Training and Racing with a Power Meter for Triathlon

by Brad Jones Level 1 Triathlon Coach

What is Power?

Cycling Power = the amount of energy being applied by the body to the
pedals in Watts. More Watts = faster bike time
Power is a combination of torque (pressure on the pedals) and cadence
(pedalling speed)
Provides immediate feedback on cycling effort, and also as an average, the
total amount of work done in a ride split
Does not have the lag effect that heart rate does as intensity increases
Watts is not affected by wind, gradient, temperature, fatigue, hydration
etc that other indicators like Speed and Heart Rate are
An increase in watts over time provides accurate feedback on training
adaptiation

Power Meters

Crank

Computers

Garmin 500

Wheel Hub

Garmin 910xt

Pedal

SRM

Cycleops

Functional Threshold Power (FTP)

In triathlon, maximum power is largely irrelevant

It is more important to be able output a consistent power over the bike leg
FTP is defined as the average power that an athlete can maintain for a 1 hour
effort, Eg. 260w
FTP varies from within a season, and person to person, male to female,
weight, training load, experience etc
All training and racing zones should be expressed as a % of your FTP
FTP can be determined in a number of ways
1 hour TT average power eg. 260w
20min TT average power 1.05 eg. 273w over 20min = 260w for 1 hour
Should be retested every 4-6 weeks to recalibrate training zones

Training Zones

Power based training levels (zones) are developed based on your FTP. Coggan based training zones
Level

Name

Average Power

Perceived Exertion

Description

Active Recovery

<55%

<2

"Easy spinning" or "light pedal pressure"

56-75%

2-3

"All day" pace, or classic long slow distance (LSD) training.

Endurance

Tempo

76-90%

3-4

Typical intensity of fartlek workout, 'spirited' group ride, or

briskly moving paceline.

Lactate Threshold

91-105%

4-5

Just below to just above TT effort, taking into account duration,

current fitness, environmental conditions

VO2 Max

106-120%

6-7

Typical intensity of longer (3-8 min) intervals intended to

increase VO2max.

Anaerobic Capacity

>121%

>7

Short (30 s to 3 min), high intensity intervals designed to

increase anaerobic capacity.

Neuromuscular
Power

N/A

*
(Maximal)

Very short, very high intensity efforts (e.g., jumps, standing

starts, short sprints)

Source: Training and Racing with a Power Meter 2nd Edition Allen and Coggan 2010

Zones are used for targeted physiological and performance adaptations

Zone

Increased plasma volume

**

***

Increased muscle mitochondrial enzymes

**

***

Increased lactate threshold

**

Increased muscle glycogen storage

****

****

**

***

****

**

**

****

***

***

Hypertrophy of slow twitch muscle fibers

**

**

***

Increased muscle capillarization

**

**

**

Interconversion of fast twitch muscle fibers (type IIb -> type IIa)

**

***

***

****

Increased stroke volume/maximal cardiac output

**

***

****

Increased VO2 Max

**

***

****

Increased muscle high engergy phosphate (ATP/PCr) Stores

Increased anaerobic capacity ("lactate tolerance")

Hypertrophy of fast twitch fibers

Increased neuromuscular power

BOLD denotes adaptations important to triathlon racing

Source: Training and Racing with a Power Meter

2nd

**

***

**

***

Edition Allen and Coggan 2010

Training Phase

Typical workouts for power based training

Base 1

15min @ Zone 1
90-120min @ Zone 2
15min @ Zone 1

30min @ Zone 1
20min @ Zone 2
10min @ Zone 3

Build 1

30min @ Zone 1
2-3 x 45min @ Zone 2, 15min Zone 3
30min @ Zone 1

Hills
20-30min climbs @ 80% FTP
5-10min Zone 1 recovery

Build 2

30min @ Zone 1
5-6 x 30min @ Zone 2, 20min @ Zone 3, 10min
@ Zone 4
30min @ Zone 1

30min @ Zone 1
10 x 5min @ Zone 5
5min recovery
30min @ Zone 1

Hills
20min @ Zone 1
6-10 x 10min hills @ 100-110 % FTP, 5min RI
20min @ Zone 1

Flat TT
20min @ Zone 1
3 x 20min TT @ 95-100% FTP, 10min recovery
20min @ Zone 1

15min @ Zone 1
4 x 25min @ Zone 2, 5min @ 110% FTP
15min @ Zone 1

20min @ Zone 1
6 x 2min @ 130+%, 3min recovery
20min @ Zone 1

Strength

Peak

Cycle this for 2-4 hours

Relationship of Power and Heart Rate

Power and heart rate will not
always track together over a
session or race
Fatigue, temperature and
dehydration will increase HR
compared to power

Heart Rate increases over session

This change is called

decoupling
Effective training will reduce
the onset of decoupling

Power decreases toward end of session

Important Data from the Power Meter

Field

Information

Comment

Power

Instantaneous reading of
power

Very hard to hold steady therefore used as an average target

NP

Normalized Power

Average power taking into account physiological impacts of hard

efforts and rest periods

Zone

Coggan training zones

Same as those used in programs and Training Peaks analysis

software

IF

Intensity Factor

Average power as a % of FTP (i.e. 0.75 = 75% of FTP)

TSS

Training Stress Score

Representation of the training dose of a workout. 100 x 60min @

FTP. Useful to quantify training volume

VI

Variability Index

Useful to quantify consistency of power output. 1.05 or less is the

goal.

Pw:HR

Power/HR relationship

Represents the amount of decoupling in a session or lap

Analysing the Data

Training Peaks software is recommended

Use lap splits on the bike computer to allow easier analysis of
power outputs in a workout
Consistent Normalised Power (NP) from lap to lap, 5% variance OK
Aim for a low Variability Index, < 1.05
Aim for a Low decoupling ratio < 5%
Get a feeling of the level of fatigue for a given Training Stress Score
(TSS)

Racing with a Power Meter

Establish your goal race power.
OD: 90-95% FTP
HIM: 78-85% FTP
IM: 70-75% FTP

Expect high power at the start but try to keep it down PACING!
For an undulating course, aim to hold 95% of goal FTP on flats
For a >3min hill, ride no more than 105% of goal wattage
For a <3min hill, ride at 110-120%
Expect decoupling of power and HR due to fatigue
Aim for each lap to be as close to target power as possible
Avoid surges and power spikes when overtaking or climbing