Physiological Capacity and Run Fitness - part 1

Ever wondered what goes on when you run? When you race?

Or how your body responds (to each repetition, set or session) and adapts (to multiple sessions - called training) to get better?

This is the first of a multi-part series on general physiological aspects of endurance run performance.

The next series will investigate specific physiological aspects of endurance (run) performance and how to improve them.

Getting to a run-race start-line is one thing. Negotiating getting to the finish-line as fast or as easy as possible is another.

An official entry, effective training, sound health and the right gear will get you to the start-line. Getting to the finish-line tests your health, training, good fortune, drive and fortitude.

How fast you get there will test your physical (and mental) capacity, and fitness. So too the course demands (duration. hills, surface, turns) and environment (heat, humidity, wind, smog/pollution, sun), your experience, and smart choices about pacing and managing fatigue.     

Your racing capacity is ultimately determined by your endurance training background, racing history, and genetic make-up – your unique physiological, mechanical and mental passport. And, to the extent you’ve developed the supporting bodily systems.

All Systems Go…

To get you to the line, red-lining, over the line, and lining up again requires a large - chiefly under-appreciated - complex and coordinated effort by all your bodily systems ...

System*	Main players	Important tasks
respiratory	·      lungs & airways ·      breathing muscles o   diaphragm o   intercostals	·      moving air in and out of the body ·      exchanging gases (mainly oxygen, carbon-dioxide) and water vapor with environment ·      speech
circulatory (& lymphatic)	·      heart ·      blood vessels ·      blood – cells, plasma	·      transport of nutrients, gases, chemical messengers (hormones), waste products, and protective bodies around the body ·      body temperature management ·      maintaining acid-base balance
integumentary	·      skin ·      hair, nails ·      (sweat) glands ·      receptors	·      barrier to foreign substances ·      prevent loss of excessive fluid from cells ·      temperature regulation ·      sensory information – pressure, hot, cold, pain ·      communication – touch, emotion
nervous (and senses)	·      brain ·      nerves ·      specialised organs ·      chemical transmitters	·      relationship with outside environment ·      regulation of other systems ·      abstract thought, learning & memory, reason, emotion ·      integration – judgments made from lots of information ·      movement – with muscular
Endocrine (hormonal)	·      hormones ·      special glands such as: adrenal, reproductive, pancreas,	·      works very closely with other systems, particularly nervous, digestive, reproductive ·      transport of chemical messengers – hormones ·      regulate growth, nutrient use & storage, adjustment of water & electrolyte balance ·      metabolic rate
digestive (& urinary)	·      stomach ·      intestine(s) ·      liver ·      pancreas ·      kidneys ·      bladder	·      breakdown of large food particles ·      absorption of macro- and micro-nutrients ·      absorption of water ·      formation of blood proteins ·      storage site for vitamins & minerals ·      carbohydrate storage & metabolism ·      detoxification ·      maintain blood sugar levels ·      maintain normal composition of body fluids ·      removal of waste
skeletal	·      axial o   skull &vertebrae o   sternum & ribs ·      appendicular o   shoulder girdle & arms o   pelvic girdle & legs ·      joints	·      support: tissues, organs & muscle attachments ·      movement: joints, muscles ·      protection of vital organs ·      blood cell formation ·      storage of minerals
muscular	·      muscles ·      tendons ·      specialised receptors	·      posture, mobility and stability: static, dynamic ·      movement ·      heat regulation ·      assist blood flow
* the direct system(s) involved with reproduction, development, and genetic control & inheritance aren’t included

To run, function or perform at your best, you and all bodily systems must function optimally. 

The systems have different yet complex interactions within and amongst themselves:

(a) to keep you up and about – alive

(b) for growth & development, repair & recovery

(c) to cope successfully with the daily stress and stressors of your environment, lifestyle and training (d) to protect against invaders and failing systems, and

(e) pass on your genetic passport

Part 2 will explore Optimal Fitness for running.

I've GOT the formula to success...

I've been around running a long time.

Although I ran and ran as a kid - sometimes away from things, other times to things - I remember the day, place and time I officially became a runner. That was 32 years and some 835,000 kms ago.

I've learnt a few things in that time - read, listened too, heard, seen, attempted, tried, discarded, remembered, reworked, remodelled, reshaped, retried, and nearly retired. I still learn.

The formula to success in running is something I have always chased, and will continue to do. Not so much for myself, yet for others: those beginning or re-starting, those looking to get better - to go faster and further with more ease; for the experienced and the pros; for those returning from ill-health, for those wanting to prevent and/or come back from injury; and those I coach, mentor and consult.

And, for those prepared to listen, and act -  to learn quickly from what has taken me nearly a life-time to come to know, understand, value, deconstruct and reconstruct, contextualise and apply.

Until this morning, in reviewing some old coaching notes of mine, I'd thought that the formula to success in running was easy, simple, yet not complete.  I call it the GOT formula

• Get Out, Train
• Get Out There - now, wind, rain, hills, snow, sand, heat
• Go Often, Training
• Get Off The couch
• Get Over iT

You GET the idea, right?

Well, how about this then? From The Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport, the proceedings of an International Seminar on the Art & Science of Coaching (December 1979)...

 To those who do have "the answer" or "the formula" good luck to you.  I'm still working on it, and have GOT to get back to it!

