In Reply To:
Let me say up front that I have great respect for you and I understand that you know the pro's better than I ever will. However, you make it sound like Chrissie is incapable of thinking for herself. If you give advice as you have so kindly shared after your great wins in Canada and Arizona, does it mean that we are really just hearing what your coach told you? I doubt it. I have found you to be bright and thoughtful.
While I have never met Chrissie, I have read that is quite intelligent and capable of thought for herself.
I understand that if I was coached by Mark Allen, I would probably use his philosophy. However, I would know that when I chose him as a coach.
Perhaps what Chrissie says follows Brett Sutton's philosophy, but it sure works----for her.
Do you know if there has been a study on muscle fiber type and cadance? Perhaps, her pace matches her muscle fiber type. As a biology teacher, I bet there is a reason why some do better at high cadance and others do better at a slower cadance.
Anyway, thanks for all you done on this forum to help many of us be better athletes.
It has nothing to do with what races I've won or not won. It has to do with the fact that I know something about how Sutton trains his athletes, and that I pay attention to a lot of details that other people seem to gloss over when evaluating Chrissie. She wins in such dominating fashion - and always has - that it's much more difficult to say what things she is successful because of and what things she is successful in spite of.A couple of things to consider. Chrissie has never lost an Ironman. Ever. She's never had to address the topic of "I need to change things because what I'm doing isn't working." But that also means that it makes it much harder to determine what things she succeeds in spite of and what things she succeeds because of. Kind of like her aerobar extensions. They are too long. They just are. It's not like it something that "works for her." It's just something that doesn't matter enough to make a difference. But it's not like it's right or good or anything like that. It's wrong, but she's good enough that it doesn't matter.
If you asked her after the race (or even after training) what her cadence was, or what her HR was, she couldn't tell you. Because Brett's athletes don't know. Because that's not how they train. They train with a watch. And that's it. Chrissie doesn't wear a HRM. She doesn't use a powermeter. She doesn't even have a cycling computer. She doesn't actually even know what her cadence is. Interestingly, if you watch OTHER sections of video, especially early in the race, I clocked her at 90rpm+ for some good stretches. But this wasn't in the Ironman TV broadcast. It was footage from someone shooting at the race. Her cycling "technique" is 100% grounded in what Sutton believes is correct. As Dan said, she could ride 5 beats lower cadence then she does. Or 10 beats lower. Or 15. Or 5 beats higher. Chrissie doesn't even actually know what her cadence is, so it wouldn't really make a difference since the only thing she's reporting is what she FEELS her cadence is. And she doesn't even really know whether or not she's pushing a big gear, other than she feels like it's a big gear. But why not one gear bigger? Or two? Her HR would be even lower. That's just basic physiology. Drop her cadence some more. If you actually read what she wrote/said, it's not a definitive statement. It's like saying "when you go to the pool, you should swim with long strokes." So in that sense, it's not really something you can (or can't) believe in.
What she says is reminiscent of Lance describing his pedaling technique as "scraping mud off the bottom of his shoes." Except that he doesn't actually pedal that way. I.e., Lance does not (and did not) apply power approximately perpendicular to the crank arm around BDC. But Lance *thought* he did this. So he said that's what he did. But it isn't actually how he pedaled. But he'd swear to you that is how he pedaled and that it was a big part of why he was successful.
I never implied that Chrissie cannot think for herself. However, on the topic of cycling technique, she doesn't actually have any of the tools to underpin her argument. I.e., she doesn't know her cadence. She doesn't know her HR. So how can she make statements about it? She can make statements because they are what Brett drilled into her head. I am not saying that her riding low cadence is not something that works for her. I am simply pointing out that she - by all accounts (and I'm considering much more than just what I've seen on TV) - has very little to no actually evidence to lend credence to her argument and that it is also basically a word-for-word repetition of what you can find in any one of the various Brett Sutton interviews out there. Chrissie can think for herself. In this case, she is able to think that "don't fix what isn't broken." That is very different than being able to say "I am successful because of X." A huge part of any athletes success is rooted in the trust of one's coach. Myself included.
What is most interesting is to me is everyone's reaction to what I wrote. But I suppose it isn't really surprising. Everyone wants there to be a "way to train" or a "way to race." I saw it regularly when people would ask for my training schedules. The main reason I don't share them is because they aren't mine to share. But I also don't share them because they are not really relevant to anyone but me. Chrissie doesn't win because she rides a "low" cadence. She doesn't even know the cadence she rides. She wins because she trains really f'ing hard and races really f'ing hard and was blessed with a huge f'ing motor. Have Dan relate some stories about Dave Scott. Or look at Normann Stadler who won two Ironmans and set the bike course record in Kona without ever measuring his bike position and by deciding what training to do on a give day by how he felt when he woke up in the morning. As my rowing coach once said, "there are very few problems in the world that can't be fixed by pulling harder." A really big f'ing motor makes up for a lot. When you have someone that basically exists in an entirely separate timezone on race day, how do you ask them to explain, "so, what is it that makes you successful?"
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