Non-cyclist to 400w FTP in a short time at the age of 40. Seems legit.

Meh. Needs more slow motion action shots with house electronic music.

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Alex Arman

Strava

The guys was a 2:21 marathoner...this equates to some massive watts per kilo once you guys apply the Chung method of Watts per kilo having roughly the same magnitude for a given athlete given equivalent abilities in both sports.

+1

So can a 40-year old cyclist with a 400w FTP go run a 2:21 marathon on a year of training? Doesn’t look like uber biker darling Wurf can and he is younger and has all sorts of help.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

At the TX 70.3 this year, he was 1min slower than me on the bike, and 20sec faster on the run. Not sure how he took that level of fitness in April to a 9 hour IM in July and a 8:30 something not long after.....

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

I blame my folks! Worst genetic ever! 7 years as a swimmer + 5 year triathlon and I still suck at it!

WAS. Not at age 40. That's not at all how it works.

I swear you guys sometimes talk like idiots. Running (believe it or not) and swimming are technical sports. But cycling is a totally non technical sport. As long as someone has an engine, they will eventually get fast pushing down hard on the pedals hard enough often enough. Running has some natural mechanics, Swimming has acquired mechanics. In both cases, you can't just acquire the right mechanics (ask Lionel about swimming or you could ask many pro speed skaters who can bike hard, about how hard running is for them....their achilles tendons may be short stubby ones that are kind of useless for running fast). In any case, it's not surprising that Ed's FTP quickly.

In any case a 2:21 marathon is around 5 meters per second. So that person's threshold which would be bit less than half that duration would be 5.5 meters per second. IF that same person developed cycling proficiency with that size engine, we'd expect his FTP to be around 5.5 Watts per kilo. At 70 kilos, 5.5 Watts per Kilo is an FTP of 385W....so we're in the 400W range.

But hey, I know all you guys want to say he is doped to the gills, and I don't know if he is or is not, but that math is in the ballpark that its all the realm of possiblity and not entirely a fairy tale. This guy is a faster runner than Lance was for what that is worth....AND not every runner can become a good TT cyclists just because they are too light. Ed is a heavy enough marathoner/runner to become a decent cyclist.

You don't lose that much aerobic capacity by 40...the list is endless of athletes producing competitive pro numbers at 40. Mark Allen won Kona at 38. Cam Brown just went 8:07 at IMNZ at 45! Crowie was winning 70.3's above 40. Dave Scott was 5th at Kona at 40. Rob Barel raced for Holland at the Sydney Olympics triathlon at 40. So not sure why you guys are fixating on 40 years old like it's some ancient dinosaur age. There is not that much aerobic capacity lost by that point.

No disrespect, but who the f**k is this guy?

Everyone is bent out of joint that a former college runner, who did a 2;21 marathon while working in his post college career and kept up some semblance of fitness afterwards recently quit work and took up tris full time and vaulted to the mid 8 hour range, which is seeminly remarkable compared to the rest of us training or asses off for years and getting no where near those abilities. But very few of us were 2:21 marathon guys either, so while it's not impossible that the guy is doped (in that case he'd be like many 40 somethings in California), its also possible that he's a genetic mutant compared to most of us and if he took up tris in his 20's he'd be like Lionel Sanders (from what I gather he was a faster college runner than Sanders was)

Why was this video made? He’s obviously super talented, but who was this video made for?

Ed Baker

What is anything for except that?

That's all I can say at this time as I am on probation


Double secret probation?

He comes off creepy, in a Johnny Depp esque Willy Wonka kinda way....

Creepy? The irony....

https://www.recode.net/...igns-travis-kalanick

https://www.susanjfowler.com/...strange-year-at-uber

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blog

What do they have all in common, oh ya they have doing triathlon for a very long time. (Not 2 years)

Oh man! #TigerWoodsSyndrome

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https://www.strava.com/athletes/nbrowne1

i understand your suspicion. but i have more sympathy for it as regards total training volume and cycling ability. he was already a very good runner, and what i find much more compelling is that he was a big runner. his is, physically, the prototype of a top triathlete: 6'1", 165lb, as a 2:21 marathoner. not he grew to be 165lb. he was that size as a 1:05 and 2:21 runner.

swimming? if i dope to my eyebrows it isn't going to make me a better portrait painter. swimming is half grunt athlete, half portrait painter. that's mostly work and smarts, the ability to imitate and the capacity to work at it.

so, as to the video? kiley needs to find something else be angry about. kavanaugh. climate change. or torture. because he's torturing me with his heartburn. as to swimming? no. doping won't get you from the 1:45 lane to the 1:20 lane.

as to simply the ability to get that strong in IM in 2yr, yes, your jaundiced eye is not unreasonable. i stop short of that, but it's not unreasonable for you to suspect more than i do.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Listened to his interview with Bob Babbit. My god what a selfish individual, heading to Kona for a week when his wife will literally just have had their 4th child.

In his defense if you want to be really successful at anything in life (business, sport, etc.) you need to put everything else in 2nd place behind your goals. Comes back to the old notion that most CEOs are psychopaths. I have had interactions with serious athletes for the last 15years & to a T they are all extremely selfish people. The personality they project in social media, interviews etc, is miles away from the person they are in real life. Can't blame them, thats what it takes.

Big ego, big bank balance, big commitment, no pesky family or job getting in the way, his results are legit IMO.

To be fair, doping would help you become a faster swimmer as you will be able to recover faster, and go harder each session.

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Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon

Are you OK with being a Troll? Who else actually seeks information about someone that they don't like for no reason other than throw stones?

Does bringing someone else down somehow bring you up?

