TT032: Stages Cycling Power Meter & Saunas

07/01/14 • 35 min

Triathlete Training Podcast: Triathlon, Ironman & Duathlon

Subscribe via iTunes Ben Sharp of Stages Cycling I interview Ben Sharp of Stages Cycling about the Stages Power Meter. Ben was a coach for USA Cycling from 2007 to 2013 before joining Stages. The Stages Power Meter runs $700-$900 plus a head unit, such as a Garmin or even an iPhone. I was an SRM user and I did this interview because I was genuinely curious about this lower cost power meter. I came away persuaded that it is an excellent option. Ben points out some of the advantages: Lower cost Easy assembly and setup. It can easily be switched between bikes. Simple maintenance and firmware updates Ben stated that accuracy is within 2%. Power is measured only from the left crank. StagesCycling.com Are Saunas The Next Big Performance Enhancing "Drug" The Five Fingers Settlement Didn't Settle the Barefoot Running Debate Subscribe via iTunes

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TT031: A 15 Year Ironman Hawaii Qualification Story

Subscribe via iTunes Dan Dungan At Ironman Texas Dan Dungan started racing triathlons in 1999 with the Memphis and May. His first Ironman was in 2000. Going into 2014 he had started 20 Ironmans, finishing 17, but had never qualified for Ironman Hawaii. He was persistent in his training, he learned each year, and at Ironman Texas in 2014 he took another shot at qualifying. Dan and I discussed his progression over the years, the lessons learned, and his strategy for Ironman #21. He’s consulted with Gordo Byrn for several years and continued to modify his approach. At age 57 he was racing in the 55-59 age group and the expectation, which wouldn't be confirmed until the morning after the race, was that there would be just two Ironman Hawaii spots in his age group. In his previous 3 Ironmans he had a third place and two fifth places in his age group, and the gap between his time and the time required to qualify was narrowing. As a weak swimmer he decided to do a major swim block in early 2014. For 6 weeks he averaged 20,000 yards in the pool. To accommodate the higher volume he wisely backed off on intensity for many of his workouts. He also modified his nutrition plan for this race, going with less calories than normal (250 per hour on the bike). His strategy was to push the first couple hours of the bike, anticipating a tailwind. His goal was 180 watts for the early part of the race. Coming back into the headwind he was shooting for 165-170 watts. On this run his goal was to keep the first 3 miles easier, and then bump up the effort to little faster than his average goal pace. His planning all paid off as he finished second in his age group and earned a spot to Hawaii. He finished in 10:32:22 with splits of 1:12:46/5:18:41/3:52:03. He was 16 minutes out of first and 17 minutes ahead of third place.

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TT033: Training Questions & Half Ironman Pursuit

Subscribe via iTunes Half Ironman Training Questions Rodrigo Chaves is the guest for this episode and we discuss several questions based around half ironman training. Rodrigo lives in New Jersey and 2014 is his second season of racing triathlons. He’s competed in running races for the last 4 years and he’s been swimming for 8 years. He is training for the Syracuse Half Ironman 70.3 on June 22. Be sure to check out episode 34 for his post-race interview. Here are his questions that we discussed in the interview: General 1. What's the common volume of training for a person on their second season training for their first half? I feel like my training compared to others might have too much volume. Here's the breakdown: Mon: Morning swim, Night Bike (20 - 25 miles) Tue: Morning swim, NIght Run (35 - 45 min) Wed: Night Bike (30 - 35 miles) Thu: Morning swim, Night Run (40 - 60 min) Fri: Off Sat: Long bike ride (30 - 50 miles), Run (3 miles easy) Sun: Long run (8 - 10 miles) 3 swims, 3 bikes for 5-6 hours, 4 runs for 3 hours - 10-11 hours/week. 2. Can i get away with biking twice a week for an half Iron? If so, what should be my key workouts? 3. Swim: I used to just train straight 1 - 1.5 miles two or three times a week. This training program is now asking me to do more intervals (say warmup 300, then 8 x 100 with 15 rest, or 4 x 200 with 20 rest, kick, cool down). I feel like i'm going to lose my endurance not having the long swim in. Thoughts? 4. Big goal is Half Iron Syracuse but I have scheduled some road races in between. How good is that during training? How do you recommend approaching those weeks? I have included a half marathon in there. 5. Work / family and training balance: If there is a training in the week that you just have to miss (meetings, business dinners, family commitments things of that nature), which one is the most expendable? 6.Sleeping issues. Since i am training i find it hard to go to sleep. Any comments and advice? Nutrition 1. My diet is high on carbs. Need that for training. What's the right volume of carbs that you would recommend for someone in my situation? 2. How close to your race day nutrition should you be in training? I find it hard to get in many fluids in the bike. 3. What's cola good for? Since the interview with Andy Starykowicz [episode 19] I’ve been using it and it feels right but i don't know if it's something that I should always take. 4. Recovery: chocolate milk myth or reality? How soon after training? 5. Anything else in the bike for nutrition that I should consider? Bike Equipment 1. I Just got my first tri bike and didn't realize how much you can upgrade it. In order of importance what componentry would you upgrade? 3. Thoughts on indoors trainers? Are they effective or a waste of time/money? Could i substitute an indoor trainer with just a plain spinning bike at the gym? Race week/day 1. Thoughts on right taper for my training? 2. What are the essentials that i should have in the bike? Tube, CO2, etc? 3. Race day nutrition recommendations. Subscribe via iTunes