Episode 126: Toolkit for Hard Intervals, Ironman Bike Volume, and Race Readiness
In this week’s episode, we reflect on what it means when the hay is in the barn, highlighting practical approaches to shedding fatigue and showing up at the starting line of your race both happy and healthy. We then dive into a bunch of great athlete questions on pickups, recovery, warming up, bike purchases, and fueling. Our main content features a deep dive on Katie’s toolkit for hard intervals inspired by a recent sweet spot bike workout, as well as a conversation on why bike volume is essential for successful Ironman experiences. Check it out!
Intro
“Hay is in the barn” mentality close to race day
A few athletes are getting really close to races - exciting!
Once you complete that final race sim or long run, our main training objective becomes showing up at the start line happy and healthy
It’s often around this time that the cumulative grind of training makes niggles show up, which can turn into a much bigger deal if you push it too hard at that point
As a coach I am often strongly encouraging athletes to do less after that last key workout to preserve all the fitness we have.
Example - one athlete is training for Boston but has had some shin splints going on
After the last long run (20 miles with 15 at 90-95% of GMP), we pivoted to just 2 runs per week and the rest x-training. No more fitness to be gained, want to just preserve the feeling of running, but not overload the body. Already helping!
Think of Icarus flying too close to the sun; after your last race sim or long run, you are already as close to the sun as you want to get and the safest and smartest approach is to take a step back and get recovered
And as an aside, don’t pay attention to fitness numbers “dropping” in the final weeks leading up to a race -- this is the taper and is expected, and also means nothing for performance. Going into a race with a very high CTL and a very high amount of fatigue will result in a worse performance than a slightly less high CTL and being well rested
Athlete Questions/Comments:
How hard should I go on pickups / strides?
These are short bursts of faster running (90–95% effort) lasting about 10–15 seconds, which can be done on flat, uphill, or downhill terrain. Strides are one of the best returns on investment in training — a little goes a long way.
Think of the speed as anywhere between 3K and sprint pace, depending on how you're feeling at that moment. The point is to go a lot faster than your easy run pace for a short period of time. Don't overanalyze the data, don't try to check your pace on your watch, and don't worry about heart rate spikes. Just focus on running tall, easy, relaxed, good-form fast running.
How To Run Strides To Improve Speed
What is recovery? Recovery is anything restorative that gets you ready for the upcoming week — or days — of workouts. You are not chasing fitness or strength on a recovery day. Recovery can be anything from sitting on the couch, yoga, very light strength/mobility work for ~10–30 minutes, an easy walk or hike, light chores around the house, and more.
If in doubt, ask yourself: Does this activity make me feel better — more restored and recovered — than when I started?
I need to buy a bike. What do you suggest?
The good news is that you generally can't buy a bad bike in terms of frame and parts quality. The main difference in pricing comes down to components — the shifters, brakes, crank, cassette, and derailleur. There are two main component makers: Shimano and SRAM.
For Shimano, the hierarchy from high to low is Dura-Ace, Ultegra, 105, and Tiagra. Dura-Ace sits at the top (and the price tag reflects it), while Tiagra is very economical. Ideally, look for a bike spec'd with 105 or Ultegra — those components will last for years. SRAM has their own hierarchy: Apex, Rival, Force, Red, and so on.
The key is finding a frame size that fits you. A good bike shop will help with that, and ideally they'll also offer a bike fit — even a basic one — to ensure your saddle is at the right height and the bike is dialed in for your body.
Two best pieces of advice: Buy your first bike at a local bike shop. Buying a bike can be very overwhelming and a good local bike shop will step you through the process and set up your new bike to fit you.
And number two, buy a bike you like to look at!
What type of warmup/activation should I do for run vs. bike vs. swim? (Coming from an athlete question about whether there was any activation to do before biking, given that I had dropped in activation for pre-run)
Biking - given that biking is pretty low impact, I think it’s okay to just treat your ride itself as the warmup (i.e. no need to do anything off the bike prior to getting on). For a proper warmup, ramp up from very easy spinning to more of a Z2 effort over 10-30 mins (depending on time of workout), then add in 4 x 20-30” pickups to hard effort with 30-60” easy between before starting your workout. This is built into most of our Zwift workouts.
