What advice would you give?

What advice would you give to someone not yet Running with Power?

This is part of a series of posts on runners’ feedback about Running with Power.

Based on survey responses and book research, here’re the top three pieces of advice that runners using power would give to those not yet using it.

1. Learn the fundamental concepts

There are a few fundamental concepts that form the foundation for understanding power.

They’re not difficult to learn and learning them really helps understand how to make the most of running with power.

Conversely, not learning them will mean you won’t get all that you could from Running with Power.

2. Use a training plan designed for power

The Palladino plans were frequently mentioned, with targets matched to how your body works, incremental progression and built-in power tests.

They improve your fitness without you noticing, while reducing the risk of injury or overtraining.

On a related point, power works best when training for an event. If all you ever do is run easy, or run with friends, then Running with Power isn’t for you.

3. Trust in the process

Start by wearing the footpod (or turning on wrist-based power).

Later, start looking at the metrics and, combined with learning the concepts, begin to understand what your data is showing you about your training.

Finally, realise that you’ve begun to trust power more than pace or heart rate, and you can remove those other measures from your running watch.

Other advice

There was other advice offered by runners using power:

• it helps you learn about your body and your capabilities
• keep your Threshold Power updated (it’s a basic for accurate targets, monitoring training load & planning)
• it helps if you like working with data and numbers
• power helps maintain training consistency
• use power to calibrate your perceived effort