I’ve listened to a couple of these now and I was surprised by their w/kg being ‘only’ around 4w/kg, especially for time trial riders. Is this because cycling is only 1/3 of their training or is 4w/kg fast? I’m assuming that they can hold a high percentage of their ftp for much longer than someone like me, who is at 4.3w/kg. I’m faster than some and slower than some but I’m certainly not elite and if you are at Kona you are elite. Right? I only cycle, mid volume guy, no running or swimming unless it’s from a shark or rabid dog.
@thesupermarket Everyones power profile is usually a bit different depending on their specific training as well as what your body may naturally gravitate to i.e. sprinting vs. steady state. I don’t think it has to do with Kona qualifying athletes being able to hold a higher percentage of our FTP. By definition alone, if accurate, whatever your FTP or threshold power may be, under ideal circumstances you should be able to hold that power output for a minimum of 45min up to just over an hour. FTP tests are a great way to track your progress. Often times, shorter tests in which you take a percentage off your final average can over estimate your FTP but are still a great way to track progress. I personally test my FTP with blood lactate testing in the comfort of my own home. This is just something that I have been doing now for quite some time and have not deviated to other means of testing for reasons of consistency. Being a triathlete, cycling is of course just one component. I would say that most of the kona qualifying athletes are fairly well rounded at all three disciplines which is a main contributing factor. If you are slightly above average at all three disciplines you would make a very good triathlete. Of course a slower bike rider would be compensated for by a faster run split and vice versa. There are many charts available regarding the analysis of functional threshold power, one in which i’ve included the link to. Creating Your Power Profile . Happy training!
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I was curious to check out the woom kits but it seems like they only have a Brazilian site. Is there an english friendly site you could give a link to?
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@clay just spoke with them. Sounds like they are halfway through translation and it should be up and running in 2 weeks. They are going to let me know for sure so I will make sure to pass along the information.
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@mtstanek congrats on your finish! That’s an awesome time and a real inspiration for someone just starting the Triathlon journey!
@Jonathan Would it be doable to sticky the last 3 podcast posts to the top of the forum and swap in new for old as they are release? It would make them more easily visible?
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@kimi I posted a new thread with the pictures of the books!!!
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@mtstanek Fantastic job. Really interesting podcast.
How did you get on with the Vaporfly’s? Would you recommend them and how much time do you think they were worth to you (difficult to quantify with all the other factors I guess)?
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I am an em doc for the past 10 years and an APD in a smaller residency in NY and thoroughly impressed you were able to train for this during residency. Personally I know the excuses get real easy after a night shift.
Newer to to triathlons myself, and have only completed a half Ironman to this point. Your story gives me motivation!
James
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@sleclere I really liked them for a distance shoe. When I did Boulder in June, I ran in a different pair of shoes and man, did my feet get achy by the latter half of the marathon. I will say this, they are very comfortable. Whether or not they are faster, who really knows. Either way both my big toe nails turned black after the race and are in the process of falling off so I have that going for me.
@jdbohan James thank you for the kind words. I have fallen victim to the excuses on a few occasions but for the most part you have to just push through. Best of luck in training and please let me know how it is going. Maybe we will cross paths sometime in the EM world. Take care
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Thanks, good to know.
All the best for your next endeavour.
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I’m here to see the backflip over Mario.
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Outside of the above crazy-ass back flipping over TV stars, I could identify with a lot of your challenges along the way with respect to work, no swimming background, experimenting with everything. Learned a lot and reinforced some of what I’m already doing. Now to see if I can get up over 4w/kg like the good doc. Congrats again, Mike!
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@mtstanek congrats on an awesome race and great podcast! Could you provide the link to your tri suit maker, I cant seem to find the company online.
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Interesting placement of the bottle cage on the top tube. Did you do any aero testing to see if that is penalizing you any. Any particular reason you want 4 bottles on the bike?
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Michael, I really appreciate your generosity in sharing your Kona experience. Is it possible to elaborate on what device you use for home Lactate testing? I am looking at doing something similar.
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Hi @johnny5 here is the current link https://www.woomstore.com/ecommerce/ . They are a newer company and are out of Brazil. I talked with one of the owners last week and they are in the middle of translating an additional site for a full english version. I will post that link once available
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@rsimkins13 long winded answer…I did not do any specific aero testing. For me the reason for placing the bottle there is 2 fold. One, for the most part it is right between your legs and hides from the wind very well. It is similar to having a bottle right behind your seat. I have found a lot of conflicting evidence on the aerodynamics of having a bottle on the seat tube. In general I feel as if the frame is more aerodynamic without a cage or bottle on that seat tube for most ‘‘super bike’’ type aero frames. For 70.3s I would have my BTA bars bottle and the bottle on the top tube (nutrition). For Ironman boulder I had the BTA, top tube and behind the seat. Both top tube and behind the seat bottles were my concentrated drink mix (2hrs each bottle) and I always fill my BTA w/ just water at every aid station. I did not know what the winds would bring on that day in Kona so I planned on having each concentrated nutrition bottle that would last 2 hours (works out to be 2 sips per 20 minutes in a 24oz bottle) and had the aero bottle on the seat tube for the final hour if it turned into a 5hr ride.
Secondly, I just like the location of that top tube bottle. It is easy to get to, less of a chance of dropping it when going down to reach a bottle on the seat tube. I also find it easier to continuously pedal when reaching for the bottle on the top tube vs the seat tube. Just my personal preference.
hi @Bonne . here is a link Lactate Testing, 3 Portable Lactate analyzers, Lactate Scout, Lactate Plus, Accutrend Lactate
I use the lactate scout. Very easy to use and worth the money. Most places will charge 75-150 dollars per testing session. It literally pays for itself in 3 uses.
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