Swimming - also low impact so not essential, but recently for me it has been helpful to do some upper back and shoulder mobility work
Running - we recommend plenty of activation (e.g. glute activation, lunge matrix, and whatever mobility feels good) before you get started, especially if running in the morning right out of bed or in the cold. At a minimum, 5’ of walking is a great warmup. Before a race, including 10-15 mins of easy jogging, some dynamic activation, and then 4 x strides before the gun goes off.
Note on biking/swimming - while you don’t need much pre-activity activation to have a successful bike/swim, you are still encouraged to do mobility etc. beforehand if you find that useful from a habit stacking perspective and otherwise wouldn’t do it!
Jim’s favorite pre-run (and sometimes pre-bike) exercise: Bird Dog Exercise for Glute Activation
Tadej Pogacar pre-bike exercise for glutes
Should I ever take in carbs during swims given that I can’t fuel during the swim in a race?
YES! It can be hard to get enough fuel when training volume gets really high, so if having carbs in the bottle helps you stay topped off and feel energized during your swim, go for it. Not every workout has to simulate race conditions, and as intervals get longer in swim workouts and you physically can’t take in carbs during (because you are swimming), you will get plenty of practice without having the carbs.
Athlete comment on combating heat:
Carl-Eric: I've been doing this thing with a neck bandana that I kind of love. Instead of the normal fill of ice cubes I use one of those really dense grout sponges. You cut it to size, soak it completely, freeze it solid, and then put it in the bandana. Holds the cold way longer than plain ice (like half marathon time). I wear it around my neck and it makes a noticeable difference.
I've read that the neck has a high density of thermoreceptors so cooling there might have an outsized effect on perceived exertion, and there's also the fact that the carotids run right there along with your spinal cord. I'm not totally sure, I couldn't find great data on it. But it works for me!
Main Insights
Toolkit for Getting Through Hard Intervals
Background:
I did a real big girl workout on the bike for the first time recently
Why? Postpartum return to run is going really well but I am taking it conservatively, which means frequency → volume → intensity (so not a lot of intensity yet). However, I still want to get exposure to more intensity in terms of HR zones, so I am getting in ~2 workouts per week on the bike (for the next few weeks, one SS workout and one AC workout).
As an aside, this is what’s so great about having a background as a triathlete even when my primary focus has become one sport - I am able to hit a diversity of zones across a range of sports, and am building “say yes” bike fitness in the process. Feels less like x-training and more just like a fun bike block. Even if you are a single sport athlete, consider blocks in biking, swimming, hiking, or other sports, so you can use them as effective x-training.
We often see athletes who are, e.g., great runners, having a lot of trouble getting their HR up on the bike because they haven’t developed the musculature and efficiency to really push; conversely we see people who can only do extremely high HR swimming because they are not efficient. X-training therefore only becomes an option in Z1-2.
Anyway, the workout -- 7 x 4’ sweet spot (which is just below threshold) at my pre-pregnancy FTP setting was challenging, and required me to dig deeper than some of the short/fast interval workouts to grind out for 4 mins. I ended up using a lot of different tools throughout that might be helpful for others:
Taking a gel or sip of carbs and *visualizing the effect.* Example: “This next interval is going to feel way easier because I just took a gel.” The carbs help on their own, but the paired visualization/manifestation feels like it doubles their effectiveness.Jim: Quick side tangent on using liquid carbs for constant glucose ‘doping’ and fooling the brain.
Playlist with songs that match the cadence you are trying to do. Example - “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World is right around 80rpm and has a really good beat, so sometimes I’ll put that song on and just try to match cadence to the music which gives me a good distraction
Bonus distraction: auto-scrolling the song lyrics on Spotify. It gives you something pretty easy to focus on that doesn’t require much brain power and helps you connect your body and brain without staring at power/stats on Zwift.Jim: I have a FTP playlist on Spotify I put on when things get tough! 80’s classic rock!
Happy memory as a distraction - recalling Mark Cavendish’s strategy in the Tour, being reminded of something that makes you smile/laugh actually temporarily blunts pain signals.Jim: Or thinking of a good incentive / treat for post workout.
