Concepts or models used in running
Power Meter questions. Answers to the following: Running power meters don’t measure the force being applied – how can they calculate power? Garmin numbers are nothing like Stryd numbers – how were they correlated? Sounds like there’s no standard for running power? Which is the best Power Meter?
Can you use a running watch to Run with Power? Yes! All the major running watch manufacturers (Garmin, COROS, Wahoo, Suunto, Polar, and even Apple) include wrist-based power in their newer models, and using a running watch means you won’t need to buy a separate power meter. Downsides? There are no independent studies testing whether wrist-based power provides repeatable, valid power numbers. However, I ran my own (N=1) study and found the watches I tested produce repeatable numbers that, for recreational runners, are correlated to the Stryd footpod. Setup is more complex, and you’ll need to connect a few different apps. Finally, few running watches produce power numbers when running on a treadmill. But it may be a budget-friendly way to try Running with Power.
Can you use a Stryd footpod to Run with Power? Yes. It’s a power meter that works with all major sports watch brands, with Apple Watches, with mobile phones, and with some smartwatches. It provides power-based metrics, accurate speed and distance (even in poor-GPS locations) and some additional metrics that measure your running form. It works outdoors or on a treadmill. It produces repeatable numbers that are highly correlated with O2 consumption (a gold standard for measuring exercise energy consumption). The footpod comes with the Stryd Ecosystem, an end-to-end solution (from planning through reviewing) that’s built around running power.
Do running power meter produce usable numbers? Running power meters provide numbers showing how hard you’re working when you run – your effort. But are they really measuring your effort? Running power meters provide numbers that represent your effort, and can provide usable information … as long as the power numbers are repeatable and valid: Repeatable? The same effort under the same conditions gives the same result; Valid? The numbers are highly correlated to an existing ‘gold standard’.
What is a power meter? A Power Meter provides numbers representing how hard you’re working – your effort or running intensity. Running power meters use readings from multiple sensors to calculate a power number. Most recent running watches have a power meter built in.
Getting Started – Next Steps. ‘Running with Power – Getting Started’ helps runners to begin using power to measure how hard they’re working and power metrics to guide their training and racing. It was written with the help of a testing team, who made it into the book they’d want to recommend to their running friends who were curious about power. But there are still thousands of runners who don’t know about power, or don’t know how to get started. And the difficult thing is, there’s no easy way to reach them … how can we ‘spread the word’?
Getting Started – What makes this book different? The key differences: 1) It covers the Stryd footpod and wrist-based power – wrist-based power is a recent development, and one that may be more budget-friendly for many runners. 2) A heavy focus on choosing equipment & apps – so that you can make the right choices from the start, avoiding expensive or frustrating mistakes; 3) Coverage of five fundamental power concepts – so that you have a solid foundation on which to continue building your knowledge and use of power, without getting stuck in too much detail or nuance; 4) Activities (learning by doing) to help translate the learning into practice; 5) With it’s mix of concepts, equipment & apps and learning by doing, there’s no other book that makes it easier to Get Started, Running with Power.
Getting Started – Team contributions. The book wouldn’t be the book it is without contributions and feedback from the testing team – some major, some less so. Here are some major changes: 1) Re-wrote Chapter 10 ‘Power-Duration’ from the point of view of fatigue, which makes much more sense than the previous explanation. 2) Added Chapter 6 ‘Example combinations’ to show equipment and app combinations proven to work well together. 3) Moved Part 3 ‘Setups and Configs’ and some of Part 1 online, as power equipment & apps are still developing rapidly.
Getting Started – The testing team. I realised I was going to need help, for a few different reasons: 1) I’ve been using power since 2018, but the audience would be new to power; 2) I run road races; trail runners and track athletes can also use power; 3) I use a Garmin with a Stryd footpod – what about wrist-based power or other watches? 4) I wanted a well-rounded testing team: a mix of runners and coaches, watches and power meters, and a broad range of experience.
