title: Assessment of long-distance running performance in elite male runners using onset of blood lactate accumulation.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA) and long-distance running performance in order to examine whether OBLA can be a good predictor of long-distance running performance even in elite male runners with similar performance levels. Eleven highly-trained male long-distance runners participated in this study. The average running velocities of the individuals' running performance were 5.918 +/- 0.084 m.s-1 and 5.672 +/- 0.095 m.s-1 for 5000 m (V5000) and 10,000 m (V10000), respectively. The blood lactate concentrations and heart rate responses were measured immediately after field running, and the average value of running velocity corresponding to OBLA (VOBLA) was 5.447 +/- 0.132 m.s-1. Variations of these three velocities expressed as a coefficient of variance (CV) ranged from 1.4 to 2.4%. A strong inverse relationship between heart rate corresponding to OBLA (HROBLA) and performance was observed (r = -0.709, p < 0.02 for V5000 and r = -0.830, p < 0.01 for V10000), while there was a lack of significant relationship between VOBLA and performance (r = 0.293, NS for V5000 and r = 0.130, NS for V10000). Furthermore, the average value of HROBLA obtained in this study (174.5 +/- 8.2 b.min-1) was quite similar to that of the heart rate threshold reported by some previous researchers. In conclusion, VOBLA alone could not explain the small variation of long-distance running performance, and HROBLA should be used in place of VOBLA for evaluating long-distance running performance in elite runners with quite similar performance levels.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuchimochi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miyahiro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanamaru
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niihata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019344:Lactic Acid