That is incorrect. The improvement isn't a metabolic, it's mechanical.
Joe Hobbyjogger has no problem walking uphill for an hour at 93% VO2max. It's a tough workout, but it's doable on a good day.
And his VO2 Peak isn't going to improve either. That's not how metabolism works in a healthy person.
The reason he can't run fast for one hour is his lack of sufficient training to be able to maintain a powerful stride at that intensity. He can run fast, but not for long. Not yet. It's going to take a few years and many thousands of miles to develop that skill.
You just keep repeating things everyone agrees with, but ignoring the fact that two things can be true at the same time.
We all know that performance is sport specific. So yes, if my VO2 max is 100 and I can hold 80 for 60 mins while running, but I can only hold 65 for 60 minutes while cycling, then it's probably safe to conclude there is a mechanical component limiting me in cycling. Because I never cycle, I don't have the nueromusclar capability to continuously produce that high of an output that demands that much O2 consumption. Just for fun, what does this mean exactly? If I can cycle at 80 for 2 minutes, why can't I hold it for 60 mins since I know I have the cardiovascular capacity to sustain this level of exercise??
Even though running and cycling both use the legs, they don't use the exact same muscle fibers equally and in the same patterns. When I'm running at high outputs, I likely recruit more muscle fibers to share the workload and help me get more overall output. We know in weightlifting, nueromuscular adaptations take place quickly. *Part* of those adaptations is you can recruit more motor units and thus lift more weight even though you didn't actually gain any muscle. So I'd imagine that while I'm running at high outputs, I'm able to recruit more motor units so I have more muscle fibers to "do work". But these muscles all need oxygen. So since I have more fibers working than I do while cycling, I'm naturally able to consume more oxygen. *Note that this is when I'm at high output levels. When you get better at a skill, you can actually recruit less fibers at lower workloads. Then you're able to tap into fresh fibers when you reach an intensity where you need them. At least that's what the scientists say when it comes to weightlifting.
But wait, I established I can recruit enough motor units to use 80 ml/kg/min of O2 for 2 minutes, so why am I not able to hold it for 60 minutes? I know I have the cardiorespiratory capacity to supply the O2 because I do it while running. So what gives? Oh yeah, I have less motor units working, so those muscles are working extra hard and can only consume O2 so fast. So eventually, they have to rely more on the anaerobic process and produce more lactate and H+ and eventually cause fatigue. *There's also other reasons for fatigue, but I'm trying to keep it simple and relatively concise. So with less total motor units working to contribute to output and consume oxygen, I reach my lactate threshold at a lower percentage of my VO2 max. Did I just prove your point???? It sure sounds like it. But no, I didn't, because two things can be true at the same time.
Metabolic factors also count for something. Let's say you've been running for 20 years and you want to be able to hold 80% of your VO2 max speed for an hour. If it was purely mechanical, why couldn't you just do a ton of strides at that pace? So 20 second runs at that pace, followed by 3 mins rest. And you repeat that for hours. You would have very high quality practice of exactly the 'skill' you are trying to master. But does anybody only do that? No, because they're not 5 year-old binary thinkers and they understand that mechanical and metabolic changes can happen at the same time and you have to train both. Your metabolic system has to be trained to handle and buffer lactate and H+. Again, this is why supplements like sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine actually can help because they help your body do this. So while you're training your mechanical system to allow you to hold a higher workload, you also should train your metabolic systems. It's not contradictory to recognize the very simple principle that multiple factors can be involved at once.
You're rambling again. Lay off the caffeine. Sheesh!