What should I show on my watch?

Hand raised to ask a question

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡?

This is a common question for runners new to power.

There’s no correct answer – you should set up your watch to show the metrics you want to monitor while running.

But personal experience and Facebook conversations suggest many runners work through something similar to the following.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫

You have power showing, but you also have pace or HR as these are the metrics you’re familiar with, so you can cross-check your intensity.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 + 𝐇𝐑 + 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐞 = 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

You find that power doesn’t always match your pace or HR, with the differing metrics changing differently.

It feels confusing.

You decide to focus on power, relegating the others to secondary displays.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 + 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬

You might show power but add metrics like cadence or Ground Contact Time to work on your form.

But you find it’s difficult to maintain targets and work on your form.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

Eventually, you realise that power is simply a way to train your perceived exertion – how hard it feels.

You adjust your watch display to show two metrics (lap power and 3s/10s average power), adding previous lap power when running intervals.

You may even switch to show percentage of Threshold Power, rather than Watts.

The above sequence is not unusual and may even be necessary to become entirely comfortable with Running with Power.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ Max efforts are hard – is there any alternative?

What should I show on my watch?

Max efforts are hard – is there any alternative?

Hand raised to ask a question

𝐌𝐚𝐱 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞?

This is a common experience for runners new to power.

A Maximum Effort run is a run at the maximum (average) power you can maintain for a specific duration.

For example, your 3-minute max is the highest average power you can maintain over a 3-minute run.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦?

👉🏼 By running max efforts over two or more durations (e.g. 3-minutes and 12-minutes) you can calculate your Threshold Power.

❓ Without max efforts, you won’t truly know what you’re capable of, and your training targets, training load and race/event targets will probably be understated.

𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞?

Yes.

💉 You can pay for lactate testing. But this typically involves a graded exercise test with increasing intensity every few minutes (max efforts in disguise).

🧮 You can estimate your Threshold Power using easy runs, but this method is only recommended until you’re able to complete maximum effort runs.

𝐃𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫?

They do … and they don’t.

❌ They don’t because you’re running at the highest average power you can manage – that’s never going to be easy. And it’s typical to start out too fast and fade towards the end, which may mean you didn’t really run to your maximum.

✅ And they do. You get used to how they feel. You get used to starting out a little slower, then pushing it towards the end. And you can use previous max effort results to gauge how hard to run the first part of your upcoming max effort.

And then you realise (in the words of Dr Andrew Coggan) ‘testing is training, too’.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ How do I set a goal time?

Max efforts are hard – is there any alternative?

What should I show on my watch? ⏩

How do I set a goal time?

Hand raised to ask a question

How do I set a goal time?

This is a common question that runners new to power ask.

You can aim for a goal time – for example, “finish the half in under 2 hours”.

But there are some good reasons why you shouldn’t.

𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬

Why not set a goal time?
❌ Your goal time may be unrealistic … ‘hopeful’ rather than based on what you can actually achieve.
❌ Your training targets may be too aggressive … based on your hopeful goal time instead of your current fitness.
❌ At the event, you may try to run with a pacing group … but may end up dropping back and becoming disheartened if you find you can’t keep up.

𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Rather than set a goal time, use Race Power Planning, which:
✅ is based on your Threshold Power – your actual fitness … the same metric used to set your training targets.
✅ uses your fatigue resistance and your ability to convert effort into forward motion … both individual to you, and based on completed workouts.
✅ results in a power target you can maintain throughout the event … you can avoid going out too fast and be confident to finish strong.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?

Because running to power (and letting your finish time take care of itself) takes some getting used to, even if the result is likely to be your Personal Best on the day.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ How can I run faster?

How do I set a goal time?

Max efforts are hard – is there any alternative? ⏩

How can I run faster?

Hand raised to ask a question

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?

This is a common question that many runners ask, and not just runners using power.

