If the training phases examined in the previous lesson are the building blocks of a training plan, how do you arrange those blocks to create a periodized progression?
As noted earlier, the principle of specificity says you should move from the least specific physiology to the most specific physiology for your racing activity and distance. But, if your weakness happens to be the physiology that is most specific to the race, you should begin working that area further from the race, too, so you have a longer lead time to develop the necessary adaptations.
Let’s just consider race distance here.
The longer your race, the more you’ll benefit from finishing your progression with several Endurance Training blocks. Since the upper-end VO2max Training at the other end of the continuum is least important for your race distance (although not unimportant for your development as an endurance athlete), you would place those training blocks earlier in your training year.
This approach works well for experienced endurance athletes who have a well-developed base from multiple years of endurance training, allowing you to raise your aerobic ceiling before building up the mileage/duration needed for your target event.
But if you’re new to endurance training (with less than four years of training) or are coming off an extended break in training, start with an Aerobic Base Conditioning block to prepare your body for the higher intensity VO2max Training. Then follow the VO2max Training with Lactate Threshold Training before moving into Endurance Training to build your mileage/duration in advance of your target event, ending with a final Peak & Taper prior to your event.
So for longer races (marathon to ultramarathon distances), your progression would look like this:
Aerobic Base Conditioning (as needed)
⇓
VO2max Training
⇓
Lactate Threshold Training
⇓
Endurance Training
⇓
Peak & Taper
⇓
Target Event
The progression for shorter endurance events (below the marathon distance), would look like this:
Aerobic Base Conditioning (as needed)
⇓
Endurance Training
⇓
Lactate Threshold Training
⇓
VO2max Training
⇓
Peak & Taper
⇓
Target Event
The bulk of the plan, regardless of the order, is spent on Endurance Training. This remains true even if you’re training for a shorter distance event. This is because lower intensity training requires a longer adaptation process. On the other end of the continuum, the higher intensity VO2max training involves a shorter time frame to attain the adaptations.
Next, you’ll begin to create your training plan, using these phases as the building blocks.
