In this week's episode, we kick things off with a recap of an incredibly exciting Ironman World Championship in Kona, including the dramatic finishes, standout performances, and lessons we can all take away about managing heat, adapting to race-day conditions, and racing your own race. Then, we dive into the science and practice of building fatigue resistance, or durability, with a recap of ten strategies for getting stronger and maintaining performance as fatigue sets in. We cover everything from aerobic volume and high-intensity training to fueling, long workouts, strength training, and creative ways to build endurance. We also talk about why faster isn't always better in training, the importance of sticking to the intended effort of a workout, and how to avoid digging yourself into a hole by constantly pushing the pace. Finally, Katie shares a favorite half-marathon workout featuring race-pace efforts, kicks, and floats, and we discuss how practicing different gears can help you become a more adaptable and confident racer. Check it out!
Jim:
Fatigue Resistance aka Durability: 10 Ways to Build It
This is inspired from a video David Roche: How To Improve Fatigue Resistance | The Mystery of Endurance
What’s fatigue resistance and why is it important? It’s the ability to repeat your same biomechanics / power / pace late in an event. This is applicable to nearly every endurance athlete, especially those playing in the longer distances. In other words, how do we prevent fading late in races or long training days? It’s a mix of central fatigue (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral fatigue (muscle).
This is David's list with my take on each one. David does a great job backing each one of these up with sports science studies and, of course, from all their experience coaching hundreds if not thousands of athletes. Go watch his video!
1. More easy volume. Zone 1–2 work drives fiber recruitment, mitochondria, and fat oxidation. Why is volume important? It’s often the single best indicator of race day performance. Yes, training is more complicated than that but in the end, the people who do more of the thing tend to be the best at that thing. Easy volume allows you to accumulate more work over a given period of time. (No, Zone 2 is not magic and yes it’s appropriate to train all zones.)
2. Raise your ceiling. A higher velocity at VO2 max means any given pace feels relatively easier. Do 20–30 second strides in running (and cycling and fast 25s in swimming) two to three times a week. And, yes, there are other ways we raise the ceiling but strides/pickups/fast 25s are a very effective way to tap into your high end with minimal cost. Best return on your endurance investment.
vVO2max even predicts UTMB performance. What’s vVO2max? It’s minimum running or swimming speed at which your body reaches its maximal oxygen uptake. It predicts endurance performance as it directly links your aerobic capacity to real-world movement speed.
3. Careful with HIT. Too much anaerobic work downregulates aerobic enzymes. Endurance events are aerobic past about 78 seconds, so we keep a limit on a lot of high intensity work. This doesn’t mean we won’t work hard during the Base or Specific period - we will. It just means that a lot of super hard, fast work can become counter productive very quickly. We need some, not a lot.
4. Fuel high-carb. Carbs tell the brain it can handle fatigue. Running and cycling are getting faster at all levels, mostly due to appropriate fueling. High carb fueling reduces muscle damage and improves economy. Conversely, low carb availability hurts bone markers, even when total calories are adequate. Fueling is the great performance unlock.
BTW, interesting comment from Gustav Iden (2nd at Kona): "I take 80 grams in T1. Then approximately 160 grams per hour on the bike, and a little lower on the run, around 100. We’ve been pushing up, up, up, at the same time as the power is going up and the pace is going up."
5. Long workouts build capacity. Marathoners, Ironman, ultrarunners need runs over 90 minutes to two hours. (After two hours the cost/benefit starts to turn unfavorable.)
For biking, long rides over 3 hours for Half and Ironman athletes especially in the Specific Period.
6. Go hard late, fueled. Fatigue resistance in cyclists came down to accessing high-intensity efforts after long easy work. Finish fueled long sessions with something like 30-second hill sprints. Same with runners. It teaches the brain not to panic late in a race.
It’s very tempting to fall off fueling in the last hour of your long run or bike. Don’t. Do the opposite. Fuel late and then occasionally do some hard short efforts at the end to build durability.
7. Eccentric load. Downhill running and lowering phases cause micro-damage that may remodel fibers toward slow-twitch. You build resilience to the muscle damage that slows you late in a race. Run downhills with vigor every 2 - 3 weeks especially if you are training for an ultra or hilly marathon. I have a belief that when I do some mountain downhill running in the summer, it helps the overall strength of my cycling legs (not proven, just my crazy theory).
