W/kg Myths, Specialty Training, Ultra-Endurance, and More – Ask a Cycling Coach 364

What you hear during the livestream and on YouTube is coming through Zoom, but that is not what you hear on the podcast. Zoom audio is too low quality for that. We handle the podcast audio separately.

We have in-depth post-processing in place that does some real magic, but the low frequency thumping you heard in this episode would not be filtered out by an automated service. That’s something that we go in and manually edit, and since Maxine was out this week, that was my responsibility and I dropped the ball. :frowning:

We’re sorting this out at the hardware level so it won’t be an issue again. :slight_smile:

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This is the article I mentioned: Outside Workouts: Garmin Setup - TrainerRoad Blog

Additional info here: https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/360028380691-Creating-a-Custom-Garmin-Screen

Updated above as well.

While this is good advice for pacing yourself on a long ride, I do want to differentiate this from the context of doing a workout. If you are doing a workout, don’t pace by IF – just hit your power targets and IF will take care of itself. There are effectively countless ways to arrive at a single IF, so it is far too vague of a metric to accomplish the specific goals of training.

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Sorry if this sounded misleading. No argument from me. You’re right. I was more trying to show another way that having TSS and IF visible during the ride can add value. This works particularly well for me on rides where the goal is “ride as much SweetSpot as you can for 2 hours or until you achieve X TSS”

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Great usage of IF! :raised_hands:

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Just a funny serendipitous moment -

On Sunday I planned a shorter AM workout so I could check in with my daughter to see if she wanted to go to breakfast together. She chose to sleep in :slight_smile: . I went back to the trainer to get a bit more endurance volume, and lo and behold - there was Scotty! Knowing how it was created made me laugh. It totally fit the bill (though it would have been great to have the option to extend it :slight_smile: ).

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Off topic, but has anyone else noticed it sounds like someone is playing the drums on their mic? Sometimes getting hard to listen to in the car

It’s already mentioned and replied to by the team above

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Sorry. Long thread, didn’t see it

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Glad to hear some of the comments on w/kg on the podcast. Comparing myself to Coggan’s table is always depressing after 6 years of TR. Having said that, I am just to the right of the TR bell curve for my age group, which feels about as good as I can expect.

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My tip for Ultra distance. after 6-8 hours, drop any power metrics off your computer, at that point they are irrelevant for pacing purposes IMO

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Just throwing in my $0.02 on Gears with Chad - I love this idea and would absolutely travel for this.
But - I do not care, at all, in the least, the littlest iota, if pros show up. Pros showing up at races is not why 90% of us show up at races. So spending $50K on a prize purse to get the same 6 men and 6 women who dominate every US gravel race to come and dominate your race does nothing for drawing the rest of us. Putting that $50K into some rad swag, post-race food and a well produced event would do it for me.

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Helps with a lot of people discovering the race via socials :man_shrugging:.

(I personally do always want to see Pro’s at the same race and the same course as me, but I absolutely appreciate your position as valid)

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Not to totally derail this thread, but I’m genuinely curious as to why?

Why I love being at the same race as the Pro’s? Or why it helps with people finding the event?

Former.

I much prefer watching the very best athletes doing things most of us can’t. I find it massively impressive watching Pro’s ride a hill, or feature, at insane speed or skill. It makes it a lot more relative when I get to do the same things.

I can watch Anton Cooper mix it up with Nino Schurter in Nove Mesto, and I’ll never know what it’s like, but if he rides the same race as me, I can experience it first hand.

Each to their own, but I never had interest in watching the “feel good” stories on IM coverage, or Leadville, or whatever. I absolutely commend their efforts and the challenges they’ve overcome, but I want to watch the superhuman efforts (to me) and it’s even better when I can do it on course and during the telling of war stories at the finish line.

ETA: I won’t enter an event based on the Pro’s that have signed up (considering you don’t know who will be on the start line until race morning) but I am absolutely interested in the Pro’s that do show up and it is how a lot of us find out about races that we’d have never heard of, and it’s how a lot of events develop a real mystique.

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Me three. For some reason I wasn’t able to comment on this thread the other day. I couldn’t even like posts! :cry:

I am listening to Pat’s podcast regularly and also thought of him immediately. I would also consider a trip from here (Reno :slight_smile: ) to Spokane for a race like this. Another idea: stage race similar to the Cascade Gravel Grinder. That way a trip from farther away is more justifiable - especially to significant others.

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I understand why that would be motivating for sure, but I’m not sure I follow you. When you do a race with Nino, or Ted King, or whoever, you don’t actually see him riding, you’re way back in the pack. The only way to see them actually race is from the highlight reels. Or maybe you’re fast enough to mix it up with the big boys? (Not meant as sarcasm, I’m just not! :rofl:)

Totally agree that you hear about the rides from them on socials though. I follow lots of pros to learn about the races and watch the highlights.

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It depends on the course of course. I’m fast enough to see them early on, but not stick with them!

I guess I am also using examples in my mind that may or may not directly link to Gravel. XC races I do it’s possible to see them coming the other way on a different trail or if their race is prior, or after, the amateur one. It’s more so even on the days prior, I’ve followed Pro’s and have a few mates at that level and it’s one of the most impressive things watching how easy some things are, how much you can learn, or how fast they are when they do the “hurts the same, only faster” thing.

To specifically address the watching Pro’s on raceday, I’ll use Ironman New Zealand as an example, due to the old two lap circuit I’d see the Pro’s near the turnarounds on the bike and again on the run, usually the first place male would pass me on the way out to the turnaround on lap one (their lap two). That was always super impressive.

Gravel I see as super closely related to Ironman in it’s development as a discipline. Obviously single loop courses you won’t see the Pro’s much, but you might at some point, and usually you can see them in the lead up.

As I said, I’m totally aware it’s not the only point of view, my assumption is it’s probably half and half. Or at least, even those who couldn’t care about Pro’s are pretty excited to see them at some point race weekend.

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