All sorts...

Runners come in all shapes and sizes.

And speeds and styles.  And outfits and gadgets.

I got wondering about this while out and  about coaching this morning. The pleasure of coaching my in2running squad was magnified by the beautiful sunrise and early morning weather. The Botanical Gardens ('The Tan') in Melbourne attracts runners of all types: runners like you, runners like me, and runners like us.


Some speed by, others shuffle by; some stride past, many sigh past; some ease along, others pant-n-puff strong; yet, all move in their own way, and run along.


After our session I rewarded myself with a an hour-and-some of run/walk. I took my new Garmin Forerunner for a test run. Thank you to in2runners for this generous gift. It's nicknamed the Forderunner, hehe.

Then, I got to coach some speedy and agile football players, both Soccer and Australian Rules Football. More different shapes and sizes and speeds. And needs.

To this point, we've looked at some basics of program design. Let's take it a little further. As we do that let's be clear on the different types of running. Strangely enough their are different types of types of running. What the?

There are types defined by differences in gait, technique and mechanics: walk, jog, run, sprint.
There are types defined by distance: sprints, middle-distance, long distance, ultra-. Each of these have their own classifications and event names.
There are types defined by obstacles: hurdles or 'sticks', steeple-chase.
There are types defined by terrain: hill, trail, cross-country, even orienteering and rogaining.
There are types defined by outcomes: health-related, fitness-related running, performance-related running. Some even run for it's contribution to aesthetics.
There are types defined by relationship: individual, team, age-group.
There are types defined by no definition, yet for the exhileration and the experience.

Training effectively for each of these different types of running simply requires us to understanding running in context: who it's for, what they're training for, and the demands of their event.


A one-approach to training for running does not fit all people, nor does it fit all athletes or all events. It certainly doesn't fit all outcomes or goals, and nor should it remain the same for all people over time. This is Training Programs 101, 102 and 201.


Although sprints, middle-distance and endurance events all involve running...training for them requires different and individualised programs over time.  Yet, each effective program will be based upon sound athletic development principles of training.


In blogs to come I'll share my experiences with you about program design for endurance events.


Endurance runners come in all shapes and sizes.

What sort are you, and me?

Programs 101

"Do you know where I can find a good program for...?"
"Can you help me with a good program for...?"
"Is ABC a good program...?"

Ring-a-bell? They do to me. I get asked them almost everyday. Feeling cheeky I could reply, "Possibly", "Sure", and "Maybe", respectively. Those who know me recognise my wry grin.

They're interesting questions for two reasons. Firstly, no-one really wants a 'bad' or 'mediocre' program, do they? They want a "good" program. Secondly, what is a program?


What a program is depends upon your perspective, experience and, importantly, your expectations.


To some a program is having a weekly routine; to others, its a chapter or page from a magazine, a journal, a blog, a website or  a book; to some, it's a series of sessions repeated on a weekly (or thereabouts) basis; to many, it's a series of sessions that require them to go further, or faster, or run hills etc; some even consider it getting a tweet or email or SMS from their coach that outlines the daily session/s to complete; a few would consider it going out and training according to how they feel.

None of these 'definitions' or 'types' of programs are necessarily right or wrong. It depends upon how you look at them, and what you were expecting. It depends upon your context, and how you go about framing your view of a program.  (I return to 'context' and 'framing' another day).

To me a program has a number of fundamental or basic elements.

Firstly, a program is a journey. This journey is all of planned, reflective (is revised over time), reactive (or flexible, catering for 'stuff that happens'), respectful (individualised or customised), and robust (includes a range of elements).

A program is not a routine or schedule to be blindly followed or adhered to...it is a living, ongoing entity.

Secondly, like a journey your program has three parts: (1) a destination - your finish point, where you want to end-up, your aim or ultimate outcome; (2) it takes stock of your current position - where you're at, what your'e currently doing, and what you think you need to do; and, (3) it also considers your past - where you've been, what you've done, what worked and what didn't, and what you've learnt.

A program is not a schedule of sessions that you're given, or have been taken from a source, that aren't adapted to you and your context.

Thirdly, a program must be planned. This planning gives you direction. It respects where you've been, has considered where you're at, and points you in the direction of your destination. It provides guidelines. It highlights complementary elements to assist you in 'staying on track'. It highlights progressions and milestones in a descriptive and, sometimes, quantitative sense.

Each of these are based upon the demands of your event, and your capacity to progress to meeting these demands.

A program is not a serious of random sessions; it is not a routine of sessions completed a little further and/or faster each week; it is not a compilation of daily or weekly emails or posts or tweets or SMSs.

Finally, a program is based upon fundamental principles of training: individuality, specificity, adherence, progression, overload, recovery, variety - all based upon science, knowledge and 'known stuff', yet applied, combined, mixed, brewed or created with the deft wisdom of an artist.

Programs come in all shapes and sizes. They also come with various degrees of professionalism, effectiveness, and price-tag$.

An "effective" program for you, ultimately, is based around you and your progress toward the goal/s you wish to achieve. Where you start, how you get there, and how you manage the road-blocks, detours, road-works and accidents along the way - the journey - is the special aspect of your program. It is the "good" in a good program.


A program is your journey.

How does your current program stack up?
Alarm bells?