October 2, 2008 - After a 22-year career in running, Jonathan Wyatt admits he still has more to learn to improve his racing and training.
The 35-year-old New Zealander has a glittering curriculum vitae, including racing in Olympic track and marathon events before building a reputation as the world’s greatest mountain runner, recently winning the World Mountain Running Trophy for the sixth time.
As he approaches ‘the twilight’ of his career, his training has become more refined and tailored to suit his lifestyle.
“I used to have a coach when I raced on the track and at cross country,” Wyatt says, “but I prefer now to rely on experience built up over many years as well as information obtained from my heart rate monitor.”
“I have adapted my cross country training to suit mountain running, and to be honest, there probably isn’t anyone who knows mountain running better than I do!”
However, he adds he initially wasn’t 100% sure how to use his t6c heart rate monitor (HRM), designed by Finnish firm Suunto, to its maximum. The watch records, among other things, Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and applying the data correctly is important in avoiding over-training and fatigue.
Sports physiologist and professional coach Eddie Fletcher says, “It’s about physiology of running and getting the correct match of duration-intensity and recovery.”
“In regards to using EPOC, running is running, whether it be track, cross country or over hills.”
Coming from a family who all used to compete, it was no surprise that Wyatt took up the sport.
“My father, older brother and sister all used to run and I followed on from them.”
Beginning to take it seriously at school from the age of 13, he first represented his country aged 16 at a leg of the International World Cross Challenge event in Fukuoka, Japan.
In 1994 he raced the 5000m at the Commonwealth Games, competing in the Atlanta Olympics over the same distance two years later and placing 16th.
After Atlanta, he stayed on in the US, participating in road events as a professional athlete. In 1998, a friend introduced him to mountain running.
“I found it much easier on the body,” he says. “There’s lots of uphill, and not so much downhill which really knackers the legs. In most of the German speaking countries it’s mainly up-only races.”
At La Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, in 1998 he won his first mountain running World Trophy. The sport has yet to be properly recognised by the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and therefore cannot hold an official world championship, the Trophy acting as a ‘substitute’.
His main target for 2008 was the World Mountain Running Trophy held in Crans Montana, Switzerland on September 14, the pinnacle of the sport’s calendar. Wyatt had the form of his life and on top of the 16 races he won this year, triumphed in wet and difficult conditions (see Sidebar).
An initial goal for the season was to make the New Zealand Olympic team for the marathon at the Beijing Olympics, an event he finished in 21st in Athens, 2004.
However, an early season injury put paid to his qualification chances and he had to adapt his targets.
“I put the major focus on enjoyment rather than results,” says Wyatt. “Mountain running is less intense than other disciplines, there aren’t so many full-time athletes and it’s the thing I enjoy the most.”
“I’m using this year to do more different races and just a couple of marathons. I love to race, not just go for times.”
Regarding his training plan, Wyatt is flexible, but calculating.
“I fix the races I’m going to do, then plan the training around it.”
As well as EPOC, the HRM is able to measure six other body parameters including energy consumption and respiration rate, which help Wyatt recuperate properly between sessions.
“Mid season, a lot of my training is maintenance work, where I have been easy running but also doing some hills between races,” says Wyatt. “This is because after hard races there is a recovery period and then another race followed by recovery again.”
Surprisingly for a sport centred in an alpine environment, altitude plays only a small part.
“I am living at 1000m in the Italian Dolomites and when I do a race finishing above 2000m, I am more careful in the beginning since it really can make a difference in the last part.”
“The highest places I have finished are about 3000m and it’s very tough over 2500m. You often have the steepest part of the race plus the altitude and you are tired, so with these three things, you have a real accumulation effect.”
“I don’t do specific high altitude training because I feel it’s more important to be in a good training environment including sleeping and family lifestyle.”
“I sometimes arrive at a high altitude race two or three days before to get used to that environment and am aware that it’s best not to train too hard before a race that is at such a high level.”
I often train at 1800m which is a short drive from where I live,” he continues. “I feel this is a good opportunity to get used to the feeling of running high.”
While Wyatt’s training is obviously yielding results, according to Fletcher, getting his t6c settings right was crucial.
“It’s hard to explain to athletes at the top of their game that they can still get better,” says Fletcher.
“As in life you are never too old to learn and improve,“ says Wyatt. “If you stop wanting to learn and improve then it’s probably time to stop!”
World Mountain Running Trophy 2008
Wyatt’s super season was capped off with a well-earned victory at the World Mountain Running Trophy, held on September 14, 2008 in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Taking the lead with just 500m of the 12km race remaining, Wyatt won by just 13sec from Uganda’s Martin Toroitich and Ahmet Arsian (TUR).
“It wasn’t a good track for me,” said Wyatt. “There was a lot of flat and downhill parts and the uphill bits weren’t long enough for me to get away.”
“The longest uphill section was in the last 3km and I had to wait till then to make my move.”
Conditions were difficult, with cloud and mist smothering the finish area and temperatures at the start were 13° Celcius.
“This was actually helpful to me,” Wyatt said. “It was slippery and very wet which helped me against the track and road runners.”
“I worked hard (for this victory) so it feels very satisfying. I haven’t been training for that type of course and it was going to be a little bit of an unknown, so this is really a great bonus.”
How a champion mountain runner trains
Wyatt’s training is well constructed and sensible, according to Eddie Fletcher, and shows good balance between various Training Effect levels.
Training Effect (TE) is based on measured EPOC values and takes into account current fitness levels and training history. It is scaled from one to five, with TE 1 meaning only minor training effect, such as a recovery session, to TE 5, which is defined as ‘overreaching’ and would require a significant rest period before resuming training.”
“TE levels are not only indicators of 'training effect' but also of 'fatigue' and therefore the recovery period needed before the next session,” says Fletcher.
Explains Wyatt: “A typical week post- and pre-race for me, providing I don’t need extra recovery, would consist of easy runs, hill sprints and longer efforts.”
Sunday: Race - Training Effect 5
Monday: Easy run 70min (plus travel from race) – TE 1-2
Tuesday: Medium/ easy with small hills 90min – TE 2-3
Wednesday: Workout 5 or 6x3min on hills with 2min recovery – TE 3
Thursday: Long climb 105min including 45min steady climb – TE 3-4
Friday: Easy 1hr – TE 1-2
Saturday: Very easy 50min plus 4x very easy stride outs – TE 1-2
Sunday: Race – TE 5
“Jonathan knows how to do recovery sessions,” comments Fletcher, “which is great – many don’t!”
“For any athlete, getting the t6c settings as accurate as possible will enhance the Training Effect benefits and help improve the balance of his or her training programme.”
IMG SRC="/running/images/jonathanwyatt.jpg" HEIGHT="510" WIDTH="340">
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
