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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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…
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…
When Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, he not only completed a marathon in under two hours but also shattered a seemingly insurmountable human performance boundary. What made such a feat possible? We’ve delved into the potential physiology behind the 1:59 Challenge, and the findings are astounding… To…
One-man coach Toll Tollmahawk more than doubled his athlete coaching and testing business in just 4 months. In this article he shares how he did this, via 3 actionable tips. Toll Tollmahawk My need to better understand it kick started my business Tollmahawk Plus. My goal is to enable all athletes – whether they are professionals, weekend…
Salenstein, Switzerland. June 3rd 2020 . INSCYD and Belgian Cycling have just signed four-year cooperation agreement. This partnership includes all divisions of the national cycling association, i.e., INSCYD will support the disciplines road cycling, mountain biking, cyclocross, BMX and track cycling in their pursuit of maximum performance. Expert education for coaches After a several months long…
There are many reasons why endurance athletes should want to increase their fat combustion. Riding many hours at FatMax (intensity at which you burn the most fat) might seem like the best way to do this. However, this is not always the case. It can even harm you and cause overtraining. Here’s what you should…
In our previous article, we showed how to find out whether your runner should increase or decrease VLamax. Now it’s time to answers the final question: how to increase or decrease VLamax and How to increase VO2max in the meantime. By Benjamin Tilus Download full article in PDF Ben Tilus, National and State Champion coach…
Many INSCYD athletes and coaches qualified and prepared for IRONMAN Kona, Hawaii. In this article we bundle their tips and tricks. Spread the knowledge! Share this article with your fellow coaches and athletes. Click the share buttons below and inspire others on their journey to athletic excellence. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email Table of Contents…
Because of the relatively short duration of swim races, the anaerobic energy production plays a huge and significant role. It therefore makes sense to learn more about this race winning energy system, that not many coaches take into account. A French national team member gets his lactate sample taken after an exhaustive exercise to determine…
How many times have you looked at your power meter or heart rate monitor and wondered if you were going too far above your threshold? Although it is reasonable not to kill yourself ‘just because’ when you’re out training and racing, you might be surprised by how little you actually know about one of the…
So you received your metabolic test report and now wonder what you should work on to improve performance? Here’s how to discover potential room for improvement. We also show how you can calculate your ideal metabolic profile, depending on your goal. Afterwards you know exactly which metrics you should improve by how much. Spread the…
Peter Sagen in Gent-Wevelgem 2018 The spring Classics season is already finished, a moment that always leaves cycling fans with a bit of sadness in their hearts. But for INSCYD and team BORA – hansgrohe the first quarter of the year has been a blast. Watching Peter Sagan winning his first Paris-Roubaix wearing the World…
Improving your VO2max or increasing your threshold is a time consuming process that we talk about all the time. Not this time. In this article we share 3 training tips that will increase your triathlon performance in a time efficient manner. Are you looking to increase your triathlon performance? Or maybe even preparing yourself for…
Increasing VO2max can be easy at first, but becomes challenging when you already have a decent training history. In this article we talk about all the advanced methods that improve VO2max. From training to nutrition. We also cover how to overcome a plateau in VO2max and common mistakes to avoid when trying to increase VO2max.…
Scientists and coaches are openly questioning the importance of the most well-known performance metric in endurance sports – VO2max. This article answers whether VO2max actually matters for your sport performance. Let’s dive right into it! Spread the knowledge! Share this article with your fellow coaches and athletes. Click the share buttons below and inspire others…
In this use case, coach and sport scientist Florian Heck shares how he and his runners benefit from combining INSCYD software with (STRYD) running power data. Trail runner Josef. Source: Sportograf Florian Heck, coach and managing director at KickAss Sports, shares his story about testing and coaching an experienced trail runner, using INSCYD and STRYD.…
Are 40-20’s (40s ON 20s OFF) the best work to rest ratios in HIIT intervals? Or should you consider 30-30 Billat intervals? Both are common in endurance sports like cycling and running, and recent scientific literature shows why. Continue reading to learn more about work-to-rest ratios in HIIT training. Spread the knowledge! Share this article…
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