beat increases, so the heart can deliver more oxygen at a lower heart rate.
• Improved diastolic filling – More blood fills the heart between beats, boosting stroke volume.
• Increased capillary density – More blood vessels in the muscles allow better oxygen extraction.
• Greater mitochondrial density – More cellular mitochondria let muscles utilize oxygen more efficiently.
• Enhanced fat burning – Greater reliance on fat metabolism and less on limited glycogen stores.

The cumulative effect is that the cardiovascular system can sustain a given pace with less effort and lower heart rate.

So if you see your lactate threshold heart rate dropping over time, it’s a good sign you are building robust cardiovascular fitness.

In last week’s conversation I discussed why Lactate threshold is a better guide than maximum heart rate for heart rate run training.  

In a nutshell it’s becuase it gives you a more personalized and accurate measure of your aerobic capacity.

As promised, this week I’m going to lay out a simple way to test your lactate threshold on your own, meaning you need no fancy equipment (beyond your watch and ideally a heart rate chest strap for better accuracy) or a coach to deep dive into a load of data and do a lot of analysis.

The method I am going to explain here is not the only one, but it is the most accurate I have found for an athlete to do by themselves.

The Incremental Step Test

1) Complete an easy 10 minute warm up.

2) Run progressively faster 1/2 mile intervals, starting easy and increasing the pace each mile and take note of your average heart rate during each mile

Aim for a pace increase of 30 seconds per interval.

Take a short break between intervals to allow your heart rate to come down.

When you start to struggle to complete an interval or your heart rate stops increasing with increased effort, you are nearing lactate threshold.

The interval before you start struggling is around your lactate threshold pace and heart rate.

For example, if you struggled to complete the 7:30 pace interval but the 8:00 pace felt sustainable, your threshold is around an 8:00 mile pace. If your average heart rate during that 8:00 mile interval was 158, then your lactate threshold is 158.

You then confirm this by running a 30 minute time trial at your lactate threshold heart rate.

If you can sustain it for 30 minutes, it’s likely a valid measure of your lactate threshold.

Only do this test after a full period of recovery. If you try to go off to soon you will skew the data.

I advise doing this as a two day process, following a full rest day with the Incremental Test on day 1 and the Time Trail on day 2.

Retest every few months as your fitness improves. Using lactate threshold for training helps target the right intensities to build your endurance and speed.

Lactate threshold is a better guide than maximum heart rate for heart rate run training because it gives you a more personalized and accurate measure of your aerobic capacity.

As you exercise harder, lactic acid builds up in your muscles and bloodstream.

Lactate threshold is the exercise intensity where this buildup rapidly accelerates.

For most runners, this occurs between 80-90% of maximum heart rate.

The problem with just using max heart rate for training is that it varies widely between individuals based on factors like genetics and fitness level.

So a heart rate that’s 80% max for one runner could be too easy or too hard for another.

Lactate threshold is a more functional measure of your ability to work aerobically.

Knowing your lactate threshold heart rate zone allows you to tailor your training to target the ideal intensity for building endurance – hard enough to challenge your body, but not so hard that you’re wheezing or struggling.

Using lactate threshold for heart rate training helps optimize development of your aerobic system.

Previously I gave a little bit of insight into my Coaching Ethos and Athlete Philosophy and my 5 golden rules.

I’m diving a little bit deeper in to each one in separate posts. So far I’ve discussed Rule #1 Control the Controllable, #2 Find the Positive, #3 Focus on You and #4 100% Effort.

Time for the last piece of the Mindset puzzle…

#5 – Extreme Ownership

Hands up, this one isn’t mine. I stole it from Jocko Willink, ex Navy Seal.

If you haven’t heard of him or heard of his theory of Extreme Ownership before do yourself a favour and look it up. He has many YouTube clips, there is a short 13 minute TedxTalk and he has actually published a book called Extreme Ownership and it is 100% worth a read, or a listen.

In a nutshell Extreme Ownership means having a unwavering “the buck stops here” attitude.

It means owning your failures and your mistakes. It means never looking for someone else to blame, even if other people did contribute to the situation.

Why? Because when we own our problems we find solutions. When we take ownership we get shit done.

Ultimately you are responsible for your life. If you want to be a success, take full responsibility.

Stop blaming the fact you are tired, you are busy blah blah blah.
Most people are tired, most people are busy. You aren’t so different, your circumstances arent all that special.
You are just getting in your own way.

If it is something worth chasing, find a way to make it happen. It might look a little different to how you thought it would but if it works, it’s working.

If you want to truly be the best version of you, it’s time to take

#ExtremeOwnership

Previously I gave a little bit of insight into my Coaching Ethos and Athlete Philosophy and my 5 golden rules.

I’m diving a little bit deeper in to each one in separate posts. So far I’ve discussed Rule #1 Control the Controllable, #2 Find the Positive and #3 Focus on You.

