Ironman Bike CTL and FTP (Part 2)

In my last post I discussed a CTL range for athletes to achieve based on their bike FTP in watts. One of the flaws with the chart, (or perhaps one of the variables I need to have athletes cross-reference), is the FTP of the athlete.

The higher the FTP of the athlete, the faster they are in general. I had an athlete who got 2nd in their age group at Kona recently email me, and his CTL only reached 18% of his FTP, which was 330 watts.

This athlete was obviously able to get more speed from their aerobic endurance efforts than the typical rider, because riding at zone 2 during a race will obviously be a higher speed for them than an athlete at an FTP of 280 or lower, since their general aerodynamic differences are minimal.

So were my guidelines off? No, I had people on the other side of the spectrum too, at over 40%, who were quite successful.

Bottom line, there are many different approaches, because of the many different skill sets, training time availability, and personal training/performance histories of individual athletes. My hope is you'll look at your past CTL/FTP ratio in your training and racing, and use it as a benchmark to make better training decisions in the future, whether that is to raise or lower your bike CTL.

Coach Vance

Over-reaching in training?

From twitter the other day:

@behrenst asks:
"Would still love to hear your thoughts on intentionally overreaching and where in a training plan it might offer the most benefit"

Thanks for the question. The whole of point of training in general is over-reaching, just how much we should over-reach is the art of training/coaching. This is incredibly individual, even in the timing, given career and family responsibilities, as well as climate and race schedule.

One athlete I coach is a school teacher who has his summer off. We use this period to focus on either Ironman Wisconsin, or Kona, as he alternates years usually with these events, qualifying for Kona one year, racing it the next. The fact he has so much free time, allows this to be an excellent time to over-reach more than we would during the school year. It also coincides with the 12-week lead-up into Ironman Wisconsin for him, so this becomes a perfect time-window for specific preparation for the race.

So to answer your question, the specific preparation period is most important, and if you can over-reach there, you'll see a better transfer of that effort into actual performance. But I also want to caution you to be careful in your over-reaching, as this 12 week period is CRITICAL, so a mistake in over-reaching can lead to injury, burnout, over-training, and missed training during this time.

If you've given yourself plenty of time to build slowly into this specific preparation period, you won't require over-reaching beyond a normal amount. Remember, the more time you have, the less risk you need to take in training. The less time you have, the more risk you must take to be prepared.

Consistency of training over the long haul will trump a few big weeks of training, always.

Coach Vance

Twitter Answers #5

Each week I ask over Twitter if people have training topics they are interested in learning about. I get a number of responses and questions, and 140 characters doesn't provide good opportunity to answer them all. So I hope every few weeks to post some of the questions and my responses here.

From: @tamcknight

"@jimvance living in chicago i am looking for some indoor cycling advise for the offseason.Ways to mix it up on trainer or trainer alternative"

and...

From: @skottmckenna

"@jimvance some great indoor trainer workouts."

I actually coach 2 athletes in the Chicago area, (2 very successful Ironman/70.3 athletes, Scott Iott and Adam Zucco), and the trainer is a key item to our success in the cold winter, but also during the year. One of the best things you can do to help with your trainer sets is to use a power meter, as now the sessions are objective and you can track improvement, set goals, etc. Power meters make trainer sets much more rewarding and fun, I tend to find.

Another great tool is a book by Dirk Friel, son of Joe Friel, called Trainer Workouts in a Binder. This really helps to give some fun and different workouts, based on your needs. I use a number of them, and even my wife uses the book. I'm looking forward to a 2nd edition!

From: @fedrozo

"@jimvance How about recovery benefits of yoga on endurance athletes?"

This is an interesting topic. People often say, "Yoga is great for cross-training" and also say, "Yoga is great for recovery". I'm often puzzled how something can have a great cross-training effect and be great for recovery at the same time.

I have done yoga/pilates combined classes, and have found them to be challenging, and helpful at increasing my range of motion. I was doing this at the end of long training days, twice a week. I think a lot of it depends on the type of yoga an athlete is doing, and how much of it is stretching based, how much of it is "hot yoga", and how much of it includes strengthening movements. If done on a recovery day, and done lightly, with a range of motion centralized focus, then it could be beneficial for recovery. BUT, there is still the question of whether or not it is better than passive recovery. In a time when active recovery is so popular, sometimes good old passive recovery is better.

From: @DanDan1982

"@jimvance how to taper for half ironman?? No idea what I'm doing!"

