VO2max Booster Completed

it's now two days after finishing the VO2max Booster Program and i'm actually finding the thought of just going out for an easy run hard to fathom. especially considering the rain that is falling outside.

while i haven't run a test to check out if i gained fitness (improved VO2) i'm definitely feeling fitter as a result of the intensive 14 day training block. from start to finish the workouts actually started feeling easier and on the last day i even needed to up the pace during the final 30-30s session to try and max out rather than quit because of boredom.

ok i'll give a brief overview of my day to day while on the program.

day 1: skipped the 5min VO2max test scheduled and used my VO2max speed (3:20 pace) taken from my physiological test results conducted at the NSW Institute of Sport. next time (yes thinking about repeating this program in two weeks) i'll run the test to get a picture of my current physical status.

during the week (monday to friday) i also included a 8-15km easy run maintaining a HR effort below 75%max.

day 2 (wednesday) - before commencing this program i had already ran the previous three days with moderate-high intervals.

20min warmup, 10 x (30+30sec), 30min easy

Got through the warmup feeling good and when it came time to run the intervals for mathematical ease i extended the interval from 30sec to 200m so that i didn't have to constantly look at my watch. ran all intervals around 40sec and the recovery was extended to 100m but run slightly quicker than prescribed. legs felt fast, bouncy and surprisingly fresh.

day 3: legs felt awesome and less fatigued than is usual while training with high volume.

10min warmup, 3 x (5+10min), 5min easy

i increased the warmup to 20min and then ran the session as 5min @ 3:42 pace with 10min @ 6:40 pace (which felt too slow but i kept to the program), 10min cooldown. felt comfortable throughout the session.

day 4: recovery great

20min warmup, 3 sets of 6 x (40+20sec) 4min easy, 14min easy

another session which felt easy. maybe next round i'll increase the repeats up to 10.

day 5: felt fresh after yesterday's short repeats

10min easy, 20 x (15+15sec), 10min easy

today was a scheduled recovery day with short sprints. i actually liked this session and will continue to use this a short recovery day. it really helped to flush the legs. i also ran the 15sec fast segments closer to 110% of vVO2.

day 6: felt rested after yesterday's short session

20min warmup, 4 sets of 5 x (30+30sec) 5min easy, cooldown

when it came time to do this session didn't have it written down and ended up running five sets rather than four. still found that i could do more sets especially with such a long (5min) easy jog between sets.

day 7: happy with the thought that i'm almost halfway through this challenge

10min warmup, max x (30+30sec), 15min easy

went into this session with my stomach a little off but thought 20 would be a good number to hit. ended up stopping at 24 repeats due to stomach and not my legs or lungs which was a good result. it is suggested that it is better to stop a session knowing you could do more rather than going to complete failure. of course not going to the brink leaves you with the question of where your failure point is. need to push through sometimes in order to find your limits.

well that's a short seven day summary of the program. i'll try and post the next seven days of the program when i have some more time.

Finding one's limits

Finding one’s limit, to push (break) the boundaries, to extend one’s frontiers, to expand one’s horizons, to seek the unknown, to experiment, to explore the realm of possibilities, to boldly go….


Actually I like to think that I’m trying to push beyond my boundaries and see what’s on the other side (or on the inside). Hopefully I'll discover a higher realm of fitness and understanding about what my body can absorb and adapt to. Everything I do with my body, mind and soul is an experimental journey to find out what works and what doesn't. I generally take everything to extremes some healthy and some not so (drinking, smoking, insert other bad habits here...) but the path that I'm trying to follow will hopefully bring me to a higher level understanding about me.

Which brings me to now...

I was reading a post from the fitness black book (i think) and from the page I followed this link and after reading through the program I decided to adapt it to running and give it a go. Looking back at my training this year it looks like I’ve either been building or maintaining my base fitness from the early season ultra-marathons but as I’ve decided to try to get faster and race more often I need to incorporate some regular speedwork sessions into my program to improve and take it to the next level.