Chunking it up - think about just getting through the next minute of the interval rather than all four minutes or all seven intervals. If you want to quit, tell yourself “let’s just make it to the next minute and then we can evaluate” (and you probably won’t actually quit).Jim: If you are outside doing intervals, use the first 30” to minute to check you are not overcooking the interval intensity.
If biking seated, a few seconds standing to change position can help.Jim: When intervals get tough I think about one-legged step ups and reminding myself I can do those with a lot of weight on my back and being on the bike I don’t have that weight and I’m supported by my upper body. In other words, it’s not that bad!
Deep breath through your nose and exhale through your mouth, watching your HR come down.Jim: If you do some regular breathing rate training on your bike, you can fall back on those techniques you use regularly. Sometimes I’ll play a game of how much I can get my breath rate to do down during hard intervals.
Many of these are best suited to biking on trainer but could be adapted to track intervals, outdoor biking intervals, swim intervals, etc.!
Other examples: pick a point/landmark and focus on it while running or biking outside; counting laps or strokes while swimming; brief walk break at every X interval while running (e.g. in an Ironman)
Ironman: Bike Volume is King and Queen
Many athletes are starting to take their bikes outside. A couple of key points as you make that transition.
A successful Ironman is built on bike volume. Bike fitness is king and queen.
Get outside as much as possible and ride for as long as possible, frequently.
Don't worry about intervals outside. Your job is simply to ride. By nature of the terrain where most people live — and the time and distance involved — you will naturally be riding at Ironman pace.
What is Ironman bike pace?
It's the effort you can sustain for 6–7 hours. That means:
* Light pressure on the pedals
* Anchoring your effort in time — make the first 56 miles feel low-stress
* If you're racing Lake Placid, return to town after the first lap feeling energetic. That feeling should govern your effort throughout the first loop — because you still have a second loop ahead, and then 26 miles on your feet
Key point: Bike as much as possible. If you can leave indoor intervals behind, go for it. It's time to move from being inside cats to outside cats.
Ironman Lake Placid Podcasts:
The following podcasts have A LOT of insight and knowledge about Lake Placid Ironman and Ironman racing in general. I point all of my new athletes to these episodes (and I’ll go back and listen from time to time to refresh my knowledge).
Episode 91: Pacing, Fueling, Mindset, and More at Ironman Lake Placid
Episode 88: Ironman Race Day Strategies and Lessons from 200 on 100
Ad - 2nd annual Northeast Trail Adventures White Mountain camp:
For the second year, Eli Burakian and Justin Chapman from Northeast Trail Adventures are hosting a running and hiking retreat in the White Mountains (of New Hampshire). The retreat is three days and three nights up at Hub North, an amazing camp and lodge at the base of the Presidential Range. Campers will share meals and stories, learn from the leaders and each other, and surround ourselves within a small community of others who are passionate about trail running and hiking. Each day there are multiple hiking or running options and it really is for all abilities.
The leaders include Eli and Justin, who have years of experience ultrarunning, hiking and adventuring in the Whites and beyond, as well as Jeff Garmire, who last year set the self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail and hosts the Free Outside podcast. Alyssa Godesky who has numerous FKTs including the white mountains 4,000 footers, Adah Chapman a collegiate athlete and coach and crusher of white mountain routes, Hilary McCloy who is an incredible local skier, runner and hiker and who brings her trail running focused physical therapy will be leaders as well. (And of course Jim Anderson, who probably needs little introduction in this podcast, but of course has years of coaching, racing and adventuring experience and definitely lives the closest to the retreat!)
All food is included and multiple pricing options are available based on lodging choice. They're doing their best to offer an incredible experience at as affordable a price as possible. And you only need to skip one day of work! Show up on Friday evening and we'll finish up on Monday afternoon.
Registration and information about the retreat (and their vertical backyard race!) can be found at northeasttrailadventures.com. Hope you can join us. Use the code EDRIVE100 for $100 off.
Swim Cap Giveaway
I have several dozen high quality Endurance Drive neoprene swim caps to give away. All you need to do is send me your name and address and I’ll pop one in the mail for you!
Challenge or Resource of the week
Katie: Try out some of the tools in the toolkit for hard intervals!
Gear pick of the week
Katie: Dohm white noise machine for sleep!
Jim: Ascent Protein Powder - try their Iced Coffee protein powder.