Endurance Nation | Triathlon Coaching, Ironman Training, Half Ironman, Beginner Triathlon » Cycling

Six Secrets of the Ironman Bike Revealed

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:55 +0000

You’ve trained for six, nine or more months for this day. The chaos of the swim is gone, you’ve gotten your cycling legs back and now it’s time to get to work, to get down to racing the Ironman bike.

STOP!!

In our experience, if you’re going to booger months and months of training and ruin your race, you’re going to do it on the bike leg. Below are our tips for riding the optimum Ironman bike leg…plust be sure to read to the end for a bonus link to download our Bike Fit eBook, released from the EN Content Archives!

There’s No Such Thing as a Good Bike Followed by a Poor Run
The last time we checked this was an Ironman TRIATHLON — swim, bike, and run. The difference between a “good” swim or “bad” swim is only about 2-4 minutes. The difference between “easy” bike or a “hard” bike is only about 10-15 minutes. But the difference between a “good” and “bad” run can be measured in hours. In our experience, your chances of dramatically slowing down happen in the last six to eight miles of the run. Therefore your focus all day is on creating conditions for success in the final six to eight miles of the run, NOT on putting up a sexy bike split. The Ironman run course is littered with the walking bodies of athletes who put up great bike splits. Just think about that.

Ride the Bike You Should, Not the Bike You Could
Your “could” bike split is the one you dream about, the one you told your friends on your last long ride when they remarked how fit you look, how hard you’ve been working, and ask you what you could ride at IMXX. In contrast, your “should” bike split is the bike that sets up the run. In our experience, the difference between Could and Should is about 10 to 15 minutes — add 10-15 minutes to that sexy Could split and set up the run. If you’ve made the mistake of riding too slowly…you have 26 miles of running to fix that mistake. But if you made the mistake of riding too fast…that mistake now has 26 miles of running to express itself.

Do the Opposite of Everyone Else
In our experience, over 80% of the Ironman field doesn’t know how to properly execute the bike. Proper bike execution is then largely a matter of doing the opposite of everyone else.

Ride easy for the first hour. Are you being passed by a LOT of people? That’s a very good thing, trust us.
Managing your effort on this hill, setting up the run vs racing for $100 KOM prime they are not handing out at the top…and going backwards through the field? That’s a good thing, they will come back to you somewhere during the day.

Flatten the Course
You best cycling strategy to set up a great run to maintain a very steady effort across all terrain — no big effort surges on hills, no excessive coasting on downhills, etc. Imagine your foot is on a gas pedal:

On a hill you give it just a little bit more gas…but just a little. Per the 80% rule above, everyone around will stomp in the gas and surge ahead of you. That’s a good thing.
Across the crest of the hill and into the downhill, stay on the gas. Maintain that steady effort as everyone else comes way off the gas/coasts as they pay for that surging effort on the climb. You descend at 33-36mph, for example, to their 28-30mph, carrying that speed into the next hill…and the next…and the next.
That foot on the gas pedal is locked in the same position on flats, false flats, slight downhills, etc.

Show Up with Enough Gears on Your Bike
Having the proper gearing for your course is a important part of our “flatten the course” strategy above. What gearing is best? In general, you can never have enough gears in an Ironman. More specifically, these are the gears that Coach Rich, a 5:05-15 Ironman cyclist, would ride on US Ironman courses:

All: compact crank, 50/34 gearing, then…
IMTX, FL, AZ: 23-11
IMSG, IMCDA, IMLP, IMNYC, IMTremblant: 26-11, or 25-12
IMWI: 26-11

Look for Free Speed First
112 miles is a long time for smart, slippery, aerodynamic choices to express themselves. In our experience, your biggest return on investment opportunities on the Ironman bike are:

Bike fit: The largest aerodynamic component of the bike/rider system is YOU. A proper bike fit can dramatically improve your aerodynamics while keeping you comfortable on the bike.
Aero helmet: A big aerodynamic return for your $130-200 investment.
Bottle/tools placement: An efficient, clean, well-thought-out setup will also significantly improve your aerodynamics.

FREE Bike Fit eBook
Created in partnership with Todd Kenyon of TTBikeFit.com, this resource has been used by thousands of athletes to learn about and improve their fit and aerodynamics. Please go here to download your FREE copy of the Bike Fit eBook today!

