For Runner’s: How to Improve Your Running Economy
4 min read
If you step on the gas too soon in a run, your body will automatically hit the breaks. Therefore, this begs the question: how can I maximize my running economy? It is surprising how few runner’s are aware of simple ways to gauge where they are within their physiological capacity during a given run without fancy wearable technology.
Why this is important?
We find that many of our patients who are runners are unaware of the physiology behind their running capacity, how to measure it, and how to improve it. Understanding the basics as it pertains to running metabolism will help inform your training, thereby maximizing your training benefits and performance.
Too often, people workout at an intensity that is too high to adequately recover from but too low to actually create any performance adaptations.
Understanding the physiology
To run with optimal performance, you need to maximize your running economy, or require less overall energy (oxygen) to sustain a given output. The point in which oxygen can no longer provide all the energy you need to sustain running, is called your aerobic threshold. In untrained individuals, this aerobic threshold occurs at a lower VO2 max and lower intensity. This means you have reached your ‘threshold’ at lower heart rates and paces, and thus begin relying on physiological mechanisms that are more energy costly & less sustainable. You cannot maintain a state that exceeds your ‘threshold’ for nearly as long as your aerobic state. Once you exceed your aerobic threshold, the clock to fatigue starts ticking.
How Do I Know When I am Approaching My Aerobic (oxygen) Threshold?
Oxygen consumption during activity lies on a spectrum, and determining where you are on this spectrum is easier than you think. As it relates to running, if you can maintain nasal breathing (breathe through nose), you are still within your aerobic threshold. This is a desired zone to remain in during most of your training! The second you begin mouth breathing (breathe through mouth) and your body language begins to break down, you are exceeding your aerobic threshold. This is a less desirable zone for longer bouts of training as the clock to fatigue starts ticking.
You have a physiological limit on the amount of energy you can utilize outside of oxygen. Eventually you will run out of alternative forms of energy, therefore a majority of your training should remain at a pace and intensity in which your body can adequately utilize oxygen for energy rather than over rely on more costly mechanisms and finite resources. Find a pace that can be fueled by nasal breathing (aerobic), anything more and you will begin redlining (threshold exceeded), forcing your body to pull back its output until it’s returned to an aerobic state.
Can I Improve These Aerobic & Anaerobic Thresholds? If so, How?
Yes! Determine your maximum heart rate while maintaining nasal breathing. Train in this low intensity high volume zone for 75-80% of your training and in your high intensity low volume zone for the remaining 20-25% of your training! High intensity, low volume zone would be all out efforts, in which case mouth breathing is all good!
A simple framework that works well is to train your floor, train your ceiling, and the everything in the middle will work itself out. Too often, people workout at an intensity that is too high to adequately recover from but too low to actually create any performance adaptations.
Your floor is your green line based training on the left, your ceiling is your red line based training on the right, and the gray line represents everything in the middle that will work itself out.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the physiology that makes up these topics surrounding running, the foundation is now set for you to pursue your performance goals within running. The formula is simple but the task takes work: to get better at running, train your body to rely on oxygen at a greater heart rate and intensity overtime. If you are interested in hearing about how we can bridge the gap between where you currently are and where you are trying to go, schedule a free discovery call.
References
Spurway N. C. (1992). Aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise and the lactate threshold. British medical bulletin, 48(3), 569–591. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a072564
https://strengthmatters.com/what-is-the-aerobic-threshold/