So now that I’ve completed Day 3 of the program and started to maintain a training log again I can see that I’ve actually run 5 days (maybe more but no memory or records of runs prior to Sunday) of quality sessions back-to-back. Sunday was an 80min longish run which out of boredom necessitated that I include 4 x 10mins at marathon pace effort (~4:00/km) to reduce the mental strain, Monday included a 15km moderate run (61mins) at lunch and after work I ran a hard 30min tempo session at close to 10k race pace (3:50/k), Tuesday morning I ran an interval session which included 1x1000m (3:36), 3x800m (2:52, 2:53, 2:50), 6x200m and then ran another 9km at lunch. So why would I then decide to move my training right into a 14 day VO2 boost program. Doesn’t make sense does it but a lot of what I do is considered a little crazy and on the brink of insanity which is often pointed out to me by my endurance junkie mates. Well Day 3 (or Day 5) has come and gone and I am laughing in the face of fatigue. My legs feel great, no niggles whatsoever and I'm feeling very fit... and very hungry.

Here is an outline of what I'm doing for the next two weeks.



VO2 Max Booster Program


This training program will dramatically boost your race performance in only 14 days. The training program can be used by any cyclist… or in my case adapted for running. On top of what is set out below I’m also keeping up with my twice daily runs making a second run either before or after the VO2 boost session an easy run of 40-70mins or a cross-training session which will either be a ride or a spin class.


I’ve often included “crash-training” principles into my training from time to time but I was attracted to this program after reading the following statement “The VO2 Max Booster Program is intended to be used by healthy athletes who want to increase their performance in just 14days. It’s clear that this short time limits the improvements you can achieve. Still, you will probably be amazed how much this time effective training program can do for you!”


Day 1
Total time: 1hr training
20min incremental warm up
5min easy rolling
5min VO2 max test
30min Easy/medium rolling


Now it is time for you to enter the VO2 Max Booster Program by performing the 5min test as the first step out of 14 steps to a higher VO2max. Good luck! OK I skipped the test as I had a physiological test done for both VO2 and LT when I ran my last marathon and I feel that my fitness is currently close to that level. After the completion of the program I will do the test (or enter a race) and see if I’ve effectively improved my fitness.


Day 2
Total time: 1hr training
20min incremental warm up
10 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% VO2 Max
30min Easy/medium rolling

Day 3
Total time: 1hr training
10min incremental warm up
3 x (5+10min) 90% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result
5min Easy rolling


Day 4
Total time: 1hr training
20min incremental warm up
6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result
4min easy rolling
6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result
4min
6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result
14min easy rolling


Day 5
Total time: 30min training
10min incremental warm up
20x(15+15sec) 100% / 50% VO2 max test result
10min easy rolling


Day 6
Total time: 1hr training
10min incremental warm up
5min 70% VO2 max
3min 75% VO2 max
2min 80% VO2 max
5x(30+30sec) 100 / 50% VO2 max
5min 50%
5x(30+30sec) 100 /50% VO2 max
5min 50%
5x(30+30sec) 100 /50% VO2 max
5min 50%
5x(30+30sec) 100 /50% VO2 max
5min easy rolling


This is a super hard VO2 max interval session that will dramatically boost your VO2 max. It is time effective and guaranteed to change your view of what interval sessions can do for you. Go for it!


Day 7
Total time: app. 1hr
10min incremental warm up
5min 70% VO2 max
3min 75% VO2 max
2min 80% VO2 max
10min 60% VO2 max
?? x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% VO2 max (close to your max repetitions, but no failure training)
15min easy rolling


Day 8
Total time: 1hr
20min incremental warm up
3x (5+3min) 80 / 50% VO2 Max
16min min medium/ easy rolling

Day 9
Total training: 1hr15min
15min incremental warm up
50min race/fartlek
10min cool down


Day 10
Total time: 30min
10min incremental warm up
5 x (30+30sec) 100% VO2 Max
10min easy rolling

Day 11
Total time: 1hr
15min incremental warm up
6 x (3+2min) 85% / 50%
15min easy rolling


Day 12
Total time: 1hr
12min incremental warm up
3min 80%
3min 50%
2x(3+3min) 100 / 50%
10min 50%
2x(3+2min) 80 / 50%
10min easy rolling


Day 13
Total time: 40min
20min incremental warm up
5min 85%
5min 50%
10min easy rolling


Day 14
Total time: 1hr15min
20min incremental warm up
8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50%
7min 50%
8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50%
7min 50%
?? x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% (Maximum number of intervals possible!)
10min easy rolling


Congratulations! You’re have completed the VO2 Max Booster Program! Afterwards I recommend you to take some easy days, maybe a day off, to recover from this overload of VO2 max intervals. Remember what I said about overreaching? You are not overtrained now, you are overreached and in the next couple of days you will begin to super compensate for the last 14 days impressive workload.