8. Lift and plyometrics. Using a combination of heavy lifting and plyometrics shows gains in economy and durability. Squats, deadlifts (and any variation thereof) combined with some plyometrics like the Scott Johnston LME workout are a killer combo that will leave you with VERY strong legs.
9. Heat and biomarkers. This point is not for everyone as few have access to a sauna/hot but and/or just aren’t into putting on their winter jacket while riding their trainer! But heat training boosts blood volume and core-temperature buffering.
10. Supplements, maybe. These may support long-term adaptation: sodium bicarbonate, broccoli sprout extract (Nomio), omega-3s, and black currant, iron, vitamin D, omega-3s are worth exploring and/or getting blood work done to ensure proper levels. This is probably 1% type stuff (except iron) so don’t get sidetracked with marginal gains until you hit all the major fundamentals.
Bottom line: Done consistently, this rewires how you perform when you’re tired. Fatigue-resistant athletes oxidize carbs better after long fat-burning periods, manage muscle activation better, cramp less and most importantly finish strong!
Marathon Training: Don’t Overrun Your Paces
Another common mistake I’m seeing during this marathon training block is athletes overrunning their marathon pace in weekend key sessions and overrunning their prescribed paces in weekday speed sessions. While it’s natural and tempting to prove to yourself that you can run fast, that tendency usually doesn’t serve you well.
For example, if you run your 15K or one-hour-pace intervals at 10K or even 5K speed, that completely changes the workout’s load and stress on your body. This weekday workout is connected to the workouts you did last week, this weekend’s key long run, and next week’s runs. In other words, the training block has a purpose, and every piece is connected. If you regularly push one piece of the plan too hard, the plan no longer works, and you’re just accumulating unnecessary fatigue.
Many endurance athletes are overachievers, but that trait can bite you in endurance sports. As coaches, we’re looking for the effective dose: the optimal training load for your body and mind. You shouldn’t try to win the workout. You should execute the intention of the workout.
I’m also seeing this tendency start to lead to more niggles in the Achilles, calves, and shins. Running is a very biomechanically demanding sport, and hitting your prescribed paces is insurance against future injuries.
This is your permission slip to relax a little!
Katie:
Workout of the week – gear shifting intervals, a workout of the week that I’ve been loving
Variations on pace / kick / float intervals
V1: 30 mins easy, 40 mins broken up as 4.5 mins goal HMP, .5 mins kick (5-10k effort), 5 mins float (“keeping it honest pace”), 20 mins easy.
V2: 2 miles easy, 4x1 mile hour effort/1mile float. At the start of each effort run 30secs at 5k effort!
V3: 2 miles easy, 3x1 mile at hour effort/1mile float. Push the last 30secs of each hour effort mile
Goal of a “float” effort: teaches you to recover while still moving at a decent clip; also teaches you to not go too hard for HMP effort. Love this as a way to accumulate a lot of quality running without the workout feeling crazy hard
Good race-specific skill: learning that “recovery” during a race often means settling yourself while continuing to run quickly, rather than actually slowing way down
Mini kick intervals were also a nice way to simulate mini race surges and recovering while still going; 30 seconds is short enough to feel sustainable (and makes HMP feel easier because HMP becomes the “second hardest” interval instead of the hardest)
In general, gear shifting workouts like this are awesome for dialing 10K, HMP, MP or longer races and the natural shifting/ recovering while still moving that occurs over terrain in a goal race
Three housekeeping notes:
If you are thinking about Ironman Lake Placid or Ironman Canada, we will have two cohort groups actively training virtually and sometimes physically. We will do regular Zoom education and social time which is a great chance to talk with and support your peers. Weekend training opportunities in the Upper Valley and support on the ground at the races. Email me: Jim@TheEnduranceDrive.com for more details. We’d love for you to join our group.
If you are thinking about hiring us a coach, or want to talk to us about coaching, please reach out now. Don’t wait for the end of the year even if you don’t want to start structured training this fall. Roster spots are filling very quickly. Ideally, our coaches will know who they will be working with in 2027 by the end of this fall.
We are looking for someone to help us with coordinating ED gear, kit and possibly social media. If you are interested in trading some coaching for some time/skills, reach out to me: Jim@TheEnduranceDrive.com
Challenge or Resource of the week
Katie: Positive self talk – journal on what you did well in a recent workout, particularly if one went poorly!
Jim: Knowledge is Watts substack
Gear pick of the week
Katie: Finis SlipFin Pro