There are three ways that you can run faster:
✅ Improve your fitness. If you’re fitter, you should be able to maintain a higher effort, which should mean a higher pace and a quicker finish time.
✅ Improve your form. If you improve how you run, you should be able to run faster for the same effort, resulting in a quicker finish time.
✅ Improve both. Although it’s much easier to improve your fitness than to improve your form 😊

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬?

By training.

Ideally, using a training plan that includes both running and strength or other supplementary workouts, as well as recovery time.

Strength or other supplementary workouts will improve (or maintain) your whole-body fitness.

Recovery gives your body time to respond to the training – it’s when you become fitter.

You can measure fitness improvements using your Threshold Power.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦?

Using drills, plyometrics, hill runs and other activities that work on leg spring stiffness.

You might also try specific interventions (under the supervision of a running physio or specialist running coach), but these are much harder to embed.

You can measure form improvements using Running Effectiveness.

Power provides specific metrics you can use to track improvements in fitness and in form.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ Is it only about the numbers?

How can I run faster?

How do I set a goal time? ⏩

Is it only about the numbers?

Hand raised to ask a question

𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬?

This is a common question that runners new to power ask.

It’s not only about the numbers.

Training is more than actions driven by numbers.

When planning, you should consider your training goals, your specifics (age, ability, injury history), supplemental training (strength, mobility, plyometrics, drills) and other exercise activities (cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates).

When executing your plan, you should consider sleep, nutrition, hydration, work and family commitments … anything affecting your training.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to measure most of these.

𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

What can you measure, so that your training is underpinned by things you can quantify?

Power numbers.

They can be used to
✅ plan workouts targeting specific intensity levels and durations
✅ plan and monitor your training load and progression
✅ plan your race-day targets

𝐁𝐮𝐭 … 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬

Because power can be used for so much, it’s tempting to think that your power numbers are ‘the truth’.

That if you use them to make every training decision, you’ll get the best result.

But power meters can’t measure everything that’s happening to you while you train.

For that reason, power numbers are a guide.

They’re a very good guide, but they are only a guide, not the truth.

Which means rather than Running 𝘣𝘺 Power, treating your power numbers as the truth and using them to make every decision, you should Run 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 Power, using your power numbers as a guide, complementing and underpinning other considerations.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

Is it only about the numbers?

How can I run faster? ⏩

Getting Started – Next Steps

Man with pen researching a book

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬

I’ve written a book to help runners get started with Running with Power.

And I wrote it with the help of a testing team, who made it into the book they’d be happy to recommend to their 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 …

So how can we ‘spread the word’?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞?

There are some great Facebook groups where runners can learn more about power, share their stories (and challenges), and ask for advice – and these continue to grow:
✅ Palladino Power Project
✅ Stryd Community
✅ from1runner2another

I’ve started blogging on https://f1r2a.com/blog/ – daily posts, 5 per week, on Running with Power topics. I leverage the posts:
✅ as a daily feed on the Facebook page ‘Running with Power – Getting Started’
✅ to post twice a week (with daily notes) on Substack

And there are lots of us who contribute to online communities where power is occasionally the topic, sharing our successes using power, and working to correct misconceptions and misunderstandings.

𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 ‘𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞’?

You could see it that way.

Or you could see it as ‘feeding the algorithm’. I’ve already seen ChatGPT linking to my content – alongside content from Stryd and other reputable sources for running power information.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨?

⚡ Tell your fellow runners
⚡ Share your successes
⚡ Point runners who are curious to the sources above

Running with Power is the most effective, and yet the most underutilised way to train.

Let’s change that.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ What makes this book different?

Next Steps

Getting Started – What makes this book different?

Man with pen researching a book

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭?

I’ve written three books that cover running with power.

  1. The Basics. A reference for the world of running with power, and heavily focused on power concepts and metrics. The book covers equipment and apps, but not from the perspective of getting started.
  2. Why would you? This book explains why you might use power, as well as its differences and potential disadvantages. It’s for runners who are deciding whether to try using power.
  3. Getting Started. Written specifically for runners who’ve decided to try using power, this is a hands-on guide that walks you through the things you need to begin your journey.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 ‘𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝’ 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭?