I understand the feeling, as there is so much information out there, and even then tapering can be very individual. Some athletes hardly ever taper, or barely do, others seem to live in a state of taper! There are considerations such as how long you've been training coming into the race, how important the race is, and what you have after it.

You can see and follow some of the writings I've done on the subject here. I also have done a webinar on how to use WKO+ software to help with tapering. My best advice beyond that is to keep a record of what you do during the taper, so you can tweak it if you need to for the future, or replicate it perfectly if it works very well for you. Also, during race week, keep the workouts short and to the point, replicating race intensity, a little bit about every day or every other day.

From:@Ironmom10

"@jimvance How to tell when u should train through fatigue vs. take a day off. Specifically interested re: Ironman training."

and...

From:@seeksboston26mi

"@jimvance How to overcome overtraining!"

This is a tough one, as the line between training and overtraining is not clear cut, and varies greatly with each person. I have 3 athletes training in a group together right now in Chicago, and they have 3 different recovery styles/timings/abilities, which I have to consider with each.

Some tips I can tell you...

- As you get fitter, you ability to recover increases. You will bounce back faster, so recovery is not a standard number of hours or days.

- Keep a log, so you can get a better idea of how you're doing with interpreting what your body can take and how much is enough/too-much.

- If you pack 3 days together of good quality work, (and you work full-time), chances are you need one very light day after that. If you do 4-5, you need 2-3.

- If you can't get back to normal after 2-3 days off or extremely light, you've dug way too deep.

- Sleep is your best recovery tool/method. Nothing beats it.

- If you use a power meter, you can tell when you need a day off, as the data is objective. Same with a Garmin or speed-distance device for running.

- If your attitude is poor, motivation is low, you need more recovery.

From:@ClydeWatts

"@jimvance I want a more thorough handling of long course training/racing via Performance management chart on @TrainingPeaks"

I have written a number of blog posts on WKO+, and how to use the PMC to effectively monitor and guide training decisions. You can also find a number of webinars I've done on using WKO+, from the PMC to other charts I use. Don't fall into the trap of looking at only one chart, as there's always many variables to consider. I think you'll find the webinars especially helpful.

From:@JusticeJill

"@jimvance What are ur takes on coconut water?"

I think if you like it, drink it. Is it magical? No. Is better than soda, or sugary drinks? Depends on the timing of when you're planning to drink it. Drink according to your needs, and drink what tastes good to you. Do I drink it personally? No, but I retired from being a pro athlete a few years ago, so what I drink now is not what I used to drink.

From:@run_on_texas

"@jimvance Humidity training advantages/ conversion rates to normal temps"

Hate to be the barer of bad news, but there is no conversion you can do. The variables are just too great, including:

- Pre-event/session hydration levels

- Fitness level

- Distance/length of session/race to be completed

- Course differences

- Intensities and paces

- Prior heat adaptation training

This is all art and takes getting to know your own body and its needs. This is part of the art of racing and training.

Thanks for the great questions!

Coach Vance

Twitter Answers #4

Each week I ask over Twitter if people have training topics they are interested in learning about. I get a number of responses and questions, and 140 characters doesn't provide good opportunity to answer them all. So I hope every few weeks to post some of the questions and my responses here.

From: @smernicki

@jimvance Managing disruption - how to adapt when life gets in the way. How do you minimise fitness loss and manage mental stress caused.

Managing and balancing life, family responsibilities, and work demands with training is exactly the challenge of triathlon. First off, don't believe that more training is the key to being better at the sport. For many, that's just not the case, but somehow we're all enthralled with how much volume we do. If volume was all that mattered, whoever trained the most would win. We wouldn't even need to race, just give out the rewards based on training volume.

What you do with the training time you have available is most important. Making sure you are working on your weaknesses and getting in the KEY sessions which are specific to your race goals. Focus your training on being technically excellent, addressing your weaknesses, specific to your race goals, and give yourself a cushion day or two, where you can adjust to disruptions easier. Also, try to foresee the disruptions ahead of time, and adjust early. And again, don't sweat it, volume isn't most important.

From: @massayaka

@jimvance how do u train/prepare for windy bike leg..?

It takes mental toughness, that's for sure. I have an athlete I coach, who is also a coach with TrainingBible, Scott Iott, who wrote a great article on this. Scott has been a very successful triathlete, Check it out:

http://scottiott.com/?p=216

From: @milesmusclesmom

@jimvance stength training that helps to build muscular endurance and power on the bike ;)

Good question. There is nothing that will build better power and muscular endurance on the bike better than doing workouts on your bike, focused on that itself. Remember, you need to be specific in your training. Doing force reps on the bike, longer intervals at the specific goal intensity or wattages you want to hold on the bike are key, not the weight room. That said, basic core strength and full body movements with free weights, like squats, lunges, kettlebell sets, and others will help, but it must be periodized and specific to what you need.

