𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚, 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫?
✅ It’s an objective, instant measure of effort
Power gives my athletes objective data that pace and heart rate can’t. It reacts instantly and uniformly, no matter the terrain, temperature, or excitement of the moment. On technical trails and hills where pace is meaningless and heart rate lags, power shows the real effort being produced.
✅ It works for intervals, for climbs, for descents…
Short intervals under 20 seconds, long intervals up to 10 minutes, climbs and even descents all benefit from training with power. More often than not, athletes learn to slow down a little on the climbs and to push more on the downhills. One warning – avoid power targets on steep technical downhills where skill is the primary factor for how fast one can descend.
✅ It allows runners to experiment
I also use power to teach awareness. I’ll have my runners experiment with their form, shift hips, focus on reducing ground contact, drive the knees, etc. and notice the impact of that on power. It becomes a feedback loop for improving form and economy.
✅ It keeps runners on target on race-day
On race day, power keeps trail runners in control. Heart rate spikes with adrenaline, and pace is useless on technical ground. Power keeps athletes from going out too hard at the start of a race, and it’s a reality check deep into the event to keep them moving when attention flags.
✅ The longer you use it, the better you get
I noticed that training with power smooths out inefficiencies with prolonged use. As a coach, it’s proven to be extremely useful in improving running economy on all terrains.
𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?
