At COROS, we are continuously looking to improve your experience as a user as well as facilitate your training journey through easy-to-understand metrics and graphs. This is why we would like to introduce Running Fitness as part of our EvoLab ecosystem!
What Is Running Fitness?
Running Fitness refers to the absolute value of your running ability (from a scale of 40-100) to help better understand your strengths and areas for improvement as a runner. There are four individual abilities assessed in the COROS app, let’s review below:
- Base (>30km): Aerobic Endurance is your ability to perform prolonged low-intensity exercise. We use the lowest pace in the Aerobic Power zone as an evaluation criteria- the higher the pace, the stronger the aerobic endurance!
- Endurance (~10km): Lactate Threshold Endurance is your ability to perform moderate to high-intensity exercise. We use your Threshold Pace as evaluation criteria- the faster the pace is, the greater the Lactate Threshold Endurance!
- Speed (~3km): Speed is your ability to perform high-intensity exercise. We use VO2max as an evaluation criteria- the higher the value, the faster you can sustain those high-intensity running bouts!
- Sprint (~400m): Sprint is your ability to perform short, very high intensity exercise. We use the highest pace you can achieve in 30-60s as an evaluation standard- the higher the pace, the stronger the Anaerobic Endurance!
How To Interpret Your Running Fitness
Because each category has its own evaluation criteria, it becomes easier now to get a clearer picture of your running abilities. For example, here are two profiles with various Running Fitness abilities:
- Athlete A focuses on middle-distance events which explains the higher values within the Endurance and Speed categories.
- Athlete B focuses on ultra distances (>50km) which explains the higher score in the Base category.
COROS COACHES Insights
The paces associated with each category are the intensities at which you should run at to improve this given category. After identifying your areas of improvement, aim to increase your training time within this pace zone to improve more effectively.
COROS COACHES: How to Improve Your Running Fitness?
As mentioned above, each category has its own evaluation criteria. Although they are all related in some way, Running Fitness allows you to focus on one component during training. Let’s break down coaching strategies for each category with their own criteria:
Base (Lowest pace in the Aerobic Power zone)
We suggest spending some time in the Aerobic Endurance zone to improve this ability. Continuous long duration (1-2 hours) training in this zone will contribute to increasing mitochondrial content and improving your aerobic base.
Endurance (Threshold Pace)
We suggest spending some time in the Threshold zone to improve this ability. Long intervals (15-30min) in this zone will contribute in delaying your threshold turnaround point and ultimately make you run faster for longer!
Speed (VO2max)
We suggest spending some time in the Anaerobic Endurance zone to improve this ability. Short intervals (3-7min) in this zone are ideal to induce a high VO2 and ultimately contribute to improving your running VO2max.
Sprint (Fastest pace for 30-60s)
We suggest spending some time in the Anaerobic Power zone to improve this ability. Short sprint bouts are ideal to improve your running form and your overall short-distance performance.
If you wish to get individualized insights from your own personal data, please feel free to send us a message through coach@coros.com and we will be happy to help you in your training journey!