Paotle
Level 4 Valued Member
Hi everybody,
I'm training for VK (vertical kilometer) or short intense trail races. For those who don't know VK it's an uphill mountain running race, which ascends approximately 1000 metres while covering a distance of no more than 5km. Some races are less than 2km long for 1000m elevation. So it's about average 55% gradient, but most races between 35-50% . Needless to say that even the elite runner don't "run" the entire race but do more power hiking (with or without poles). The world record is less than 29 minutes. The effort is mainly maintained around anaerobic threshold (around 85-90 % MaxHR).
I absolutely know that aerobic base is vital for such an effort. So is muscular endurance. I read Training for the Uphill athlete by Steve House and Scott Johnston and I absolutely agree with these 2 parts. My training plan is periodized but is mainly oriented to Z1/2 training (so mainly sub aerobic threshold) with an average elevation gain of 2000-4000m (6500-13000 feet) weekly and 40 km run (not to be compared with flat runs). Once a week a do a flat run for recovery. I do some hill sprints and more intense session once a week (10x1-3 minutes with 2 minutes recovery at 95% MHR, or 10x 30/30s all-out) . I know Strongfirst isn't defending too much lactic/glycolytic work, but for training for such races it's almost inevitable, no?
My question here is more about strength training. Do I continue some A+A? How would train for such an intense race?
Best,
I'm training for VK (vertical kilometer) or short intense trail races. For those who don't know VK it's an uphill mountain running race, which ascends approximately 1000 metres while covering a distance of no more than 5km. Some races are less than 2km long for 1000m elevation. So it's about average 55% gradient, but most races between 35-50% . Needless to say that even the elite runner don't "run" the entire race but do more power hiking (with or without poles). The world record is less than 29 minutes. The effort is mainly maintained around anaerobic threshold (around 85-90 % MaxHR).
I absolutely know that aerobic base is vital for such an effort. So is muscular endurance. I read Training for the Uphill athlete by Steve House and Scott Johnston and I absolutely agree with these 2 parts. My training plan is periodized but is mainly oriented to Z1/2 training (so mainly sub aerobic threshold) with an average elevation gain of 2000-4000m (6500-13000 feet) weekly and 40 km run (not to be compared with flat runs). Once a week a do a flat run for recovery. I do some hill sprints and more intense session once a week (10x1-3 minutes with 2 minutes recovery at 95% MHR, or 10x 30/30s all-out) . I know Strongfirst isn't defending too much lactic/glycolytic work, but for training for such races it's almost inevitable, no?
My question here is more about strength training. Do I continue some A+A? How would train for such an intense race?
Best,