Getting Started – Why another book? I started to explore wrist-based power and realised that runners who wanted to try Running with Power using the power meter built into their running watch had little or no guidance about how to do that. Getting started (the book has the following goals: 1) No assumption of a particular power meter – runners could choose the Stryd footpod, the power meter built into their watch, or any other; 2) Lots of advice on making the right equipment and app choices – the right choices result in usable running power metrics with minimum manual effort; 3) Enough ‘power concepts’ content to provide a solid foundation – with an emphasis on making those concepts easy to understand and apply; 4) A learning by doing approach to support the concepts and to start using power – an emphasis on actually ‘getting started’; 5) Minimal overlap with the existing books – I didn’t want to produce ‘more of the same’.
What advice would you give to someone not yet Running with Power? Based on feedback from runners using power, the top three pieces of advice are: 1) Learn the fundamental concepts to get the most from running with power; 2) Use a training plan designed for power (not one where pace or HR targets/workouts are simply replaced with “equivalent” power zones; 3) Trust in the process – start by wearing the footpod, then begin looking at the metrics, finally move to power as your primary metric.
What difficulties have you experienced? Based on feedback from runners using power, the top three difficulties are: 1) Getting Started – There is a learning curve associated with using power, including the fundamental concepts that power is based on and things you should and shouldn’t do … however, these are well-known, documented and often discussed in the power-focused Facebook groups – it just takes time; 2) Maintaining a valid Threshold Power – Threshold Power models and protocols rely on maximum effort runs, and it’s this aspect that runners found difficult; 3) Learning to run using power – runners reported that it took time to fully trust power, and to stop relying on the other metrics.
What benefits have you experienced? Based on feedback from runners using power, the top three benefits are: 1) Able to train to targets (based on your individual fitness); 2) Consistency. Runners experienced a powerful feedback loop: targets matched to fitness => able to run to target => confidence in the plan => increasing fitness without injury => adjusted targets matched to fitness => able to run to target; 3) Improved race-day performance – Power offers a couple of different race planners, both of which produce power-based targets for races and events that are not only achievable, but for many runners, accurate to within a few watts and to within a minute or two (over a marathon).
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’.
Feedback from runners using power. The posts in this topic group summarise feedback from two annual surveys, and feedback gathered while researching two of my books (‘Why’ and ‘Getting Started’), when asking runners the following questions: Why did you start running with power? What benefits have you experienced? What difficulties have you experienced? What advice would you give to someone not yet Running with Power?
How can I estimate my finish time? There are two different race calculators you can use to estimate your finish time: the web-based Stryd Race Calculator; the ‘Generate Race Power Scenarios’ feature in SuperPower Calculator (for Google Sheets). Whichever calculator you use, they work similarly, using your race-day running fitness (Threshold Power), your fatigue resistance (two different metrics, depending on your event distance), and how effectively you convert power into speed (Running Effectiveness) – to obtain a personalised race-day target.
Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? You may be familiar with the term stamina, which is similar to, but not the same as fatigue resistance: Stamina – your ability to sustain effort for a longer duration; Fatigue Resistance – your body’s ability to resist the effects of fatigue. You can use Running Effectiveness to measure fatigue resistance. You can improve fatigue resistance through a well-structured training plan integrated with strength & conditioning.
Can you measure running form improvements? You can, but it’s not easy. You can use strength and conditioning, running drills, plyometrics, and other supplemental activities to improve ‘how’ you run (whether your movements are efficient, stable, and injury-free). And you can use Running Effectiveness to determine whether your changes have improved your ability to convert power into speed … or not.
How do I use Running Effectiveness? Running Effectiveness (RE) uses speed and power (effort) – both are measurable numbers, so RE is easy to calculate. But Running Effectiveness measures how effectively you convert power into speed, and there are many things that can affect that conversion: Your running intensity; Hills; Wind; Running shoes; Your power meter & weight changes. One way to monitor changes in RE is to use reference runs – runs you include every 3-4 weeks in your training plan, where you run the same route at the same target intensities in the same running shoes. Reference runs aim to minimise variations between runs, so that you can compare RE between runs and confirm improvements.
What is Running Effectiveness? Running Effectiveness (RE) was proposed by Andrew Coggan, PhD, and measures how effectively you convert power into speed. It’s a field-based measure similar to, but different from Running Economy (oxygen consumption at various speeds) or Running Efficiency (external mechanical power vs. metabolic power production), which both require lab-based testing. RE = speed / power, where speed is in metres per second and power is in Watts per kilogram.
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