What are your tips for the Ironman bike leg? Please share with us below!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

One Year of Bike Fitness Inside Endurance Nation…

admin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:41:57 +0000

Thanks to EN, no motors are required!
photo credit: stuff_and_nonsense

When we say that our Endurance Nation plans make you tangibly faster, everyone wants to know what’s in it for them. How will it help them specifically? While I can’t predict your fitness future I can show you the data from one of our members. In a little under a year, he boosted his FTP up by 47 watts and improve his w/kg ratio from 3.0 wkg to 4.1 w/kg!

Not only could his former self not ride with him…not too many others in his area can either. Enjoy the data view, you geeks!!!!

11/27/10 First FTP test ever, FTP 175 (3.0 w/kg)
12/26/10 42 min CT test, FTP 185
2/07 42 min CT test, FTP 195
3/22 42 min CT test, FTP 201
5/25 23 min test hill time trial, FTP 206
6/30 42 min test, FTP 218
8/11 20 min test, FTP 221
10/16 20 min test, FTP 222 (4.1 w/kg)

For those of you keeping track at home, that’s a 27% gain in FTP. And a move from low/mid-pack triathlete in terms of watts per kilogram (w/kg) to being pretty close to the pointy end of the field.

If you’d like similar results, be sure to check out our Training Plan page or consider creating a FREE 5-day trial!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Fatigue, FTP, & Your Final Weeks

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:25:59 +0000

It sure looks fast…now how will you ride it?
photo credit: Alex Kehr

There are two very important questions that you, as an Ironman athlete, have to be ready to answer about your bike fitness heading into the final eight weeks of your Ironman or Half Ironman training cycle. First you have to know what your Functional Threshold Power (link?) is, or at least the Heart Rate equivalent. Second, you have to be able to give a resounding “YES!” answer as to whether or not you have done all of your bike workouts, especially the longer sessions.

In other words, successful race prep is about knowing your limits (your power/HR numbers) and about having confidence in your strengths. If you fudge either of these factors on your way to Race Day, your overall performance will suffer and you won’t be able to race to your potential.

The closer you get to the Big Day, however, the harder these two questions become to answer. Cumulative fatigue mounts, and your ability to generate or even sustain threshold effort on the bike becomes severely compromised. This can lead you to question your fitness and overall preparedness, and perhaps even to make some rash decisions.

An Example Situation

I have this “friend” who is training for Ironman Lake Placid 2011. His name is Patrick, and he’s a coach with Endurance Nation. Really nice guy…and here’s his FTP dilemma. It’s a story repeated across athletes and seasons; maybe it’s even happened to you.

Back in February, his FTP tested out at 342 on the indoor trainer, putting his estimated outdoor watts pretty close to 360.

When he got outside on his road bike in April, he spent four weeks chasing that estimated outdoor FTP before he acknowledged that the single test he took must have been an outlier. He dials his FTP back down to 342.

At the end of May, Patrick busts out his Tri Bike and notices right away that he can’t generate the same high numbers in the aero position, so he dials the watts down to 330.

And now with just three weeks to go, with some epic long rides and lots of long runs on his legs, Patrick is having trouble even hitting 330…it’s more like 320.

Is Patrick in trouble? Has he been getting less and less fit all year long? Has his entire season been a waste since that one test in February? The answer is no, across the board, and here’s why Patrick remains confident heading into his biggest race of the season.

Volume vs Intensity Inside EN

Volume gets a bad rap inside Endurance Nation, at least on the surface. We prefer to use intensity to create training stress, as it’s a much more time-effective method. As such, our OutSeason training includes lots of intervals and, commensurately, lots of rest. This is why back in February, Patrick and many other EN athletes were posting life best numbers.

As the weather turns and we move outdoors, the nature of our regular rides changes significantly. While the intervals remain an important component, the overall volume of almost every session is lengthened. Instead of doing 90 minutes of interval work on the bike across four total hours of riding, EN athletes will do that same 90 minutes across six or even eight hours on the bike.

This ratio continues to decrease the closer you get to your big race, as the long rides for an Ironman can mean a week of cycling nine hours. And that doesn’t take into account if you have added a Big Bike Weekend or Week into your season, like Patrick did back in May when he put in over 600 miles in nine days.

