In my last post I mentioned a new app I began using to monitor fatigue. HRV4 Training. Primarily it measures heart rate variability, but it also performs a daily survey of subjective metrics and uploads everything to my TrainingPeaks account. I just want to say that I use this app every morning and it works great.
Awhile back I said I was changing my workout system, dropping Matt Fitzgerald's 80/20 zones and returning to Joe Friel with a nod to WKO and Coggan's iLevels. This has been working really well. In the process I came to realize why Fitzgerald and Friel write workouts and training plans the way they do.
When I started using a Fitzgerald training plan I liked the way every workout was precisely defined using TrainingPeaks structured workouts. Here is an example of a tempo run, "RT3"
5 minutes Z1, 5 minutes Z2, 20 minutes Z3, 5 minutes Z2, 5 minutes Z1These are well written plans, so every workout comes with a pre-activity comment like this:
The running tempo workout does an excellent job at muscular endurance, and should be used as a method to either verify or re-establish current HR Zones. A difficult workout, pacing is key. Start slightly lower and finish stronger. Some brief forays into Zone 4 are acceptable.(For those keeping score, Fitzgerald's zone 3 is more like Friel's 4.)
These workouts are all done as TrainingPeaks structured workouts, meaning that on the morning I would do this run all I had to do was turn on Bluetooth on my smartphone, sync my FR935 to the Garmin app on the phone, select a run workout and KAZAM there it was in my watch. Just press start and follow the instructions. TrainingPeaks calculates the power ranges to use based on you current zones, so "Z2" might end up being 126 - 148 watts that day. And it calculates IF and TSS, so planning a season by TSS is relatively easy. (Getting watt ranges for runs is important because Garmin is still broken when it comes to run power. Works great on the bike.)
Friel's workouts were not so precisely defined. This one is typical, "Cruise Intervals on Hill." The only metric specified is time, 0:45. Everything else is in the description.
Cruise intervals. Warm-up about 10 minutes. Then on a moderately steep hill (about 4-6% grade) that takes about 3-5 minutes to run up do 3-5 intervals. Get in about 15 minutes of total uphill interval time. Build to heart rate zone 4 by the top on each. Perceived exertion by half way up should be about 7 on a 10 scale. Recovery is your descent time. Jog easily and walk coming back down after each. Do a short cool down. Good form!
Before I can perform this workout I need to work out a lot of details. Perhaps a seasoned runner will find this a no-brainer, but I had to spend time working it out before I could even start. Then came execution. If I did not translate this into a structured workout it was up to me to keep track of time and count reps. I tried holding my thumb against a joint on my finger. I tried lining up pebbles and moving them from one side to the other. But did it really matter if I did four or six instead of five? I had no idea, but I found his relaxed style a lot more enjoyable.
My point is, Fitzgerald's precisely defined workouts are a better match for TrainingPeaks structured workouts and a TSS-based Annual Training Plan, but Friel's are a lot easier to adapt to real world circumstances.
My point is, Fitzgerald's precisely defined workouts are a better match for TrainingPeaks structured workouts and a TSS-based Annual Training Plan, but Friel's are a lot easier to adapt to real world circumstances.
Then there are real-world situations. Running up and down, or even around, Diamond Head. What is that? Long Run? Cruise Intervals? Hill Repeats? When do I ever do a long bike staying in zones 1 and 2? What about Heartbreak Hill, Makapu'u, the backside of Waimanalo? How do you plan those in structured workouts.
What I have come to realize is that a training plan designed for general use has to be generic. Workouts are organized into types, or classes. The plans I have used typically specify them individually. In the morning you might do a tempo run, and in the afternoon, a bike foundation ride.
Then one day I was reading Friel's Triathlon Bible when I came across this in the introduction to Appendix C about Bike Workouts:
Here is a specific example. If my canned training plan called for a two hour bike workout in zones 1 and 2 I would not consider a ride to Makapu'u due to the hills. Really. Now I understand that a training plan designer in Colorado could not possibly know how to structure a ride with slow and hard efforts just when Heartbreak Hill and Makapu'u happen. But I can, and should.
Here is another example. I avoid doing bike cruise intervals on the road because I end up going too fast to be safe in traffic. But off the highway streets, as in Aina Haina and Niu Valley, are perfect. So instead of planning a structured workout with precisely timed starts and stops, just ride to the valley and do some intervals.
I wish Garmin has "plug-in workouts" where you pause the current ride, select a structured workout, and when finished return to the unstructured ride. For now I will just have to make notes, like I already do for the pool.
When I was just starting out I found these generic training plans useful even though I still had to figure out how to apply them to my specific real-world conditions. I now have several years of data stored in my TrainingPeaks account, more than enough to allow me to plan my workouts around real-world conditions, not to mention taking advantage of specific challenges.
Looking ahead, I am going back over Friel's "Fast After Fifty" to see how to adjust what I have been doing to take into account my age. I still have some reading to do, but so far it appears I should do less long duration days, more short, high intensity days, and more restful days. High intensity and strength training are critical for older athletes due to the natural tendency toward muscle loss. High intensity brings with it a higher risk of overuse injury. The key is to strike a good balance.
I plan to continue sharing my experience here over the coming weeks as I develop my 2020 Honu plan.
What I have come to realize is that a training plan designed for general use has to be generic. Workouts are organized into types, or classes. The plans I have used typically specify them individually. In the morning you might do a tempo run, and in the afternoon, a bike foundation ride.
Then one day I was reading Friel's Triathlon Bible when I came across this in the introduction to Appendix C about Bike Workouts:
The following basic bike workouts for triathletes are categorized according to the five abilities described in Chapter 6: aerobic endurance (AE), muscular force (MF), speed skills (SS), muscular endurance (ME), and anaerobic endurance (AnE). By combining portions of the workouts that follow, you can create new workouts, including multiple-ability workouts, to match your specific needs. Merging multiple abilities into one workout is most commonly done in the build period.He has similar words about swim and run workouts. The point is, there is nothing wrong with taking the ability specific workouts and blending them to match the natural contours and challenges of the roads that make up my training ground.
Here is a specific example. If my canned training plan called for a two hour bike workout in zones 1 and 2 I would not consider a ride to Makapu'u due to the hills. Really. Now I understand that a training plan designer in Colorado could not possibly know how to structure a ride with slow and hard efforts just when Heartbreak Hill and Makapu'u happen. But I can, and should.
Here is another example. I avoid doing bike cruise intervals on the road because I end up going too fast to be safe in traffic. But off the highway streets, as in Aina Haina and Niu Valley, are perfect. So instead of planning a structured workout with precisely timed starts and stops, just ride to the valley and do some intervals.
I wish Garmin has "plug-in workouts" where you pause the current ride, select a structured workout, and when finished return to the unstructured ride. For now I will just have to make notes, like I already do for the pool.
When I was just starting out I found these generic training plans useful even though I still had to figure out how to apply them to my specific real-world conditions. I now have several years of data stored in my TrainingPeaks account, more than enough to allow me to plan my workouts around real-world conditions, not to mention taking advantage of specific challenges.
Looking ahead, I am going back over Friel's "Fast After Fifty" to see how to adjust what I have been doing to take into account my age. I still have some reading to do, but so far it appears I should do less long duration days, more short, high intensity days, and more restful days. High intensity and strength training are critical for older athletes due to the natural tendency toward muscle loss. High intensity brings with it a higher risk of overuse injury. The key is to strike a good balance.
I plan to continue sharing my experience here over the coming weeks as I develop my 2020 Honu plan.
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