OK I have run this 8K for the last 7 years and here are my results. 1997 - 28:56 - Age 31 1998 - 28:15 - Age 32 - (Focused on running - Limited Triathlons) 1999 - 28:05 - Age 33 - PR (Trained Exclusively for running races - No triathlons) 2000 - 29:33 - Age 34 2001 - 29:37 - Age 35 2002 - 29:37 - Age 36 2003 - 29:43 - Age 37 2004 - 29:01 - Age 38 (Powercranks Year with 3 months of use). Placed 2nd overall. Highest placing ever.
OK the 8K was this past Sunday. It is a 2-looped course with 4 nice sized climbs. The temps were in the 70’s with the humidity probably around 90%. The conditions were ok, but it has been cooler in previous years. I did a 1 1/2 mile warm-up and was pretty soaked, so I knew the race was going to be hot. I stayed with the leader for the 1st lap but started to wilt a bit. He ended up putting a minute on me by the time he finished. Near the end of the second loop the guy in third had caught me, so I dug deep and put down the hammer down. It totally shattered him and he came across the finish line 7 seconds behind me.
Looking over my times from the previous years it seems I have been getting a little slower in my old age, at least from 2000 on. This trend however changed this year and I attribute almost all of it to Powercranks. Not only have the Powercranks seemed to have made me faster again, but they have made my recovery almost unbelievable. I mean I can actually walk the next day. I swear it is like I didn’t even do the race. Very strange. I cannot stress this enough. My recovery is totally amazing.
The only speed work I have done this year has been a 5K two weeks ago. My running mileage has also been pretty low compared to previous years. I am only averaging between 20-25 miles a week. The main difference in training this year is training with Powercranks. I have ridden these suckers exclusively for almost 3 months and it looks like the time spent on them has paid off.
My next test is going to be tomorrow when I am going to try regular cranks out again and ride with the roadies.
I have been saying this for about a year now, that one can drop their run mileage way back and still see run improvement, even at the reasonably high level which you are. You don’t say so explicitly, but I presume your run mileage before was substantially more. The other advantage of this is, presumably, less risk of injury.
During the years when I was faster, my running mileage probably peaked around 40-45 miles a week. My body would breakdown if I tried to put many more running miles in. I guess I just don’t have that high mileage type of body. I ran probably 5-6 days and I raced a ton. The year I ran a 28:05 I had probably run about 5-7 races prior to that event, so my speed was in top form. I ended up setting PRs all that year simply because I focused just on running.
Again in 2004 I haven’t done any speed work except for 1 5K race and I have only had 1 month of really good riding weather. So to be this fast at this point in the season for me is pretty amazing.
Where I think Powercranks have really helped me are in 2 areas.
1st area - During the last 1/4 mile of a race I feel I can out sprint anyone around me. It feels like I have another gear to work with. I have always been pretty good in a sprint finish, but I now feel I have much more power. In the two races I have done this year, I have been able to pull away from my competition in the last 1/4 mile. IMO it is a definite confidence builder.
2nd area – Recovery, Recovery, Recovery. In years past, if I raced under 6 minute miles for anything over a 5K I would usually be pretty sore the next 2-3 days. It was pretty much a given that the first few races of the year were really going to hurt the body, especially my calves. For what ever reason though, it has yet to happen this year. I have to believe it is because of the Powercranks, since nothing else has changed in my training over the past few years. I run predomintetly on my forefeet which I assumed was the reason why my calf muscles would hurt after a race. What would be interesting to know is if somehow the Powercranks have altered the way I run in such a way that my body takes less road shock.
also - to make a more complete picture - what was your bike volume/frequency during the 3month PC phase and how did this training differ, if at all, from 2000-2003 triathlon training periods? you say you attribute your run speed gains “mostly” to PCs. Do you think there were other major factors that played a part and, if so, what are they? at first glance, i am skeptical abut attributing your race improvement primarily or solely to PC usage just because I assumed that the run-related benefits of PCs related to bike-run transition - in other words, PCs might let you run closer to your stand-alone race pace getting off the bike. I was not aware of the claim that using PCs could cause faster stand-alone running times or aid in recovery relating to stand-alone running. Frank or anyone feel free to correct me…
Thanks. Many elite runners triathletes have told me that what they see, rather than huge speed improvements, is improved endurance (“I just don’t get as wasted during the last half of the run”).
I also think you can do a lot of your speed work on the PC’s doing high cadence intervals, etc. Still need to run some but what the optimum amount for a runner is is still not clear to me (probably varies by event).
Anyhow, thanks for the report. Have fun with the roadies. Don’t hurt their egos too badly.
Even though i don’t have many “pure” runners using them, pure runners have experienced stand alone speed improvements. The most notable example is Aaron Thigpen who last year at the age of 38 set a new American age group record for the 100 meter dash, going 10.34 and taking 0.2 seconds off a record that had stood for 23 years (he said that time put him in the top 20 in the world for all comers that year). He uses them extensively in his coaching business and he attributes the improvements he sees mostly to improved efficiency and form. I think our other big time run improvement story was Steve Larsen. I doubt we did a lot for his bike but I can’t help but believe his running (at least in 2001, when he used the PC’s a lot) came mostly from the PC’s. Nobody does a 2:56 marathon coming off a 112 mile bike ride on their first attempt at the distance and with less than a 20 mile per week base.