FTP Down but Race Fitness Up

At the end of the day, how we train is a function of the principle of specificity. In the Winter months, with no long race on the calendar, we can do a great deal of high intensity training to improve the upper limits of our bike and run fitness. As we move into the season and approach our Half or Ironman event, the mileage increases to prepare us for the rigors of the day.

While Patrick’s FTP appears to be on a downward trend, the simple truth is that he has been manipulating Training Stress by adding more time at a lower, race specific intensity. This is in stark contrast to the Winter training with it’s 8-, 12-, and 20-minute interval repeats.

Here is a good example of how this situation plays out. On Wednesday, Patrick can’t hit his current FTP of 330 during the mid-week interval session, turning in intervals in the 90% to 92% range (instead of the preferred 95-100% range). On Saturday he ride 150 miles at 74.5% of his FTP, — significantly higher that he had estimated. So while the high-end fitness isn’t necessarily there, it’s easy to see how the Winter strength has transformed into race-specific endurance.

Zen and the Art of Training for the Final Eight Weeks

While our Triathlon Training Plans include interval sessions and at least one bike and run fitness test, your top priorities lie elsewhere. With the shift to Race Prep training in the last twelve weeks / three months of your plan, your focus should also move from a quantitative obsession with bike and run threshold numbers.

You top goal for the final eight weeks is to remain healthy — so recover well and get lots of sleep. You need to be consistent with your sessions — so manage your effort every day so you can hit the workouts as written for each consecutive day. In other words, no hero sessions that set you back for a few days…please!

Your mental focus is on riding and running as steadily as possible, and you should be constantly testing your race fit and gear for the bike. Every long ride is a chance to see how your bike position feels, how your clothing choice works, whether or not your nutrition is effective, etc. Race Day is about Execution, Not Fitness — the bike and run courses don’t care what your FTP is…they only care how well you ride them.

Inside Endurance Nation, we put your fitness and execution to the test in the form of two Race Simulation workouts. These are a 112-mile bike (or 6 hours, whichever comes first) followed by a 6-mile run (or 1 hour, whichever comes first). Most likely these workouts will be full of challenges. Not to worry as all these issues will ensure you are fit and ready to go come race day.

Determining Your FTP Pre-Race

Just because coming by an FTP isn’t easy, doesn’t mean you can avoid it. It’s one of the most important metrics you need heading into the race so you can dial in the appropriate race effort that will set up a solid run.

While your first option is to complete another functional threshold test, the odds of you putting out a test indicative of your current fitness levels is pretty slim. It could be good, or it could be the double whammy that hurts your ego (another low number!) and messes up your race calculations.

Your second option is to review the data for the last month and make an educated guess. By using something like Training Peaks WKO to review the power output for the last 30 days, you can accurately find where you have spent the majority of your time riding. You can ballpark your FTP by looking on the right side of the bell curve, as the bars start to drop down…the biggest incremental fall off in 10 watt increments is a good indicator of where your fitness moves from aerobic/sustainable to anaerobic/unsustainable.

Final Bike Thoughts

Your fitness will be what it will be on race day; it’s not how strong you are on race day but rather how you use that strength. Rest assured that as an Endurance Nation member or training plan athlete, you have done all the hard work required to get stronger.

Instead of stressing about the final few watts or pounds, put your focus and attention to nailing the intangibles. Between dialing in your bike fit (see Todd at TTBikeFit.com), good bike setup, smart gearing choices, and how to ride steady/smart, EN athletes get a lot of free speed and smart riding mojo on race day. If your worried that you won’t be as strong as you’d like, then take comfort in knowing that you’ll be more aero, better geared and much, much smarter.

Good luck!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Ironman Texas Bike Course Debrief

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:00:57 +0000

Every year Endurance Nation hosts Triathlon Training Rallies at key race venues across the US. We added Ironman Texas for the 2011 camp calendar for two key reasons: first because there is such a massive and cool triathlon vibe in Texas; second because a new race means a brand new course.

If your schedule or the hefty $25 price of admission for three days of training and multiple presentations and support kept you away — don’t worry: you can still learn the nuances of the course to be ready on race day.

