More and more running coaches use INSCYD to create better training programs and race pacing for their athletes. This blog covers the story of Vanessa Scaunet, who was able to switch her running goal from a 2k cross country to an 800m track race, within 10 days.
Cross country runner Vanessa Scaunet became an INSCYD’er when she performed an outdoor field-test in cooperation with the RUNNING AND MORE lab.
At that time of her test, Vanessa was preparing for the National Championship cross country short distance: 2000 meters, a distance that is covered in around 7 minutes.
The power demand of such a race is approximately 5.7 W/kg or 2160 Joule/kg. The energy contribution however, differs per person. With Vanessa having a high VO2max and a medium VLamax, approximately 87% of the energy is covered by her aerobic metabolism and only 13% is covered by her anaerobic energy.
Because Vanessa had her metabolic profile in INSCYD, she and her coach where aware of how she produced the needed energy for a 2000m race and knew what her limitations are. For a race of almost 7min, an increase in VO2max would allow her to run faster. On the other hand, the (anaerobic) glycolytic power of the VLamax was already sufficient for a 7 minute race.
To increase VO2max and maintain VLamax, her coach chose specific interval training. Creating highly individual interval training is easy using the INSCYD lactate- and recovery graph.
While Scaunet was preparing for a 2000 meter cross country, she received a phone call at the end of February, saying she was qualified for the European Championships indoor: 800 meters. A distance that is covered in just around 2 minutes.
The question arose: does it make sense to accept such an unexpected invitation 10 days before an event that is 3.5 times shorter in time length than what you are preparing for? Of course, Scaunet accepted the invitation to the European Athletics Indoor Championships — who wouldn’t?! She not only accepted it because it is an honor to participate, but she knew she was able to race at a highly competitively level, thanks to the INSCYD test. How?
Luckily, Vanessa and her coach used the Performance Projection to get a better understanding of the race demands at the European Championships. The Performance Projection (see video below) allows a coach to simulate any race distance and any speed, based on the real metabolic profile of an athlete.
To cover the 800m in around two minutes, her power output or total energy demand would be approximately 127% of what she was used to in the 2000m race.
Such a high power output equals an oxygen demand of about 83 ml/min/kg. However, Vanessa’s VO2max is in the mid 60s range.
This means, almost 20 ml/min/kg of oxygen demand cannot be covered by her aerobic metabolism. Therefore, this needs to be covered by anaerobic – mostly glycolytic – energy. As a result, the aerobic energy contribution is decreased to approximately 72% (instead of 87% during the 2000m), while the anaerobic energy contribution is increased to approximately 28% (instead of 13% during the 2000m).
Knowing the new race demands was interesting, however Vanessa and her coach only knew those demands 10 days before the race. It was too late to change the training program, but predicting the future race performance offered great insight for future training! Let’s have a look.
The INSCYD lactate recovery and accumulation graph shows how fast lactate accumulates at any intensity. Knowing Vanessa’s profile, she is able to reach a maximal lactate concentration of approximately 13-14 mmol/L when fully exhausted. When dividing the maximal lactate concentration by the duration of the race, we know the maximal lactate accumulation rate.
For example, the cross-country race that Scaunet was preparing for at first would take about 7 minutes. With a maximal lactate concentration of 14 mmol/L, the maximal lactate accumulation rate may not exceed 2 mmol/L per minute (14 ÷ 7 = 2). Otherwise, she would hit the maximal lactate tolerance before the finish line.
The lactate recovery- and accumulation graph below, shows that the running speed (x-axis) at a lactate accumulation rate of 2 mmol/l/min (y-axis) is approximately 5.4 m/s.
Knowing this speed enables coaches to create a pacing strategy for a race and helps them predict (running) race performance.
However, Vanessa now had to prepare for a 2 minute race. In our example, this would allow for a lactate accumulation rate of 7 mmol/L per minute (14 ÷ 2 = 7). By looking at the pace that matches this lactate accumulation rate, Scaunet’s trainer was immediately able to see whether this was a competitive pace. And it was…
This can be seen on the lactate curves that are created, using the performance projection in INSCYD. This shows a lactate curve for the 2000m and the 800m, using Vanessa’s already existing metabolic profile derived from her first INSCYD test. Using this graph, it is now pretty simply to read her speed at her maximum lactate concentration….