5min max test to find your new VO2 Max - Well I think I can find a race instead.

north african goat curry

ok here is the recipe for the goat curry that i substituted with venison...

North African Goat Curry (recipe from Sporting Shooter, dec 2009)

Ingredients

1kg goat meat, cut into cubes
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons Ras el Hanout (see below)
3 tablespoons cooking oil (I used coconut oil)
1 cup veggie stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
500gms sweet potato, peeled and cut into large cubes
500gms baby potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
100gms dried fruit (apricot, prunes or raisins)


Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.
Combine goat, garlic, onion, Ras el Hanout, cooking oil, tomatoes and water in a deep casserole dish. Stir well with wooden spoon to combine. Cover the casserole dish and bake for approximately half an hour. At the end of this cooking time, add the dried fruit, sweet potato and potatoes. Mix well again, recover the casserole dish and continue to cook for about an hour and a half or until the goat is tender, veggies are cooked and the dried fruit is plumpy delicious.

Serve with plain or savoury couscous for a touch of the authentic.

Ras el Hanout (spices)

2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3 cloves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice


Grind all the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle (I used a coffee grinder). It made up 2 tablespoons worth.

venison african curry

on a visit to my folks the other week i scored some of last season's venison and a recipe for african goat curry with recommendations to give it a go...

here's how it turned out.. (not the best picture)

it was great and the older kids loved it too!!!

120210

yesterday: 1h run w/ 3k progression + 6x800m moderate (~MP) in around 3:05 with 200m jog recovery + 20min easy spin on bike

friday training and diet:
5:00am - black coffee (organic) + small snack (nuts, seeds, raisins)
6:45am - 10k run to work (44mins) - ran with pack loaded with clothes & food (heavy!)
8:00am - smoothie: coconut water + flesh, hemp protein powder, chia, cocoa, banana, berries and kale
10:00am - 3 hard-boiled eggs
12:30pm - cottage cheese/sweet potato
2:00pm - almonds, dried apricots (pre-workout)
4:00pm - run: hill workout - about 2 hours worth
6:30pm - large salad - cos, tomatoes, cuke, peppers, red onions w/ beef and cheese. steamed sweet potato (another big run in the morning out on the race course).

rediscovering self worth...

with a few setbacks behind me i think i've finally managed to get over them, rediscover my self worth and regain my focus. success over the years has made me question my ability after reaching and often exceeding my expectations. often success has brought on a feeling somewhat akin to depression and with that a loss of focus. time to find the value within myself and set my sights on the achievements i set out to conquer.


here we go...


yesterday: 70 minutes running; food = paleo; weight 78.8kg


today (tuesday 9feb):


0700: smoothie - coconut cream, 3 organic pastured eggs (raw), hemp protein powder, chia, LSA, organic cocoa (3 fish oils, 4000iu D3)
1000: 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 banana, 1oz almonds, 2 hard-boiled eggs, black coffee
1200: 40min run - felt tired and a little run down
1330: 106g sardines in oil, small salad (carrots, tomatoes, sprouts), 2 golden peaches
1530: 1 apple, 1oz almonds
1700: 50min run
1900: kangaroo, steamed veg (kale, spinach, broccoli), sweet potato (steamed) - a little fuel for a hard day of training tomorrow.

finding the routine...

life outside of running is starting to get back into the normal routine which has made my training easier to fit it. so far i have managed to put in three double sessions of the four that were in the schedule which has helped with recovery between runs and helped to pad the weekly mileage closer to a target which actually makes me feel like i am training for an ultra-distance event.