Overall: The Course Can Be Fast

Despite the conditions and terrain, everyone at our Tri Rally rode well within their expectations. In fact, most were able to back up their Friday 90-mile ride time with alomst the same time for another 90-miler on Saturday, despite tired legs. Yes the rollers are tough, but there’s no one “killer” part of the race that stands out. I fully expect the top contenders to fly through this course, and the sooner you can get off the bike the less time you have to bake in the sun for sure.

Here’s how it all breaks down.

The Conditions: Hot, Humid, and oh yeah — Windy!

The course is innocent enough from an elevation perspective, but you truly have to be here to appreciate exactly how the course unfolds. Guaranteed you might show up talking about the course, but you’ll leave talking about just how hot, humid, and windy the course was. Even though our camp was in the first weeked of April, temperatures still reached the low 90s with significant humidity — May will only raise this to another level.

Part One: T1 to Richards

The first part of the bike course, almost to the halfway point, is going to be pretty fast. There is usually a steady wind from the South, making this a slight tailwind. Add to that the fact there are minimal hills and good tree coverage and you’ll be out to Richards long before you think. A highlight of this part of your day is the short trip down Osborn road, a windy forest-filled adventure that’s pure joy.

Given the impending heat and potential disastrous effects on your ability to race, the early portion of your day should be solely focused on riding steady and starting your nutrition and hydration plans. If the humidity is high, as it will most likely be, then you’ll be sweating a ton and drinking will be second nature.

Part Two: Richards to Rte 105/Dobbin

Just before Richards you hit the first chip seal pavement of the day, and while not long it’s a precursor of what you’ll face on the other side of town until you pretty much exit Grimes County. The race adds a degree of difficulty by putting some pretty solid rollers and false flats in your way.

All that and only then do you turn South to begin the long trip home with a solid headwind. Without a doubt, the approximately 20 mile trip from Richards to Rte 105 in Dobbin will be the hardest of your whole day.

Part Three: Jackson Road to Dobbin Huffsmith

While you are heading out of Dobbin, you aren’t exactly out of the woods yet. A few more rolllers await you before you start truly dropping down en route to The Woodlands. The winds will be in full effect here, but are somewhat tempered by the elevation loss.

If you are fatigued here, you’ll suffer but your average speed should still be pretty good. As we learned during our Tri Rally weekend, the trip along Dobbin Huffsmith seems way longer than just short of six miles. While each mile seems more developed, it doesn’t seem to move any faster.

The remainder of your ride is admin time home…flat, shoulders of big highways, nothing special. If you aren’t totally cooked by the time you get here, you should be able to cruise in to T2 as well as start putting your mind to the marathon.

With little less than eight weeks to go to race day, it’s time for you to begin preparing for the heat and for staying as aero as possible for as long as possible — this course will reward both! Good luck with your training and be sure to stop by our Friday pre-race talk on race execution.

You can see some pictures here, you can find the photos and videos from the weekend here:

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Over-Acheiving on Cycling Intervals

admin — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:56:04 +0000

At this time, December 2010, nearly all of our 500 athletes are training inside the Team with our OutSeason training plan. They have grouped themselves into October, November, December, and January OutSeason groups, and have begun to share workout results and notes with each other. This is a great motivational and accountability tool, and is just one of the huge value-addedeseses (?) of being a member. But…

As members post their workout data, it’s clear that many are possibly riding harder than the prescribed intensity. So let’s sit around the table, have a beer or two, and I’ll give you my thoughts on how you can apply our experience with this stuff to your job as a self-coached triathlete. But first, lets step back to give you a little power primer. I’m going to speak “power-geek” in this post because it allows us to frame this discussion around objective numbers.

Typical OS forum post by our over-achieving members: “I just rode 3 x 12′ @ 1.08, 1.09, 1.05 IF. Yay me!!”

This doode is riding with power. He did some testing to determine his Functional Threshold Power (FTP), let’s say 200 watts. Intensity Factor (IF) is how hard he rode, as a fraction of this FTP. So an IF of 1.05 means he rode at 105% of his FTP of 200w, or 210w. So…what’s the problem? The problem, or issue, is that the prescribed intensity for the workout was 95-100% of FTP, not 105%. And once you get over 100%, things get real hard, real fast and too much too hard can put you into a hole and compromise your other sessions.

