TRAINING LOAD AND CONTROL OF PERFORMANCE DURING A ANNUAL TRAINING CYCLE FOR A DISTANCE RUNNER

A.C.Gomes,P.R.Oliveira,S.G.Da Silva,L.Kaiss

Universidade Estadual de Londrina,
Universidade Estadual de Campinas,
Universidade Federal do Paranб,
Brazil

Introduction

In Brasil there is an increasing interest for running, and in special for road racing in distances varying from 5 km though ultramarathons (60-100 km). However, there is still a paucity of studies examining the training methodologies used in brazilian athletes.

Matveev & Gomes (1997) have shown that some tendencies of the training system used by the brazilian coaches do not coincide with the majority of international coaches. The brazilian systems lack of control exercises, and do not seem to have clear wich is the proper training distance for the proper development of performance in distance running.

The aim of this study is to present a way to control the training process during a annual cycle and examine the training volume, as well the evolution in performance thoughout the seasons of training and performance.

Methods

This investigation is in a Case-Study format, in which a 28 year-old female distance runner was followed during 12 months of training and competition. The athlete was studied from February 1997 through February 1998. At the moment the athlete is ranked the second in Brasil for the distance of 10 km, and has won the Brazilian championships in the 10 km twice. She also have participated eight times in the World Cross-Country and World Distance Relays.

The training sessions were normally followed by the coach, and consisted on its majority of 2 daily training sessions. Training intensity was greater during week days than during weekends. The control exercise (a 2000m run test) was performed montly, always on the fourth week of month, on Saturdays and around 4 P.M. The ambient temperature during the testing was on the average of 22-23 degrees Celsius. During the period of the study the athlete participated in 12 competitions with distances varying from 5 km to the marathon. The periodization aimed the best performance in December, when the athlete participated in the International Sгo Silvestre Road Race, which is 15 km in length.

Results

The performance on the Control Test - 2000m Run Test (in time of performance and average velocity), training volume (kilometers ran) and the corresponding training phase for each month of training are shown on Table 1.

Discussion

The athlete performed a total volume of 5760 km during the 12 months of training, and these, 3150 km were run during the preparatory phases (I and II) and 2610 km during the competitive phases (I and II) and transition phase. The highest montly volumes occured during the months of April and September, coinciding with the last months of the preparatory phases. At the end of both of these months, the performance on the 2000 m Run Test decreased, problably due to the extensive volume of training. However it should be noted that, in general, the performance in the Control exercise improved thoughout the year, with a performance of 4.83 m/sec in the first month and 5,29 m/sec in December.

Table 1

Performance on the 2000m Run Test, training volume (km) and Training phase corresponding to each month of training

The achievement of the best performance time on the Control Exercise in December is relevant because that was the main goal for the athlete. When comparing the results of a particular month with the results of the previous one, the biggest increments on the Control Test occured in June and December, when the volume was reduced and na enphasis was given to the aerobic/anaerobic and anaerobic training with a reduction on aerobic training.

This study shows that the introduction of Control Exercises can be important a contribution to the process of training, by showing the effects of volume and intensity to the athlete's running performance.

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Training load and control of performance during a annual training cycle for a distance runner / Gomes A.C. [и др.] // Человек в мире спорта : Новые идеи, технологии, перспективы : Тез. докл. Междунар. конгр. - М., 1998. - Т. 1. - С. 259-260.