training update -

monday am: 45min (10km) easy run
run to work carrying backpack full of food and clothes.
pm: 60min (12km) steady run
run home including a 3km climb. the ache in my quads which i've been carrying around for the last two weeks has finally subsided and over the last 10 minutes with a few strides thrown in they were feeling particularly lively.
tuesday am: 1h25min w/ 33 x 100m hill sprints with fast jog back recovery
early start for this session to meet up with a couple of other runners who were all performing their own form of hill tortue this morning. good session which i managed to hold a good ratio between the ups and downs.
pm: 25min (5.2km) recovery run (on grass)
planned to run 8-10km but the legs decided otherwise and i listened (for a change)...
wednesday pm: 1hr50 (24km) trail run
a great run in the national park from the gate to the lookout and back. stopped off at the end for a soak in the creek to cool down. beautiful day out in the bush...
thursday pm: 1hr15 easy run
dropped the car off at the mechanics and ran home to pick up the kids from school. it was hot, the climb was steep, i was tired...
friday am: 45min (10km) easy run
the usual easy run to work. still tired...
pm: 1h30 run home w/ intervals
plan is to run home and stop at the local grass oval and run the intervals that i was scheduled to do yesterday...
the plan for the weekend (subject to change) is:

saturday am: longish trail run (around 35km) with 30-40minutes hard tempo plus some hill repeats thrown after about an hour of easy running.

sunday am: long trail run of around 3 hours followed up later in the day with an easy run on the flats

summary: volume for this week should top out around 160-180km. happy with that!

time for an update...

now that i have recently signed up for another ultra-marathon it's time for the serious training (and diet) to begin. i'll be recording my daily activities to see what works out and what doesn’t. my big focus is on diet is to try and drop 7-8kg (15-18 pounds) over the next six weeks to get to race weight. i’ve done it before and the way to do it is go back with what has worked for me previously.

on the recent training front things are starting to pick up. not quite where i would like the volume to be 43 days out from my next race but i’m happy that i've had a couple weeks focusing on quality rather than quantity.


training update-
after a couple of weeks in the 100-135 km range this week has been a little diffcult with a two day conference monday and tuesday along with a full day training on wednesday. not the typical week...

monday pm: 30min run @ 4:08 / km + strides
on the way home from the conference managed to slip in a quick loop of the river.

tuesday am: 75min run w/ 10 x 560m hill loop (average 5km race pace)
legs felt tired but managed to get the run in early (5am). loop included two tough climbs (180m and 100m long).

wednesday pm: 85min trail run (another hot day 35C)
planned to go out for 1h40 but by the time i reached the gate 8km in i was feeling toasted. turned around and headed back before hitting the creek for a little leg soak.

thursday pm: 95min run w/ 2 x 3’ (1.30), 2 x 2’ (1.30), 4 x 1’ (3’ easy), 30’ hill climbing (gradient 10-15%), 5 x 30” hard (1’ jog), 10’ easy
another hot day around 35C and i went out with the intentions of running 5 x 6min hard but 3 minutes into the first interval i was feeling the heat and starting to struggle to hold pace. changed the workout to something more manageable and enjoyed putting in the work. the hill climbing had my quads and calves screaming for me to stop and i was loving it.

still to come…

friday pm: 60min recovery w/ strides // 30min steady

saturday am: 10 km time trial (90% effort) w/ long warmup and cooldown

sunday am: long run 32 km/2:30 pm: 10 km easy


i’m working with a coach again and next week will be my first week back over that magical 100 mile target.


diet:
on the diet front i’ve starting eating more meat (mainly fish and eggs) again as my diet had gradually shifted towards a more vegan eating regime. while i felt amazingly healthy and vibrant my running and recovery were impaired.

yesterday’s food log-
breakfast: oranges (4) + nuts and seeds
morning snack: almonds, dates (4)
lunch: smoked salmon salad (spinach, carrot, cuke)
pre-run: banana
post-run: small protein drink followed up 30min later with yoghurt mixed with protein powder and LSA
dinner: porterhouse steak with roasted veggies and steamed greens

back to basics...

the world masters kind of brought my season to a close and while it didn't go as planned (came down with chicken pox midway through) i decided to end the speed phase of my training and get back to re-building my base endurance. this time of year i usually just play around with my training but after some thought i have decided that in order to take my athletic ability to the next level i need to start my preparation a little earlier this time around.

my goals going into next year are all centred on the ultra-distance with maybe a quick marathon or two thrown in and a couple of epic journey runs to please the adventurer within.