These are my questions and observations as a triathlon coach:

Does Timmy have an accurate FTP?
That is, did he have a good test, is he then using that FTP to calc these numbers, and is his FTP still an accurate measurement of his fitness (ie, has his fitness improved/FTP gone up since his last test)?

Riding 3 x 12′ at those IF’s is doable, given an accurate FTP. It’s a solid session, no doubt, and the drop between the 2nd and 3rd intervals tells me that what’s likely happening is a combination of an accurate FTP, the guy just crushing himself on #1 and #2, and paying for a bit on #3. But he didn’t completely implode on #3 (still above FTP). In short, it’s possible to overachieve on these relatively shorter intervals and get away with it. But if he were putting up those IF’s for intervals of 15-20′, that would be a sure sign that his FTP has likely increased since his last test and he’s ready for a bump.

Should he bump his FTP up?
Our OutSeason plans include power testing about every 4-8wks, so you can test your fitness and move your FTP upwards accordingly. And the “rule” is if you think your fitness has improved, prove it by testing or racing faster and use that proof as permission to then train at higher wattages…but that’s the general rule. Let’s all have another beer and continue to talk to each other smart adults able to manage our own training, pay attention to our bodies, and not drive them through a brick wall…

In general, yes, it’s best to wait until a formal test before you bump your FTP up. The reason is that this workout above doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Far from it. Timmy will follow this up with a hard interval run on Wednesday, a similar bike interval session on Thursday…and more intervals on Saturday and a hard run on Sunday.

So Coach Dick’s Don’t Be Stoopid Rule, to be applied to every situation where you feel the need for speed, and the ability to over achieve a bit in a session, is:

How will what I’m doing right now affect my ability to successfully complete downstream workouts?

So when Timmy has his nose on the dial for the second interval and can feel a 1.09 IF ride in the works, he should ask himself “Self…the workout sez to ride at 95-100% but you’re tracking towards a 110% interval. Is this the smart thing to do, considering the fact that you have to back up it in 24hrs with a run interval session that kicked your ass last week. And the run is your weaker leg…and you’re going to be up late tonight busting out that project for your boss (damn job!!)”

If it were me and the answer was:

Yes — I would let it ride and consider that my over achievement (and sorta-comfort doing so) = my FTP has increased since my last test. I “might” do some math* to establish a new FTP, and take that for a spin on Thursday to see how it feels. Or I might wait to see if I can repeat the performance on Thursday and, if so, do the math and increase my FTP.
No — I’ll back off, sit down, shut up, do what I’m told and keep my eye on the bigger game — to do the best I can do with EVERY session, not just hit a homerun on Tuesday only to booger Wednesday and Thursday.

Now within this discussion I’ll say it’s more ok to overachieve on the bike than on the run. The bike is a much lower risk activity and so “can” warrant a little bit of risk-taking. However, the run, especially what we have you doing during the OS, is much different and no joke. You DEFINITELY should wait until your next run test to prove you’ve earned the right to run faster in training. You need to have a much longer term view of your get-faster run project, assigning yourself the task of getting much faster on the run between now and September vs perhaps a now through April time frame for the bike.

“Yeah, yeah, blah, blah…so I can ride harder than the prescribed intensity on my rides or not?”
I’m saying you can be smart, think things through on every ride, keeping your eye on the long term goals and bigger picture: your job is to do the workout today that creates conditions for success TOMORROW and the next day and the next. And if you need help, just ask Patrick and me in the forums, or post your questions to our Facebook page.

*The Math — or how to determine your FTP from a breakthru ride:
One FTP test is to do a 20′ time trial, subtract 5% from your average watts and call the result your FTP. Using one of my own recent rides as an example: every Tuesday since the Dawn of Time I’ve been doing hill repeats on a 5k, 5-6% hill about 2 miles from my house. This week I put up 307w and 1.10 IF on the second repeat, after about 1.05 on the first, and I then comfortably went 1.02 IF on the third repeat. So I multiply 307w x .95 = 291w FTP, call it 290w. I’ll take this FTP for a spin today (Thursday) and this weekend to see how it feels. More importantly, I know myself well enough to know that if it’s set a little too hot, I’m pretty good at managing individual sessions, and sessions across the week, so I can achieve all of my goals for every session.

