ME Trainer Sessions

Copyright Gordo Byrn 2001

 

Tips

 

·        Start each interval easily – build into each effort.  Be particularly careful with the first 45 seconds as legs will be relatively lactate free and HR lags effort.

 

·        Use RPE for early intervals as well as beginning of intervals.

 

·        Goal should be to increase intensity through the session.  Finish strong, save a little for the last part of the session.  Focus on the third and fourth interval of each set.

 

·        Rest interval (RI) should be easy spinning.  Maintain form.

 

·        Never push into deep pain – learning to tell the difference from normal “training pain” and “pre-injury” pain takes time.  Be cautious and back off if unsure.

 

·        Athletes should alternate between a “climbing” and “aero” bike position.  The appropriate mix of position will depend on the nature of early season race courses.

 

·        Hold perfect form – head/body/hips/pelvis stable, proper back alignment, leg drive smooth, and eyes open.  You want to train perfect form so it will translate to the road and races.

 

·        Intervals are best done after a 20-30 min warm-up that includes several 15-30 second pick-ups to race effort.

 

·        Follow your interval session with some easy spinning and a stretching session (at least ten minutes).

 

·        Athletes should use their own judgement on the cadence guidelines.  For example, Athlete A who is a good spinner might use 90-95 as normal but Athlete B who is a grinder would use 80-85 as normal.  Riders with force as a limiter will benefit from lower cadence intervals, while riders seeking to lift their comfortable cadence will benefit from higher cadence intervals.

 

·        Be “reasonable” with all guidelines, in particular pace and cadence guidelines.

 

Interval Guidelines

From August 2001 Newsletter

In preparing for IMC, I have been doing a lot of interval work. Short, long, swim, bike and run. All kinds of different ones. I thought I would pass along some things that I have noticed.

HR significantly lags effort -- those of us that like to use our HRMs for training will have to ignore HR when doing intervals. Probably the most common mistake with interval (muscular endurance) work is going out too hard. An over-enthusiastic athlete blows the entire set by the second repetition.

Pacing -- In order to avoid self-destruction, I always build into each interval and each set. Just like in a race, I split the work effort into quarters.

  • In the first quarter, my body is fresh and free of lactate, the goal here is to hold back.
  • In the second quarter, I maintain goal interval pace/effort.
  • The third quarter is where most people have a dip in output and this is where I like to focus on maintaining my effort while holding perfect form.
  • The final quarter can be tough if the interval intensity is high. However, for IM we are rarely doing very high output intervals. If you have paced yourself through the first 75% of the repetition then the quiet satisfaction of a solid repeat should bring you home.

Intensity -- If you are like most triathletes, deep down you probably think that 10x7min (Zn 5c) on 5s rest is "better" than 6x5min (build to Zn 5a) on 75s rest. Note that the "better" set has longer interval duration, higher intensity and shorter rest.

Many sports scientists have spent time analyzing the optimal mix of intensity, duration and recovery. The good news is that we do not have to completely fry ourselves to get the physiological adaptations that we desire. This is particularly true for IM training where most athletes are close to their recovery limits. I see this a lot in the pool where swimmers are proud that they "don't need their rest" or completely explode in the middle of the main set (break out the fins and pull-buoys!). The ability to descend and/or maintain pace is the hallmark of the intelligent athlete.

Temperament -- Intervals are a great way to get a look at how you are likely to perform in a race situation.

  • Do you fade towards the end of the main set? -- You'll need to focus on mental toughness and/or better front end pacing.
  • Do you consistently fry yourself in the first few repeats? -- You will need to leave your ego at the race start.
  • Do you want to quit in the middle, struggle through then feel great at the end? -- You'll likely benefit from visualizing strong performance in the middle of a race.

Many athletes (myself included) have suffered the effects of going too hard too early in a race. I believe that learning to control yourself in training is an important part of hitting the right effort levels on game day.

Sense of Pace -- Most strong swimmers, bikers or runners have an in built sense of what pace they are going. They don't need a clock, HRM or speedo -- they just "know". Different paced intervals are excellent for helping the athlete learn a sense of pace. Swimmers always have access to a pace clock and it can be quite beneficial for all athletes to do pace work on measured courses or tracks. Intervals are the perfect time to develop your sense of different paces.

Nutrition -- Ever wonder if your stomach will be able to handle a certain sports drink in an Ironman race? Drink 1.5L of it before a 40K time trial and you'll have an idea of how you'll fair. Ever wonder what it is like to eat solid foods at the end of an IM bike? Insert 5x3 min hard on 1 min recovery at the three-hour mark of a Zn 2 ride. As soon as your breathing as slowed after the intervals... unwrap your favourite flavour. These are somewhat extreme examples of how you can use intervals to "test" your nutrition.

Safety -- I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that doing hard bike intervals outdoors is probably the most dangerous activity that we do as triathletes. Travelling at high speed on the aerobars is risky. Here are some tips....