So, yes, most of the run improvement results come from the reports of triathletes because they are the highest number of users. However, just as we can make the best cyclists faster, I expect the PC’s can make anyone, including the best runners, run faster. There is supposedly a study going to start soon at Duke that will look at the running improvement.
My bike volume from 1997-1999 was probably less than this year, but my running volume was much more and I had a lot of races under my belt prior to going into the 8K. Basically you could have considered me more of a runner than a triathlete. My weight was around 155.
My bike volume from 2000-2002 was more or less about the same as this year, although I had more road races/speed work going into the 8K. My weight was between 156-160.
My bike volume for 2003 was way more. My running volume also was a lot (training for Ironman Brazil, June 2003). I have a few 100 milers under my belt prior to the race. My weight prior to the race was 159.
The longest ride I have done so far this year has been 60~ miles. The longest run this year has been 18 miles and I can honestly say I have never felt better during and after. Again attributed to IMO to the Powercranks.
Something is going on this year that has changed how my body recovers from fast and long runs. The only real difference I can point to in training this year are the Powercranks. Last year I guess you could say I ran slower because of the Ironman training, but it really wasn’t that big a difference from the previous years. Actually the temps/humitity in last year race probably made the race tougher, thus a slower time.
The most notable example is Aaron Thigpen who last year at the age of 38 set a new American age group record for the 100 meter dash, going 10.34 and taking 0.2 seconds off a record that had stood for 23 years (he said that time put him in the top 20 in the world for all comers that year).
How about that. USA T&F says tie for 49th. In the US. What else does he say?
Maybe he said top 20 at the time (he did it in May and he told me in July). I didn’t mean to misrepresent. Anyhow, 10.34 is fast in any book, and it is at least 0.2 seconds faster than he could do the previous 3 years. I think he told me his best ever was 10.03
John - I know what you mean about toys, but IMO Frank is right. Usually when you get a new triathlon toy it doesn’t hurt you the way these do. Toys are meant to be fun, these hurt for a good two months. I mean maybe the reason why I am not sore after the race is because I spent the first two months on powercranks being sore. These things totally defeat you in the begining, at least they did me. Talk about being humbled, ride after ride they make you wimper. Eventually the pain goes away, but for me it took a good two months just to work up to a 2 hour ride. Even then I was sad near the end of the ride. The first I rode the Powercranks I only lasted 20 minutes on the trainer before saying uncle. The next 3 days I was pretty sore. This is coming from a guy (me) who thought he was a pretty good cyclist averaging over 24mph in an Olympic on a good day.
If you stick with them long enough cycling with the Powercranks will become almost normal. It is pretty cool to feel/see your body adapt. In the begining though it feels like it will never happen.
my own experience: in 2002, i did my 1st multisport race: dannon duathlon national championships. the guy who won put 4 minutes on me in the 40K bike!
this year i started using powercranks. dropped my run mileage to < 15 miles/ week. probably 10-12 miles on average. at my first olympic tri 2 weeks ago, i had the fastest bike and the second fastest run at 33:44. no speedwork after Feb 14th, only aerobic running at mark allen’s/maffetone’s HR of 180-age+/-5, always after cycling.
basically, PC’s allowed me to drop my run-mileage without a loss of speed and focus more on the bike which is my weakness. ahem, other than swimming
other than the oft-cited effect of making one apply power throughout the pedal stroke, PC’s also forced me to adpot a balance between power and aero in choosing tt position. it took some painful PC interval sessions before i was able to maintain the wattage but the original impression of turning over the pedals is how i chose my position. .
TRI, it is not just “in the beginning”. Last year, I went through the whole adaptation process etc etc and finally got up to 180K rides (took me two months, but my hip flexors were strong from XC skiing). Then this winter, I essentially stopped riding (did 6 sessions of 30 min on the rollers with PC’s). When I started riding this spring, I felt like a slug and could not keep up with the “boys” on regular cranks. Pretty soon that came back, and I gradually had to build back up from 2 to 3 to 3.5 and then 4.5 hour ride this weekend. I did notice that at the end of rides, I still cannot stay in the aero position, but I only have 5 weeks of riding this spring, so I expect that to change within a couple of weeks. Either way, I’m feeling like I have to go through the whole adaptation phase (albeit a lot less drastic) again.
As for running, I have no real documented evidence, but in two races last year, I was able to bike super hard and nail bike PB’s (as if I did not have to run afterwards), and then put on the running shoes and ran as fast as I ever had on those courses (Muskoka and Tupper Lake, each race having been done 8-10 times in the past decade).
I’m hoping to supplement my training for a fall marathon (hopefully NYC), with lots of PC miles. I also plan on running a 10K and half marathon this spring before tri season and will be interested to so how a year of PC training has affected my runnning.
I still couldn’t find it (looked like the 2003 100 m bests list stopped at 10.33 and there were way more than 48 listings but a lot of repeats so maybe only 48 individuals) but now I know when I need some running information I can just ask here.
Did you run for Berkley? That was quite a performance at college nats for a 1st-time olympic distance race. I use PCs too and I think they have helped my run. I’m not so sure about the bike - I think I need to be more dedicated to them. You should join a masters swim team.
This trend however changed this year and I attribute almost all of it to Powercranks. Not only have the Powercranks seemed to have made me faster again, but they have made my recovery almost unbelievable. I mean I can actually walk the next day. I swear it is like I didn’t even do the race. Very strange. I cannot stress this enough. My recovery is totally amazing.