German Training Plans

Cool discussion about Masters training ideas. I have a friend who
routinely hands it to me (his rsn handle rhymes with "rumrunner") who
says for guys like us to get too wrapped up with a rigid workout plan
is not as productive as just going out and having fun and making it up
as you go along. He seems to hit his high points of training by making
sure to do his 3 hr rollerskis, and during his longer ones at least,
he surges frequently. He also skis that way on snow.

I have another friend who really doesn't train that much volume but
trains pretty intensely every single day. He also kicks it into gear
pretty hard on race day and typically also hands it to me. He feels he
doesnt need to slow down in training because he isnt doing too much of
one thing on any given day. 40 hour month is very large for him. That
would be mostly intensity, but not "intervals" per se, more race pace
type workouts.

I do like a bit of structure, so I just wrote out October's plan
including some new-to-me workouts. Without a plan I tend to float thru
the weeks & workouts too aimlessly. I am trying to go a lot slower on
my non-intense workouts this year. I have not been completely
successful with that.

Allen was humbled by Dave Scott the first 6 occasions at Hawaii, before
Allen started his string of wins. Hawaii became Allen's main goal, along
with Nice, France and Zofingen, Switzerland. All races that take 6-8 hours.
The Maffetone training plan Allen used, enabled him to take in 500 calories
an hour compared to the 350 most of the others were able to absorb. He was
able to easily ride in the draft legal pack with a low heartrate, then
unleash a 2:40 marathon. Which is still the marathon record at Hawaii.
Around the time Allen was starting to win Hawaii, an event that takes 8
hours, he started to get beat by Mike Pigg in the Olympic length triathlon
races. Then Greg Welch, a run specialist, also started beating him in the 2
hour long triathlons.
In 1994, Allen took a shot at qualifying for the Olympic Marathon, by
running the Berlin marathon. Maffetone figured he was capable of running
2:22 using his training program. Allen ended up dropping out. Whether he
didn't have the leg speed or just had an off day, I don't know.

If you fast forward to 2004-2007 and watch the ITU Olympic length
triathlons, you see people like Simon Whitfield winning World Cups. Reading
his website (http://simonwhitfield.blogspot.com/), especially the archives,
you'll probably be surprised at how much interval work he does. It is pretty
amazing. How does he recover?
Mark Allens pure 10k time is 29:59, yet Whitfield, Gomez, Kahlefeldt,etc are
now running that fast at the end of a two hour triathlon.
Michelle Jones, who has over 100 podiums in Olympic length triathlons, also
used a low volume/numerous intervals program. As does Emma Snowsill who ran
32:55 for the 10k at the Hamburg Triathlon World Championship.

It seems like the FIS 50k World Cups are similar to ITU triathlon World
Cups. There is a mad sprint at the start to get in a fast group, then a fast
pace with drafting for the majority of the race (with maybe some surges
thrown in), followed by a 30 minute sprint to the finish. Both events take
about 2 hours for the men.
Even the local marathons seem to be playing out this way, at the front of
the race.

There is no doubt that easy distance training is the base for staying
healthy for an entire season. But doesn't an interval centered program make
more sense for ski races that take about 2 hours or so?
Why is Angerer and the German team training 1100 hours a year at low
intensity?

Paul Haltvick
Bay Design and Build - LLC
Engineering, Construction and Information Technology Services
FSx Midwest - Fischer / Swix Racing

I have Lee's endurance training book. When it came out it really
turned heads. Many coaches said no one is training like that. However
what I found is his principles follow some very other successful
coaches advice. Mafetone coached Mark Allen to a record number of Iron
Man wins. Mafetone said we need to train at the highest aerobic level
just below Anaerobic Threshold level (the point where we develop
lactate). He felt this would bring about the fastest possible gains in
fitness. This closely mimics Lee's principle. However the majority of
the worlds elite ski racers don't follow these principles. Read a lot
and decide for yourself. I would pick up Joel Fiel's book about Tri
and Mt. bike training. He outlines heart values and benefits the best
I've seen.

I think it all comes down to motivation. If you're motivated, the
training follows. If not, you're either out of shape or unhappy.

Jay