You don’t swim/bike/run faster or farther because you nail your workouts. You make gains based on the quality of your recovery. While nearly every athlete can describe recovery as alternating easy and hard days, far fewer understand recovery regarding maintaining energy balance, or energy availability, and its critical influence on positive training adaptations and recovery.
Maintaining energy balance (energy availability) is two-fold; fueling exercise and fueling all other physiological functions. If either of these components are not maintained optimally, either through inadequate carbohydrate consumption during exercise, or sub-optimal consumption throughout the rest of the day, the body may enter a state of negative energy balance (low energy availability) and undergo adaptations that ensure the body still produces energy to fuel the brain and physical activity. The adaptation can result in a catabolic (breakdown) state as the body begins to procure amino acids from the muscle to produce glucose, due to the relatively low carbohydrate availability. This effect can be hard to observe in real time as the consequences are revealed after a period of time. This negative energy balance can result in a chronic inflammatory state and micro-tears in the muscle. This will inhibit glycogen storage, which in turn worsens the condition. Athletes who engage in high volume training which requires deliberate fueling strategies risk becoming chronically underfueled, initiating this cascade of inflammation and fatigue. Positive training adaptations are unlikely under these circumstances. Research has revealed a close correlation between low energy availability and overtraining. More work is being done to determine if these are one and the same.
To avoid becoming under-fueled, plan carbohydrate supplementation around 50-90 grams of carbohydrate per hour during exercise. Off the bike or run, consume sufficient nutrient dense foods to maintain energy balance and ensure energy availability for all other bodily processes. Visit www.teamusa.org/nutrition to learn more and see the image below for an example of what to eat during a moderate intensity training day. High volume or high intensity training days may require adjusting to a higher intake.
If your ultimate goal is to become a stronger endurance athlete, you MUST consider this holistic approach to training and recovery.
TUESDAY, MARCH 22: CASCADES REPEATS!
WARM UP TO ARGO CASCADES, THEN DYNAMIC WARM UP
UP TO 20 REPEATS ON THE B2B ALONG THE CASCADES PORTION OF THE TRAIL (400M)
ALL RUN AT 10K TO 1/2 MARATHON PACE
LIGHTER LOAD 5-10 REPEATS
HEAVIER LOAD 10-20 REPEATS
REST: 1/2 TO 1/3 THE DURATION OF THE INTERVAL
COOL DOWN BACK TO THE SHOP
Details:
**All workouts leave from AARC Ashley at 6:05 pm.
**Free to all, courtesy of AARC and the Ann Arbor Tri Club
**Vaccinated individuals are not required to wear masks, unvaccinated are asked to mask up at the start during crowded conditions.
All abilities are welcome and the workouts are written to be adjusted to each runner’s individual needs. They are time based intervals or hills that aim to leave no runner behind. Whether you are training for a sprint tri race series or this year’s late summer DXA2 run, or even a fall marathon, you can benefit from this training. Workouts are based at a local track or hill and start from AARC at 6pm. This allows runners to bring along a drink and drop it at the workout location. Please note that AARC closes at 6pm.