Coaching & Training Insights
Katie:
The idea of “reset days”
Sometimes if you’re in a rut with training (or life), can help to take 1-2 days that are focused on total health
Think of it as mental health day meets rest day from training
Often our Monday rest days are still very busy or stressful with work and other commitments → we may shed some physical fatigue but we are still being worked
What to do on a reset day:
Clear your calendar if you can
Sleep in
Avoid working
Avoid traditional training (swim/bike/run/strength). Alternative Z1 movement or choice fun fitness are encouraged (hike, paddle, easy ski, yoga, etc.)
Make time for the things that fill you up: time with loved ones, good food, watch a movie, early bedtime, etc.
If you think you need a reset day, talk to your coach!
Jim: I like the reset day a lot. One from a physiological perspective and the other from a psychological standpoint.
From the physiological side, recovery and Reset days are important to lower cortisol levels which, if they are continually high, result in higher levels of insulin, which shuts down fat burning and is a possible precursor to diabetes. Also increased cortisol levels lessen gains from strength training(i.e., no new muscle growth), increase bone fractures, sleep is difficult and your overall energy level drops. Which is to say, you’ll feel horrible in the short term and possibly have long term health consequences.
Recovery and Reset days help invoke your parasympathetic nervous system, allowing you to relax, sleep better and lower cortisol. These days will also increase hormones that signal to your brain and heart that you are not in crisis mode, promote sleep, muscle and tissue repair and keep your immune system strong.
From a psychological standpoint, reset and recovery days are important particularly if you tend to be a performance-based identity athlete - one who thinks of their worth or identity as linked to how fast you swim/bike/run in workouts and/or races. (Does this ring a bell for anyone?!) Reset days will give you the space to focus on other parts of your life that are truly meaningful and important.
Katie: Athletes working busy full time jobs -- making time for lunch is CRUCIAL especially if you are working out in the evening. One athlete recently was feeling low energy in evening sessions and part of it stemmed back to not being able to eat lunch until 3-4pm. Calories are critical but so is timing, so make sure you’re not going long stretches without food to keep blood sugar stable. Frequent snacks FTW!
Katie: My athletes are CRUSHING the fueling game! Some quotes:
“I’ve never fueled that frequently before (I did it by the 20-25 minute time interval, getting in around the 25/45/1:05/1:25 marks) and I didn’t feel sick or fatigued by the end like I sometimes do”
“Dude fueling like that HITS DIFFERENT. Like I was going 30s faster than my usual z2 pace on the run without thinking about it”
Jim:
Long distance training requires athlete independence and equal parts interdependence on your support crew - family, friends, work colleagues. And as the races/events get longer, each one of those qualities must expand equally and proportionally.
Related interesting phenomenon: In the beginning of a race you are often a hard-driving, independent, ego-eccentric athlete. And as the long race day unfolds, you move toward being an interdependent human being.
As you physically and mentally wear down, your self and ego barriers lower and you begin to open up to receiving help and community support. This is where race volunteers and family and friends on course help get you to the finish line. Move from me to we.
A different type of fitness: One of my Ironman athletes commented that they just feel a different type of fitness than from when they were just marathon training. They now feel more robust, durable and balanced. They may not be running as fast as marathon training but they just feel better overall. This is a great insight and got me thinking about there are different types of fitness, each type makes you feel a bit different than the other.
I primarily focus on the physical side of training but have recently started to dive deep on the mental side of performance such as flow, in the zone, being present, etc. Ask any athlete; they want to reach peak performance in training and especially on race day.
Many of the challenges my athletes face are less physical and more mental. As coaches, we always say it’s fairly easy to get someone fit. We know how to do this. But it’s not always easy to get through the rigorous training process and show up mentally race ready. I want to upgrade my mental skills toolbox to help athletes unlock and remove the mental barriers.
Relatedly, I’m listening to the Norwegian Method podcast and it’s interesting to note how many times Coach Olav Aleksander Bu, coach of Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, mentioned being mindful and present as a key to executing workouts. This is an investment in your present and future performance.
In sum, treating the body and mind as one unit will become a big focus for me in 2024. I’m super excited.
Main topic:
Good data and bad data. As athletes and coaches, we have SO much data at our disposal. It can help you out or drive you crazy. Our goal today is to break down what data is useful and what data you should ignore. We’re going to play a game called good data or bad data, where we answer whether each of several different types of data is good or bad.
Is HEART RATE good data or bad data?
HR zone training: zone 2, lactate threshold, max HR, etc.
Resting heart rate
Heart rate variability / HRV
Is HR data useful during strength workouts? Swimming?
*HR data only useful if accurate. Chest strap!
TrainingPeaks data?
TSS: What is it and how do we use it?
The importance of zone data being correct
How do we think about these values for an Ironman athlete?
What are the limits of these values?
Stuff that Garmin says:
Garmin Performance Condition? No! Ignore it.
Garmin Training Status and Training Readiness. No.
Garmin Recovery (hours). No.
Garmin Heat and Altitude Acclimation. No.