my base building recipe:

endurance

• build mileage over the next few weeks to around 160-200+ km per week
• maintain mileage for the next 12 weeks
• include double runs on at least 4 days per week
• run 2 medium long runs and a run of 4-5 hours each week
• maintain a hill/short repeat session, one longer interval session (6-10 minutes) and some threshold work on the trails each week
• include a monthly mountain or trail race

flexibility & strength

• perform at least 3 yoga sessions each week
• start doing 2 strength sessions each week focusing on building leg and core strength
• add in some cross-training and start riding my bike to help build leg strength and hill climbing ability

nutrition

• continue to focus on optimal recovery nutrition (waiting for a recent book purchase to help)
• focus on ensuring that i hydrate sufficiently during the upcoming summer months

barefoot

• start running in my vibram fivefingers on my recovery runs

i'm starting out with a good fitness base and after a week off from running due to sickness my body is feeling ready to get back into it.

think i'll start with a 3 hour trail run before work in the morning... 

recovery week

didn't plan for this week to be a recovery week but after making the decision to run 50km on the trails on saturday my quads are particularly smashed. luckily i didn't go the whole way and complete the 90km so hopefully i won't miss too much of training. steep descents though are unkind to the legs...

i took sunday off from running and just concentrated on eating plenty of good high nutrient foods to help speed up recovery - mainly green veggies, fruits, whole grains and protein.

waking up on monday morning to day two and the dreaded delayed onset muscle soreness, it was time to get active again. with this need i headed out at lunch, walking and stretching for the first 10 minutes and then jogged around the park for 20-30 minutes. legs felt sore but my running felt smooth and not as slow as i expected.

tuesday and another run for 45 minutes (about 9-10k) following the advice that i gathered from listening to barry mcgee's interview on imtalk and ran for 10 minutes at a steady pace and then walked for 1 minute. i repeated this throughout the session. i did find it hard to get back into a run after the walk but it got easier to do the longer i went. i don't plan on using this protocol for anything shorter than a marathon but i might consider training with it for the longer distances. today i just used it to ease the strain on the legs until i'm fully recovered.

hopefully tomorrow the legs will feel almost back to normal...

going harder

yesterday i could hardly walk after three hard back-to-back days but today i'm feeling good. actually better than good. i had to stop myself during my recovery run today from doing something crazy which i'm known for doing. with my first higher intensity week almost behind me i'm looking forward to the next 10 week training block with a couple of races along the way. just need to get the volume back up to a respectable level. probably hit around 110km this week. a good start...

heading over to New Zealand in two weeks and i'm contemplating jumping in and running a 100km ultra race down near dunedin. probably decide next week. i'm not ultrafit but i'm good at bluffing my way through it fueled on gels and hornet juice.

psyched for a hard session in the morning... 1km repeats until i've had enough (at least 8 i hope).

on the diet front things have been going well this week and when i weighed myself yesterday and this morning my weight is down about 2kg from the weekend. the plan is to drop 7kg over the next 10 weeks. hunger is my friend.

my diet is not strictly primal but after spending a good portion of the last 6 months eating a largely raw fruit and veggie diet and reading about eastern philosophy, traditional chinese medicine and wholefood nutrition healing etc i have gone back to eating more protein and have reduced my fruit intake to help drop a little weight. my eating probably follows closely with the recommendations suggested in friels paleo book for athletes with changes made to focus on health and healing. typical post-exercise eating has included sweet rice (pre-washed/sacked brown rice cooked with raisins and spices) or oats (steelcut or whole) and a portion of protein - fish, eggs, nuts or seeds and/or maybe some fruit (a couple of pears, bananas or dates at the moment). breakfast this morning was stirfried chinese greens with 3 eggs and an orange. snacks have included carrots or apples with almond butter, a handful of goji berries and a lara bar. dinner will likely be a large green salad, some steamed veggies and will finish with some cooked protein.

training summary:
monday: 50min easy run
tuesday: intervals 2000-1000-1600-800-4x400m
wednesday: 90min steady run with half @ marathon pace
thursday: 40min fartlek (5-4-3-2-10x1min with 1/2 time recovery jog)
friday: 50min recovery run
saturday: 1k intervals @ race pace (tomorrow)
sunday: long trail run (2-3 hours - maybe more if i'm feeling ultra frisky)