Rich Strauss
Facebook
Twitter

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Training with Power, Now Available for All Triathletes

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:15:51 +0000

photo credit: mitsukuni

Ed Note: This post is about the broader concept of training with power, and doesn’t include specifics on the application of power to triathlon training. If you’d like to learn more about how we have pushed the limits of powermeters in the triathlon space, you can either purchase the second edition of Andy Coggan’s book “Training and Racing with a Power Meter” and refer to our chapter on triathlon or for more detailed information, purchase the “EN Power Webinar” which includes over four hours of audio + written guidance on how to use your powermeter.

Affordable powermeters are the most impactful piece of equipment to dominate the triathlon space since the advent of the aerobars. Period. Now triathletes everywhere can train and race with almost laser-like precision, achieving new levels of fitness and performance that were once out of reach. But you don’t have to own a powermeter in order to reap the training and racing benefits of a coaching methodology built on using power.

Question: “Do I need to have a powermeter in order to be able to train with Team EN or to use one of your training plans?”

This is one of the top questions we get inside Endurance Nation. And the answer is always the same: Not at all. Having a power meter will help you follow the training plan, but know that all of our training plans also include heart rate and perceived exertion guidance. The difference is that every single one of our training plans is written from the perspective of power.

Answer: “You’ll be training like you have power whether you own a PM or not!”

As one of the earliest adopters of training with power in the triathlon space, our entire coaching methodology is built upon what we have learned from training and racing with power. We quickly realized that training with power afforded the opportunity to quantify the work done in each workout. We used that information to create training plans that (A) use fitness benchmarking to drive workout levels and race performance and (B) leverage intensity to make manageable, effective plans that fit the age-group triathlete’s busy lifestyle.

“Work…WORKS!”
You might not feel like a powermeter athlete, but you are doing the same interval workouts and build up that a regular power user does. While you don’t have that fancy computer on your handlebars, your muscles don’t know the difference — they are just working really hard and getting stronger.

Here are a few of our key concepts

Fitness is defined as your ability to do work (i.e. Move your bike).
The fitter you become, the more work you can do (i.e. Move your bike faster).
Working harder, in shorter training sessions, builds equivalent fitness to training long hours (i.e. You save time).

At the end of the day, whether you train with power or not is not really a function of how much disposable income you have. It’s what’s between your ears that matters. If you’re ready to commit to a power-training approach, and to apply that knowledge to direct your training and racing, then you’ll be well on your way to achieving your potential on race day.

To learn more about our unique training approach feel free to browse our FREE online training manual. If you are interested in a training plan, you can view all the options in our online store here. If you have further questions, please ask us on Facebook!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Ironman Coach Q&A Session #3: The 360-Degree Pedal Stroke

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:31:50 +0000

We get email and Twitter questions regarding our training plans all the time. We strive to answer each one, and it occurred to us that maybe sharing this information could be good for other self-coached triathletes out there. Enjoy!

Rich and Patrick

Looking for info on pedal stroke technique. ½ iron athlete and have always kept an even down/up power stroke and sliding across top/bottom of the stroke. Trying to keep circles but seems something is missing. Seems that there would be a hole in the power in the top/bottom…Any references / thoughts/ suggestions ???
Thanks!
Ron

Ron, there are tons of great resources out there on proper pedaling techniques and drills. A quick search of YouTube should give you more than enough fodder. The particular deadspot you are talking of is pretty common for triathletes, especially in the aero position. Good on you for noting it’s top and bottom…most only notice it on the bottom side. These folks are forgetting that the cranks are fixed, and that your ability to pull through the bottom of the stroke is only as good as your ability to push the other foot over the top of the other side!

This could be a flexibility or strength related issue (or a combination). I suggest two approaches.

#1, work on hip flexor flexibility. Consider doing some lunge stretches, where you really push your hips forward to open them up. Perhaps even consider arching backwards to really do a number on your hips. You can also do this as you stretch your quad on that side. Holding your heel to your butt, stand erect and push that hip forward as you hold the stretch. You’ll feel it!