It's clear from other previous posts you don't like the guy - why then do you search out more stuff to troll about? I don't get it. I actually respect the guy, and yet have no desire to find more to read about him or watch videos, etc. I'd rather be doing other things. Perhaps he does things that annoy you (duh). Your being a troll annoys me; perhaps, makes me like Ed even more.

Has he made significant gains in performance in a short time? Yes, he's on the steep part of the learning curve - that's what happens when someone works hard at something. Almost anybody who's listened to someone new to the sport be so excited to do a 3 hour Oly, then 3 weeks later doing a 2:45, then a month later doing a 2:38. In their mind they'll be sub 2 mid next season at the latest - until reality sets in. His curve happens to be at a place that very few will get to no matter how long/hard they try. Am I jealous of that? Sure. He picked his parents right to get an engine that is a few standard deviations above "normal." I'd rather see someone use that then waste it. Criticizing his life style won't make his gift somehow less.

Beat him on the field of play, then we'll talk about how great you are. Can't do that? Join the club.

You and a few others must like living in glass houses. Must be cool. Perhaps add a mirror to the décor, see if you like what you see. In the mean time think about putting that energy into more training, or something positive. I'll bet you'll be happier - which is nice

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

I think you can argue cycling is a little more technical than running...

In any case, who produced this video and why? Did zwift?

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https://twitter.com/mungub

None of the guys I mentioned ran a 2:21 marathon at 165 lbs. 165 lbs is the inverse of a welterweight boxer trying to win the heavyweight division. He was the wrong body type for his old sport. He is the correct body type for triathlon (and to compete head on with you, so I get why someone coming out of the woodwork and ramping quickly can irk one).

Is he juiced to the gills? Who knows. But we almost NEVER get a 2:21 marathoner who is also 165 lbs enter the sport.

Look at the Kona top 15 that ST posts every year. They are all around his size, maybe a bit lighter. It's the perfect size for swimmers who are too short and light and perfect size for runners who are too tall and heavy (on the women's side, Gwen at 58 kilos is just too darn heavy to be an elite marathoner). He's the size of a lot of pro long course triathletes and he has an engine that may be better than theirs for his weight to run at 5 meters per second for 2:21.

Maybe to put this into perspective for you guys, if we take Alistair Brownlee at 29ish min 10K and plug into McMillan we get 2:16 marathon. Mark Allen tried the Berlin Marathon for a 2:15 - 2:17 target and dropped out with wooden quads. This is how good Ed Baker's 2:21 marathon PB time is. I don't think a lot of people accusing him of doping are getting that. Given his size, he may have a better raw engine than Lance did when Lance was racing tris as a teen.

Let's see Ed play out. Test him to the nines as much as possible. His case does beg scrutiny, but on the other side the raw numbers associated with his run times at his massive weight are not something that we often get in triathlon. I think the last two guys with similar open marathons were Christian Bustos (2:22) and Ryan Bolton (I think 2:23). But they were smaller guys who had less top line watts for flat bike sectitons. Another one was Ben Paredes, who ran 2:14 at the NYC marathon, but the guy was so light that he was not that strong in tri/du.

Give me a current pro triathlete with a 2:21 open marathon. Maybe Lange as he is small enough (140 lbs). I doubt the rest of the guys can run anything under 2:27. They are just to heavy and will break down. The beauty of pro triathletes, is their IM run split is not that far off their open time. Maybe 15 minutes.

Jack, keep in mind that when you started triathlon, and were on the fast part of the learning curve, a few months after your early season races, you were beating people by a lot who you just "tied with" early in the year. We all went through that learning curve ramp. Ed's bottom is just at a higher point than people with 2:4x open marathon PB's.....he's almost a 2:1x guy.

In the mean time, let's test him like he's Chris Froome or Dumoulin or Sagan to make sure that what we see is what we get.

why is Kiley on probation?

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Ed is actually a very humble man

He didn't ask for a video about his Harvard/Sanford education, making millions in his internet startup, knowing Zuckerberg personally, winning an ironman withe less than a year of training. It wasn't his idea to film his beautiful home, his kids and wife and admiring brother. He particularly did not ask for a video of him shirtless in his speedos displaying his 4% body fat.

Its all the idea of this professional filming crew that just landed on him out of the blue with hi-def cameras and drones (after he hired them for a 100 G's)

An Extremely irritating triathlete who loves to talk about himself...??? Such a rarity.

I think we are all jealous because this guy appears to have it all. Life is not fair. Guys have brought up some of the uber inneundo, so maybe the rest of us have a leg up in some other aspects of life, so let's let him beat us at sport and money making and which rich powerful people he is friends with. I am curious to see what a person with the physiology to run a 2:21 marathon at 165 lbs can do 1.5 decades later in triathlon. I don't think we've ever seen an engine like that with that much body mass show up at the start line outside of Mark Allen. All the pro triathletes who could run that fast were much smaller.

Now can someone give me 23 lbs and extra 1.5 watts per kilo so that I can go fast like Ed....my parents suck for giving these math and ST rapidfire posting genetics and sucky sport genetics.

Jealous much?

So based on a quick read.. a 2:21 marathoner in college? There's a base level of fitness this guy has that a lot of us can only dream about. Everyone here knows you take an elite level runner and put them on a bike and eventually they are a monster rider too. So he just needed to learn to swim, and then have time to train. Basically $ and time, and he's got both. And he's shown he has the kind of personality that is driven to succeed. Is he a great person? Who knows. I personally would clash with a "succeed at any cost" type person and couldn't see myself liking this person much. But athletically? Lots of suspicion being thrown around without thinking it through.

OP shows that irony is not dead.

