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.