  • Always wear a helmet. I am constantly amazed at how, otherwise sane, athletes leave their helmets at home (or even take them off!). To illustrate this point, drop a cantaloupe from a height of six feet onto the road. Now picture the same scene with the cantaloupe starting at a speed of 20-45mph.
  • If riding in the dark then use lights and wear reflective clothing. I used to do a lot of riding in the dark -- it makes a huge difference to your chances of being seen. Once you get used to riding safely, you'll feel naked without your protective gear. High quality LED flashers are inexpensive and make a huge difference.
  • Assume that you are invisible. A triathlete moving at high speed on the aerobars doesn't present a lot of frontal area for a driver to see. Always assume that the car doesn't see you. It's better to "lose" a bit of a repeat than spend weeks recovering from a superman impersonation across someone's hood.
  • Keep your head up. Seems straightforward, but I see a lot of folks out hammering with their head down. It's not just cars that can get you -- joggers, pedestrians, potholes, ditches, other cyclists... I've had close calls with them all.
  • Review your route in advance. I like to warm up by riding through the entire interval route. That way, I am able to spot any potential trouble spots in advance.

·     Be aware of the location of all traffic, particularly cars that are approaching you from behind. From my time in the urban jungle, I always like to have a bailout option. Know what all the vehicles are doing in your area.


Guidelines on Power

From Joe Friel

 

To determine Critical Power (CP) zones have the athlete complete solo time trials for the following durations--12 seconds, 1 minute, 6 minutes, 12 minutes, 30 minutes. From these you can estimate CP60, CP90, and CP240 which are too long to do in weekly testing due to the extremely long recovery associated with them. I wouldn't recommend 12 seconds and 1 minute for triathletes as these systems are never, or rarely at most, challenged in a triathlon.

 

Once the average power for a given duration is determined in one of the above tests, determine the zone for that duration by adding and subtracting 5% of it. So if Adam's 30 minute TT average power was 292 his CP30 is 277-306. From this you can estimate his CP60 zone. The rule for doing this is that when duration doubles, the power required decreases by 5% (the same, BTW, holds true for running pace). So Adam's estimated power for CP60 is 5% lower than for CP30--263-290.

 

From this you could estimate CP90 by subtracting 2.5% from CP60. CP180 would be a doubling of CP90 so subtract another 5%. And CP240 would be 3.3% less than CP180.

 

But to be realistic here, I've found that anything longer than CP90 is of little use. I'd rather use heart rate in those training situations. Power is difficult to maintain at a steady level for such long periods. HR is much less sensitive to terrain and wind changes so is easier to train with longer rides. And, besides, for long rides the purpose is generally to improve the aerobic components of the rider's physiology any way, so HR training tells us a lot about that.

 

You can find the newest version of "Training With Power" on-line at www.power-tap.com, under "HELP" and "PRODUCT SUPPORT". I also write a brief monthly column on training with power for this site.

 

The table below is a rough guideline for heart rate and critical power zones.

 

Heart Rate Zone

Critical Power Zone

5c

CP0.2-CP1

5b

CP6

5a

CP30

4

CP60

3

CP90

2

CP180-CP240

1

Half of CP12

 

Protocol

Should start once Max Strength phase is completed

 

Wk

Main Set

Intensity

Cadence

#1

Set A

5x3 min on 1 min RI

1.    End at low Zn 3

2.    End at middle Zn 3

3.    End at upper Zn 3

4.    End at lower Zn 4

5.    Build to Zn 4 in first 45s and hold

1.    Normal

2.    Faster

3.    Slower

4.    Faster

5.    Normal

#2

Set B

5x3 min on 1 min RI

1.    End at middle Zn 3

2.    End at upper Zn 3

3.    End at lower Zn 4

4.    End at upper Zn 4

5.    Build to Zn 5a in first 45s and hold

1.    Normal

2.    Faster

3.    Slower

4.    Faster

5.    Normal

#3

5x3 min on 1 min RI

Repeat with 15+ min of Zn 1/2 riding between sets

Both sets at Set A Intensity

1.    Faster

2.    Slower

3.    Faster

4.    Slower

5.    Normal

#4

HR or Power Testing

 

 

#5

5x3 min on 1 min RI

Repeat with 15+ min of Zn 1/2 riding between sets

#1 at Set A intensity

#2 at Set B intensity

1.    Faster

2.    Slower

3.    Faster

4.    Slower

5.    Normal

#6

5x3 min on 1 min RI

Repeat with 15+ min of Zn 1/2 riding between sets

Both sets at Set B intensity

1.    Faster

2.    Slower

3.    Faster

4.    Slower

5.    Normal

#7

Set C

5x5 min on 90s RI

Use Set B intensity

1.    Faster

2.    Slower

3.    Faster

4.    Slower

5.    Normal

#8

HR or Power Testing