Aerobic Training for Trail Runners

I began my endurance career in the sport of triathlon. With long term plans of finishing an Ironman, I set forth on a quest to 1) Learn how to swim 2)Purchase, learn, and become good at cycling 3) Train properly for Iron distance races.

When I started training, I had no idea what I was doing. I "finished" all my races, but is that all we strive for? Definitely not....I got faster and more efficient over the next couple years but something still wasn't clicking quite yet.  By the time I toed the line at Ironman Arizona in 2006, I knew I would finish the race and finish strong. Honestly, I hadn't changed that much physically, but I had learned more about training my body for endurance. Well, I had only started learning about how important efficiency was in aerobic conditioning.

I grew away from triathlon mostly because of the monetary expense and challenge of three disciplines (swim bike run). I moved into ultramarathon and found myself training for footraces that could take all day or several days. Through endurance training for ultrarunning, I learned what it was all about.

I went back to my training roots this year and bought Dr. Phil Maffetone's, "Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing." To some degree, I feel like I'm posting my secrets of success in talking about this...but, nobody reads my blog anyway! So, here it is...

Maffetone heart rate training is all about aerobic base building. By concentrating on efficiency through lower heart rate training, your body become more efficient at burning fat as fuel. This is counter to what most people do in training "Pain = Gain." Pain does not mean gain in the sports of endurance.....pain means your injured or wearing your body down.

First of all, I am a firm believer in Maffetone's suggestions for training longer at lower heart rate zones.  My break-throughs in endurance came about 5 years ago when I started using a heart race monitor to keep my HR down. I gradually increased my distances and maintained that lower heart rate (Maffetone refers to it as "Maximum Aerobic Function" MAF). Over time, I ran longer distances (20-50 miles) with lower heart rates. I then found I could run a higher pace at a lower heart rate, or run uphill at lower heart rates...I didn't go anaerobic unless I was in competition.

Imagine running next to your training partner.....he/she is running the same pace as  you but working much harder to do so. Over a few miles, your calm breathing and lower heart rate will sustain you while your training partner starts tapping into the limited anaerobic bucket. It doesn't take long before your training partner exhausts them self and is forced to slow down or walk at which point their aerobic capacity is once again used to fuel them. You would experience the same thing if you ran faster or climbed harder and raised your HR to the point of your training partner. This is an example of what proper aerobic conditioning might do for you on a typical training run.

Using Maffetone HR training with gradual increased duration......not intensity, will yield powerful results for the endurance runner. The same benefits would be found for a cyclist....although, I believe modifications are necessary to build speed in the swim. Mostly, I am comfortable speaking on the value of this training for mountain running because I experience it year after year.

In the beginning of my training season, I will jog on flat terrain. I gradually move, over a few weeks, into jogging easy/moderate hills.  I then jog the easy/moderate hills and start throwing in a few hard hikes. I then sprinkle in the flat terrain runs, (which are run faster without any more effort).  By doing this build gradually, and maintaining the 'effortless' model of low HR, I find myself running mountains effortlessly within a few months.

Within a few months, a standard training day for me, before work, entails about 15 miles of mountain running at 5-7,000'. I will cover 3500-4000' of elevation gain. The trails are rugged and varied...the features change day to day. I consume 40-50oz electrolyte fluid, 400 cal during through bars/gels, and drink liquid protein immediately upon finishing for recovery.  By building up, training within MAF, consumption before/during/after, and mitigating injuries, I can build up to a comfortable 90-120mi/week mountain miles.

After a few months, there is no limit to the time I can train on one day. I can comfortably do 5-8hr training runs with mileages of 30-40 miles. The secret is not me...I'm not superman and either are the other ultrarunners. The secret, for me, is what I posted above....managing a low heart rate and your nutrition/hydration over longer and longer distances. Gradually increase the challenge of the terrain and allow the body to adapt....it is not about intensity, but only about duration and management of this "effortless" work. Nutritional recovery, however, is a requirement if you intend to run back to back runs of this level.

A thought crossed my mind the other day as I was training.  It is that, "Training for endurance is not about working...it is about NOT working."

Said another way, if you are running....and you feel as though you are starting to work hard, then back off. Tune into to your breath and heart rate....and if you feel as though your effort is increasing, you simply need to slow down and regain that control. Build the aerobic engine.....it will provide the efficiency you will need to run farther, faster...

Let me know your thoughts....

Run long...

jerry