I also still routinely use the 95% of a 20min maximal test power (CP20) method but look to these alternatives where TTs are poorly executed or excessively stressful to athletes. In short it is tricky to identify a marker that gives both realistic threshold targets and useful training zones on an individual basis.

Particularly in athletes with an endurance orientated power profile especially veterans or triathletes both these tests can result in training zones that are too low in terms of endurance and tempo. Therefor I also one other method either on it’s own or in combination to predict FTP.

This method uses something called D-max or modified D-max either from a ramp test with lactate or peak power output test. D-max as originally described by Cheng et al Int J Sports Med. 1992 Oct;13(7):518-22, where they plotted their variable eg lactate against VO2, fitteted this to a curve:

This method is typically modified slightly now by using poweroutput in watts vs lactate and it has been shown to be the most or only reproducible lactate marker for monitoring performance by Morton et al J Sci Med Sport. 2008 Sep;11(5):460-3. Epub 2007 Sep 14.

This measure is a good predictor of real world FTP on the whole and is good training benchmark. If you are doing any lactate testing you should ask your tester about getting a Dmax value as it will be more useful in terms of a functional value for future comparison and may be closer to your FTP power that you can hold for a 40k TT than the 4mmol-1 level normally quoted as your threshold from these tests.

Fell, J Sci Med Sport. 2008 Sep;11(5):460-3. Epub 2007 Sep 14 showed that in veteran cyclists Dmax correlates well with 30min TT power and peak power output measured during a GXP test providing a convenient means to predict Dmax at home using a peak power test.

Although this Peak power test is normally used after a 3min ramp test measuring lactate the results are usually very similar when done in isolation.

Warm up (25min)

-6min @ 60% HRMax
-6min @ 80% HRMax
-3min @ 90%HRMax
-Allow heart rate to return to 60% for 10min

Test (1min incremental ramp test)

-Starting intensity = 2.5 watts/kg eg 200 for an 80kg athlete
-Every 1min increase power by 20watts
-When you can cannot maintain cadence >70rpm or power falls stop.
-Peak power = 1min peak power during the test

Cool down

-Allow heart rate to return to 60% for 10min

Fell showed that you can take 0.79% of your peak power output as an estimate of Dmax which correlated to TT performance also.

If all these options are confusing I recommend firstly using the 95% of a 20min power test. It you find the CP20 zones are too hard do a peak power test and try the Lamberts et al method, OR, if you find they are too easy try the 0.79% of peak power Fell method.

It depends what type of athlete you are and it may pay off to consult with a coach to set up to training to suit your abilities.

I am preparing personally for the Celtman extreem triahtlon, a3.8k swim, 200k road bike in the highlands and a 42k off road run.

Needless to say having done several years of flatish Ironmans this is taking me out of my comfort zone and the specific training is tough. As I dont have many hills here in the city, today I drove 100k at 9am to get in a 2 hour bike and do the Stuc a chroin 5000 hill race.

Lothar Leder said to us at a press conference once:

“Enjoy the swim…. because the run… this will not be funny.”

That was very true today and is very true of any hard ultra-distance race… in the end it is not funny. This is another important aspect of specific preparation, to encounter the mental challenges and face the demons you will in your race.

I rode 2 hours at race pace which at around 255 watts is easy but challenging on the undulating roads in the Highlands. This is important however to practice a more stochastic style of riding to a regular Ironman.

This was my first hill run and longest run by some way in several years! Click the image to see my full workout.

Needless to say this was tough, really tough but I was glad to get it done as it will allow me to grow in strength and confidence.

The terrain was particularly challenging and a really struggled on the descents when they got steep and rough. This tough race took me to some tough places mentally and phsically and let me feel how the Celtman will feel in the end so I will be ready.

Happy training!

This simple drill trains your posture, balance and stability. Pay attention to your posture keeping your core muscles and gluts switched on.

These exercises are also great for preventing injuries in the lower leg and foot such as achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Just try it and you will feel the small muscles in your foot and lower leg twitching to stabilise you and getting stronger.

The basic exercise can be progressed by coming up on to your toe or by closing your eyes for enhanced proprioceptive training.

Even after years of Ironman running I still do these exercises as often as I can. Without any additional weight it is a great way to work on your balance and range of motion. Add some dumbells and you have about the best strength workout I have tried.

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The Hamstring lift helps train your balance and coordination between your gluts and hip flexors.

This is the ultimate exercise for efficient running. Coordinate your glutes with your hip flexors and make sure your core muscles are switched on. This is all about balance and stability.

