Speed Before Endurance
The following question comes from a reader...
Question: I was wondering if you could write on when it is the proper time to compete in an Ironman. I do not mean so that I can finish one, I mean go there and truly race it for a Kona spot. This is my second year in the sport and I am 23 years old, and have raced Olympic, and half distance with a PR of 4:52:28. I was thinking about trying to step it up to the next level for next year, and race IM Wisconsin and go for a Kona spot. But I have also been told that at my age it would be better to spend some more time in the shorter distances trying to build up more speed before I jump into the big dance. I see the reasoning for this, but just wondering what your thoughts on the subject are.
Answer: One of the best Ironman athletes I have coached was Ryan Bolton. I always thought the way he progressed in the sport was excellent. As a youngster he ran shorter races like the mile. In college he ran the 5,000m and 10,000m and became an All-American runner. He also toyed around with short triathlon events in college. After graduation he began racing Olympic distance. In December of 1997 I started coaching him with our focus on the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After the Games he decided to try the Ironman distance. His first IM race as a pro was in 2001 at Lake Placid. Since this was his first the plan was to just finish and gain experience on which we could build for the following year. I had him race conservatively until the last 13 miles of the run. He took second to Steve Larsen who was also doing his first IM. (Steve recently died.) The following year Ryan returned to Lake Placid and won easily.
From the start of junior high school track racing to his first IM was about 15 years. During that time he was focused more on speed than endurance. I continue to keep my eyes open for young athletes who have progressed as he did from going fast for many years before becoming focused on going long. They have a lot of potential. With some exceptions, this is how most world-class, endurance athletes have progressed.
posted by Joe Friel @ 10:50 AM
18 Comments
18 Comments:
Thanks Joe for all the insights, as a racer and graduate student I have been using your info(particularly good reference lists) for my training and school papers. I was wondering if you could speak briefly to pacing in a prologue situation it seems you have to choose a different number that your FTP to base off. Splitting it up also seems tricky if its only a half hour or shorter.
Thanks,
Mahting
putelis--How you pace the prologue depends on a lot variables: how long it is, when the next stage starts, how hard the second stage will be, how good your fitness and form are, and how quickly you recover. I can't give you a solid answer without knowing a lot of this sort of stuff. Even then it's still an art to know how to pace yourself through not only the prologue but several following stages.
I agree completely - speed before endurance. If you look at a lot of successful cyclists, many of them started on the track where they built their speed over short distances, before graduating to the longer stage races. I'm 21 and I've been racing on the track (Detroit) for the last three summers. I can't emphasize enough how much the speed of the track has not only helped my endurance, but given me the kick needed to win road races. I'm racing collegiate mountain bike races (1.5 - 2 hrs winning times) this Fall and dropping the guys who have spent all summer trying to build "endurance." Great post!
Ok, I understand all the variables you listed. So if it helps, lets say its the VOS. The race starts with the TT, which is only 12 miles. I have good form, recover well, plan on going for the overall win.
Can you use the same technique of quartering your TT even if it is 20k as opposed to a 40k long. What about doing that for a 5k.
Or is it entirely different because the distance does not allow for the progression/ build up and or bodies ability to deal with lactic build up for a short amount of time.
Have to agree - your big endurance base will build as you train at the sorter stuff, and I'm sure there'll be less risk of over-training injuries with this approach.
Joe's early (much debated) post about being quick at shorter distances vs just finishing at Ironman may be of interest.
At 23, you've got a long, long time to progress. Consider targetting world champs at standard or 70.3 before stepping up.
So do you recommend doing an IM every other year and working on speed during the season in between, like many others do?
Ive raced triathlons for 6 years and IM for the last two. Ive been able to drop my IM time down to 10:07. Trying to decide if I should go for it again or focus on shorter stuff next year. I am 30. Can run 40 in 10k. Seems like my speed is okay.
"With some exceptions, this is how most world-class, endurance athletes have progressed."
This post and especially this quote fits in great with your discussion a couple of weeks ago about not doing distance just to do distance (i.e. marathon and Ironman). Of course most of us aren't going to be world-class endurance athletes but I'm sure the majority of us want to do everything we can to reach our maximum potential.
Great post!
putelis--The shorter the event, the less variabilty there will between quarters. At some point of brevity the difference will be insignificant and then you are just going all out. That is perhaps in the neighborhood of a 6 minute TT or even shorter.
romans122--I can't say how _you_ should do it, but I'd suggest working on getting faster whenever you are not in the last 12 weeks before an IM. This largely involves economy training.
Joe,
If a cyclist starts training at age 30, should him adopt the same philosophy?
What is considered a short duration event for you?
Thanks, Fabiano.
Thanks Joe,
Now I will ask a question actully pertaining to the original post. As an up and coming stage racer, first season going from a CAT 5 to 3, and now having to focus energy towards riding the longer distances in the higher categories when in my yearly training plan do you suggest I work on speed and how, i.e. what types of workouts. I do already train at 550 hours for the year and will probably bump to 650 this next year.
Fabiano--Thanks for your comment. From the time you start serious training you have in the neighborhood of 10 years to reach a competitive peak, regardless of the age you started. For a cyclist short events might be, for example, track races, short TTs, crits, cyclocross.
putelis--Do you have Cyclist's Training Bible? Follow guidelines there for developing base fitness with an emphasis on speed skills.
On a micro level, should you then also do your high-speed Z5+ intervals before worrying about going long and slower a la Z1-2?
I have no doubt that the advice given, or, at least implied--not to rush into the ironman--is good advice. The other side of the issue, however, is that it seems to me to be easier, in terms of the number of athletes competing, to qualify for Kona at age 23 than it is in your 30s, when Mr. Friel's plan would have you trying to qualify. If going to Kona is your priority, it seems like it is best to try to do it now--who knows what your life/fitness/health will look like when you are older? If being the best possible athlete is your priority, then it is probably better to develop yourself slowly and deliberately.
Rob--Probably. Your most important workout of the day or week should be given priority in your training. That rule can be applied in many different ways not only in terms of time, for example, but also in terms of energy, motivation, resources, etc.
I didn't really mean on the make-up of a week's workouts, more on a periodization approach. Does this suggest that reverse periodization is the way to go... get fast first, then train for distance when the season approaches? It seems to be a hot topic in cycling these days.
Thanks for the quick replies, Rob
Rob--Periodization, whetever flavor you like to call it, has one underlying law that MUST be followed: The closer you get to the race the more like the race training must become.
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