Team Iron Cowboy - Training Plan Resources

GETTING STARTED WITH

YOUR IRON COWBOY PLAN

Thank you for your purchase of an Iron Cowboy plan or membership. We are confident your choice in Iron Cowboy is the next step towards achieving your impossible goals. In order to get the most out of your Iron Cowboy TrainingPeaks plan, we recommend you review these documents in the following order.

Review Essential Resources

Understanding the Optimization SOAR Training. This introduction will affirm the methodology used in all Iron Cowboy plans.

Understanding Your Triathlon Plan or Understanding Your Run Plan. This guide will teach you how to execute a workout, introduce you to the SOAR intensity zones, and includes a glossary of workout codes.

Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon or Intensity Guidelines for Running. This document describes the multiple ways to measure intensity (Pace, Heart Rate, Power, and RPE), but more importantly, how you can identify your individual SOAR intensity zones through a variety of field testing and the frequency of that testing.

Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan. This is an essential step-by-step guide to setting up your plan and ensuring the intensity zones in TrainingPeaks are using the SOAR system.

You’ll find additional documentation on our Resources page that covers a variety of other training topics and best-practices.

COMMON QUESTIONS WE RECEIVE

Here are answers to some common questions we receive:

Q: Why do the zones in the workout details and the zones in the workout description not match, or why do my zones look totally wrong in TrainingPeaks?

A: This issue is resolved by following the instructions in the document Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan. Until you specify and setup the SOAR zones, TrainingPeaks uses default or previously defined zones which will not align to the SOAR system.

Q: My pace (or power) and heart rate zones don’t line up. For example, when I’m in Zone 2 for pace I’m in Zone X for heart rate.

A: This issue is resolved by ensuring that you use the same testing protocol for each intensity type as outlined in the document Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon or Intensity Guidelines for Running. By measuring Pace, Power, and HR in a single test, the three intensity types will align.

Q: Where and how often in the plan do I perform zone testing?

A: Testing is performed every rest week using the RT, CT, or STT workouts. See the end of the document Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon or Intensity Guidelines for Running.

Q: I performed a new CV test on the swim and improved my 400 or 200 time, but my LTSP increased. Why?

A: This is addressed in our document Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon.

Q: The swim workouts are described in yards, how can I get them written in meters?

A: This is addressed in our document Understanding Your Triathlon Plan.

Q: The predicted CTL or predicted TSS in my HR-based plan seems really off. Why?

A: This is addressed in the Q&A of the document Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan.

Q: What zone should I race in?

A: This depends on your experience level and appetite for risk. In general, most athletes pacing will fall into the following ranges: 5K – High Zone 3 to Zone Y 10K – Low Zone 3 to High Zone 3 ½ Marathon – Mid Zone X to Low Zone 3 Marathon – High Zone 2 to Higher Zone X Sprint – Mid Zone 3 to Zone Y Olympic – High Zone X to Mid Zone 3 ½ Ironman – High Zone 2 to Mid Zone 3 Ironman – Low Zone 2 to Low Zone X

UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIMIZATION OF SOAR TRAINING

Intensity.

It’s one of the most fundamental and important variable in the training of endurance athletes. In lay terms, intensity is simply how hard you’re swimming, cycling, or running relative to your personal limit. There are three general zones of intensity: low, moderate, and high. Exercise scientists typically place the border between low and moderate intensity at the first ventilatory threshold, which is a bit lower than the familiar lactate threshold. The border between moderate and high intensity falls at the second ventilatory threshold, which is slightly higher than the lactate threshold.

Each intensity zone affects an athlete’s fitness differently. So here’s the key question: What is the optimal balance of time spent at low, moderate, and high intensity for athletes seeking maximum fitness?

The only way to answer this question definitively is to rigorously compare the effects of different intensity ratios on real-world performance. Such studies are difficult to do, so few have been done. Recently, however, a handful of researchers has completed experiments that have gone a long way toward pinning down the optimal balance of training intensities. Specifically, these new studies have shown that endurance athletes of all ability and experience levels seem to improve the most when they do approximately most percent of their training at low intensity and the proper percent at moderate and high intensity.

