If you've been around the Hardloop program long enough you have heard the term "chilling it, or killing it", and 90% of the time we are "chilling it". I have long been a believer in this polarized training which is why you don't typically see the Hardloop coaching team prescribe training in the classic five 'zones'. While we always ensure there's a full spectrum of energy systems engaged every training cycle, the predominant pace is easy. Turns out there is a ton of data to support this. Checkout Stephen Seiler's Ted Talk (click the picture below to watch YouTube) and it really resonated with me as a coach and an athlete. In summary, the world's best athletes spend about 85% of their time in "the green zone" (chilling it).
One of the biggest mistakes I see athletes, of all abilities (yes I am talking to you), make is running too hard too often (in the yellow and red zone). Turns out, the best don't spend much time there at all. Yes, workouts and races are hard (red zone) but few and far between. This is why I also don't typically follow the #TrackTuesday, #TempoThursday, #LongRunSaturday schedule. The schedule should be in tune with recovery, not the days of the week, and this is where a coach and training schedule becomes so important.
Some of my family have been prepping to do a triathlon and they’ve been doing this training. they were initially sceptical because they had to start at a much slower pace than what they were used to, however within a couple of weeks they were running at their old pace but their HRs were dramatically lower. for those wondering I’m not sure if it works for everyone but I definitely know it works.