The video wasn't that bad. Let's just put him on the 'annoyingly successful' list; there are plenty of people out there like that in this world, and we can't all be good at everything we turn our hand to. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other people (mostly guys I'm guessing) with young families who are self engrossed, be it KQers or with work. I see plenty of guys let their wives take almost all the family strain, whilst they disappear with work for days, weeks or even months on end. This is not a new concept.

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29 years and counting

Anyhow.

You should learn some actual physiology before you go around calling people idiots. You're naive at best.

What in the holy hell are you yammering about?

Please tell me this video is some weird kind of satire?

Edit:
I seriously can't tell. The not so subtle name dropping of Zuckerberg has me confused.

"This guy got faster than me in only 18 months..." *sniff*

"And he has tons of money and I work all day..." *sniff*

"And his bike is so fast if I could afford that bike..." *sniff*

"He has to be doping or an egomaniac..." *sniff*

Isn't there a thread for all these? :)

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Cry_like_a_little_biatch_here._P1566945/

You keep saying 165lbs. Nowhere does he say he used to weigh 165lbs when he went 2:21 in college or whatever. He could have been 120 lbs for all we know and went on a Twinkie diet for the past 18 years.
Anyway, when you see unbelievable progressions like this in 99.9% of the times that's exactly what they are - unbelievable. I'm just thinking Matt Dixon must be looking at this guy and he's scratching his head... I bet he doesn't see many of his athletes go from sitting on their ass all day to a 400W FTP in 18 months. But the publicity that this guy brings him is probably worth looking the other way.

Jesse Thomas has a similar story: startup guy, ex collegiate runner, 175lbs / 6'1", pushes big watts with a shitty position but even he went through a 4 year journey before the got anywhere near pro triathlete level. He also started doing tri at 27 not 40.

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What's your CdA?

He tries to parade his Stanford t-shirt in Cambridge, MA?!!!

Don't worry, this loser has more issues than most :)

A lil too dramatic but a REALLY good post/mindset sir

he just wants it more

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

You keep using that word...

Checklist for video pre-production:

1. Show killer house
2. Mention elite schools
3. Show family duty dropping off genius kid and mention your own fluency in 2nd language
4. Mention killer jobs and big buyouts
5. Show killer pain cave
6. Get the the abs from a few different angles
7. Show FTP # on Zwift
8. Mention 6:45 as IM pace
9. Mention elite schools again
9. Have kids and nephwes and in-laws and sibling and coach mention how killer you are
10. Can't actaully show weiner size, so just imply a buckwild lovemaking style with 4 little kids romping around

I wish him all the best, I just wonder if he is so smart why could he not see that he would not exactly come across as sympathetic? F.N. was not specifically talking about the ST forum when he said "In every human beast there is a fund of hatred, anger, envy, rancour, and malice, accumulated like venom in a serpent's tooth, and waiting only for an opportunity of venting itself, and then, to storm and rage like a demon unchained.", but he might as well have been.

Ed, just a suggestion and feel free to ignore---> have some humility, make a self-aware joke about your obsession, lighten up, and realize to most normal people this video is just plain old weird.

Didn't get that at all from this video. Reading your post and some of the comments in the rest of the thread, I kind of expected some super-corporate douche type overhyping himself and yelling too much, but he seems pretty grounded, especially given the gains/success he's seen in triathlon.

I didn't find the video as offensive as some, however I am still not sure the point of it. Building a social media presence so he is more attractive to sponsors when he tries to go pro?

Blocking him is one of my smarter moves on ST. Now if you'd refrain from quoting his posts in your replies, we'd all be better off.

Haha, ummm no. Speak for yourself. I have plenty in life to make me happy.

49 posts later and someone finally nails it

not that this makes any difference, but no, he wasn't a 120lb runner. he was a 160lb runner. i was a 160lb runner. chris solinksy is a 160lb runner. they're out there. he was one. this is what makes for a very powerful cyclist. move on to the next gripe.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I always find this interesting. 6-1 165 is small. No idea how that can ever be considered Big.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I don't find him irritating

He is obviously smart, articulate, a good athlete and professionally successful

That said I don't gey the video, and it could be taken as conceited but I did not find that

I think that degree of progress warrants some caution

Though if I were 39, effectively semi-retired, had fairly unlimited means, and had run a 2.21 marathon at some point in the past, I'm pretty certain that with resources, commitment and some ability to grasp complex technical skills I'd be able to make some progress

I LOLLed!

Its considered big because it’s functionally big.

Size defined by function and performance. Simple.

I wonder exactly the same thing. To me, he actually seems like a nice enough guy, albiet with zero EQ - he must not realise all his casual brags make him look pretty silly - even if they are all great accomplishments.

My theories as to why he made this video (in no particular order):

1. he wants to be a pro, and/or wants to get sponsors. This is odd to me, as he likely doesn't need sponsor money. But I guess it might make him feel "legit".

2. he wants to be like the pros, so he makes videos like they do - also a bit goofy since pros do it to put food on the table, or to "repay" fans for their interest. Neither seems necessary in his case - but to each his own.

3. this is a branding exercise to make him appear really successful and super loved by his family. Perhaps his time at UBER has tainted his corporate brand a bit, and he is subtly trying to improve his marketability.

4. he has spent so much time with slightly socially awkard tech guys, that making a vanity video full of front doors brags is totally normal among his peers.

In any event, he seems happy enough, and the video isn't doing anyone any harm, so whatever.

Matt Dixon has seen it before ... Sami Inkinen (SP?) ... 400w FTP, elite physiology (like Ed) didn't train as much as Ed but if he did he would have had the same results as fast.

