Why

Why Power? Measure running form improvements. Want to improve your finish times? You have two choices: 1) Work on your fitness – so you can run the distance maintaining a higher effort than before; 2) Work on your form – so you can run faster for the same effort, run at the same speed for less effort, or both. If you work on your form, how do you know if your form has improved – that you’re running faster for the same effort? Running Effectiveness (RE).

Why Power? Personal Best race-day targets. Does this mean a new Personal Best (PB) at every event? No. It means power can identify race-day targets that you can maintain throughout the event to achieve the best result you’re capable of on the day.

Why Power? Metrics to manage training load. Power provides the following metrics: Threshold Power and Training Load Scores – the foundation; Training Load Balance – to monitor the shorter-term vs. longer-term impact of your workouts; Ramp Rate – to manage quickly you’re progressing your training.

Why Power? Power targets are easy to use. Pace targets rely on knowing your paces (not easy for a recreational runner), and are difficult to maintain over hills or in wind. Heart Rate targets are based on your maximum Heart Rate (not easy to discover), heart rate zones are wide (a broad brush), and heart rate lags and drifts, making it difficult to be certain which zone you’re in. Power targets are individualised to you and your current running fitness, are a narrower range within training zones, can be maintained ‘as is’ on the flat, over hills or in wind, and power responds to changes in effort – no lags and no drifting.

Why Power? Your training is based on your fitness. Power sets training targets based on your current running fitness. Individualised targets, based on your current capability. Targets that maximise training results while minimising risk of injury. So you get the most from your training – all the positives with few (or none) of the negatives. How does power identify your current fitness? And how are your training targets based on your fitness?

Why did you start running with power? Based on feedback from runners using power, here are the top 4 reasons: 1) It’s just one number, that represents your effort whether you’re running on the flat, up or down hills, or on windy days; 2) Pace and hart rate weren’t working, whether it was because of pace issues on hilly routes, heart rate lags when starting or stopping intervals, or not being able to accurately judge effort, runners were having difficulties using other methods of measuring how hard they were running; 3) Training that works – Many non-power plans come with a risk of overtraining or leaving potential training gains unrealised, while power uses narrower target ranges within zones, and the target ranges are individualised – they’re based on your measured fitness.; 4) Better race results – While power can’t guarantee better results or a qualifying time, race planning with power uses your current fitness, stamina and running effectiveness to determine personalised race targets … targets that you should be able to maintain for the entire race – just ‘run to the number’.