#2, work on strengthening the area. The hip flexors and psoas muscles can be a bit weak and fatigue easily, especially if they are tight. Once you have started stretching, consider adding in some cycling-specific strength work. I prefer to do single leg pedaling while on a trainer at about 60-70 rpms. Load the wheel up to the point where you really need to slow down – but not so hard so as to put undue strain on your body. Work on a smooth transition from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock. As you build up confidence and skill, add more speed (less resistance). Do this each leg for 45-60 seconds, alternating sides. So six minutes of that plus 4 minutes of regular pedaling with both legs as recovery, done a few times a week, should help you out!

Keep us posted!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

TOC Camp Stage 1: Nevada City to Sacramento

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 01:07:54 +0000

Endurance Nation Tour of California, 2010

Theme of the Day: Eye of the Tiger

Summary: We left the city of Grass Valley at about 8am, off to find the KOM on the other side of Auburn and then “cruise” downhill to just outside Sacramento. What looked like a simple stage turned out to be quite difficult…but we all made the most of it and had fun despite the pain!

All new photos available here.

The Full Run Down

We split into two groups, the A and the B. The killer B’s left first and were on the course with a 30 minute head start. Despite the fact that the B group split up, they all managed to stay ahead of the A group. On their side, the A’s had some mechanical issues (thanks Coach P) but worked well together to have a solid day.

We hit a 12% climb almost out of the gate that didn’t even make it onto the profile sheet…which should have been the first inkling that things were amiss. The first sprint was open and fast, and sprint #2 in Auburn was twisty and uphill…ouch! The KOM was just over the second largest suspension bridge in the US and lined with fans…just awesome. The last 30 plus miles weren’t too exciting as we left the wooded forest for open flat lands and some solid wind. The sun beat down on us most of the day, but graciously receded for the last hour.

After the Ride: With a short transfer to Davis on the agenda, we were able to dash into Sacramento to grab some food and catch the circuit finish. We watched the peloton fly by, saw Boonen crash, and even caught HTC off the front taking Cavendish to a Stage One victory.

Stats: Here are the details…

5,100 feet of climbing
80-ish miles
1 Cat Three climb and 2 Sprints
Most folks close to or over 300 TSS on the day.

Stage 1 Map and Profile

Stage 1 in Pictures

Campers prep bottles and share a laugh (one of hundreds) before clipping in

The HTC Gorilla makes it's first ToC appearance

The Ladies pause for pics on a bridge

Video: Stage 1 Descent

Video: the pro peleton enters the circuit in Sacramento

HTC winding it up for the final sprint

The Endurance Nation Tour of California is a members-only event. Please join our waiting list to receive an invitation to join TeamEN as space becomes available.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Power Clinic Questions

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:00:59 +0000

Get Fit, Get Fast!

I recently did a presentation about Training and Racing Power at the TriFitLab run by TTBikeFit.com It was a good presentation (I’ve done better), but what always interests me is not what I do or whom I’m speaking with but the questions that come from the audience. Instead of leaving those answers information at the clinic with the 35 folks who attended, I want to post answers here in a space where everyone can learn from them.

1. What power training software do I recommend? The standard software that comes with each powermeter is pretty budget. I recommend that people use WKO Plus by TrainingPeaks.com. It’s simply the industry standard and a great place to start. If you are looking for a more predictive tool, you can refer to RaceDay software. Finally, if you want a robust free software package, you can consider using SportTracks.

Depending on the software you choose, it can cost money, but most are under $100. I view it simply as the cost of doing business and using your powermeter. A powermeter is nothing more than very expensive cadence sensor unless you actually take the data, analyze it and put it into practice. So, absolutely use that software, so important.

2. Does 30 minutes of hard riding equal 3 hours of easy riding? People really asked a lot of questions about my statement where I said that if I can earn the same training stress in an hour-long hard ride < ?> that I could learn in two hours in an easy ride…then why would I ever chose to ride those two hours. For busy athletes on a fixed schedule, intensity is the biggest tool in your arsenal. While there’s no one “best way” to build fitness, there are certain ways that are better for your life.

There was a specific question one gentleman had around adaptation, development of capillaries, the ability in the body to transport oxygen and so on, as all of those development happen at lower aerobic levels — and aren’t you essentially short-changing yourself by training at a higher intensity. At the end of the day, all of the work that we do below our functional threshold is really aerobic, and it’s just a function of how many of your slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers you’re recruiting to get the work done.