Time for…

#4 – 100% Effort

This should be the easiest of all the rules to absorb and commit to quickly.

If you can’t you are, for whatever reason, just not fully ready for the journey yet.

It doesn’t require any deep mindset practice or any great amount of thought… and really, is pretty self explanatory!

It simply requires you to show up and do what it required, giving your true best effort every time, all the time.

It means never dialling it in. It means not cutting a warm up, a RAMP, an interval, a set/rep or a piece of mobility as they all have value and meaning and are there to make you better.

It means not looking for the shortcut or quick fix as you know such things don’t exist. True champions know this all too well.

100% effort means just that. 100% effort. In EVERY aspect of your life that requires it in order for you to achieve your goals. In sport and in life.  

Everyone has a different level of ability which means that your 100% and mine may look a little, or a lot different. That does make one less valuable than the other  – and if you have truly taken on board rule 3, Focus on You, you won’t be aware or concerned about what anyone else is doing anyway!

It comes back to ‘better athlete = better person’. 100% effort means having integrity and doing the work, regardless of who is watching as you know that it has to be done.

If you want to be the best you, you will do the work. All of the work.

It’s that simple.

#100%Effort

Previously I gave a little bit of insight into my Coaching Ethos and Athlete Philosophy and my 5 golden rules.

I’m diving a little bit deeper in to each one in separate posts. so far we have covered Rule #1 Control the Controllable and Rule #2 Find the Positive.

Time for…

#3 – Focus on YOU

This can be the hardest one for some athletes to get.

It sound simple but in a world of social media and Strava (Social media for sport) there are a thousand and one distractions.

It is one of the reasons I advise all my athletes to leave the facebooks groups etc at least two weeks before their events. Those places become a drain and if you have trained right, they are not needed. They mostly just become a source of anxiety and annoyance – not great for building the right headspace to head into an event with.

Thanks to the ability now to constantly see what everyone else is up to, you can be fooled in to thinking that your goal is to go faster than other people.

It isn’t. Your only goal is to go as fast as YOU can go.

You are put in a start pen, or on a starting line, against other athletes but your job is not to race them. It is to be the best that you can be.

I get so much push back from athletes when I tell them I want them to come off Strava. “I like seeing what others are doing” “I’m only looking at ‘X’” are common replies.

If you are focusing on other people, you are not 100% focussed on yourself. And that means wasted time and wasted energy.

My most successful athletes are the athletes that really buy into this way of thinking.

Their only focus is on their pacing, their Heart Rate zones, their FTP, their preparation etc. They don’t engage with other people about what they are doing in their training as it is of no concern to them.

This doesn’t mean they don’t support others. It is not about being selfish or shut off. It doesn’t mean they don’t want the best for their fellow athletes. They do. They just don’t need to see the numbers or hear about the details.

As their coach, I need to know the numbers. I am data driven when planning their training. I need to know what results we are aiming for. But thats another part of what a great coach will do for you. They will unburden you of all the noise and distraction and build you the stage on which you can rise to your true, full potential. You just have to want to perform.

If you are still looking all around you at what others are doing, you are just not there yet. You are not really ready.

If your focus is anywhere but on your own capacity and capability you will never reach your true best.

So cut the noise and cut the distractions.

If you want to become Great stop competing with others and start only competing with yourself.

#FocusOnYou

The Week leading up to your Race

As you are heading into your race week your training phase will be Competition Phase. 

During the Competition Phase your macronutrient intake will switch slightly to slowly increase your carbohydrates and fully build your glycogen stores. 

During the Prep Phases you will most likely sit somewhere around a 40%P, 30%C, 30%F split (as a guide) as we are looking to build lean muscle to increase power and speed as well as maintaining a strong base of muscular endurance and cardio ability. 

In Competition Phase the split will be a little more carb heavy to ensure you are properly and fully fuelled for racing. Not the best for body composition but that’s not the concern now as that work has been done

A Competition phase will look more like 25%P, 50-55%C, 20-25%F (again as a guide, each athlete will have there individual needs). 

Do not leave your carb loading until the night before and just eat all the carbs thinking you’ll be good… you won’t be! 

Best Carbohydrate Sources

Increasing carb intake should be done smartly, using the best sources possible to maximise your results. 

You don’t want to smash the chips, crisps and pizza thinking “hey, it’s carb loading!” 

You want to include foods that are low on the Glycemic Index, especially the closer to race day you get as these are broken down more slowly in the body and do not cause spikes in blood sugar. 

Some of the best food choices are:
Bananas
Berries
Brown Rice or Quinoa
Yogurt
Oats 

Avoid Food that causes inflammation

This sounds obvious but some people are not aware of the inflammatory actions of some foods. As you approach race day you want to reduce and ideally eliminate your intake of all these bad boys.  

