Our updates from Duncan and Claire Shea-Simonds are always thoughtful, inspiring and a damn good read. Duncan has started off 2014 with a focus on his running before getting stuck into the triathlon season in earnest. And he's crediting the Wattbike with an increase in the speed of his running and, despite as he puts it, being a veteran, posting PB after PB.
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By Duncan Shea-Simonds
There can be no doubt that the Wattbike works....
Since Claire and I have moved the majority of our quality bike miles to this instrument of torture, we've seen our power output increase and PB's tumble. Many of the countries top Time Trialists and Triathletes are now taking advantage of the highly specific training effect the Wattbike can offer. (See Matt Bottrill and Joanna Rowsell)
So it seems the “cat is out of the bag” - damn.
Oh well, our advantage couldn't last forever – we'll just have to start working even harder!
Using a Wattbike to improve your cycling is a “no brainer” but what if I told you the Wattbike could improve your running?
Well, as I enter my 43rd year, I am happy to report that I am still running personal bests and so far this year have improved my half marathon PB for the second year running. Yet I'm running fewer miles than I was in my youth.
It's fair to say my coach Jack Maitland is not a great believer in miles for miles sake. He's seen too many athletes get injured and sidelined. In my case, nothing achieves this more quickly than big, junk run mileage.
So how does a triathlete run personal bests in his 40's off LESS running volume that he put in throughout his 20's and 30's?
The answer is of course.... QUALITY.
So while Jack may not subscribe to monster miles, he IS a great believer in quality – AKA “hard work”. As such, it features in my program all year round. The focus does change, but the hard work is always, always there.
I'm sure you've heard the old cycling adage “Winter miles = Summer smiles”. Well, in my experience, “Winter miles” (and no intensity) = “a summer of trying to find the speed that you really should have been working on during the winter”!
I've probably put in 1000's of hours of aerobic work over the years and that doesn't just disappear come the end of the season. As we age though, muscle mass does start to deplete. We lose running efficiency and with it goes our speed. But this need not happen (or the process can be dramatically slowed).
High quality (high intensity) training, lifting big weights and eating well will all slow the reduction in sports performance commonly associated with ageing. In fact, well into our 40's and 50's you could even expect to see improvements depending on the distance over which you compete (and your performance reference point of course).
It's true that ageing is also associated with other key life events. Getting married, the arrival of off-spring, increasing work responsibility and stress. All these put added demands on a amateur athelete's already busy schedule.
Often the “drive” or “desire” to keep beating ourselves up in training weakens as we age – particularly if you've been doing the sport for many years. For some, there comes a time when you've kinda just had enough of the hard stuff. Training increasingly becomes something we do to “de-stress”. To get out of the house or socialise with our friends. And that's fine.
Let's be honest, as an amateur sportsman or woman, there ARE far more important things in life than chasing the next pb, but for some, this continues to drive us (and a specific lifestyle may facilitate it).
So, if you want to keep performing at a high level, then I'm afraid you gotta keep beating yourself up. You've GOT to put the HARD work in. Lower intensity training, will just not cut it, no matter how much of it you do. With a large percentage of lower intensity training, the steady decline in top end performance is inevitable.
You simply can't make up for a lack of QUALITY with an increase in QUANTITY. I actually believe it's a pretty effective way to get injured. Long slow runs for example are probably more damaging (on a muscle cell level) than shorter, harder efforts AND take longer to recover from.
These days (at this time of year) I typically run 3-4 times per week. 1 track session, 1 long run (1:20-2:00hrs), a technique / drills session and maybe a recovery run... and that's it!
I'm running pretty well off that but to understand how – you need to look at TOTAL training volume and intensity.
And this is where the Wattbike (and to some degree, my swimming) come in.
Right now, I suspect my running speed aligns with a pure runner who's total run volume might be 3-4 times what I do. I can't do that – I'd just get injured. But I can train HARD! I just need to spread it across the three disciplines of triathlon and my Wattbike sessions play a big part in developing my run fitness.
So in addition to my modest (yet high quality) run volume I complete 2 Wattbike sessions per week and these are real killers! Of course, these pay dividends on the bike, but they also stress my heart and lungs like nothing else. They push me to dark places I can't go to when running and so bring big improvements to my general aerobic fitness and strength.
My Wattbike sessions improve my muscular endurance and ability to cope with escalating levels of PAIN! This REALLY benefits my threshold running and my strength climbing hills. I often find myself “putting the hurt” on pure runners during races when the road or trail heads upwards. I put this down to the strength gained from the Wattbike.
So the supplementary work I do on the Wattbike, means my run sessions can be very specific and very focussed. Pure quality and technique with ZERO junk.
It works for me. It dramatically reduces my risk of overuse running injury and allows me to recover more quickly – ready for the next session
I ran a PB for the half marathon this year – breaking 75 minutes for the first time ever. Ok, so that won't set the world alight, but for a 42 year old triathlete who is not running much more than 3-4 hrs a week I'll take it.
Factor in the Wattbike and I truly believe this can create a recipe for fast, injury free running and speedy recovery.
As the triathlon season begins I'm looking forward to putting my fitness to the test. But before that, I have recently complete the Edinburgh Marathon in 2:44:16 as a veteran traithlete off 3 runs, 1 long ride and 2 killer Wattbike sessions each week?.
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