From: @njolly

@jimvance I am a fast Triathlete. How much will paddleboarding/kayaking/surfing affect my run mainly. In terms of too much muscle developing

I don't think you'll see any real muscle mass gains or problems with this, as the resistance and intensity is just not there. If anything, you'll see some endurance and strength gains, but you can't simulate heavy lifting sessions with these types of cross training exercises. Good sessions though, and fun!

From: @chrissimmons

@JimVance pacing for wildflower longcourse

That course is tough! I've done it twice and both times suffered. The race should definitely be ridden according to your strengths. Are you a hill rider? Are you a flats rider? There's plenty of both on it. Honestly, the toughest part of Wildflower is typically the wind and rough road surfaces, jarring you. The heat later in the day takes its toll as well. Just need to find ways to conserve energy, and be on your game for fitness when you toe that line!

Thanks again, and keep them coming for next time, let me know on Twitter, @jimvance.

Coach Vance

Twitter Answers #3

Each week I ask over Twitter if people have training topics they are interested in learning about. I get a number of responses and questions, and 140 characters doesn't provide good opportunity to answer them all. So I hope every few weeks to post some of the questions and my responses here.

From: @MoveWithBrett

@jimvance how about #hillworkouts? #trainingideas #bikespecific

Hill workouts are probably the best short-duration, high-return workouts you can do. Hill workouts/repeats can have many different training stresses, based on the length and steepness of the hill. Whether the athlete tries to stay in the saddle for hip strength building, or is out of the saddle building anaerobic power and endurance, shows the many different possibilities to consider when choosing a hill or hill repeats session.

One of the favorites I created actually came from my mountain bike racing days:

"On your mtb, warm-up for one hour easy. Go to a challenging climb which takes 1 to 2 mins. Start in your middle ring, easiest cog, go to top. Ride down, up one gear, repeat. Go until you do not make the climb. Then go back and try that gear again. If you don't make, go back down, one gear at a time, back to the middle ring, easiest cog. Remember the highest gear you made it in, (we'll do it in the future again)."

From: @ollykellygrace

@jimvance ur meals, perhaps, or your preparation for the big events...

I assume this question is about nutrition heading into a big event. I'm not a Registered Dietitian, so I would recommend if you want something specific to consult one of them. However, I can tell you I see a lot of athletes change their diet heading in a big event, doing things such as "carbo-loading". In my opinion, changing your diet right before a big event is a bad idea. You don't need to "carbo-load". If you've rested and prepared yourself properly, the body is likely ready based on the diet you normally do. The body doesn't respond to changes in diet very well in the short term, so keep this in mind.

From: @douglayne

@jimvance I'm interested in learning about pre-race and race day nutrition so I can practice during my training.

Doug, two books I would highly recommend, Paleo Diet for Athletes, and Metabolic Efficiency Training. You will learn a lot from these books about understanding timing, and amount of calories/nutrition needed for any event.

From: @CesarValeraTri

@jimvance Topic: how to stay mentally fresh and motivated through the entire season.

Use data, so you can track progress, and see how you're improving. Seeing improvement is the key to believing in what you're doing, and being/staying excited about it. Also, don't race too much. Being motivated on the start-line is usually one of the biggest factors of race performance. Can't go to the well too much, or motivation is lost, performance suffers.

From: @ThomlPhillips

@jimvance it would be interesting to hear your views on field testing & using self collected data in training vs. a trad method like hr/rpe

I believe in data, but mostly care about output data. Field testing is the cheapest and best way to get the data I want, and track athlete progress. On raceday, when an athlete has matured, I let them observe data, but I do not want them to let it control their decisions and RPE. On raceday, an athlete should be asking more from their body than they ever have, so seeing bigger numbers and values should be expected.

From: @Harm_Michael

@jimvance could you go into more depth regarding weights after bike ride and neurological more demanding first?

A weight bearing exercise, like running, is more neurologically demanding than a non-weight bearing, like swimming and cycling. There is just more demand on the body physically, with moving joints, coordination, etc. Starting with a less neurologically demanding exercise, like weights, only fatigues the body and makes the higher-demanding exercises that follow it, all that much harder. Technical flaws become more evident, and poor habits can be ingrained.

That said, triathlon is the act of running in a fatigued state, from less neurologically demanding sports of swimming and biking. So on occasion, it might be best for an athlete to simulate this in their training. But this will vary from athlete to athlete, based on their skills and fitness.