The work that you do in zone three versus zone two or zone one, which are easier, simply recruits more muscles to get that work done. That doesn’t mean that there’s less capillaries developed and that there’s less oxygen being transported. The plumbing is the same. Doing more work you get those same aerobic benefits out of it. Of course, any good training program will have variety. Variety in training will induce adaptation. You also need to explore all of your options, but for the age group triathlete or age group cyclist a plan is only as good as your ability to implement it.

3. Will a powermeter help me on race day? Finally, people asked a lot of questions about using a powermeter as a race execution device, and whether or not triathletes could potentially use a device and use the information gathered to race.

The answer is yes, triathletes absolutely can race off the numbers you generate on a test. On race day, everything that you do is really a percentage of that functional threshold number. And having power in the race can help you eliminate so many of the external environmental things that can only distract you from executing the optimal steady race: competition, hills, etc. The best race is a steady one, and a powermeter can help you do that.

For the roadies, I think that a powermeter is very different on race day. While you should record and review your performance later, in the race itself I think you can use the numbers on the dial as a means to add more depth, more color, more dimensions to the race right now. Traditionally, when you’re in a group or a breakaway, you’ve got to make decisions based on how you feel, and based on the perceived fitness of those around you. That guy looks strong; this guy is not so strong, etc.

With a powermeter, you can see how much in work you’re doing right now, and you can begin to see what the power numbers look on each key section of the course, measuring that number against what you know you can sustain from your training. All of a sudden you can make informed decisions: Can I handle the effort I need to put out on this hill? How much harder do I need to work to separate myself from this group? What does the effort look like when guy number one gets the front versus guy number two? How much harder or how much less harder are we working? Am I getting more of a benefit here, siting second wheel, or do I have more of a benefit here sitting third or four wheel? All of that changes over time, and the power meter gives you the ability to really make quality decisions that can really effect the race and your placing.

Conclusion
While a powermeter is certainly not a cure-all for everything that you do as a triathlete or roadies, it certainly is very specific and detailed tool that can transform the way you approach your training, the way that you build your fitness; both within a given training cycle, but also across the year across multiple years, and ultimately, turn you into a phenomenal racer, helping you leapfrog way ahead on the learning curve, much further than you would have had you not had a powermeter.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Measuring Progress in the OutSeason

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:12:24 +0000

photo credit: nDevilTV
Using metrics to measure your fitness is a double-edged sword. No more is this true than in the OutSeason, when the fitness you have right now is competing with the fitness you had during the season. Don’t be depressed by the disparity; instead find a deeper meaning in what the numbers are telling you.

Using metrics to measure your fitness is a double-edged sword. No more is this true than in the OutSeason, when the fitness you have right now is competing with the fitness you had during the season. Don’t be depressed by the disparity; instead find a deeper meaning in what the numbers are telling you.

Let’s say I have a “friend” whose FTP was 325 last season. He’s a big doode, so it’s actually not that impressive. For 9 months he thought of himself as Mr 325; that’s what he tested, that’s what he rode…it was just a huge part of his being. Enter the OutSeason. After a few weeks off, my “friend” starts training again only now indoors. The first test is a debacle; so hard it’s a slap to the face…the net outcome is 305 watts. It’s humble pie, it’s a bit of a knock-down, some might even say a step back.

But my friend isn’t phased one bit.

After all, it’s the OutSeason and while he hoped for higher numbers, he didn’t expect to see them after not training for a solid month. Instead, he’s excited about his results!

First off, he survived the test and has added another layer of toughness to his mental six-pack.
He now has a new target for his immediate training, one that’s “just” challenging enough instead of making him over-reach.
He has a “gap” goal, or a target to attain last season’s fitness — he can strive to be as fit as last year before this next season even starts!

Our mutual friends knows that taking a step back is an important part of being able to leap forward. It’s not easy eating some humble pie, but learning to do so, developing the ability to effectively self-assess, is a really important part of achieving your potential as an athlete. Learn more about the OutSeason and how you can improve in our FREE Virtual Seminar by clicking here.

Do yourself a favor and put last season away. Live in the now. Do the test. Get the numbers. Own them. Be them. Get fitter and beat them.

Next season won’t know what hit it when you emerge from the pain cave.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!