Home› General Training Discussions

Vdot bump

cgres123cgres123
in General Training Discussions

I had posted, the first of the year, about an attempt to marathon myself to a Boston qualifying time. I had numerous replies form the coach and you all coaches.

As I sit here in the end of Tri season, I gave my season this year to leg work via bike and running and duathlon. I have sweated, chaffed, lost weight and emptied myself for months in an attempt to increase my Vdot.

I can understand the physiology of what I'm doing to the body and waiting for positive, be it a little, results to show up on a Vdot test. Things just are not cooperating that Vdot number has not moved. I'm not crying in my Cheerios. I'm having fun or I would not be here doing this. I had a season of duathlons, got an invite to the nationals placing 1st in age group in one race placed 2nd in another. Not that I'm fast more so out living the competition.

What to do about a Vdot that doesn't move? Am I at pointy end of the stick and " thats all folks "?

 

Comments

  • Eric RueppelEric Rueppel
    I have no wisdom or answer for your Vdot question but I would like to say I really like your attitude. It is tough not seeing results that you are working so hard for. Great job on your Nationals qualifying.
  • John BayoneJohn Bayone
    Hey David.
    I can relate in some ways. Earlier in the year I had a couple of nice improvements in my 5k vdot number. Since then the really hard part was, and still is, building up the strength to carry that into longer distances. Even though i Felt good with a new 5k vdot in march, and backed it up with a 13.1 PR of about 7 minutes to validate that vdot pace, in april with a new 5k PR and new vdot created a MP that has been a real tough time to chase. Maybe it has been the warmer temps, maybe the increased volume with IM training plan, maybe injuries, etc.
    Funny enough a lot of my early year running PR's came during and towards the end of the 6 week Bike Focus plan where I was actually running only a limited amount, and felt under trained for that 13.1, and ran "conservative". The temps for all of these were also very nice and cool.

    How are you doing with being able to hold the training paces from your current 5k vdot, through the longer distance run workouts? Where is your current Vdot? and when was the last time you tested?

    I am really looking forward to the temps coming back down in the next couple of months so that I can feel like I am running fast again, and not just melting my brain.
  • cgres123cgres123
    @ John, As the heat is on, like you, everything is much slower in the distant field. I hold my own on a tread mill inside going longer but outside not so much HR rises pace slows down, you know the deal.
    My current Vdot is 40 and the last time I tested was this week.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    One idea is to do some hardcore running training vs. triathlon training. For example, Jack Daniel's book (yes, the one that defined the whole VDOT concept in the first place!!!) has some great plans. I'm in the middle of an 18-week run-only marathon trianing block right now and the workouts are a LOT different than the typical EN tri training workouts. The LT/TP/z4 stuff is much harder and longer and with extremely short recoveries. For a VDOT based on a longer distance (say, 15k or half-marathon), that type of approach might yield improvements. For shorter-course VDOT testing like 5k you can drop into a Daniel's-type 5k plan that would feature VO2 work that I suspct a typical duathlon plan wouldn't come close to doing. Maybe you've been doing all that sort of training already, in which case I have few ideas for you. But if you have been following the run training in a typical Tri/Du plan then changing it up and focusing on the run might help.
  • cgres123cgres123
    @ Matt, I have Jack Daniels book and it is well read with pages falling out of it from use. All along the Vdot testing has been a 5k. However my training resembles more of a half marathon schedule. I use this 1/2 marathon training to apply some nice stress on the body but not to much as I was doing duathlons.
    So now I have turned my hat around with months of 1/2 marathon and bike training and I'm into the marathon build.
  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    Is it just my Jack Daniels copy, or does his book not have a specific half marathon training plan?
  • cgres123cgres123
    The book doesn't have a half plan. He suggests to follow the marathon plan for a half. One to two hour runs, threshold runs followed by one hour steady effort, and a solid phase of some intervals will prepare you well for a two hour race, he writes.
  • new2703new2703
    What kind of running have you been doing? Maybe time to change the stimulus? When is your marathon? I have found that I can't really improve on both the bike and the run but I know that I can only handle about six to 8 weeks of FTP type work so I change up as needed. This year did low duration high frequency running, at start of OS, until HR1 and Z1 were equal. Once that happened went into the more traditional FTP type running. Also subsituted one of the FTP runs for a VO2 run to work on leg turnover
  • cgres123cgres123
    Hey John, The marathon is Nov 17th. I'm 5 weeks into a Marathon Nation Plan as of now and still dropping the weight. Since Coach P put it together I'm sure the stimulus is built in.
    How you doing? Don't you have an Iron Distance coming up?
  • new2703new2703
    Dave, what marathon are you doing? Wouldn't worry about top end speed it will come. More important to learn to run for distance at MP. Yeah I got one more IM distance race to do. Chesapeakeman in September
  • cgres123cgres123
    @ John the Bucks County marathon Nov 17th in Pa.
    Enjoy your race as the cooler temps will be in your favor!
Sign In or Register to comment.