This is important to know, because while nearly all elite endurance athletes follow this ratio of intensity distribution, most recreational athletes don’t. According to a study by Muriel Gilman at Arizona State University, for example, the typical adult competitive runner does only 46 percent of his or her training at low intensity and another 46 percent at moderate intensity. And a more recent study by Scottish researchers found that even recreational triathletes training for an Ironman event spent less than 70 percent of their training time at low intensity.

Chances are you, too, are caught in the “moderate-intensity rut” without realizing it. If so, then the surest way for you to get fitter and race faster is to start obeying the SOAR principle of Optimization: spend 80 percent of your training at low intensities, and 20 percent at moderate to high. Fortunately, this optimization is built in to every Team Iron Cowboy training plan.

OPTIMIZATION IN SOAR TRAINING

SOAR stands for Stress, Optimization, Adapt, Recover. Most athletes have no problem applying general Stress. That comes with diligent training. The problem is when and how much stress. The Adapt component is what makes us faster. Repeated bouts of measured Stress and Recovery for the body to Adapt, and increases performance. But Adaptation can’t happen when the body is continually fatigued, and fatigued in a way you often can’t notice. Team Iron Cowboy plans distribute the Stress and Recovery in a manner that maximizes the subsequent Adaptation.

But Optimization is where Team Iron Cowboy plans excel. By meticulously measuring the distribution of low, moderate and high intensities, it ensures you won’t fall into the same intensity trap that most athletes fall in to.

The discoverer of the percentage distribution is Stephen Seiler, an American exercise scientist based in Norway. In the early 2000s, Seiler embarked on a mission to determine how elite endurance athletes really train. He found a remarkably consistent pattern: World-class cyclists, Nordic skiers, rowers, runners, swimmers, and triathletes all did approximately 80 percent of their training at low intensity. For example, in 1995 French researchers reported that elite swimmers did 77 percent of their training at low intensity over the course of a full season, while in 2001 another group of French scientists found that elite marathon runners did 78 percent of their training slower than marathon pace, which for runners at this level falls just above the boundary between low and moderate intensity.

Seiler knew it was unlikely that this pattern was the result of either random coincidence or copycatting. The only explanation that made any sense was that this particular balance of training intensities had annihilated others (such as the interval-based approach that was dominant in the 1950s) because it did a better job of increasing aerobic capacity, a goal shared by elite athletes in all endurance disciplines.

The ubiquitous reliance of elite endurance athletes on the percentage training approach does not itself constitute conclusive proof that it is more effective than the alternatives. In search of such proof, Seiler collaborated with Jonathan Esteve-Lanao a club running coach and an exercise scientist at the European University of Madrid, on a series of experiments. One of these studies involved 12 high-level male runners from Esteve-Lanao’s club with 10k times between 30 and 35 minutes. Half of the subjects were placed on a training program that required them to do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and and 20 percent at moderate and high intensity for five months. The other six runners did 65 percent of their training at low intensity and 35 percent at moderate and high intensity. Both groups averaged 50 to 55 miles of running per week. All 12 runners completed 10.4-km time trials before and after the training period. On average, the runners in the percentage group lowered their times 36 seconds more that those in the 65/35 group.

Intrigued by these results, Seiler and Esteve-Lanao conducted a follow up study that was designed to determine whether this type of training also worked better for slower runners who trained less. This study involved 30 runners who ran less than 40 miles per week and had 10K times of just under 40 minutes. Half of the runners followed the percentage distribution while the other half maintained a 50/50 split (as most adult competitive runners do). After 10 weeks, the runners in the 50/50 group had lowered their 10K time by an average of 3.5 percent, while the runners who followed percentage training most faithfully improved by double that amount.

Studies involving athletes in other endurance disciplines outside of running have yielded similar similar results. In a 2014 study, for example, Seiler and Esteve-Lanao found that, within the group of nine recreational triathletes, those who spent the greatest percentage of their training time at low intensity recorded the fastest finishing times in an Ironman event.

