Getting Started – Power=Best Performance

Graphic showing proposed back cover content for the Getting Started book

To celebrate the upcoming release of the Spanish version of ‘Getting Started’, I’m planning to update the cover of the English version too. This text (on the green background) will be on the back cover of the books (in the appropriate language) and in the book blurb on reseller websites.

This week, I’m posting about each of the ‘Power =’ items 🙂

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Power enables your best race-day performance, based on your fitness, your capabilities and your race-day readiness.

It’s a complete, end-to-end system where all of the parts fit together ‘just right’.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭

Power measures how hard you’re working when you run, providing numbers that, second-by-second, measure your effort.

And once you can measure your effort, all sorts of things become possible.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

With a few maximum effort runs (no lab testing needed), you can identify your Threshold Power, an important representation of your current running fitness.

Power uses your Threshold Power to set your training targets, so that you train to match your current fitness, and as your fitness improves, your workout targets adjust to match.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

Power calculates a Stress Score for each completed workout, based on the workout’s duration and intensities, combining these scores to provide metrics you can use to maintain a productive training balance, to add load safely, and to target the right mix of training intensities.

Which means you can maximise your training results, minimise your risk of over-training and injury, and make consistent, uninterrupted progress toward your upcoming event.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬

Power uses your completed workouts and your individual metrics to calculate a target power range you should be able to maintain for the entire event.

The target represents the best you can achieve on the day, based on your fitness, your capabilities and your race-day readiness.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭

For many runners, Running with Power has resulted in new Personal Bests (PBs) … myself included.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

Getting Started – Power=Best Performance

Getting Started – Power=Achievable Goals

Graphic showing proposed back cover content for the Getting Started book

To celebrate the upcoming release of the Spanish version of ‘Getting Started’, I’m planning to update the cover of the English version too. This text (on the green background) will be on the back cover of the books (in the appropriate language) and in the book blurb on reseller websites.

This week, I’m posting about each of the ‘Power =’ items 🙂

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬

If you’re like I was (before power), you focus on goal times: “I’d love to break 1 hour for the 10k”, or “… 2 hours for a half”.

You may have used online calculators to put in a recent 5k or 10k time to check if your goal was realistic. Or you may have run specific workouts to confirm you could achieve your target time – Yasso 800s for example.

And then when you ran the event, you struggled to achieve your goal time … because it was more ‘hopeful’ than a prediction, based on running shorter distances then comparing the result against data averaged across thousands of runners, many of whom are nothing like you.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to use your completed workouts to set your event targets?

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬

When running with power, event targets are based on:
✅ your current running fitness (or Threshold)
✅ your measured fatigue resistance / stamina (which may differ depending on whether it’s a 5k or a marathon)
✅ your proven ability to convert effort into forward motion (your Running Effectiveness)

All these metrics are based on your completed workouts and are individual to you.

And when used to calculate race targets, the result is a power number (or range) you should be able to maintain for the entire event.

𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 ‘𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥’ 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

There are a few key differences though:
⚡ The targets are power targets. They’re not a goal time. This takes a little getting used to.
🏃🏼‍♂️ The targets apply to the entire event: To the start (so you don’t go out too fast); To the hills (so you can run them without ‘over-cooking’ yourself); To the finish (so you can finish strong).
⏱️ The calculators can provide an estimated finish time, but this is an estimation. Instead, run to power targets … and let the time take care of itself.

𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬?

Power targets represent the best you can achieve on the day, based on your fitness, your capabilities and your race-day readiness.

And for many runners, they’ve resulted in new Personal Bests (PBs) … myself included.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

Is my PDC accurate?

A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)
A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)

𝐈𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐃𝐂 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞?

Your Power-Duration Curve (PDC) is modelled using your best efforts for a range of durations using information from your recent workouts (usually, the last 90 days of workouts).

But its accuracy (and its usefulness) depends on whether those best efforts include some maximum effort runs, at a range of different durations.

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬?

Best efforts are those efforts with the highest average power for each duration on your PDC.

They need not be the best you could have achieved, just the best that you actually ran during the last 90 days.

𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬?

Maximum efforts are efforts where you deliberately run as hard as you can for each duration.

They represent the best you can currently achieve.

𝐀 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?

Your PDC reflects your capability over very short durations (20-30 seconds), short durations (2-3 minutes), medium durations (12-15 minutes) and longer durations (20-40 minutes).

𝐓𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐃𝐂 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲…

Your training should include maximum effort runs for each of the above durations, so that your last 90 days of workouts includes a maximum effort for each duration.

Ideally, to reflect recent training, you should run maximum efforts (for each duration) every 4-6 weeks.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

Is my PDC accurate?

How do I use my PDC?

A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)
A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐃𝐂?

Your PDC is individual to you, your fitness, and your abilities.

