Exercise induced muscle damage and bugs

My last bit of follow up with Paul Murgatroyd at Lincoln Uni after my running performance tests was concerned with understanding why I am performing reasonably well this season but have a poor running economy. I asked ...

"do you think ultra performance might be related to resistance to muscle microtearing, which might be trainable? I am aware that I do not get sore muscles mid-race as much as I used to. I have to run longer and faster to reach the sore stage."

And he replied ...

"Definitely - the research is unequivocal here that exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), usually microtrauma in the local muscle tissue following eccentric contractions, is reduced through the repeated bout effect (RBE). Obviously the trauma is worsened when covering difficult terrain, particularly involving a lot of ascent/descent, and the body's adaptability to withstand this is improved through training and racing (increasing the RBE, in effect)."

To which I then replied ...

"I wonder then whether this might be the case as a pair of hypotheses to explore:

1. elite or very good performers have both good running economy and good ability to withstand EIMD
2. there are 2 ways to be an above average performer - either good running economy or good ability to withstand EIMD

Looking at myself I don't do a lot of road running. Most is trail, and quite hilly. I suspect therefore I have reasonable resistance to EIMB (could this be tested in some way?) but don't run at high speeds much so have a poor economy.

I wonder what the ideal mix is between economy focussed and EIMD resistance focussed training? Something perhaps to explore. "

And he replied ...

"Interesting hypotheses indeed - for us, the next stage of testing in racing is firstly to look at where the subjects are working in relation the the lab variables taken. For instance do runners work at a certain percentage of VO2 max/HR max? Do they run below, at or above LT? Is this replicated amongst the group or do individuals differ? Does this change between races, eg. 40 to 60 to 100 milers? How much effect does the terrain have on this - hilly v flat? Lots to discuss and deliberate, undoubtedly!"

And just for good measure here is more of the genius of Ivor Cutler, with a superb rendition of 'I believe in bugs'. Marvellous. Just ignore the random badly shot stuff of some guy playing a guitar in a nightclub that starts about a minute and a half in, when Ivor has finished.