Your maximal aerobic speed and training paces
Your test and your result: your maximal aerobic speed (MAS), your five training paces, and your test replayed in fast-forward on the track.
“~”: estimated, not measured
Your 5 pace zones
The zones used in the Cadevia app
Your test, in fast-forward
How it's calculated
- The questions: the test you did and your result. Four tests are accepted: the half Cooper (6 minutes), the Cooper test (12 minutes), and a 5K or 10K run all out. Your maximal aerobic speed (MAS) is also called vVO2max: the slowest speed at which you reach your VO2 max.
- The half Cooper: your distance divided by 6 minutes is your average speed. In meters, divide by 100 for km/h (1,400 m in a tenth of an hour = 14.0 km/h); in miles, multiply by 10 for mph (0.87 mi = 8.7 mph). It's taken as your MAS as is, because 6 minutes is about how long you can hold your MAS: 5 min 21 s on average in 14 elite runners (V. Billat et al., “A comparison of time to exhaustion at VO2 max in élite cyclists, kayak paddlers, swimmers and runners,” Ergonomics, 1996). In 48 men of all levels, the speed held for 5 minutes in the field tracked the MAS measured on a treadmill very closely (correlation 0.94: P. Berthon et al., “A 5-min running field test as a measurement of maximal aerobic velocity,” European Journal of Applied Physiology, 1997).
- The Cooper test, a 5K, a 10K: longer than 6 minutes, they're run below your MAS. It's worked back with the Cadevia app's own calculation: your result is converted to an equivalent 10K with Riegel's formula (time × (10 km ÷ your distance) to the power 1.06; P. Riegel, “Athletic records and human endurance,” American Scientist, 1981), your pace for that 10K is your threshold, and your threshold sits at 90% of your MAS (MAS pace = threshold pace × 0.90). The 12-minute test comes from K. H. Cooper (“A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake,” JAMA, 1968: in 115 men, the distance run tracked the VO2 max measured on a treadmill, correlation 0.897). These MAS figures are estimates, marked “~”.
- Rounding: the app's, to the second per kilometer. Threshold pace is truncated to the second, then easy pace is threshold × 1.22 and MAS pace is threshold × 0.90, also truncated. With the half Cooper, your threshold is the whole-second pace that gives back your exact MAS, to the second, under that same rule. Miles are converted from these paces (1 mi = 1.609344 km), rounded to the second.
- Your five pace zones: the ones the Cadevia app uses, from its Zones screen to your watch alerts and the Coach's paces. Z1 Recovery: from your easy pace + 60 s to + 30 s per km. Z2 Endurance: from + 30 s to your easy pace. Z3 Tempo: from your easy pace to your threshold + 15 s. Z4 Threshold: from your threshold + 15 s to your threshold (your 10K pace). Z5 VO2 max: from your threshold to your MAS. The percentages of MAS simply turn those paces into speeds. Colors and names: the app's.
- Your VO2 max: 3.5 × your MAS in km/h, in mL/kg/min (L. Léger, D. Mercier, “Gross energy cost of horizontal treadmill and track running,” Sports Medicine, 1984: on a track, this straight line matches their full model between 8 and 25 km/h, or 5 to 15.5 mph, and the page only shows it in that range). It's an estimate: at the same MAS, a more economical runner has a lower VO2 max.
- A bad test shows: start too fast, skip the warm-up, run tired, into the wind or on a route that climbs, and you cover less ground, so your MAS comes out lower than it really is. Same for a race you didn't run all out. Redo the test when you're fresh: your best result is the one that counts.
- The safety check: above 25 km/h (15.5 mph), the page warns you. V. Billat's 14 elite runners (1996) had an average MAS of 22.4 km/h (13.9 mph), give or take 0.8.
- The track: a 400 m oval with the proportions of a standard track (two bends with a 36.50 m radius, two 84.39 m straights, eight lanes), run counterclockwise as in competition, with the start and finish at the end of the bottom straight. The runner goes round in lane 1 at your average speed for the test, in fast-forward.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my maximal aerobic speed with the half Cooper test?
After a 15-minute warm-up, run as far as you can in 6 minutes. Your distance in miles × 10 is your MAS in mph: 0.87 mi gives 8.7 mph, or 6:54 per mile (in meters, divide by 100 for km/h: 1,400 m = 14.0 km/h). Start too fast or skip the warm-up and you'll underestimate it.
What MAS do I need to run a 10K in 50 minutes?
About 8.3 mph (13.3 km/h). In the Cadevia app's calculation, a 10K is run at your threshold, 90% of your MAS: 8:03 per mile in the race means 7:15 per mile at your MAS.
What percentage of MAS is an easy run?
In Cadevia's zones, endurance (zone 2) runs from about 67% to 74% of your MAS. For a MAS of 8.7 mph (14 km/h), that's between 10:08 and 9:20 per mile: a pace where you can still talk.
How does MAS relate to VO2 max?
Multiply your MAS in km/h by 3.5: a MAS of 14 km/h (8.7 mph) gives a VO2 max of about 49 mL/kg/min (L. Léger and D. Mercier, 1984). The formula holds on a track between 8 and 25 km/h. It's an estimate: at the same MAS, a more economical runner has a lower VO2 max.