How Do Endurance Runners Actually Train - Relationship with Competition Performance

Purpose: To quantify the relationship between total training load and running performance during the most important competitions of the season (national cross-country championships, 4.175- and 10.130-km races). Methods: Eight well-trained, subelite endurance runners (age (mean ± SD): 23 ± 2 yr; VO2max: 70.0 ± 7.3 mL•kg-1•min-1) performed a maximal cardiorespiratory exercise test before the training period to determine ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation threshold (RCT). Heart rate was continuously recorded using telemetry during each training session over a 6-month macrocycle, designed to achieve peak performance during the aforementioned cross-country races, lasting from late August to the time that these races were held, that is, mid-February. This allowed us to quantify the total cumulative time spent in three intensity zones calculated as zone 1 (low intensity, lower than the VT); zone 2 (moderate intensity, between VT and RCT); and zone 3 (high intensity, above the RCT). Results: Total training time in zone 1 (4581 ± 979 min) was significantly higher (P