I've had a couple athletes with very good physiology (collegiate runners) but nothing like those two ... learning curve was much slower. The biggest issue was they had to ride very conservatively to maximize their running. As they become more and more durable we were able to ride harder / faster and not slow down on the run. If Ed's FTP is really 400 ... he is riding very soft (so he can run "well") other wise bike splits would be closer to <4:45 @ LP and 4:15'ish at Copenhagen.

In general, interesting specimen

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Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

It's race week in Kona. Lot's of interesting stories being told in various formats. My viewing of YouTube videos has gone up in the last couple of days. Ed Baker is not the only narcissist telling a story. Life is too short to worry about other people. If you are worried about seeing a narcissist then don't watch YouTube videos in general and definitely don't watch videos about athletes.

 


who the EFF is Ed Baker.. I'm 5'9ish and I am 175, longer legs would be great

If I had this guy's means, I sure as shit wouldn't be riding an indoor trainer for 5 hours in New England.

Dude needs to get a life.

Dan,

People simply can't fathom what they haven't experienced. I'm in the same boat as Ed (decent but unexceptional college runner, 6'2" 160 in peak track shape) but was more 1500-5k optimized. I never trained for anything longer but could still pop off 15 mile runs at 5:40 pace. FTP with a couple rides per month was 350-70 (depending on season). The fitness from running at that level just really translates well to smashing the pedals. I'm nowhere near the shape/speed I use to be but still have a baseline of around 310-320 W with no training. The discipline required to truly flog yourself at that level, and the ability to push yourself beyond mental limitations is something most people never develop.

Add to that fact the discipline and drive it takes to build a company and work in business development for tech giants and you'll get someone who is extremely results based and unhappy with anything less than world-class. It's that same drive that got him to Harvard and Stanford business.

Though the self-promotion did take a step too far, in my opinion, with the personal statements from nephews/children.

You made my day. I've been allowing myself to get annoyed with his posts for years - had no idea there was a hide feature. Thank you!

His results are very good, but not really close to indicative of a 400W threshold. As a result, I find it more plausible that he has exaggerated his threshold power rather than the other possibilities posted here that he is either a doper or complete genetic freak.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Yes 400w FTP and ~75 kilos puts him right around Lionel proportions and he looks more aero. He isn't riding any where near that on the race course.

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Professional Athlete: http://jordancheyne.wordpress.com/ http://www.strava.com/athletes/145340

Coaching Services:http://www.peakformcoaching.com/

I can't believe I'm about to agree with you but I do. I think it's a hold over from the cycling Community where everyone is ubber thin

I would think hours of indoor training, along with high quality coaching, and a tech savvy athlete has his FTP correct. 5.33 watts per kilogram is definitely within the spectrum of an elite level athlete, which he could possess given his running history (although dated). Anyone that is on a trainer for 2 hours, let alone 5 hours is crazy committed to their goals. A long workout day of 7 hours every single week, is intense. How many on ST have ridden on a trainer for 5 hours straight? I doubt very many.

On a different note, I don't find anything wrong with the video link that is posted. It highlights he's super committed to his training, has plenty of financial resources to prepare the way he feels is best, and apparently has support of his family. Now if you google his name, and 'resigns from uber' it comes up with why he resigned from Uber, which is not as rosy as this video portrays his current family life, but many have made that same mistake, while being in a marriage.

I find it incredibly entertaining that you can't just read someone's post and shrug it off. You need to block them and hide from what they have to say like it's some kind of safe space for you.LOL

More like they belong in their own forum: tl;dr. Safe space my ass. I don't have time to read through his verbose monologues.

The discussion about 165 lbs being "big" was for open marathons. It's kind of gigantic compared to elite marathoners many of whom are in the 120lbs to 140 lbs range. Rob DeCastella was a "giant" at 143 lbs or so when he went 2:07 at Boston as was Salazar at the same weight going 2:08 at NYC. They were supposed to be favourites in LA 84, and then in the heat of LA they both got smoked by 120 lbs Carlos Lopes. They were winning all the cool fall and spring marathons, but just generated too much heat at 140+ lbs for a summer marathon. Take this up to 165 lbs and no chance for a "massive" 165 lbs marathoner to compete with a 120 lb marathoner.....but in tris, the 120 lbs athlete cannot produce enough power on the bike and the run speeds are slowed down sufficiently off the bike such that the incremental heat generation does not hurt the 160 lbs triathlete as much.

So Ed wins at tris where he would lose from being too big to be an open marathoner....same reason Gwen J is too big to be a truly elite marathoner. The math works against her at marathons.

LOL....we all have 168 hours per week, so it's priority management in terms of what time ST squanders out of the 168 and which posters eat into the 168 hrs...if it helps your time and priority management skills then the forum has tools to help.

Can we get back to Ed's FTP? I'm kind of hoping that he wins overall amateur at Kona cause all hell will break out at this place. Then there will be much bigger problems around here than my posts.

The discussion about 165 lbs being "big" was for open marathons. It's kind of gigantic compared to elite marathoners many of whom are in the 120lbs to 140 lbs range. Rob DeCastella was a "giant" at 143 lbs or so when he went 2:07 at Boston as was Salazar at the same weight going 2:08 at NYC. They were supposed to be favourites in LA 84, and then in the heat of LA they both got smoked by 120 lbs Carlos Lopes. They were winning all the cool fall and spring marathons, but just generated too much heat at 140+ lbs for a summer marathon. Take this up to 165 lbs and no chance for a "massive" 165 lbs marathoner to compete with a 120 lb marathoner.....but in tris, the 120 lbs athlete cannot produce enough power on the bike and the run speeds are slowed down sufficiently off the bike such that the incremental heat generation does not hurt the 160 lbs triathlete as much.

So Ed wins at tris where he would lose from being too big to be an open marathoner....same reason Gwen J is too big to be a truly elite marathoner. The math works against her at marathons.[/quote]
Carlos Lopes was 5-6.

