Hi Sarah - welcome to EN It's addictive and will change your training/racing for the better. That being said, don't stress! There's a lot to absorb when joining a team, and the first few days/weeks can be overwhelming. I was where you were just a few weeks ago, and I just allowed myself to get comfortable w/ EN and took my time to make the decisions I needed to make. I would just recommend taking the time to browse the various forums to get a flavor for the range of topics being discussed and what kind of information you can expect to find here. If you're interested in all things power, there's a separate 'power and pace' forum. In addition, the wiki (under the resources tab) has some pretty good information to help guide you along. If you just do a search for 'power', some pretty good resources will help guide you, e.g.:
I'm the least tech-savvy person on this team and I recently made the switch to a PM - greatly aided and assisted by the wicked smart members here who were generous and patient with their time to explain things to me. That being said, I trained and raced for several years, including y first IM solely on guts and passion (and the occasional glance at my heart rate), so don't feel that you MUST have power - it's a great and valuable tool - but only if you have headspace to actually use it smart. In addition, and I don't know how long you've been doing triathlons, bear in mind that you'll have to budget $$/time/mental effort to deal with other things to prepare for your IM such as bike fit (including learning basic bike maintenance stuff so you can change your tire or adjust your gears on a Friday night before a ride which is when according to Murphys Law stuff breaks...); overcoming nagging injruies/issues; figuring out nutrition; how to accommodate various training blocks when work/life/family gets in the way etc. It can be overwhelming but with a bit of planning, it'll all come together.
Don't be shy to reach out to the team in the forums - it's what you pay for! Plus, there are some super awesome members here and I guarantee you there isn't a question you can have that someone here won't be able to help you with. You are not alone on this journey .
Ok, enough pontificating from me. I just wanted to say welcome!
Thanks for sharing. You do NOT need a powermeter to be successful in here. There are many EN athletes on the team training racing very well without power. That said, our contention is that if you have the dough and you're looking to spend money on "something" in this sport, a powermeter is a very good investment as long as you've done due diligence and read that "Before You Buy a PM" wiki post first.
This is a great information and I plan to go over it again. I am one of the new kids in EN and a new believer in power traning, because I know people who have gotten results. I have to admit to not quite being financially or technically prepared for this aspect of EN/OS when I signed up. People should be warned up front that cycle power meters, dedicated wheels and GPS enabled recording devices ain't cheap. Technology in this area is also changing quickly. I'm still bumbling around in the EN website, learning how to understand my plan and where to post questions, while trying to make a very costly power purchase that works for me. EN is a very tech oriented group. I am not. But, I'm incredibly foutunate to have a local EN iron veterin/techno whiz, who has talked me off the ledge more than once, already. As a first time IMer, I'm already nervous about my physical limitations, now I'm worried if I'm smart enough. I'm trying to get my self into the 21 st century as quickly as possible. Sorry I missed the tests.
Hi Sarah! So gald that you have joined EN. I am new here too, and I have learned so much already.
Frist thing first, take it at you rown speed. Ask questions, ALL THE QUESTIONS, and people will be happy to respond and guide you. We all started in the same spot you are. I am still there!
You do not need any power mumbo jumbo to see results. Having a powertap does not impart speed, power, or prepardness. Doing the WORK is what will drive all of that. What the power tap, or heart rate monitor will do is help you gage the output of the work as it pertains to you as an individual.
I personally use HR as that is what I can afford right now. You are going to do the work no matter what gadgets you have at your disposal, all you need to do is find the best way for you and your budget to monitor and track those outputs.
I spend $10 a month on TrainerRoad.com to get virtual power for my bike work (inside on my trainer), and I invested $100 (one time only) for a CycleOps PowerCal which is a HR based virtual power meter for me to use when riding in the real world. That is all that I can afford right now, but I don't care because I know that I am putting in real hard work.
If you have a HR monitor (such as polar or other) you are fine.
The easiest and cheapest metric is RPE - the rate of perceived exertion. The only concern with this scale is that it is based on one's perception. One must be pretty tuned in to their body to be accurate at their reporting of the work they are doing.
The next best way to gage work output is HR. You do not need a Garmin310XT to do this, any Fitness HRM will do. Garmins are expensive because of the GPS and all of the bells and whistles. HR is a great way to gage output because you are seeing a bonafide biometric output in real time. The biggest issue with HR is that it is effected by stress, fatigue, wind, hills, and of course how your body is feeling that day. Coming down with the flu? You may not know it but your HR will.
The most popular and most expeinsive way to gage work output is power. Power doesn't care if it is windy or hilly or if you are starting to come down with a cold. Power is power regardless of the world around you.
An athlete will be successful in their training if they use any one of the above metrics - and EN's training plans include zones for each method one could use to gage work, so you are covered no matter what metric you are tracking.
It would be good for you to calibrate "yourself" over the next few weeks - meaning if you have a HR monitor, wear it and test with it, and pay attention to how you perceive the output to be. If you feel like you are in zone 5 when your HR is telling you are in zone 3, now you know that you preceive work to be harder than your physical ability to perform it.
Great stuff and finally had some time to go over this. When I joined did have some concerns whether the approach would work for someone like me who is relatively new to cycling. Listening to some of the webinars I got the sense that some people had done training the old school style and done the trial of miles so to speak before moving to EN training. But what is said about consistency makes perfect sense to me. Consistency in running not mega volume got me to Boston with running.
I've never consistently done bike work because no one told me that higher intensity trainer rides during the off-season were just as good as outdoor rides. This is a change for me and one I am really enjoying thus far.