Biggest Offenders are:

Red Meat and Processed Meat
Refined Grains including White Bread/Rice/Pasta and a lot Breakfast Cereals
Snack Foods such as Crisps, Cookies, Pastries etc
Dairy Products 
Fried Food
Anything with added sugar
Soda and Sweetened Drinks
Alcohol

Previously I gave a little bit of insight into my Coaching Ethos and Athlete Philosophy and my 5 golden rules.

I’m diving a little bit deeper in to each one in separate posts. Last week was Rule #1 Control the Controllable

This week it’s Rule #2

Number 2) Find the Positive

Like the first Golden Rule, this one takes a lot of practice and commitment. You can’t just wake up one day and change your mindset. It takes work.

Finding the Positive, like Control the Controllable, means embracing the Stoic way of thinking and controlling your reaction to situations.

As an Endurance Athlete finding the positive is crucial to success.

You are going to have bad races. You are very likely going to experience a DNF. You are very likely going to get injured at some point.

Endurance events are tough. You are going to spend a lot of time feeling beaten up and wondering “why the hell am I doing this”  

How you handle being placed in tough situations, as well as dealing with the lows,  are what is going to make you as an athlete.

Race DNF – sure it sucks, but what went well.

Why did you DNF? What can you learn?
I had a mechanical failure very early on the bike leg at an Ironman, which was my first DNF ever. It was devastating BUT I had a great swim. I took that away with me. Attempt 1 done… live it, learn it… head back for Attempt 2. Yay, I get swim in the gorgeous lake again.

Injured – yep, its annoying for sure but injuries are opportunities.

Can you train around it?

Yes, then let’s go and it might be the chance to work on a new strength or skill!

No, ok great. Then you now have a bunch of time to devote to developing a different skill that will help you become a better athlete, and a better person.  

Jocko Wilink, ex Navy Seal, calls his take on this theory ‘“Good”.

Whatever happens, the response is “Good”

Didn’t get the promotion you wanted.

Good. It gives you more time to sharpen your skillset and become better in your current role.

Can’t afford that fancy piece of equipment you wanted.

Good. It gives you more time to become a savage using the basic things you have available.

As I said, this one isn’t easy but it is worth it.

People love to complain. People love to make excuses… but those people are the  ones content with being average at best.

If you want to rise up, you will find the positive and say “Good”

#FindThePositive

In a previous blog I gave a little bit of insight into my Coaching Ethos and Athlete Philosophy and my 5 golden rules.

I’m going to dive a little bit deeper in to each one, starting here with Rule Number 1

Number 1) Control the Controllable

Only certain things are within our control. If it isn’t something you have any say over, forget it. Only expend energy on the things that you can directly influence.

My personal belief system and ethics are shaped by philosophies and teachings of Buddhism and Stoicism.

At the heart of Stoicism is the understanding that the only thing we can truly control is our reaction to the things that happen. If we can learn to control our reactions and remain steady there is no situation that can either completely undo us or over inflate us.

It doesn’t mean not feeling joy or celebrating the wins. It also doesn’t mean never feeling sad, angry or let down.

What it does mean is learning to control those emotions so that they don’t overtake your life and screw you up.

Learning this lesson as an athlete can help set you free and elevate your performance.

Weather looks bad on race day – nothing you can do about it and it’s the same for everyone. What can you control? Having the right kit. Practising in all conditions throughout your training so you know how it feels.

Can you actually turn this into an advantage? Going to a hit race? So many people underperform in heat – can you heat train? I did some of my turbo sessions in front of my fire in my living room, in a hat and long sleeves to prepare for the weather in Spain)

Forgot a piece of kit, maybe a piece of clothing or nutrition – What can you do about it? Is ranting, swearing, getting stressed out helpful? Absolutely not. So what can you do? Do you have time to source something? Can others around you possibly help? If not, whats the best case scenario.

At an Ironman event this year someone got to the swim having left their wetsuit back at their hotel. They spoke to the IM announcers. The announcers asked over the PA system if anyone had a spare wetsuit and within 5 minutes that athlete had their pick of 4 wetsuits!

These are just two examples.

Anyone that knows my story from IronMan Vitoria Gastiez in 2022 knows that I came up against obstacle after obstacle in a race that ended in a mechanical DNF 20km into the bike.
Without all of the work I have done on my mindset over the last 5 years that situation probably would have broken me, especially as that race was 4 years in the making.

Yes I got upset. Yes I was bitterly disappointed. But I was also making a plan for my come back before the first athletes had even crossed the finish line that same day.

Another big lesson – Its only failure if you give up completely. Otherwise, it’s just an attempt.

For me, that race was merely attempt 1. I hadn’t failed yet. Attempt 2 was July this year, one year later, and I finished that damned race!

Whatever situation you face…

#ControlTheControllable