De-Castella was 5-11

Alberto Salazar is 5-11

Look at Ed Baker, he's a twig. What are you gonna cut away? He's already probably under 10% BF.

How the hell do you people say Gwen is too big to be an elite runner, she 5-10 and 120lbs...if anything she's too light for her frame. We really gotta stop spouting bullshit when it comes to weight. Gwen in general is tiny.

Shalane ie 5-5 and 105lbs...you're telling me that Gwen at 5 inches taller and 15-18 lbs more is too big...gtfo here.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Parlance of our times.

I get what you're saying.

Carlos Lopes was 5-6.

De-Castella was 5-11

Alberto Salazar is 5-11

Look at Ed Baker, he's a twig. What are you gonna cut away? He's already probably under 10% BF.

How the hell do you people say Gwen is too big to be an elite runner, she 5-10 and 120lbs...if anything she's too light for her frame. We really gotta stop spouting bullshit when it comes to weight. Gwen in general is tiny.

Shalane ie 5-5 and 105lbs...you're telling me that Gwen at 5 inches taller and 15-18 lbs more is too big...gtfo here.[/quote]
For running fast open marathons, its not just how skinny you are at your height, it's about how light your total weight is. Aside from the pounding if you have a 50 kilo runner and the 60 kilo runner both running at around 5.5 m/s the heavier runner will be producing ~250W more of heat that needs to dissipate. That's 2.5 100 watt lightbulbs of heat inside the body. Granted the bigger runner has more surface area, but may not have as much surface area to volume so cannot get rid of the excess heat as easily.

The above is also Patrick Lange's massive run advantage in Kona relative to the 160 lbs tri runners since he is closer to 140 lbs.

In the words of Taylor Swift: And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

Having watched the rest of the video to your point number 3, this video is not directed at us. Its to his techie professional network, marketing his tech world sabbatical for when he actively returns to the professional world (vs being an investor/mentor to tech companies). Most of those guys have no clue about this IM stuff, but everyone loves a winner. If he is winning tris on his sabbatical, it's like other guys going and climbing K2, or joining an America's Cup crew or racing Paris Dakar. Fair enough if you view it from the techie wealth world angle.

This ^^^^. The OP always seem so bitter.

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

A friend who ran with him at Harvard actually told me before Lake Placid that Ed would definitely be a guy to watch in that race. So I don't think his progression and success is a surprise to those who know his abilities...

Gwen really is big comparatively. I don't know if you have watched a lot of elite female marathoners, but they are really tiny, like under a 100 pounds and 5 foot two tiny (obviously some exceptions). Every time I see Gwen in a pack of marathoners, I just can't get past how tall she is. I would bet her hip and shoulder width are the widest in the field. She is skinny for sure, but overall weight is a big deal.

When I see top marathoners in person they just look like birds - they look like they have hollow bones made of cartilage. Even a top tall marathoner is just really light - and not just because they are skinny, but their bones and organs must be comparatively smaller than most people (including mid-distance runners).

I wouldn't say Gwen is too big to become a decent American marathoner, but her size is likely very limiting to podium in a major.

I wish I'd caught this thread earlier. I know Ed and was with him on some of his very first bike rides. He barely knew how to clip in, was essentially untrained (at least of late), had not yet even considered the idea of racing, and he went top 10 on a local hill climb his first time up it, in an area filled with pro cyclists. I'm a pretty decent cat 2 roadie, and he was minutes ahead of me. He's legit. He's just super talented. He was a trials-level runner, and running is quite obviously not even his best sport. Also, whatever he comes off as in the videos, he's actually a really nice guy. I think most of these guys are just jealous! (as am I!)

That said, having ridden with him a bunch, unless he has improved substantially recently, I think 400 is probably a bit of an overestimate? But you have to understand that he probably barely knows what FTP is. That's what you're dealing with at this point. He's a novice cyclist and swimmer who just happens to have a HUGE motor.

Well it seems he found a great coach to match his “wonderful” personality, they seem to have a lot in common.

I’ll expect him to be sporting an Every Man Jack kit in no time for all those “like minded” people.

This sounds a bit like the Michael Woods story. He just got 3rd at UCI cycling worlds (rides for Vaughters' Cannondale/Education First protour team). Was a sub 4 track miler and was injured, so some of the local FOP tri guys brow beat him into coming out on the bike when injured, and she shows up in running shorts and running shoes with a borrowed beater bike with rat trap pedals and proceeds to totally smoke everyone and the local benchmark times on one of the hill climbs. Those guys just have massive watts per kilo for climbing pretty well out of the gate, then its a matter of converting them to being able to ride in the drops/aero.

It seems like Ed could very well set one of the fastest age group times ever in Kona if he can keep his act together. He seems like a younger faster version of when Slowman took up tris with similar body type....can't remember Slowman's mile PB, but I think it was around Ed's low 4:20 range.

Sadly, I knew about him because of that much before I became aware he was a triathlete :\

I was saddened by Bob Babbitt giving him a platform to speak as well.

FIFY

Repeatedly seen elite runners do very well, very quickly on the bike- usually its the utter lack of pack skills and ability to handle the surges and super high intensity of group rides and races that get them at first. For TTs, Tris and Hill Climbs that doesn't apply- and they can just used that massive engine and ability to pace themselves to great affect.

I watched the video few days ago and I actually thought it was pretty inspiring . I think most of us are just jealous of his life. The guy is super smart, wealthy, beautiful family and has the time to train his ass off. I personally think we all wish we had his life. I wish Ed the best of luck in Kona along with all of the rest of the amazing athletes .