The key differences:
✅ 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.
✅ A heavy focus on choosing equipment & apps – so that you can make the right choices from the start, avoiding expensive or frustrating mistakes.
✅ 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. And the activities help translate the learning into practice.

… finally, with my third book, there are some things I’ve learned from the previous two that make this book more accessible to readers.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ Team contributions

What makes this book different?

Next Steps ⏩

Getting Started – Team contributions

Man with pen researching a book

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.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦

Here are some major changes:
👏🏼 I re-wrote Chapter 10 ‘Power-Duration’ from the point of view of fatigue, which makes much more sense than the previous explanation.
👏🏼 Added Chapter 6 ‘Example combinations’ to show equipment and app combinations (with diagrams) proven to work well together.
👏🏼 Moved Part 3 ‘Setups and Configs’ and some of Part 1 online, as power equipment & apps are still developing rapidly.

And some not so major, but just as important:
👏🏼 Added runner ages (to the nearest decade) to the runner stories – power works no matter your age
👏🏼 Added ‘key takeaway’ items throughout
👏🏼 Removed ‘try it yourself’ phrase when referring to activities
👏🏼 Added emphasis on why it’s critical to include enough recovery (‘magic time’) in your training schedule

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦

I’m so glad I worked with a testing team. The team acted as editors and as an early book audience, feeding back where things weren’t as clear as they could be, especially for readers with English as a second language.

I’m indebted to my testing team – and would use the same approach for any future ‘practical’ books!

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ The testing team

Team contributions

What makes this book different? ⏩

Getting Started – The testing team

Man with pen researching a book

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦

With the goal and structure in place, I realised I was going to need help, for a few different reasons:
🔸 I’ve been using power since 2018, but the audience would be new to power
🔸 I run road races; trail runners and track athletes can also use power
🔸 I use a Garmin with a Stryd – what about wrist-based power or other watches?
🔸 I wanted a good mix of runners and coaches, watches, and experience

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦

I asked for volunteers, with the promise of a copy of the book for those able to contribute.

The response was fantastic, 35 people volunteering. After video-calling 20 of the volunteers, 13 made it onto the testing team.

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬

The testing team included:
✅ 2 people who’d never used power before
✅ 6 Garmin users, 4 Apple Watch, 1 each using COROS, Suunto and Polar
✅ 2 using wrist-based power
✅ 7 road-runners, 1 track, 2 triathlon, 3 trail/triathlon
✅ 6 coaches

I couldn’t have hoped for a better cross-section 😊

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

The video call outlined the book and book goals, coverage of the five fundamental power concepts, and 22 ideas for activities that runners could use to try out power.

Using an outline of each activity, the testing team tried them out and made suggestions … eventually we merged and rearranged the original 22 ideas, landing on 13, and moved on to the rest of the book.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

⏪ The story behind the book

The testing team

Team contributions ⏩

Getting Started – The story behind the book

Man with pen researching a book

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤

‘Getting Started’ is my third book. It’s the book I most enjoyed writing.

After ‘The Basics’ and ‘Why would you?’ I thought I was done.

But then 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.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬

I was aiming to meet the following goals:
✅ No assumption of a particular power meter
✅ Lots of advice on making the right equipment and app choices
✅ Just enough conceptual content to provide a solid foundation
✅ A learning by doing approach to support the concepts and to start using power
✅ Minimal overlap with the existing books

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

With the above goals, a three-part structure seemed to be the best approach:

  1. Equipment & Apps. Information about options, and how to combine those to end up with something that worked.
  2. Fundamental Concepts. The key concepts underlying Running with Power, to provide a solid foundation for future learning and fine-tuning. This part would include activities that runners could use to try out the use of power.
  3. Setups & Configs. Because Running with Power is still relatively new, things don’t always work as smoothly as they ought to. This part would provide detailed setup and configuration information to make it easier to arrive at a working setup.

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬

With the goal and structure in place, I realised I was going to need help …

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

The story behind the book

The testing team ⏩