Training and Racing in The Mystery Zone
Copyright 2001 Barry Publow

It should come as no surprise that prolonged endurance events require a well-defined aerobic energy system. Correspondingly, sprint athletes whose race is over in 20 seconds or less require high levels of strength, power, and anaerobic conditioning. But what about events who's duration lies between these two extremes? Where does the energy come from for "Mystery Zone" competition lasting between two (2) and five (5) minutes? And how should athletes best train for such events? Should they rely more heavily on aerobic or anaerobic training methods? 

While the energy dynamics of short and long events are quite well understood, the truth is that there is much to learn about training and racing in the mystery zone. This is because the duration and intensity of such competition involves a roughly equivalent split between aerobic and anaerobic energy contribution. Coaches and scientists are often at odds with respect to how to best prepare athletes for these events. To the same end, little is understood about the optimal training methods for prolonged endurance/interval sports such as inline racing - those which rely heavily on aerobic energy yield, but also on the high-output, lactic acid-producing anaerobic system which comes into play during a short burst of sprint speed. 

In a joint effort between the US Olympic Committee and the American College of Sport Medicine, a panel of coaches and sport scientists recently convened for a one-day human performance summit in Colorado. The objective was to develop some sort of position statement(s) on training and racing in the mystery zone. The comments and recommendations which emerged from this meeting can be effectively applied by speedskaters whose competitive demands represent the classic mystery zone event. 

Aerobic Versus Anaerobic Training

Aerobic energy metabolism involves using oxygen to metabolize fats, carbohydrate, and protein into raw chemical energy. Aerobic training enhances our ability to utilize oxygen by improving the efficiency of the heart, lung, and vascular systems. Traditional aerobic base training which is done in the off-season and early pre-season positively affects the rate at which athletes recruit the aerobic system at the start of the event. This is useful since the anaerobic capacity will be available for the end of the race. 

Anaerobic training does not rely on the presence of oxygen in the energy-yielding process. Developed through high-intensity training, improvements in anaerobic function heighten the ability of our muscles and blood to neutralize and remove lactic acid and other waste products. Because of the high lactic acid levels associated with short duration events, all experts agree that anaerobic training is an essential ingredient in preparing for mystery zone events.


Balancing & Mixing Training Types

How much of an athlete's training time should be dedicated to aerobic versus anaerobic development? This debate has been waged for years and there is still no uniform agreement on the subject. Coaches and sport scientists do agree that base preparation should be done prior to an increased reliance on anaerobic training methods, and that excessive base training may be detrimental to the overall process of competitive preparation. US cycling scientist Dr. Edmund Burke feels that events lasting 1-2 minutes in duration should involve a 50/50 split between aerobic and anaerobic training. Other coaches feel that more attention should be given to anaerobic training. There is no true consensus, which means it is difficult to extrude any hard and fast rules for training and racing in the sport of inline speedskating. 


Lactic acid and anaerobic training are your close friends. Don't lose touch!

While these may be acquaintances we love to hate, there appears to be much benefit in maintaining a year-round, arms-length relationship with these fiery friends. Despite the widely-held theory that an annual training plan should be periodized, there is growing belief that athletes should never lose touch with any of the performance factors which are relevant to their sport. In a periodized training plan an athlete typically progresses through four well-defined stages where the training methodology and goals/objectives change to accommodate the development of the body's three energy systems. 

While experts agree that the process of energy system development should be structured as such, it appears as though even off-season training should involve some anaerobic training. This is not to say that anaerobic training should be a focus, only that the athlete should maintain one or two moderately intense anaerobic workouts during this time. The rationale is that maintaining some off-season anaerobic conditioning will ease the transition to higher intensity training which begins in the pre-season phase. 

Training the Anaerobic Energy Pathway

When planning a weekly microcycle it is believed that anaerobic training and aerobic training methods should not be intermingled within a single training session. The stimuli and resulting adaptations are so different that the end result will be a mixed as well. An athlete is better off designating one or two days for anaerobic training. 

One aspect of anaerobic training which remains disputed is the optimal weekly frequency for such workouts. Most experts suggest that two workouts per week is ideal, although some coaches use much higher frequencies. All experts agree, however, that prolonged exposure to anaerobic training loads is hazardous to the health of the athlete. Training loads and frequencies must be carefully selected based on the time of year, the athletes ability and current level of performance, and the degree of fatigue/recovery.

What about Strength Training for Mystery Zone Events

While the role and importance of strength training is somewhat dependant on the sport for which one is training, the panel emphasized that strength training for mystery zone events should be highly specific. That is, training should be aimed at developing muscular power and/or relative strength. While such attributes are undoubtedly important for sprinters, recent evidence from Finland suggests that strength training can improve performance in races up to 10 km in well training runners.

Peaking and Tapering 

Most athletes competing in mystery zone competition have to peak much less frequently than endurance athletes. This is likely due to the fact that training for such competition usually involves a higher percentage of high-intensity interval training and less overall training volume. Experts agree that athletes who train for short anaerobic events can also maintain their peak for longer.

Conclusions

The most notable conclusion is that training and competing in the mystery zone is a mystery zone in itself. In summary, the ACSM-USOC panel formed the following opinions:

· Despite the short nature of mystery zone events, aerobic development is of primary importance.
· Aerobic and anaerobic fitness should be maintained in all phases of training (all times of the year).
· A prolonged period of anaerobic training increases the risk of overstraining/overtraining.
· Shorter events require more resistance training, which should emphasize the development of relative strength and power rather than an increase in muscle size.
· Optimal tapering involves a reduction in training volume while maintaining a high overall intensity.