X1000. How many people can just call up Mark Zuckerberg and say, "Hey dude, what's this Zwift thing you're posting on Strava?"

Can we get back to Ed's FTP? I'm kind of hoping that he wins overall amateur at Kona cause all hell will break out at this place. Then there will be much bigger problems around here than my posts.



I'm hoping Ed wins overall amateur and Lionel wins overall. That will provide more than enough entertainment to make up for the lack of posts about Ashley Horner.

I watched the video few days ago and I actually thought it was pretty inspiring . I think most of us are just jealous of his life. The guy is super smart, wealthy, beautiful family and has the time to train his ass off. I personally think we all wish we had his life. I wish Ed the best of luck in Kona along with all of the rest of the amazing athletes .


I agree. I do admire people who have accomplished a lot and often then regret not putting 100% into everything I've ever done (not that doing it would have changed a lot, I simply don't have his genetics). None of us know what goes on when the camera is off but you could say that about everyone. To me, he comes across as someone who has maximized his intellect and physical abilities and I also hope he performs well in Kona.

I enjoyed the video and found it quite motivational. No idea why it was produced but I thought it was a good watch.
Good luck to the guy. He seems to be very focused and obviously is a high achiever.

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My foray into time trialling at the age of 60
https://sixtyplustimetrialling.wordpress.com/

hey. i have very few palmares but i'm jealous of those i have. it was in the TEENS.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I just saw on Strava that Zwift is spotlighting Ed Baker - https://www.strava.com/...104733/posts/3224477

And Zwift now includes the video on their "Zwift at Kona" page - https://zwift.com/.../8174-zwift-at-kona/

So perhaps Zwift produced it? Or maybe Zwift is just capitalizing on a video that's getting some buzz...

Another n=1

Fast runners can get on a bike and smoke it

He's an investor in Zwift

Ah you're right, I had forgotten about that

What was your mile PB and did you run it in high school at altitude in Tahoe, or down at sea level.....most importantly is it faster than Ed's mile PB????? If it is, at least some around here one upped Ed on something. You're our last hope unless Danstu or Sam Gyde can put down the hammer at Kona and make Ed hurt in the energy lab.

I want to put together a video just like his, but as a regular person who has a regular job and who has regular abilities. See if Zwift picks up on it and posts it on their page.

I mean, who wouldn't want to see a messy house, an out-of-shape person riding on a trainer, talking about how crappy his day at work was.

Two things - do you know any of the EMJ team ? I do and everyone I have met is humble and whilst they have a social media presence , they are nothing like this guy - what happened you applied and they turned you down ?

I have tried watching this twice but cannot get past 2 mins , I don’t understand why he did it other than to say look at me , aren’t I the f**kin amazing

Maybe it’s because I am a Brit but this level of self promotion is nauseating

Kileyay;

Here's some friendly advise.
1. Success isn't a finite resource. His success has no influence on yours.
2. If you don't like people making videos about themselves - good luck fighting that battle.
3. If it bothers you just don't watch. Nobody knew who he was until you complained he was getting more attention than you.
4. If his success, video, whatever, is bothering you...maybe you pay too much attention to what other people are doing.
5. You ever notice how McDonald's never makes fun of Burger King or how real tough guys don't go around talking about fighting? When you're legit you don't go around finding people to make fun of.
6. And, finally: Always remember that, not being afraid to say something doesn't mean you actually have something to say.

No, you just need to take PennBen’s friendly advice.

This is an interesting post...

On one hand, you berate another poster for making claims about people they don’t know.

On the other hand, you make claims about someone you don’t know.

I don’t think this is because you’re a Brit. I know many Brits and they are nowhere near this bitter about other people’s success.

your post is interesting also

I don’t know your definition of success but it sounds like it’s different to mine

You are right I know nothing about him , he may be a very nice guy - i just dont like the self promotion

Bitter I am most certainly not which if you knew me , I note you do not , you would know

Nope, I don’t know you. You may very well not have a bitter bone in your body.

If you view your post objectively, you can see why I ,and others, might come to the conclusion that you are bitter. Apologies if you are not.

My definition of success, when it comes to triathlons, is constant improvement and constantly pushing yourself to be your best. Winning races is also up there, but is more a byproduct of the work put into it. How do you define success?

Pretty sure Graham Hood has posted on here before - his mile time is definitely faster than Ed's.

That was not my intention

In triathlon i would agree with your definition though for me personally i like to win also

I thought you were referring to his business success or wealth which I am most certainly not jealous of !

Forums for you , things get lost on translation

Cheers

You ever notice how McDonald's never makes fun of Burger King or how real tough guys don't go around talking about fighting?


Both of these are not true.

Umm it IS self promotion. Full stop. whether you are ok with that or not is another matter but it is very much blatant massive self promotion, that's cant be up for debate.

Guy has clearly been successful in life and triathlon. Why does he need to post a video boasting of his accomplishments? I think he could use a dose of humility, and i say that without a bitterness or resentment. He should let his accomplishments stand on their own and not brag about them. Just my two cents.

I am surprised the point that has been missed was that he was dropping his preschooler off to a mandarin immersion school...........

That's the smartest thing in the video

If I was smarter my kids would be doing English / Arabic or Mandarin not English / French

General reply to the thread, but why is it going on so long without us getting to the bottom of whose mile PB is faster....Slowman or Ed Baker. Slowman must be having too much fun riding around Mauna Kea and Kaloko or he is at Kona bike check in right now!!!!

Pretty sure Graham Hood has posted on here before - his mile time is definitely faster than Ed's.

