Training Without Races: Data Overload
The benefits to training with data are undisputed and obvious to every coach and athlete but since the chances of racing this season seem to be decreasing by the day, now may be the time to give the data a break. By all means don’t take my word for it, just watch the minutes after Daniella Ryf won the Ironman World Championships in 2018...her sponsor came and put the watch on her...after the race. The greatest triathlete ever (try and change my mind) wins Ironmans based on how she feels.
First Downfall of Data:
Letting it Dictate Your Training
It can hold you back. This one is pretty obvious but if you’re trying to win the race (see Daniella Ryf example) your only strategy should be “if in second place, get in first.” If she was looking at her watch and thinking “this is probably fast enough” she wouldn’t be a consistent winner. No one wins comfortably and no one who isn’t willing to risk it all wins. Now I understand how that doesn’t exactly apply to the masses, so we will move on to topics more relevant, but this should be a wake up call to a lot of overly data focused triathletes.
You end up in the training grey zone because of focusing on your pace/power. I did this for years. If I wasn’t under a certain pace on my training runs I would think it wasn’t beneficial for me. This led me to push the pace on runs that were designed to be easy thus driving my training into an unproductive grey zone, which wasn’t beneficial for me. I had to turn off the pace function on my watch and only look at HR and activity time in order to slow down and run without feeling the pressure. It worked, I got faster by not watching my pace, rather focusing on how I felt during that run. The best male triathletes ever Dave Scott and Mark Allen trained primarily using aerobic subthreshold work. Meaning for the majority of athletes in long distance racing, big volume at a lower intensity works.
You’re using your multisport watch in the pool. So this might be an unpopular opinion but I’m going there anyway. There is a clock at the pool and there is a set distance...see where I’m going with this? If you’re overly concerned with stopping your watch every time you hit the wall you’re probably not focused on swimming. You also are capturing data that honestly doesn’t really matter. You appear to be swimming at 1:15 per 100 yard but you’re stopping your watch at the wall and you’re only swimming twenty 50 yard intervals. Looks like you just swam a 1:15/100 yard pace for 1000 yards...WRONG. See our last blog about the pressures of Strava if you feel the need to post this workout. For the rest of us do yourself a favor and work with a coach to analyze your swimming mechanics and swim...a lot, and with good form... then you’ll see improvement.
Second Downfall of Data:
You Fell for the Gadget
Triathlete toys. Yes as triathletes we love spending money on shiny new gadgets and training toys but some of them are simply not necessary. Enter power meters for running and goggles that tell you your pace while swimming. First the goggles. For starters they only work in a pool where it is extremely useless to know how fast you are currently moving while looking down at the black line. If you really want to know how much time has passed take a peek at the clock while you’re breathing. If you can’t manage that just wait until you hit the wall. Ideally your coach will know your paces and design your intervals to give you the appropriate effort and recovery in the water. Now onto the footpod. I won’t call this device utterly useless but it’s for sure not essential (I’d call a bike power meter essential for a competitive athlete). Yes HR has many variables that affect day to day workouts but here is where perceived effort becomes a factor. If your HR isn’t coming down on a run because of training load, fatigue, caffeine intake, terrain, heat, etc, simply run easier. If you really want to see gains in your running, run more often and increase your volume appropriately week after week, month after month and yes year after year.
You’re using the data incorrectly. Hello wrist based HR. So I’ll admit that this technology is getting more and more accurate but it still certainly has its downfalls. On my watch HR I have seen readings in the 220s while running 7 minute miles and conversely seen readings in the 130s while running 5 minute miles. Neither is correct but both are setting erratic baselines in my data files. My fatigue and fitness numbers then become wildly inaccurate and utterly useless. Bad data in equals bad data out. A tip for training with HR...wear an EKG strap. It will always be more accurate than a wrist base monitor which relies on infrared light to measure blood movement. If you do choose a wrist based HR wear it as tight as possible to get the most accurate measure.
Third Downfall of Data:
You aren’t present in the moment
Race Day Like most of us you’re probably going to save at least some of your race photos for social media, to show your friends and family, or hang in your home. There is nothing worse than ruining all those photos by checking your watch for the 100th time that mile, or crossing the finish line and only having your head down, hand on the stop button. Smiling is a much better option. Ideally by the time of your race you should have your pace so dialed in that your body knows what to do and you can run freely and enjoy it. When you come through a finish at your next race (in 2027) you’ll see countless athletes coming across the finish line stopping their watch. Newsflash the race is OVER and the results are going to have your splits if you’re concerned about the time. Put your arms in the air, celebrate and enjoy the moment you trained so hard to earn.
Know your Road. You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger advocate for training outdoors rather than indoors and training with power than me. However staring at the bike computer on the road can be dangerous. Plan your routes well and be prepared to change your intervals if needed. If your warm up or recovery time ends and you’re not in an ideal spot to start pushing the power, add a minute or two until you get to a nice stretch of road. Make yourself familiar with your cycling routes on easier rides so when it’s time to put the work in, you’re comfortable. I push even 15-20 minute intervals at 300+ watts outdoors because I’m not a slave to my computer and I plan my route accordingly before my ride. Yes this can yield 30mph speeds on flat terrain but I don’t really plan on going slow on race day and I don’t plan on racing on the indoor trainer either so I don’t practice that way.
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-Ben Rotherham
Head Coach, MIssion Multisport