Thanks for the great questions!

Coach Vance

Twitter Answers #2

Each week I ask over Twitter if people have training topics they are interested in learning about. I get a number of responses and questions, and 140 characters doesn't provide good opportunity to answer them all. So I hope every few weeks to post some of the questions and my responses here.

From: @ironchiro

"the value of training the core muscles? Yes/No? Why? Performance benefit? Technique benefit? Relation with injury prevention?"

Core strength being important isn't the question, because it is. The real question is it the MOST important? It depends on how weak or strong your core is, compared to your ability to swim, bike and run. Specificity is most important, (swimming, biking and running), but there comes a point where you can't improve those if the weakest link in the chain is your core strength. Also, how much training time do you have available? That's one of the best parts about triathlon, that there are so many different avenues for improving performance, that choosing which ones you focus on and how well you do with that is the challenge.

So does it have a benefit on the things you list? Yes, most certainly. Is it worth pursuing more? Perhaps, but see if it is the really the weakness you need to address. With all this said, I do like to see my athletes address core strength mostly in the off-season, then maintain that strength thru the year, but just enough to maintain.

From: @djdirtykurty

"have u blogged about if & How much warmup you should do the morning of the race & How long before race time should u do it"

Warm-up in general has a few rules I like to follow and advise of athletes. First, the shorter the race, the more intense it is, and therefore the more warm-up that is required. For example, a sprint or Olympic requires much more warm-up than an Ironman. As an example, I like to see an athlete do at least a 2 mile jog before a half-ironman, and then get in the water for at least 20 mins, with some surges in both the run and the swim, to race intensity. This would be the minimum for a half. Always better to start your warm-up too soon than too late.

From: @AlexBaron85

"how bout approach to offseason? need to incorporate weights to gain strength. how much sbr do we need not to lose form? Thanks!"

The first part of approach to the off-season is to recharge mentally. If you don't rest the mind, you'll be fading by the middle of the following season. I believe strength training is best addressed in the off-season, with a focus on stabilizing muscles, and core work. Don't fall for the idea that a loss of strength will mean poor technique, as that is just not the case. Plenty of weak athletes have excellent technique.

The best approach to the off-season is one which represents the glaring weaknesses that kept you from reaching your goals in the prior season. Do a review of the season, and find out what happened. If it was injuries, perhaps a strength training routine could prevent that. Maybe speed is what you need too, and that needs to be the focus. Consider all variables, then prioritize. Consider weight and diet too!

From: @NerdyRocker

"What type of strength training do you recommend for marathoners?"

Wow, strength training is a popular topic! Seems like many athletes haven't addressed it much, and that may be why it seems to be a big weakness. Because a runner only has to run, they tend to be more able to hit the weight room, so strength training comes into play. Core work, stabilizing muscles, and dynamic movement strength work, (ie lunges), are the things I recommend.

Thanks guys!

Coach Vance

Twitter Answers #1

Each week I ask over Twitter if people have training topics they are interested in learning about. I get a number of responses and questions, and 140 characters doesn't provide good opportunity to answer them all. So I hope each week to post some of the questions and my responses here.

From: @nuuutymel

"maximising every session without overtraining?"

Mel, the answer is that every session should have a goal. That doesn't mean every session should be hard. Some sessions the goal is improved flexibility, general aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance and capacity, neurological training, or simply creating blood flow and warming the muscles up for active recovery.

If every session has a goal, you will likely maximize the session by accomplishing the goal. If you train without goals then it's hard to maximize, since we don't know what we are trying to maximize.

From: @kstravelbug

"training topics: im very slow but can endure - never ever focused on speed. Where do I even start to focus on speed in 3 events? while weight training, doing yoga, working on core (and not losing endurance or getting injured!) where to start?? Thx! :)"

KS, thanks for the question. Don't fall into the trap that speed is only going hard. Speed is simply moving quickly. This can be for a few seconds, or longer. If you really want to improve your ability to fire muscles, and increase run cadence, bike cadence, etc, then you need to work on shorter intervals. Try surges in your run of 7 to 20 secs, at fast speed.

Remember that speed is simply the product of Force, (f) and Velocity, (v) in a movement. The only way to run faster is to apply more force(f) into the ground with each step, or take your steps faster(v), or both. In biking, we can apply more force to the pedal, or spin at a faster cadence, again f and v.

You've got the f down with the strength work, but work on the v! Work on keeping technique good when increasing the velocity of the movement.

Coach Vance