In future research, Seiler and Esteve-Lanao hope to learn why a proper percentage intensity balance is optimal. Existing evidence suggests that training above the ventilatory threshold is just too stressful to be effective in large amounts, whereas low-intensity training has much higher point of diminishing returns. A 1999 study by Veronique Billat, for example, found that middle-distance runners who did three easy runs and three intervals runs per week for four weeks exhibited higher levels of stress hormones and a decline in VO2max compared to when they did five easy runs and one interval run per week for four hours.

YOU CAN ESCAPE THE MODERATE-INTENSITY RUT AND MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE

How? It’s built into every Team Iron Cowboy plan. By following the plan and understanding the intensity zones described in Understanding your Triathlon Plan and Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon, you’ll can be sure that you’re following the SOAR protocols to reach your endurance performance goals.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEAM IRON COWBOY TRIATHLON PLAN

Be sure to read Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon and Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan after reading this article.

A training plan is only as good as its execution. Even the best training plan won’t help you much if you don’t understand it. This document offers guidelines and tips to help you get the most out of the Iron Cowboy training plans.

Anatomy of a Workout

Each workout has three basic elements. The first two are duration/distance (how long the workout is) and intensity (how fast the workout is). The third is structure, which is how the workout is divided into segments of various lengths and intensities.

The workout descriptions you see in the training schedules provide duration/distance, intensity, and structure information in a condensed format. Let’s look at a cycling example:

Cycling Interval

5 MINUTES Z1, 15 MINUTES Z2, 3 X (4 MINUTES Z3/2 MINUTES Z1) 5 MINUTES Z2, 5 MINUTES Z1

We chose this example because it has a fairly complex structure. Nevertheless, it’s not at all difficult to decode and follow. The workout has three segments: a warm-up, an interval set, and a cool-down.

“5 minutes in Z1, 20 minutes in Z2,” is the warm-up segment. You’ll execute this part by cycling easily for 5 minutes at Zone 1 intensity and then for 20 more minutes at Zone 2 intensity.

“3 x (5 minutes in Z3/3 minutes in Z1)” is the interval segment. Cycle for 5 minutes in Zone 3, then slow down and cycle for 3 minutes in Zone 1, and repeat this sequence a total of three times.

“5 minutes Z2, 6 minutes Z1” is the cool-down segment. As in the warm-up, you’ll execute it by cycling easily for 5 minutes at Zone 2 intensity, then finishing for 6 minutes in Zone 1 (the final 6 minutes make the workout exactly 1 hour).

There is an almost infinite variety of workout structures, but if you understand how to interpret and apply the example we just covered, you can do the same with any other workout. Let’s now take a look at a swimming example:

SWIMMING

300 YD Z1, 400 YD Z2, 10 X (100 YD Z4/20″ REST) 400 YD Z2, 300 YD Z1

Like the cycling example, the swim workouts will generally follow the same format of warm-up, interval, and cooldown. Unlike most of the cycling and running workouts, however, the swim workouts will be based on distance, not time.

“250 yd Z1, 500 yd Z2” is the warm-up segment, which also doubles as your drill segment for swimming. Note that while all the swim workouts are measured in yards, you can swap yards for meters without compromising the overall integrity of the plan.

The interval segment of “5 x (50 yd Z4/20″ rest)” means you will swim for 50 yards (or meters) in Zone 4, followed by 20 seconds’ rest, and repeat this sequence five times.

Finally, “500 yd Z2, 250 yd Z1” is, of course, your cooldown and drill segment.

Note that you have the flexibility to perform the workout at any point within the zone. For example, if the workout segment calls for Zone 1, and your Zone 1 heart rate is 115 to 129 bpm, you can perform the segment anywhere within that range. Continually performing workout segments at the upper end of a zone does not always lead to superior results. Sometimes appropriate recovery requires performing Zone 1 and 2 segments at the low end of the range. It is also best to perform moderate and high intervals consistently rather than intensely. Performing 5 intervals at mid-Zone 3 is preferred to performing 5 intervals at every point in Zone 3. Only when you are well-recovered and can perform intervals consistently is it recommended to execute the segment at the high end of the zone.