The performance projection allows her coach to “play around” with her metrics as well. Instead of only projecting her performance for a yet unknown race, it is also possible to edit one or several of the metrics of her metabolic profile. He can then find out how much time she saves with a higher VO2max, how gaining or losing 1kg of body mass affects her race results, or what the maximum lactate concentration would be if she increases her VLamax by doing more anaerobic training.
All this can be answered BEFORE prescribing a training program or signing up for the next Championships.
Vanessa Scaunet survived the qualifications and made it to the semi-finals. She finished in 18th position at Europeans. We want to congratulate Vanessa Scaunet on her performance and thank the performance lab and her coach for sharing this story.
Want to know how you can better train and coach your running athletes, using INSCYD? Schedule a free personal demo now!
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Just because INSCYD is well accepted in cycling – with partners like Team Jumbo Visma, Movistar and Alpecin-Fenix – doesn’t mean INSCYD is limited to cycling. In fact, the first INSCYD license purchased ever was in swimming – via the French Institute of Sports INSEP. If you are a coach, test lab or federation, who…
Many performance labs and coaches determine the anaerobic threshold based on a lactate concentration of 4 mmol/l during an incremental test. This article answers whether that is a valid method of assessing the anaerobic- or lactate threshold. Share this insightful article with athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts who can benefit from a deeper understanding of lactate…
(Tägerwilen, Switzerland, 8 March 2019) – INSCYD, the world’s most advanced software for performance analysis, and SEG Racing Academy partnered up for the next three years. Talent Support & Identification SEG Racing Academy is an U23 development team that competes at continental level with the aim of educating and developing riders to the next step.…
McCutchen going sub-5 and improving his Ironman bike split by more than 10 minutes in just 12 months Going sub-5 for the bike leg of an Ironman is a true milestone. Getting even faster after this benchmark is clearly harder, but not impossible. Just look at age–grouper Matthew McCutchen (47) from Aliso Viejo, California. McCutchen…
Muscle Glycogen and Exercise: all you need to know Glycogen is the most important energy substrate during exercise, especially at higher intensities. Since most races require such high intensities, glycogen is important to every athlete who wants to be strong, fast and become a winner. Regardless of the intensity at which you exercise, at some…
As a sports performance coach, you’re well-versed in creating training plans and guiding your athletes to success. However, are you providing them with the metrics they truly crave? Our survey revealed that athletes are highly interested in 3 specific metrics, which most coaches often overlook. Here are these 3 metrics, along with tips on how…
We are happy to announce that from now on, heart rate is integrated into our training zones. That means you can now describe a FatMax training zone – or any other training zone – based on heart rate. Image: INSCYD partner Triathlon Training Academy In the past, INSCYD training zones were described based on speed…
This article talks about the differences between a training platform like TrainingPeaks and INSCYD performance software. We also show how teams like Alpecin-Deceuninck combine both tools to prepare their pro athletes for key races. *Although we compare INSCYD with TrainingPeaks, the same is true for other training platforms like Today’s Plan, AZUM, etc. Prefer watching…
Henrik Kraglund on his way to break the 7-hour mark at La Marmotte 2019 There are several badges of honour in the world of endurance sports. For some, it is running a marathon in less than three hours, or qualifying for the Ironman World Championships. For pure cyclists, on the other hand, it can be…
Salim Mohammned getting an INSCYD test done by Jo Spindler Hard work will always beat talent (if talent is not trained). But if you’ve got a good set of genes and a strong work ethic, then you’re on the road to success. And that is true at any given phase in life. Just take Salim…
Sebastian Weber reently gave 2-day workshop in Munich about Energy metabolism diagnostics – and how to apply it in training. In attendance were national ski coaches looking to expanding their knowledge. The event was organized by INSCYD partner, the German Ski Association. Do you want to have an inside look at what the national coaches…
Not sure which software to use for analyzing lactate tests in your human performance lab? Checkout this comparison between Mesics (LC lactate) vs INSCYD, and decide which tool fits your lactate- and spiroergometry diagnostics lab best. To prevent confusion: Mesics is the company name. Their product is called Winlactat. Soon the product name will change…
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