Ya, he posts and participates here, and his top 100 mile times would be faster. Dan probably doesnt even have a top 10 time overall with the posters here, I know PT is in the 4;06 range, imagine Kenny Souza was not too far behind. That would be a very interesting list, all the ST posters and their all time best PR's in all the different events, in all 3 sports. Then a list of the top 5 AG times in all those events. I guess we could get someone to build a data base and like a wiki page, folks could just fill it in. Of course we would have to have officials to qualify posted times, but Dan, PT, and I already do that on a regular basis...(-;

OK OK...enough of this....is Slowman's mile split faster than Ed Bakers. Then we can close this thread!

my HS mile PR was 4:19.4. i think ed mentioned his in my interview with him i stopped running track after HS and he didn't. i'd wager he bettered my PR after he left HS.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Based on the ST interview, you have salvage the collective egos of all ST posters...we may now return to regular programming...oh and you invented a social network before Zuckerberg but which did not get to $500B market cap YET:

ED BAKER: I wasn’t strong enough to feel like I could choose a college based on running. My mile PR in high school was 4:23, good for Florida, but the Stanford coach said, "It would be nice if you were 10 seconds faster." I wasn’t in the position where all the coaches would recruit me. I chose Harvard for academics. I wasn’t sure I would run in college. But I did speak to the track coach. Frank Hagerty. He was a Harvard alum, and as I got to know how the program worked it got me excited about it. He wanted to make sure the athletics never got in the way of academics.

I agree whole heartedly, I've had that experience also now that I've been in this sport for 12 years. I've known elite's and coaches who pretend they stick do their plan, winners never quit, quitters never win etc, my clients who don't win are the ones who justify bad behavior blah blah, endless fictional feats "when I was training for Kona I 2004 drank 18 glasses of wine at a wedding and I still woke up 3:am and did my 2 hours swim, no lies guys honest...….""Oh, and I studied for my 2nd law degree, as I rode my bike" "Ya know these lack luster performers, they just don't have the same focus as people like me, and they blame their circumstances, haters"

You get a different perspective when you get to know them personally or talk to their spouse. It's usually, miles away from what they portray like you said.

"I get berated for letting his Gatorade get warm" "He can't remember our kids ages or what grade they are in" "When I was 8 I fell of my bike and he (dad) called me a sissy"

At least David Goggins came clean and honest in all his interviews the last few years, he explains he became a beast of a human being because of all his fears and insecurities, he became a 280lbs powerlifter because - he wanted to hide inside of a huge guy because he was afraid - he's honest about why he really beat himself to death all those years.

Looks like he’s stopped running before the halfway point.

Any word on what happened to Ed Baker?

Probably just Madam pele. Had the guy raced a hot race yet? Galveston was cold. Lake placid was cold iirc. What’s the euro race he did? Any other races?

I get the whole self-promotion and trying to make a name for yourself, but when you do that, you have to expect the backlash and be able to back it up. A DNF isn't backing it up. Hopefully Ed can go back to focusing on training, as the video was overboard and didn't warrant being made in the first place.

Fully agree! Really enjoyed the video and I hope Ed continues to document his journey. His educational, professional and athletic accolades speak for themselves and it's awesome to have a glimpse behind the scenes.

DNF

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

How many people here would want to do that? I for one couldn't care less about what Mark Zuckerberg does, especially when it comes to his bike riding.

He over-estimated his FTP on Zwift and buried himself in training.

Strained left hip-flexor during run. Too painful to continue.

We needed a video to confirm...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYoRexEkkY

LOL (at the need for a video, not at the result).

The omerta in cycling pales in comparison to triathlon. No one bats an eye while pretending that something that is either a lie or an abnormality achievable only by exogenous means is actually perfectly normal because he was a fast runner years ago. Ah well.

Why making this short video with the baby? I don't understand the image he wants to project

First thing I noticed too. I guess that he's just a regular family guy, busy dad, working the 9-to-5, trains when he has time? He' a nice athlete. I can see why some are a little tuned off. To each their own. The marketing/success at all costs types aren't my cup of tea, but no one can say he isn't putting in the work.

You should check out this guy's history. He's a young ex-Uber and Facebook top executive with millions in the bank who a year or so ago quit his jobs and started training like a pro.

That's why the short video with the baby is not a coincidence.

I understand that. Everything with this guy is strategic. His 9-to-5 is his training now.

Why making this short video with the baby? I don't understand the image he wants to project.


Really? I think it's pretty clear the image he wants to project.

Quit/was run out of town. Same same?

This was my first thought when watching the video. Next thought was how politicians love pictures of them kissing babies. It comes across as awkward and contrived.

you guys are stalking now.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Actually it popped up in my Youtube, "recommended for you". Probably because I watched the first vid.

I enjoyed Ed's first video and "subscribed" to his youtube channel, so it popped up on my subscriptions list. I wish Ed all the luck in the world on his Triathlon pursuits; however, I've un-subscribed after watching this last video.

On my recommended too, Ive followed this thread, so I get your sensitivity but we're not stalking. He PUT A VIDEO OUT! We're not stalking he's the exhibitionist

for better or worse, right or wrong, righteous or not, the most important element to your reply is that you get my sensitivity. about a half-dozen people who were posting here last week aren't posting here this week because i don't reel you guys back until you're already waaaaay out there. and, nobody thinks he's waaaaay out there. which is why those half-dozen guys are so far out there you can't see their posts anymore. thank you for understanding.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

huh?

Cycling = push on the pedals and steer
Do you think "technical" means it has mechanical parts and numbers associated with it?

So, does Ed Baker still work for Zwift as the 2018 article mentions?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/uberedbaker/

Investor / Advisor
Zwift
Dates Employed 2016 – Present
Employment Duration 5 yrs
Zwift is a massively multiplayer online cycling and running game and training program that enables users to interact, train and compete in a virtual world.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

More to the point, is he continuing enjoying racing (and training)?