Swimming in Yards or Meters

While the Iron Cowboy swim workouts default to measuring the workout in yards, the swim workouts can be performed in meters, you will just be swimming 10% more than the plan calls for. This does not impact the SOAR ratios, and an extra 10% swimming will not negatively impact the overall triathlon plan.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR ZONES

ZONE 1
Zone 1 is a very low intensity. Staying within it usually requires that you actively hold yourself back to a pace that’s slower than your natural pace. The common exception is when a Zone 1 segment follows a tiring high-intensity effort. The important thing to understand is that it’s almost impossible to go too slow when you’re aiming for Zone 1, whereas it’s very easy and all to common to go too fast.
ZONE 2
Zone 2 is fairly broad. You might wonder, “Where exactly within this zone should I be?” As a general rule, we encourage triathletes to go by feel. If you feel strong, swim, ride, or run near the top end of Zone 2. If you feel tired or sluggish, go ahead and allow yourself to exercise near the bottom end.
ZONE 2b
Zone 2b is the trap that most runners fall into, and avoiding it is one of the key objectives of the SOAR Training approach. Just easy enough to not be uncomfortable, yet just hard enough to make you think you’re getting a good workout, this lukewarm intensity offers minimal value in increasing fitness while generating fatigue that interferes with recovery and with performance in subsequent intense workouts. Avoiding Zone 2b allows you to go harder on the hard days and gain more fitness. An Exception for Zone 2b For half and full marathon athletes, Zone 2b can actually be an appropriate racing zone. If you are willing to take the risk on race day, you'll want to incorporate some Zone 2b into your training. To do so, some workouts in your run plan will give you "permission" to include Zone 2b in the workout. How much? Again, it depends on how much risk you're willing to take. Additional Zone 2b in training will compromise your ability to recover, and if using it on race day it will increase the possibility that you'll crash and burn. In general, if you are willing to take the risk, replace your Zone 2 work with Zone 2b using the guidelines below, and only for workouts that specify the Zone 2b option. Week 1-5: replace up to 20% of Zone 2 Week 6-9: replace up to 30% Week 10+: replace up to 50%
ZONE 3
Zone 3 corresponds to lactate threshold intensity and marks the beginning of "legitimate" moderate to high intensity. Thinking in “threshold” terms can help you find this zone and stay in it by feel. The feeling of swimming, riding, or running in Zone 3 is often described as “comfortably hard,” or as the fastest speed that still feels relaxed. When you perform a Zone 3 effort, imagine there’s a cliff edge in front of you that represents the feeling of strain that accompanies faster speeds. Always stay one or two steps back from that precipice when training in Zone 3.
ZONE 4
Zone 4 is the narrowest training Zone. Mastering this zone is a matter of connecting the pace, power, and/or heart rate numbers that define the zone with what it feels like to train at that power, pace, or heart rate, so that you are able to reliably start each zone 4 effort at the right intensity. If you mess it up the first few times, either going too slow or too fast, don’t sweat it. In fact, getting it wrong today is the best way to get it right tomorrow.
ZONE 5
Zone 5 is almost always used in interval workouts similar to the one given as an example earlier in this article. This intensity zone ranges from the highest speed you can sustain for a few minutes all the way to a full sprint. So how fast should you actually go in Zone 5 efforts?

