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

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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)

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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
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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!

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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.

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Tune in as Endurance Nation Coaches Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann cover the most important parts of getting your bike ready for the big day. From wheels to helmets to food, we’ve hit it all to make sure you are 100% dialed in! Click here for more information: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/endurancenation/2009/05/11/Endurance-Nation-Radio-Weekly-Check-In-With-The-Coaches

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