When the faithful participants of the flagship Triple Nickel pulled in the parking lot pre dawn, there was an ambulance idling in the far corner. Omen...
We welcomed the most beautiful pack of civilized beast onto the track with smiles and hugs. The morning started innocently enough with gentle strides across the meadow and back, followed by basic stretching. Then the command : "LINE UP"
We had two packs this morning. As usual, Pack One ran while Pack Two exercised. Then the Packs switched.
This is a real simple workout:
12 X 400M w/ equal time active recovery - "active recovery" today was shoulder/back/arms exercise with 5 pound weights in each hand.
Pack One average 90 seconds a lap and Two minutes active recovery.
Pack two averaged two minutes a lap and 90 seconds active recovery (there were 8 women pacing 105 seconds in this group/thanks to Barb and Jodi)
This was one of the toughest workouts this year. Mentally.... our brains were staying stop. But, the pack didn't wait this morning. Amazingly, it staid together. This workout more than any other demonstrated the power of group training. We can do far more together than we can alone.
Lactate Threshold
Everyone wants to ride, run and swim faster. Whilst natural ability still plays a huge role, lactate threshold is highly trainable (as is Vo2Max). By training properly almost every individual can ramp up their lactate threshold.
What is Lactate Threshold (also known as anaerobic threshold)?
Lactate is a by-product of anaerobic metabolism that, despite common misconception, is produced across all exercise intensities. In fact, even when you stand up from sitting in a chair, lactate acid is produced. The key in sport is the balance between the rate of lactate production and lactate absorption.
During light and moderate-intensity exercise, the blood concentration of lactate remains low. The body is able to absorb lactate faster than the muscle cells are producing it. However, as exercise intensity increases, there comes a point at which lactate removal fails to keep up with the rate of lactate production. This point is referred to as the lactate threshold and spells the beginning of the end of high intensity exercise.
Excessive blood lactate and hydrogen ion concentrations combine to interfere with efficient and proper muscle contraction, and as a result, power output drops, suffering increases and you are forced to slow down.
Lactate threshold represents the highest steady-state exercising intensity an athlete can maintain for prolonged periods of time (> 30 minutes).
The workout started on the basketball court. We could hear two Owl's calling to each other just before day break. It was just another benefit to outdoor group training.