By Lyle Mead

We train to RACE…Therefore everything we do at training, should be aimed at making us better at racing. What are we actually training? We’re training, ENERGY  SYSTEMS, (ATP/CP, Lactic Acid, Anaerobic, Aerobic.)  MUSCLE (strength, power) MOTOR  SKILLS (coordination, technique, flexibility) MENTAL  SKILLS (goal setting, motivation) PERFORMANCE / RACING  SKILLS.

Can we train all these elements in the same way or at the same time? NO.

There needs to be specific training, to target specific areas & systems. It’s no good having great endurance, & feeling strong at the end of a 20km race if your 10 min’s behind the winner because you didn’t’ have the speed or aerobic capacity to go with the bunch at the start, or you have a powerful start, fast speed, but fall in a heap towards the end. In a race ALL systems are in operation at all times, it’s just the contribution they make to producing power that varies A, over time, & B, at different workloads.

The basics of training are…OVERLOAD, RECOVERY, ADAPTATION, & PROGRESSION.  The system being trained must be overloaded, this overload must create  enough stimulus for adaptation.

When the system has been overloaded, recovered & adapted to the new Level, we can then progress to a higher level.  It will take a number of sessions to at each level, before the system adapts & progression can be  made.

Athletes who keep training at the same level year in, year out will never improve, this is especially true for older athletes.

IF YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE, YOU’LL KEEP GETTING THE RESULTS YOU’VE ALWAYS GOT

There are different types of training, e.g.; at one end of the scale there is long continuous paddling, which is as aerobic as you can get, the other  extreme could be 10-20 sec at all out intensity, with 2-3 min rest between.

Variable intensity training, where you change the speed & intensity,  as in a race, after warming up,  you might do 60-90 sec’s at medium intensity, then raise the pace to high intensity for 10secs, then, 10-20 sec’s at sub maximal, then 5-10 sec’s at max, then drop down the pace for a couple of min, before starting again. This is called “climbing intensity”.

Fartlec training is where you put in spurts at random,  the length and  intensity would vary, depending on how you were feeling. Another form of Fartlec is set points, where you do a spurt to a point ahead, a mooring buoy, a bridge a tree etc.Interval training, this is where sets of work are done at fairly high Intensity, followed by rest periods. The rest periods ensure that during the next set of work the intensity is kept at the level required to ensure maximum improvement on the system being worked.

There are five variables in interval training which all interrelate, they are, duration of work interval…intensity of work interval…duration and type of rest interval…number of repetitions and sets…number of sessions per week.

The best method of monitoring your training, is to train using a heart rate Monitor, these are relatively inexpensive.To clarify training intensities use the following guide which is expressed as a percentage of maximum heart rate (%mhr ).

Light	50-64 %
Medium	65-74 %
High	75-84 %
Sub-Maximum	85-94 %
Maximum	95-100 %

The most accurate way to work out your max heart rate is by using this formula….it may still vary up to 6 beats per min either way.

If you have recorded a higher rate on a monitor, use that as your max.

Formula…205.8 – .685 of age.

eg:  35yrs  x .685 = 23.975

So   205.8 – 23.975 = 181.825…max h/r  is  182 bpm.

In the end overall fitness will determine your success at Marathon, not  NUMBER of kms, or number of long paddles. Too many training kms will make you sluggish on race day. When racing monthly, one longish paddle (about 15kms) in between races is enough.

Combine this with two speed sessions and one high Intensity interval session per week, the correct recovery procedures, (stretching. food intake…sleep) & you will see a marked improvement