The reverse lunge works on everything. They mostly help you work of dynamic range of motion in your hip flexors, essential for good running.

If you are looking for a more advanced exercise to maximise your strength workout this is it. 100% balance, stability, coordination and posture are required.

With all these exercises look for small progressions and remember they do not always need to be hard just think off them like a reminder to your body.

There are four core skills you need to work on to build your foundation for a strong run especially in triathlon.

Posture- run tall with hips in and core engaged

Stability- work on strength though your core and leg especially lower leg

Coordination- ensure your hip extensors and flexors are working in snergy

Balance- develop a strong feel for balance to ensure you are as efficient as possible

Work on these during runs and with targeted functional training and drills and you will find improvements in form and efficiency especially over longer distances.

1) Great posture and balance
Run tall with an open chest and a slight forward lean. Weight should be distributed evenly so balance is perfect with minimal ‘lurching’, side to side movement or forward to back fluctuations during the stride.

2) Great stability
Stability in the hips, core and lower leg is key with no flaws such as dropping the hip which can happen when core muscles and glutes become fatigued.

3) HIGH turnover ~90spm
Run with a high turnover ~90rmp or even more. This reduces the muscular load and increase elastic energy transfer so can make you more efficient.

4) Foot lands close to center of gravity under hips
The closer the foot lands to your center of gravity the less braking force you will apply during your run stride.

5) Low ‘bounce’
Energy can be wasted lifting your body off the ground. Minimising the vertical ‘bounce’ can reduce wasted energy and ensure force production is in the right direction.

6) Little unnecessary movement
There is little movement in the upper body with minimal rotational stress, don’t waste your energy on a big arm swing at Ironman pace!

By training to specifically improve these characteristics you can make your triathlon run more efficient with the aim to maintain a higher pace for longer.

The truth of the matter is that while your energy expenditure while running is proportional to body weight unfortunately the current best research shows there is a poor correlation between body weight and your ability to absorb carbohydrates without being sick.

How does this make sense? I’d suggest that a 5’2″ athlete will have a smaller gut and be able to absorb less than a 6’2″ athlete this is fairly obvious.

However it is also obvious that every athlete that is say 6’0″ is not the same weight and this can vary hugely from mid 60 to 100+ kg. In this situation there is certainly going to be a poor correlation.

This plot is meta-analysis data which means basically all the relavent studies have been put together and combined to give a more complete picture of whats happening. The result is that there is NO correlation between body weight and your ability to use ingested carbohydrate.

So the rule of thumb 1-2g of CHO per kg per hour is nice but in reality for most of us we are looking at a more absolute number irrespective of weight.

For most people this is 30-90g of carbs per hour and more is better but it needs to be well tolerated.

Fortunately you can train your gut in a similar way you can train your muscles so in workouts approaching a big race start working on your nutrion.

Start modestly maybe with a gel every 40 or 60 min and try to increase this ideally to a gel or the equivalent every 20-30min.

If you find it too much, reduce it, but do try and increase it again in the future because the “training” effect means your capacity will increase.

Finally, dont try and increase your intake on race day…. just as with pacing stay within your limits. Push your limits in training and sit just under this level for your race.

“I have no problem with motivation…. what is the best way to channel my energy effectively.”

Motivation and energy are great, they are exactly what you need to succeed at anything. Too much can be a bad thing however if not channeled correctly.

I my post earlier in the week I mentioned by own start in triathlon saying that I would go out and try to run more every week. This is the perfect example of poorly channeled energy as I turned my new found energy and enthusiasm directly in to fatigue and injury by doing the only thing I knew how, run.

So what not to do is simply do more of what your doing now without good reason. Have confidence in your program and look for other ways to channel your energy.

I hope these ideas help but ultimately my advice is, if you have done everything on your schedule and you are still brimming with energy, invest it something else… firstly family then business a hobby or other sport, voluntary role or coaching.

1) Make your energy wisely during training. Make sure you know how much to invest in any given session. Make the easy sessions easy and save your energy for the hard ones.

2) Look at optimising other aspects of your life such as diet, rest or sleep. Plan meals ahead and have food pre prepared.

3) Research the latest equipment. Make sure it is the best and you are using properly. Can you optimise anything such as your position on the bike?

4) Make sure you bike and equipment is in tip top condition. Some times when energy is low bike maintenance is the first thing to go.

5) Spend more time planning the logistics of your next big event. Know exactly what your travel, accommodation and food arrangements are, leave no stone unturned.

6) Spend more time on relaxation and visualisation. Mastering these two mental techniques will help you succeed without leaving the sofa.