If your race is hot, we can work with you on a sauna protocol and other heat adapting tactics.
Garmin tells me I’m altitude adapted to 2500 feet when most of my training is at 1,000 feet and anything under 3500 feet is probably irrelevant.
Garmin Lactate Threshold? Perhaps. Need to look into this more. There are common algorithms to determine threshold levels they may be using.
Garmin VO2 Max? It might be one of the few data pieces that may be somewhat correct.
Garmin Weather warnings! Does Garmin think my 520 bike computer is my main weather source? I’m honored they give me a warning that a winter or wind storm is coming in 18 hours so I can wrap up my 16 hour ride safely.
In sum, Garmin’s artificial intelligence is less intelligent and more artificial.
Run-specific metrics:
HR
Pace
Cadence
Do we use run power?
Do we use stride length, ground contact time, etc.?
Note that maybe these are useful but they pale in comparison to the big ones (HR, pace, etc.)
Stride length is a function of run strength and mobility which are addressed via run drills, hill repeats, gym work, etc. Do not try to consciously increase your stride while running!
Ground Contact Time can be useful to remind yourself to pick up your cadence. But, like stride length, don’t focus on it per se while running.
Stride length, ground contact time, run cadence and vertical oscillation vary greatly depending on the run terrain. They are highly variable over a hill run. Maybe more useful on a track where variables are controlled.
We don’t use programmed Garmin run workouts!
Bike-specific metrics:
Average Power and Normalized Power (what is it?)
HR
Cadence
Speed - very terrain dependent. Not useful most of the time.
Total time, total distance
Also: reminder to get a bike fit!
Swim-specific metrics:
Most important swim metric = form! Visual data
Ignore HR. We use pace the most here.
Stroke rate? In some instances. Can take years and a lot of effort to change stroke rate.
SWOLF? NO! Swim golf is a downstream metric that does not address the root causes of swimming well.
Sleep data:
Garmin vs. Oura vs. Whoop, etc.
In my experience, Oura > Garmin for accuracy
Body battery, readiness score, etc. has all been useful but not the end-all be-all
HR and HRV during sleep
Some big take-home points:
Overall feeling is not always captured in your Garmin. Trust your body.
Injuries and niggles also are not always captured. (Injured athletes will often see their stats look “prime” for heavy training since they are not moving as much -- this is the worst thing you can do.) If injured, ditch the watch and Strava.
LSS (life stress score) is not always captured (sometimes with HRV, resting HR, sleep, etc.) but not always. Keep your coach updated on how you are doing and what modifications you may need to make.
Most useful data for us: heart rate, power, pace, sleep, but need to be used together and holistically rather than individually. Remember the intention of the workout.
Always useful to go data-free every so often, especially during the off season, to reduce personal reliance on the data.
Data often gets in the way of play. Your sport should be fun, no pressure. Play like a child - uninhibited, no fear of other people’s opinion (FOPO) and be present.
Instead of data driving practice or performance, try imagery; watch videos of good swimmers/runners/cyclists. This provides an implicit, visual learning opportunity to imprint on how the best perform in their sport.
Something you can try: pretend you are playing the role in a movie of one of these professional athletes while doing your sport and mimic their movements. You’ll probably find that you will move smoothly with less effort and more flow. Unconscious, visual learning is very powerful.
Communication with your coach is the best data you can produce.
Challenge of the week:
Katie: Take in protein + carbs within 5 mins of finishing your workout!
Jim: Daily, drink one more glass or water bottle than you normally would. The benefits of hydration are numerous and as endurance athletes, we are all probably a little, or a lot, dehydrated.
Listener questions:
How to make TT position more comfortable? (Question from someone who did get a bike fit)
You should be on sit bones towards front of saddle
Comfy bike shorts and chamois cream -- note the combo of shorts and saddle is crucial. I wear different combo for TT bike and road bike to maximize comfort.
On zwift, be in aero for specific intervals but not for the whole ride. Example: WU and primer out of aero, 3 x 10’ HM in aero, out of aero between, out of aero for cool down.
Reminder: For outdoor riding, we recommend only being in aero if >15 mph (or <30 mph generally).
Treadmill paces are always off compared to Garmin. What metrics should we use?
For zone 2 on the treadmill, I go for time in Z2 rather than pace, so if a 5 mi run takes you roughly 45 mins outside, just do 45’ of Zone 2 HR on the treadmill.
You can similarly adjust the treadmill to perceived effort and HR for pick ups, etc.
We don’t recommend trying to simulate track workouts on a treadmill unless (1) you REALLY have to or (2) you know your treadmill’s pace is accurate.
Also: Get a fan.
Should I buy a road or TT helmet?
We prefer to use road helmets for training and racing. A few reasons: a) most races are in quite hot conditions and thermoregulation is often more important than saving a few seconds and b) road helmets are more comfortable and c) many road helmets now are nearly, or just as aero, as a number of TT helmets.
Gear pick of the week:
Katie: Oura ring
Jim: The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance by George Mumford.