I'm just here to say i really miss pubes, h20fun and talbot

Well, Talbot was on the list of people to be using AskAnything. So if you miss him that much.....


"Other athletes, pros and experts on the app include: Taylor Spivey, Nino Schurter, Vincent Luis, Dan Loran, Jonny Brownlee, Dr. Dan Plews, Katie Zaferes, Tim Don, Mario Mola, Emma Pallant-Browne, Tim O’Donnell, Laura Siddall, Ben Kanute, Rudy Von Berg, Paula Findlay, Joe Skipper, Ben Hoffman, Sam Appleton, Chelsea Sodaro, Craig Alexander, Mark Allen, Reece Barclay, Emma Frodeno, Tommy Zaferes, Eric Lagerstrom and Talbot Cox."

Wasn't there a sports illustrated or ESPN guy upset that Lance got nominated for sportsman of the year saying that 'cycling isn't even a real sport, you just hold the bars and pump the pedals up and down'

Context is important.
Please don't equate me with some ESPN guy that thinks cycling isn't a real sport. That wasn't the thrust of my comment at all. If it was, anyone saying swimming is mire technical than running must be anti running?

I wonder if they have it in the contract that they're not allowed to answer questions outside the app? I'm assuming no, which means they're getting paid per question rather than per month?

Like, this shows you how little money there is in triathlon.

Also, paying $15 a month to be told to eat almost no carbs and lots of fat, that cracks me up. I wonder why anybody is still treating Plews seriously.

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"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

I have no idea how the app works. Looking at the web site, it sounds (to me) like there are organized Q&A sessions where the athlete is invited and the public asks questions, rather than I wake one morning and ask Jan what he's having for breakfast today.

Maybe they pay the athletes for the Q&A session ?

Well Iden isn't on the list of people for the app. And Jan has replaced the link for his sgrail race with an any questions link. I think the slow response is for changeover is probably the people who do their own social stuff and actually don't know their way around their profile.

I think what's telling are Jan's German fans writing paragraphs in German telling him this is a horrible idea.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Avoiding crashes, handling safely and descending fast are one of the skills you might need. Sounds like you never rode a bike for real, so you might want to start with clipping in and out of the bike tho...

Well, in the meantime, I am really enjoying Lionel over on Discord, way more than I thought I would. He is having full on conversations. I can't believe that it is free.

Does anyone remember the "Which of these is not like the other," questions in grade school?

Example: Which of these is not like the others: Banana, Apple, Orange, football?

Oh I was playing the who on this list took Bahrain Money game: Frodeno, Luis, Hoffman, Kanute, Appleton, Don. . .

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Reading comprehension bro?

Ah, I didn't see that. Thanks for the link! I only saw what Marcag quoted and I thought Gustav's post on strava was "taking the piss" as if he wasn't going to be involved.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I had exactly the same thing go through my head. Then I had the stupid song stuck in my head for an hour. Then I youtubed it, then I got stuck on Count Von Count and it went down hill from there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsRjQDrDnY8

.
.
What you don't know is that this is a three year old thread that was resurrected yesterday..
.

I replied to the following statement "Cycling = push on the pedals and steer Do you think "technical" means it has mechanical parts and numbers associated with it?" And I fully disagree, riding different terrains and with more people involve more skills than you think. But if you're e riding straight ahead on flat with no cars nor traffic, nor turns and only smooth tarmac or on zwift then is purely push the pedals....

Ah yes, I see you are a new poster so it makes sense now - you were replying to a comment from a different poster that I had quoted. That is why the comment was in my post inside a box with another username at the top - I didnt write that.

AHA! sorry, my bad as a newbie here....also my bad to comment on a 3 year old thread...

No worries, welcome

Everyone is bent out of joint that a former college runner, who did a 2;21 marathon while working in his post college career and kept up some semblance of fitness afterwards recently quit work and took up tris full time and vaulted to the mid 8 hour range, which is seeminly remarkable compared to the rest of us training or asses off for years and getting no where near those abilities. But very few of us were 2:21 marathon guys either, so while it's not impossible that the guy is doped (in that case he'd be like many 40 somethings in California), its also possible that he's a genetic mutant compared to most of us and if he took up tris in his 20's he'd be like Lionel Sanders (from what I gather he was a faster college runner than Sanders was)


Yup.

2:21 means you HAVE TO have some legit Endurance Capacity and have done a HUGE amount of work to get there. That's not something you do on a whim!

People would ask me regularly, why I was reasonably good at triathlon and achieved a moderate amount of success at it? A 31:00 10K, and 15:00 5K, before I ever got into triathlon was a HUGE reason. Before I did my first triathlon at 21 - I had been running at a high level for 6 years!! I was lucky that I seemed to be a bit of a natural on the bike - but I was always a lousy swimmer!! :-)

The funny thing I find about guys like Ed Baker, and Dev you can relate to this, is people like him made insane amounts of money, in Tech Start-Ups years ago - early-in with some key companies and then out, and now, barely even middle-aged, and they are already essentially retired from any kind of regular job, and doing whatever they want to do. More power to them, I guess! :-)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Steve, why are you replying to Dev's post from 3 years ago, lol?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Steve, why are you replying to Dev's post from 3 years ago, lol?


That's a great question (AnyQuestion!!) and I am the dummy here! :-)

I did not check the dates, on the original post, and I just assumed since Ed's name had been in the news a good amount this week with the launch of the AnyQuestion App, I thought it was a recent thread!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Ed stated he had no interest in going pro on Greg Bennett's podcast saying it's not something guys do in their 40's. Interested since he's gone 3:48 and 3:58 in his last couple 70.3's winning by 12 and 9 minutes.