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Short distance Vdot versus Long distance Vdot

Dave CampbellDave Campbell
in General Training Discussions

I had an interesting issue yesterday.  A month ago, end of OS, 5k test Vdot was 44.  Fast froward about 4 weeks, little running due to nagging hamstring problem.  Last weekend, I raced a 10 mile run and would call it a conservative push effort.  It was a hilly course and I had a Vdot of 39.  Figured I lost some fitness, didn't really lay it all out there, etc.  Put the time/distance into the data tool.  It spit out new paces.  So, last night I go to the track to do my 3x1 mile repeats @ Z4/Z5.  Again, I had a conservative push effort and ran all 3 miles @ 7:35'ish which was my old paces @ 44 Vdot.  Z4/Z5 under 39 Vdot was to be 8:00-8:22.  I changed the 10 mile test time in the tool back to get a 44 Vdot, cause the 39 zones seem way to slow.

So my question is this.  I know its normal to get different Vdot's as the distance goes up, but if I'm training for IM distance running, should I go with the 39 or 44.  I've still got the hamstring issue and it is sore today and was not so much after the 10 miler, which confuses me.  Evidentally its more bothered by spped than distance/time.  So, I'm trying to figure out how hard I should be working right now with a focus of injury free @ the Start line of IMLP, but not give up too much of the OS speed I've worked hard to get?  Does it make sense to split the difference and train as a dot of say 42?

Thanks

Comments

  • autospa1autospa1

    It sounds like actual vDot is debateable, however, the main contributors to inability to perform at capacity are: temperature, nutrition, hills, injuries, and sounds like you qualified for the hills and injuries for sure. If the hills are out of the picture, I would focus on the recovery and if necessary use the lower vDot just to help you heal up.

    The races I've done overtrained and hurt always ended worse than the healthy and a little undertrained. Bottom line: Get healthy!

  • cwhytecwhyte

    I think the answer is that you don't have enough data yet to make any changes. To give you an example, I will probably collect a whole month's worth of data before I even think about whether I should make a change to my VDOT, FTP, etc. Usually longer...

    I'm not saying this is the case with you but I believe a lot of people want to make quick decisions as to whether their VDOT or FTP has changed because they feel like they're not going to train most effectively if they have a supposedly inaccurate estimate. I see this so often where someone provides a data point or two and wants help understanding whether there's a quantitative change or not. Again, the simple answer is that we just don't know because we need more data.

    Another thing to take note is that the more advanced you become the more correlation you will see between data coming short-distance vs long-distance training.

    Btw, in your specific case, you're injured so the answer is even more simple: Don't go with a higher VDOT because it will encourage you to increase the relative intensity.

    Thanks, Chris

  • Dave CampbellDave Campbell
    Good feeedback guys, Thanks. I'm leaning towards backing it down to 42 to be conservative. I had plenty of track work during the first 17 weeks of OS to get me comfortable that at week 17, I was hitting the 44 Vdot paces without trouble. But, I've got to get healthy and it seems the intensity is the root cause of the problem.
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