Aww, aren't they so cute, those newbies in the early weeks of the OS? :-)
Okay, in all seriousness, your attitude right now is perfect. I struggled with it just like you last fall in those early weeks thinking I was leaving a lot on the table. I was overcooking the workouts just because I could and yadda yadda. I quickly learned that it isn't such a good idea. Of course, I then did the giving blood experiment which really took a toll on me. Keep up with the bike intensity and you'll find that your riding gets much stronger while still setting you up for what looks like your strong suit if you qualified for Boston. Never gonna happen for me unless some miracle happens.
Keep on rockin' and hang in there when the strain begins to get to you - and it will.
Comments
Hi Sarah - welcome to EN
It's addictive and will change your training/racing for the better. That being said, don't stress! There's a lot to absorb when joining a team, and the first few days/weeks can be overwhelming. I was where you were just a few weeks ago, and I just allowed myself to get comfortable w/ EN and took my time to make the decisions I needed to make. I would just recommend taking the time to browse the various forums to get a flavor for the range of topics being discussed and what kind of information you can expect to find here. If you're interested in all things power, there's a separate 'power and pace' forum. In addition, the wiki (under the resources tab) has some pretty good information to help guide you along. If you just do a search for 'power', some pretty good resources will help guide you, e.g.:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=Before+you+buy+a+powermeter
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=EN+Power+Training+Resources
I'm the least tech-savvy person on this team and I recently made the switch to a PM - greatly aided and assisted by the wicked smart members here who were generous and patient with their time to explain things to me. That being said, I trained and raced for several years, including y first IM solely on guts and passion (and the occasional glance at my heart rate), so don't feel that you MUST have power - it's a great and valuable tool - but only if you have headspace to actually use it smart. In addition, and I don't know how long you've been doing triathlons, bear in mind that you'll have to budget $$/time/mental effort to deal with other things to prepare for your IM such as bike fit (including learning basic bike maintenance stuff so you can change your tire or adjust your gears on a Friday night before a ride which is when according to Murphys Law stuff breaks...); overcoming nagging injruies/issues; figuring out nutrition; how to accommodate various training blocks when work/life/family gets in the way etc. It can be overwhelming but with a bit of planning, it'll all come together.
Don't be shy to reach out to the team in the forums - it's what you pay for! Plus, there are some super awesome members here and I guarantee you there isn't a question you can have that someone here won't be able to help you with. You are not alone on this journey
.
Ok, enough pontificating from me. I just wanted to say welcome!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for sharing. You do NOT need a powermeter to be successful in here. There are many EN athletes on the team training racing very well without power. That said, our contention is that if you have the dough and you're looking to spend money on "something" in this sport, a powermeter is a very good investment as long as you've done due diligence and read that "Before You Buy a PM" wiki post first.
Good luck and let us know if you need anything!
Hi Sarah! So gald that you have joined EN. I am new here too, and I have learned so much already.
Frist thing first, take it at you rown speed. Ask questions, ALL THE QUESTIONS, and people will be happy to respond and guide you. We all started in the same spot you are. I am still there!
You do not need any power mumbo jumbo to see results. Having a powertap does not impart speed, power, or prepardness. Doing the WORK is what will drive all of that. What the power tap, or heart rate monitor will do is help you gage the output of the work as it pertains to you as an individual.
I personally use HR as that is what I can afford right now. You are going to do the work no matter what gadgets you have at your disposal, all you need to do is find the best way for you and your budget to monitor and track those outputs.
I spend $10 a month on TrainerRoad.com to get virtual power for my bike work (inside on my trainer), and I invested $100 (one time only) for a CycleOps PowerCal which is a HR based virtual power meter for me to use when riding in the real world. That is all that I can afford right now, but I don't care because I know that I am putting in real hard work.
If you have a HR monitor (such as polar or other) you are fine.
The easiest and cheapest metric is RPE - the rate of perceived exertion. The only concern with this scale is that it is based on one's perception. One must be pretty tuned in to their body to be accurate at their reporting of the work they are doing.
The next best way to gage work output is HR. You do not need a Garmin310XT to do this, any Fitness HRM will do. Garmins are expensive because of the GPS and all of the bells and whistles. HR is a great way to gage output because you are seeing a bonafide biometric output in real time. The biggest issue with HR is that it is effected by stress, fatigue, wind, hills, and of course how your body is feeling that day. Coming down with the flu? You may not know it but your HR will.
The most popular and most expeinsive way to gage work output is power. Power doesn't care if it is windy or hilly or if you are starting to come down with a cold. Power is power regardless of the world around you.
An athlete will be successful in their training if they use any one of the above metrics - and EN's training plans include zones for each method one could use to gage work, so you are covered no matter what metric you are tracking.
It would be good for you to calibrate "yourself" over the next few weeks - meaning if you have a HR monitor, wear it and test with it, and pay attention to how you perceive the output to be. If you feel like you are in zone 5 when your HR is telling you are in zone 3, now you know that you preceive work to be harder than your physical ability to perform it.
Welcome aboard!!!!!!!!!!
I've never consistently done bike work because no one told me that higher intensity trainer rides during the off-season were just as good as outdoor rides. This is a change for me and one I am really enjoying thus far.
Okay, in all seriousness, your attitude right now is perfect. I struggled with it just like you last fall in those early weeks thinking I was leaving a lot on the table. I was overcooking the workouts just because I could and yadda yadda. I quickly learned that it isn't such a good idea. Of course, I then did the giving blood experiment which really took a toll on me. Keep up with the bike intensity and you'll find that your riding gets much stronger while still setting you up for what looks like your strong suit if you qualified for Boston. Never gonna happen for me unless some miracle happens.
Keep on rockin' and hang in there when the strain begins to get to you - and it will.