7) Get ahead with work or business. Getting jobs done ahead of schedule is like putting time in the bank for future use.

8 ) Invest energy in your relationships. Sporting life can be selfish sometimes, putting some energy back in to your relationships is essential for their health and yours.

9) Book a regular massage, or a technique session with a local coach. Maybe a bike fit analysis or swim video would be better for you?

10) Do more complementary training such as strength and conditioning, functional or technical work.

In my early days in triathlon I just did as much as I could. Without any real knowledge of what I was doing I would go out every week with the sole aim of doing more and of course this led to injury and enforced rest. Some things I learned however were:

+It is an essential part of every program.
+It should be mindful and focused.
+The intensity should be controlled and dependent on ability.
+You can achieve in excess of 90% on your aerobic potential if you do enough.
+It is important to develop conditioning to tolerate harder training

-it is never the only component to training
-at a static volume you will plateaux rapidly
-most people can not achieve enough in terms of time to reach their potential
-too much for too long can be destructive and lead to fatigue and injury
-too much will compromise high intensity training

Later, training for my first sub 9 hour Ironman I learned how to do structured progressive distance properly thanks to John Dargie. This allowed me to maximise my potential and got me to and Ironman run PB of 2:49:50.

SPD is really simple, you take structured workouts like a 2 hour bike with 3x20min at aerobic threshold and add time in a progressive way. For example 3x22min then 3x24min and when you need a rest you take a week off and go back in at a higher level than you started the last time eg 3x22min. It can be super effective and is the ideal way to build up your distance for a long event such as ironman.

John was also the coach to teach me the importance of training hard and I trained very, very hard during this time and the progressive distance I did on the bike was mostly tempo intervals at 80-90% FTP power well above Ironman pace. I was super fit for that race.

I have two basic problems when people continually chime the “base training” bell however which has led to me to disagree with people and earn a reputation in some circles as a high intensity coach. I hope this post goes at least some way to explain if not dispel that notion.

1) They say it should be easy or even, very very easy but even low intensities become much harder when you add two key ingredients, control and focus.

Controlling the intensity within a specific range that will stimulate aerobic development without inducing fatigue is important. Focussing on perfect consistent technique is also important. If you are doing enough and doing it right it will not be that easy and you will not feel guilty about it as some suggest.

By using a power meter and understanding that bikes roll all by themselves a lot of the time without even pushing the pedals made me realise home much wasted time people put in on the bike. So an example is where 1 hour of controlled constant peddling even at low intensity can leave a beginners legs far sorer than 2 or 3 hours with poor technique but have far greater effect. This is obviously more mentally taxing as well.

Another example would be in swimming where technique can change dramatically with speed a lot of time may need to be spent doing shorter faster reps rather than just very slow swimming. For instance don’t do 1500 straight swim where technique is poor, do 60×25 faster with best technique and 10 sec rest to keep the effort down. You would be stunned by how many 25s some pro athletes would do.

2) Once you reach your ceiling in terms of hours you will plateaux fairly quickly.

Most people simple do not have the hours in the day to reach there aerobic potential at 80% low intensity training. If you train like me around 4 hours of cycling in the winter months (between 3 and 6). By moving some of this low intensity work to tempo work from 80-90% threshold power you can increase your aerobic training load and conditioning.

A major and valid criticism of this is that high intensity work can suffer or vanish as a result. It is important to maintain the quality of high intensity training in this situation, so shorter reps and shorter rest can be required much like the swimming situation with intervals from 1-8min being more effective than 10-20min where power drops.

So my botom line is yes, do lots of base work but make it mindful and controlled.

If you have been doing the same number of hours for a while and the basic speed or power is not improving then include more tempo work. Maintain high intensity work at the same level and if that is difficult reduced rep length and rest interval should help maintain intensity.

Make the pace relevant in terms of technique especially in the pool and consider shorter harder reps using more rest to keep the overall intensity low.

This was very different from anything the former Pro Ironman had done before and I believe it was an emotional experience for Aleks.

Aleks: “I gained a lot from the experience, I am richer and have more courage to follow new dreams for I remembered that I find the joy of sport in my dreams and my life’s adventures.”

He had never ran trails like these before certainly not in the dark. He admits that he got quite lost with his Garmin reading 101km by the finish.

Aleks: “when i finished i was not so tired, cardio is ok but legs… destroyed… I fell so many times.”

Lets wish him a speedy recovery and all possible success with his main goal for 2012 the Ultra trail mount fuji.

Take care Aleks I need you for Celtman!