The craziest training program ever to produce a marathon world record
In December, 2018, 70-yr-old American Gene Dykes stunned the marathon world by breaking the age-group record of the legendary Ed Whitlock. Dykes ran a 2:54:23 in Jacksonville, FL. A little more than 3 years later, Dutchman Jo Schoonbroodt, 71, took 4 seconds off Dykes’s mark at the Maasmarathon in Belgium.
And he did it with a training program that seems to have broken all the rules.
But first, a little background. A year after Dykes ran Jacksonville, the New England Journal of Medicine (free full text) published a Letter describing the outcome of laboratory testing on Dykes. Last week, Frontiers in Physiology published a much deeper investigation (link below) of Schoonbroodt’s training and physiology, and directly compared him with Dykes. The contrasts are startling, and perhaps illuminating (Though one can never extract too much meaning from these one-off “case studies.”)
Here’s the “tale of the tape” as comparisons between boxers used to be termed. The two runners weighed almost the same (142/143 pounds). Both were a little taller than I would have expected at 5’ 11’ (JS) and 5’10” (GD). They had nearly identical vo2 max results, 46+ ml/kg/min. Dykes was substantially fatter at 19% body fat vs Schoonbroodt’s 13.6%.
(Medical studies don’t use subject’s names, but they are allowed to say things like “broke the record for the 70-74 yr old marathon in May, 2022.” So it’s not hard to deduce who’s who in these reports.)
Treadmill testing revealed modest differences between the two runners, primarily that Schoonbroodt was about 8% more economical than Dykes. Then again, he wore super shoes during the treadmill testing, and Dykes didn’t. (Both wore super shoes in their record-setting races.)
What made Schoonbroodt more economical? There’s no sure answer to this question, but that didn’t stop researcher Bas van Hooren (himself a 28:41 10K runner) from speculating. He was no doubt emboldened by the rather remarkable 7-plus years of training information that Schoonbroodt provided. This data was backed up by his Strava-logged runs, plus 3 weeks when he wore a heart rate monitor provided by the researchers.
In 2015 Schoonbroodt ran an average of 49 mi/week, which he increased to 58 the next year. Then he got down to work. By 2021, he was logging 83 mi/week. Sounds nasty, right? But quantity means little without a quality factor, and Schoonbroodt was chugging along at a pedestrian 11:30/mi pace. Despite the slow training, he ran his record-setting marathon the following May at 6:39 pace.
A zone by zone analysis of Schoonbroodt’s training found him in Zone 1 for 97 percent of his running. He had no injuries during this period. By comparison, Dykes reports that he was running 40 to 50 miles per week during his buildup to Jacksonville (along with an amazing number of ultra races on weekends.)
Can we draw any conclusions from this side-by-side comparison? Van Hooren writes: “The better running economy [of JS] is likely a consequence of an almost double weekly training distance.” He also has a very high percent of slow twitch muscle fibers--over 90%. Dykes has not been tested for fiber types.
This paper adds to a preliminary amount of research suggesting that top age-group marathon runners maintain performance more through high-mileage training (even if at a slow pace) rather than high-intensity training. More at Frontiers in Physiology (free full text).
How do you know when you’re training too hard?
We all want the same thing from our training. We want to train hard enough to produce a genuine impact on our fitness and performance. But we also want to avoid overtraining, since this could send us spiraling in the wrong direction, ie, downward. The question is: What’s the best way to find the red line without going over it?
There are different methods, of course. Heart rate. Fluctuations in weight. Various systems that attempt to measure training load or training stress. Power output. Perceived exertion. And more.
A team of Dutch exercise physiologists decided to dig a little deeper into this issue. They asked a group of “recreational cyclists” to do 4 different workouts, immediately followed by a 3km time trial. (Earlier they had done a similar time trial while fresh.)
The study team monitored their subjects with several of the above mentioned systems (heart rate, etc) to see which most accurately reflected fatigue as measured by performance-loss in the time trial. In total, they analyzed 7 systems--4 related to heart rate, 2 related to power output, and one related to perceived exertion.
And the winner? ”Perceived exertion was the only one in line with the acute performance decrements found in this study.” In other words, while you might find it ever so tempting to rely on an objective, probably digital reading of your fatigue (such as your morning heart rate), there’s a better way. Substantial evidence supports the usefulness of relative perceived exertion. Listen to your body. And believe it. More at International J of Sport Physiology & Performance.
While we’re on the subject, here’s a great “hack” to avoid overtraining
Gordo Byrn is a former winner of the Ultraman Hawaii championship that covers 320 miles of swimming, cycling, and running (52.4 miles) in 3 days. He trained hard to achieve this, and made a lot of mistakes along the way. Over-training was one of them.
As a result, he eventually created a “rule” to make sure he never went over the edge again. It’s one I haven’t heard before, but I like it, because it’s easily stated, and should be quite effective.