It changes as you train (or detrain).

If you’re training for an event, it should move up (higher power for same duration), to the right (longer duration for same power), or both.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?

It means it’s possible:
✅ to identify the power you should be able to maintain for every duration modelled on your PDC – your current capability
✅ to estimate how well you might perform for a shorter event, where you’ll be running at an effort where the fast component dominates
✅ to estimate how well you might perform for a longer event, where you’ll be running at an effort where the slow component dominates
✅ to estimate your threshold, although your PDC isn’t usually used for that (your threshold lies approximately where the two curves meet – the vertical blue line in the image)

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐃𝐂 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞?

A good question, and one that’s the topic of the final post in this series.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

You fatigue more slowly at lower intensities

A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)
A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Intuitively, this is obvious.

If you run easy, you can run for a longer time, and the easier you run, the longer you can keep running (within your personal limits).

What’s not obvious is that there is a mathematical relationship between your intensity (your effort) and how long you can hold it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡

In 1977, Peter Riegel researched the relationship between runners’ performances over different distances and concluded that an exponential curve could predict race times for runners, given a performance at another distance – the slow component of fatigue follows an exponential curve.

Riegel expanded on his thesis in 1981, stating that his formula concerned “activities in the endurance range, lasting between 3-5 and 230 minutes.”

Riegel’s formula plots time versus distance. Work by Van Dijk and Van Megen in 2017 concluded that there’s a similar relationship between power and time.

The curve is always exponential but may be flatter, showing better fatigue resistance, or steeper, showing worse fatigue resistance for longer events.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥?

Knowing the slope of your curve and the event distance, it’s possible to predict how well you might perform for a longer event (e.g. a Half-Marathon), where the slow component dominates.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

For more information on the research, please see:
🔹 Riegel, P., (1981) Athletic Records and Human Endurance: A time vs. distance equation describing world-record performances may be used to compare the relative endurance capabilities of various groups of people.
🔹 Van Dijk, H. & Van Megen, R. (2017) The Secret of Running. Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd

You fatigue more slowly at lower intensities

You fatigue faster at higher intensities

A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)
A Power-Duration Curve (with accompanying Mean-Max Power curve)

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Intuitively, this is obvious.

If you sprint, you can’t sprint for a long time, and the faster you sprint, the shorter the time you can keep sprinting.

What’s not obvious is that there is a mathematical relationship between your intensity (your effort) and how long you can hold it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡

Monod and Scherrer’s research into single muscle groups showed that the fast component of fatigue follows a hyperbolic curve.

This research identified the bottom of the curve (the asymptote) as ‘an exercise intensity that could be sustained for a very long time’, naming it Critical Power (CP).

The research also identified that the curve’s hyperbolic shape makes it ‘possible to define the maximum amount of work that can be performed in a given time, as well as the conditions of work performed without fatigue.’

They called this maximum amount of work W’. Anaerobic Work Capacity (AWC) and Reserve Work Capacity (RWC) are other names for W’; Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC) describes a similar concept with a different calculation method (but still hyperbolic).

Further research by Hill extended and validated these concepts for whole-body exercise, noting that ‘for a very long time’ was usually 30 to 60 minutes of exercise at CP.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥?

Knowing the maximum amount of work you can perform and the event distance, you can calculate a race power target for a shorter event (e.g. a 5k), where the fast component dominates.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

For more information on the research, please see:
🔹 Monod, H. & Scherrer, J., (2007) The Work Capacity of a Synergic Muscle Group
🔹 Hill, D., (2012) The Critical Power Concept

You fatigue faster at higher intensities

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

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

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

Races and Events – The event

Picture of runners waiting to start an event

𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 & 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭

Power can help you perform your personal best on the day.

How? By:
⚡ identifying a single target you can maintain throughout the event
⚡ helping you 𝑛𝑜𝑡 go out too fast
⚡ reducing anxiety associated with trying to achieve a goal time

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬

Before the event, power race calculators use your current fitness, your fatigue resistance (or stamina) and how effectively you convert effort into forward motion to identify a race power target.

Some calculators also allow you to create scenarios, by varying your fatigue resistance or running effectiveness to show best case/worst case targets.

These calculations are based on you – your fitness, your capabilities.

Which means power targets are personal – they identify an effort level you can maintain throughout the event.

It also means that you can’t run with pacers, as they’ll be running to a pace target.

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭

Your race power target also helps prevent you starting the event too fast – at too high an effort.

Which means you should have enough energy left to finish the event strong.

𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲

There’s nothing worse than running to a (hopeful) goal time, translating that into pace targets, then finding that you’re falling behind the pace.

And there’s nothing better than running to a power target that represents the effort you can maintain throughout the event … to achieve your personal best on the day.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

Questions?
📖 Getting Started

Races & Events – The event