Run Sessions
Extensive Endurance (EE)
What is an EE run?
An EE run is a robust endurance run, faster than LIA, but still below LT1 and not as quick as a Tempo run. Despite that, there is still a range of appropriate intensities. It is a higher level aerobic stimulus than an LIA.
Similarly to Low Intensity Aerobic (LIA) runs, these are performed below Lactate Threshold 1, just a bit closer to it.
You can see on the Training Zone chart where EE runs fit and more info on how we define Training Zones and Intensity here
Session durations range from 30 minutes to several hours.
Representation of Lactate Thresholds 1 and 2, with LIA and EE zones indicated
How to perform an EE run.
All our programmes use power to define intensity. If you are not using power, see the supplemental box “Using Pace”.
Warm Up: Start easy and over 5 - 10 min build up to target intensity. Perform any pre-session mobility or exercises you need, or stop during the warm up and perform that if that is your preference.
Session: It doesn’t get much simpler, run ‘steady’. A little faster than LIA but still at an intensity where shorter conversations are possible. You may need to concentrate to stay on target.
Cool Down: just ease the effort off over the final few minutes.
Real world example of an EE run. This is a challenging route with a large descent and climb - however you can see power is fairly even, whilst pace varies by ~1.5min/km.
Fuelling for EE runs
For shorter sessions, no fuelling is required.
In the longer sessions (60min+) a small amount of carbs may be required, particularly if you have other sessions to do later. The longer the session the more fuel you will require.
If you do fuel these sessions to improve recovery, save the fuel for the back end of the session.
One consequence of ingesting carbs is that it can switch off or reduce the contribution made by burning fat.
Using Pace
Pace is a poor means of defining intensity due to changes in surface and terrain.
Software like Training Peaks only allows sessions to be set using a percentage of FTP/Threshold. For fast runners, this overestimates the pace required on lower-intensity runs, and for slower runners, it underestimates it. Therefore, we will never write sessions using pace as a base metric.
However, some people prefer to use pace - see here for more on how to read the session and execute our power-based session using pace.
Strides: Some sessions include strides at the end. These are 60 - 80m efforts, starting from your LIA power and building to ~VO2max power.
It does not need to be exact, they are in there to create some neural activation and to keep you in touch with faster running. If you feel tired, do them slightly slower, common sense goes a long way.