Here the rule: Every week should include at least two easy days back to back. Not one. That would be the traditional hard/easy approach, and it can be pushed too far. But two easy days: hard/easy/easy.
This gives you a lot more safety margin against overtraining. More at Feel The Byrn.
What to eat just before bedtime
Just about everyone I know is trying to reduce their post-dinner snacking and calorie consumption. Even if you’re not on a Time Restricted Eating program, you’ve probably gotten the message that consuming extra calories before a long period of inactivity (like sleep) can send your blood glucose out of control. On the other hand, moving right after eating helps control glucose.
But there might be an exception to this nighttime snacking rule for hard-training athletes. A new RCT study has shown that consuming 360 calories of a whey-casein protein snack before bedtime “increases both mitochondrial and myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during overnight recovery from exercise.”
The study began when the 36 male subjects completed an hour of endurance exercise in the lab 4 hours prior to their bed time. Then, just before sleep, they slurped down a whey or casein protein drink, or a noncaloric placebo drink. Both protein drinks “resulted in greater mitochondrial and myofibrillar protein synthesis overnight when compared with placebo.” The whey and casein proteins produced similar results--neither was better than the other.
The implication here is that a pre-sleep protein drink could increase all the other good things that happen when you are asleep. You get training adaptation, and recovery. More at Sports Medicine (free full text).
A pain paradox. But true. And it feels so good
There was a time when runner’s high was regarded as a quasi-mystical, zen-like state that some athletes experienced while running. Now it’s more often seen as a condition that results from the release of endocannabinoids in the brain. That is, it’s not so much mystical as biochemical.
The release of these “eCBs” is believed “to alleviate pain, induce mild sedation, increase euphoric levels, and have anxiolytic effects [anti anxiety effects].” In our stress-filled world, many find these an important reward for their running. More at International J. of Molecular Sciences (free full text).
There’s also new evidence, from a study of more than 31,000 individuals, that those who exercise regularly report “lower odds of experiencing pain” in their daily life. In fact, they were only half as likely to report pain as low-level exercisers. This means that regular exercise is a “potential risk factor for minimizing development of chronic pain.” Nice. I’ll take it. I especially like that it’s opposite to the “exercise produces pain” belief that many mistakenly harbor. More at Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
The truth about caffeine and fat burning
No one doubts that caffeine improves performance. It’s on virtually every list of ergogenic performance boosters compiled by endurance experts. (And these lists are very short.) The question that remains is mainly one of mechanisms--how exactly does caffeine work?
Decades ago, an early stab at the answer suggested that caffeine enhanced fat burning during endurance exercise, which could “spare” glycogen, and thereby extend endurance. More recently, this theory has been largely replaced by an emphasis on neurotransmitter effects or central nervous system effects, ie, reducing perceived exertion.
However, the fat burning hypothesis survived this new meta analysis and systematic review of 94 studies. It concludes that caffeine has a “highly significant effect” on increasing fat metabolism. “Therefore, the fat metabolic theory for CAF for exercise (and rest) remains viable based on this systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis.” More at International J of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism (free full text).
What female runners should do to prevent knee injuries
Knee injuries are a major concern for runners, and females are often found to suffer these more often than males. That has led some to conclude that females have weaker quad muscles that may not stabilize the knee while running.
However, this study didn’t find that to be the case. It used a “a 2D patellofemoral joint model” that looked at “estimates of quadriceps muscle force and sex-specific patellofemoral contact area.” The females didn’t appear to have weak quads but rather peak hip adduction and internal rotation angles during running that were greater than males. This means that strength training of the hip muscles--adductors and abductors--could prove useful in preventing knee injuries. Other studies have reached a similar conclusion. More at International J of Sports Physical Therapy (free full text).
When to consume “energy drinks” or shots, and when not to
The International Society of Sports Nutrition has updated its Position Stand on energy drinks (ED) and energy shots (ES). In all, the new stand includes 13 key points. Here’s my brief summary.
EDs and ESs can improve performance, mainly through the use of caffeine and carbohydrates. Most of the other stuff dumped into ED and ES has little to no effect. There is “limited evidence” that low calorie ED and ES could provide “enhanced training capacity,” but be careful not to consume higher calorie doses that could add weight. ED and ES “are not recommended for children aged 2 to 12,” and adolescents aged 12 to 18 should “exercise caution and seek parental guidance” when considering ED and ES. Diabetics and those with cardiac concerns should speak to their physician. Indiscriminate use of ED and ES, including multiple servings a day along with other caffeinated beverages “may lead to adverse effects.” More at the International J of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (free full text).
SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss
>>> Leg muscle engagement little different between treadmill and over-ground running. Free full text.
GREAT QUOTES make great training partners
“I’ll be happy if running and I can grow old together.”
--Haruki Murakami