Was great to have Tobin join the podcast again this week to answer listener questions! Tobin had some great points regarding Zone 2 training for an athlete following a Polarized approach that can apply to anybody regardless of training intensity distribution, and a whole host of practical tips on transforming from a predominantly fast twitch athlete to become one who excels at longer events.
Thanks for giving it a listen / thumbs up / share / rating!
// TOPICS COVERED
(00:00:00) Welcome!
(00:01:01) Rapid Fire Questions with Tobin
(00:02:39) Training Preferences and Strategies
(00:04:22) Tobin’s Favorite and Least Favorite Races
(00:05:53) Tobin’s Equipment Preferences and Choices
(00:15:24) How Tobin Analyzes His Season of Racing
(00:21:59) How Gravel Tactics are Different From Road
(00:39:30) How to Understand if Your FTP is Wrong
(00:58:02) How to Do Endurance on MTB Trails
(01:08:36) Managing Expectations and Comparisons in Cycling
The Z2 discussion starts at about 42 minutes. For me, the tldr was “too much time not in zone, follow a workout and don’t coast so you keep constant pressure on the pedals” and “fuel your workouts”.
Really enjoyed listening to Tobin. So calm, level-headed and wise. No cliches or indecipherable jargon, just tons of down to earth common sense and insights that everyone can relate to. Cheers Tobin! Look forward to hearing him more often on the pod.
@Jonathan you have to stop mentioning crazy FTP % numbers when referencing the Ironman bike leg. When you go into here you mention 85-90% of FTP for an Ironman. That’s straight up wrong for 98% of athletes. Maybe the front of the pros but not the athletes your podcast is targeting. I’m a huge TR and podcast fan, but you need to either go and try to do an ironman (or even just a century) at that effort to understand how misinformed you are about this.
You are setting your athletes up for failure by continuing to reference such high FTP %s for the Ironman bike leg.
Since he then said for 4-5 hours his comment was specific to the 2%, the 98% isn’t expecting to finish in that time. This was bracketed by discussing holding 80%, which he was spot on about how you should be able to hold that for a long time and applies to the 98%.
I’d actually consider whether your ftp is accurate before saying 85-90% is wrong… can you hold your FTP for an hour or close to it?
My n=1 experience with a 45 minute long tested effort of 342 in 2022 led me to IM bike legs averaging 284 and then later in the year 287 at a couple of different IMs…
I’ve had to step back for work commitments as my company has grown over the last 2 years, but I’m back in for an IM in November of this year and fully anticipate hitting that 85% of whatever “true ftp” number I come in with. For a 70.3 I plan to hit 90-92%.
That said, I also use power as a “check in” with RPE and HR guiding my day rather than the opposite.
Hmm, I went back and listened and didn’t hear him talk about 2% vs 98% of athletes anywhere in that podcast. My issue is only around the prescription I’ve heard of broad statements that IM athletes hold 80-90% (depending on the podcast episode) during an IM. I still hold that is way too high for an average athlete to have a good run. @pvolb fairly certain my FTP is correct as I’ve been riding for 15 years, done tests validating that number and have found that AI FTP detection is a pretty close match, so I know it’s not 30W off to have a 10% shift. Completely agree with you on power being a check in with RPE on race day.
I would be curious what the distribution is for FTP % for an IM and see if that changes based on where you finish in an IM. I’m a 10:10 guy and 70% is right where I sit to have a good marathon. 90% wouldn’t even be physically possible for me. 80% is possible for a half, but doubtful for me for a full.
I mean you made up 98% so why would you expect to hear something you pulled out a thin air to create an argument around in the podcast?
I said he followed up with people going 4-5 hours are riding at those higher percentages, very easy to interpret that he is not talking about what you called the 98%.
If you are finishing in 10:10 you aren’t the 98% either.
It’s for a different topic altogether, but you may consider adjusting your training more to the demands of the event if those percentages are hard.
One of my favorite old articles is copied below and is worth a brief read. I do agree it’s much easier to hold 85% for 4.5 hours than it is to hold it for 5.5 hours or whatever. Regarding your comment around 80% FTP for a 70.3 though - if that’s factual then you’d certainly benefit from some longer tempo/Sweet spot sessions to dial it in.
Ahh, I hear ya. If you’re doing it that fast then you are up on those percentages, that’s fair. I just feel like Jonathan regularly mentions Ironman percentages much higher than the center of the Bell curve and feel like that sets unrealistic expectations for most people.
https://trainerroad.cc/GetFaster
https://trainerroad.cc/trzwiftclub