Restoration in Long Distance Running Part 2
The building and development a good cardio-circulatory system takes place in the foundation period of the training year. The best type of training to adapt and develop the cardio-circulatory system is cross-country running at up to 150 beats/min, that is to say, in the aerobic zone. This is why I wrote the articles on long slow distance at 140 to 150 beats/min, and medium paced running at 160 beats/min, and repetitions at 170 – 180 beats/min with rest in between repetitions. Circuit training helps all of these, and helps your body to recover more quickly from the fatigue. See these articles by following these links, and study the diagram below showing the ‘aerobic zone’:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai... http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...
As you know by now, the amount or volume of cross-country running is increased gradually through the weeks. I also explained about tempo running, the more intensive 20 to 30 minutes sustained runs at 180 beats/min. Because this is speed training, during the two to three days after a tempo run, you need to make sure the cross-country runs afterwards are at optimal pulse rates.
By exposing the body to different stimuli and allowing it to recover, allowing the process of restoration to occur, good adaptation occurs because the supercompensation explained in Article 14 is able to take place. As a result your resting pulse rate in the morning decreases gradually and arterial pressure drops noticeably too. Thus the need to take your pulse regularly and record it in a training diary – please see the two previous articles covering these two important non-running aspects of training for long distance races:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662...
And
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1662...
One minute after a cross-country run at 150 beats/min, your heart rate should fall to below 100 beats/min, and to under 120 beats/min for speed training. Blood pressure in the morning should be between 105/65 and 115/75.
Post Question: What does it mean if your pulse is over 100 beats/min for a cross-country run, and over 120 beats/min for speed training? How will you adjust your training schedule? And of course, the same for blood pressure.
Insufficient Restoration
As hinted at in the post question above, a worsening of the pulse rate at rest and one minute after a workout mean you are training when your body ahs not recovered sufficiently, a theme I have been repeating a great deal.
If you read the article on measuring blood pressure, you will already know that blood pressure increasing to 103/85-40/90 is a
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