By 2003, her blood lactate level remained almost constant in the range 1.2 – 1.4 mM/litre up to 18.5 Km/hr and then turned upwards sharply.Īt first sight, this might indicate a substantial increase in ability to deliver oxygen to the tissues (perhaps via increased diameter or density of capillaries) and/ or increase in number of mitochondria in muscle fibres so that fuel is burned aerobically rather than anaerobically. In 1992, there was an appreciable upturn of lactate (from 1.2 to 1.45 mM/litre) between 13 and 14 Km/hour. Most striking was the right shift of the turn-point in the graph of blood lactate against pace. All of these measurements changed significantly over the relevant time period. Among the various measurements he performed were blood lactate at various paces heart rate at various paces vertical jump height and the sit-and-reach test of lower body flexibility. 15% reduction in the amount of oxygen consumption per Km at a standard pace).Īndrew Jones acknowledges that he does not know which physiological variable has made the greatest contribution to this improvement in efficiency. However her oxygen consumption at a pace of 16 Km/hr (6 min/mile) decreased from 205 ml/Kg/Km in 1992 to 175 ml/Kg/Km in 2003, which represents a 15% increase in efficiency (i.e. If we ignore the minor ups and downs in the measurements, her maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max ) remained approximately constant at 70 ml/min/Kg from age 17 in 1991, to age 29 in 2003. (International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching Vo1
Although I would not wish to rely too heavily on the training of elite athletes to guide me, I have nonetheless been quite strongly influenced by the training program that turned Paul Radcliffe from a promising junior distance runner who won the World Junior Cross Country championship in 1992 into one of the most amazing marathon runners the world has ever seen.Īccording to Andrew Jones, the physiologist who has supervised the measurement of Paula’s aerobic capacity and running efficiency over a period of more than 15 years, the major factor in her improvement was a 15 percent increase in her running efficiency between 1991, a year before she won the World Junior Cross Country championship, and 2003 when she set a world woman’s marathon record of 2hr 15 min 25 sec in London. In recent weeks, I have been focusing on developing a program which will allow me to run a good marathon in 2012.
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