Tailor your effort to the specific format of the workout. The rule of thumb here is to stay closer to the bottom end of Zone 5 when these efforts are longer and hew closer to the top end when the intervals are shorter. For example, if a workout asks you to run a bunch of 90-second intervals in Zone 5, you’ll want to control your pace so that you are able to run all of the intervals at the same speed without slowing down. But if a workout prescribes a set of 20-second intervals, you’ll want to do them as relaxed sprints. When using heart rate to measure intensity, you'll soon discover that your BMP takes 1-2 minutes to "catch up." As a result, you'll often not reach the heart rate target during very brief Zone 4 or 5 intervals. Pace and Power are more reliable methods to measure those high intensities.
Cadence
Unless otherwise specified in the workout, we recommend that your cadence remain at 90rpm +/- 5 for all zones, on the bike and the run, with the slightly lower cadence allowed for Zone 3+ and the 90 or higher for Zone 1-2. There is no need to ever exceed 95rpm, but if your next race is expected to include significant hills, simulating an rpm of 75-85 is recommended.

TWO-A-DAYS

Some days have two workouts scheduled in the same day. On days with both a bike and run scheduled in the same day, it is not intended to be a brick workout (running immediately after the bike) unless specified otherwise. All days with both a bike and run should be done separately in the AM and then PM, or at least as far apart as possible, and in the order they are listed in your training calendar. If the bike and run must be combined, it is recommended to perform the workout with the most intensity first. Later in your plan, you will see combined and Brick workouts which provide guidance on optional and recommended brick workouts. When the two workouts in a day are a swim and another workout, it is recommended to swim first (so as to not swim while fatigued and compromise form). The swim and second workout do not have to be done AM and PM, and can be done back-to-back.

Perfection Is Overrated

While it’s important to execute workouts as they were intended to be done, it is not necessary that you execute every workout perfectly, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up when a given workout is not done to the letter. If the 2-hour ride on your schedule for today ends up being a 1:57:30, no big deal.

There’s a well-known story about a legendary running coach who always had his athletes run 187-meter hill repetitions. Another coach who admired this legendary coach emailed him to ask about this very precise distance. “Why 187 meters?” he asked, assuming there must be some deep physiological rationale for it. But the legendary coach came back with this answer: “Why 187 meters? Because that’s how long the hill closest to our training camp is!”

Keep this story in mind as you execute your Iron Cowboy training plan. As with horseshoes and hand grenades, close is good enough.

The Importance of Listening to Your Body

There are some times when executing the workouts in your training plan to the very letter is a bad idea. For example, if you get three intervals into a nine-interval workout and you feel absolutely terrible, you should probably stop, or replace the remaining intervals with an easy jog. A helpful guideline to follow is this: If your interval pace or power is >3% less than it was in the previous interval, terminate the interval set and complete the remaining time in Zone 1 or 2. Similarly, if you wake up one morning with a really sore foot that hurts even to walk on, you should not run that day.

A training plan is really an attempt to predict the future. The many workouts that comprise a training plan represent what you should do if everything goes perfectly—that is, if there are no days when you feel really lousy or have an alarming sore spot. But things seldom go perfectly all the way through a training plan. It’s important that you listen to your body at every step of the process and make adjustments as necessary based on what your body is telling you.

What If You Miss Workouts?

Things happen. Busy days at work, out-of-town visitors, snowstorms, tendonitis, sharknados, the flu. What should you do if you miss one or more workouts due to one of these factors, or for some other reason?

The answer is that it depends very much on the specific cause and context of the interruption. As a rule of thumb, its best not to try to “make up” missed workouts. If you miss just one or two and you’re healthy, just pick up the schedule where you are. If you miss a bunch of workouts—especially for reasons of injury or illness—you should take at least a few days to ease gently back into training before you return to the schedule. And there may come a point where you’ve missed too much training to ever be able to safely return to the training plan. At that point you just need to hit the “reset” button and start a new plan when you’re ready.

INTENSITY GUIDELINES FOR TRIATHLON

We recommend also reading Understanding Your Triathlon Plan and Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan

Your Iron Cowboy Triathlon plan employs a seven-zone intensity scale. Performing each workout and workout segment at the right intensity is at the heart of training. This article provides all the information you’ll need to determine your intensity zones so you can monitor your intensity during workouts and ensure you’re always in the right zone.

Your personal intensity zones can be automatically calculated based on the protocols described below directly in TrainingPeaks using the steps outlined in the document Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan. Beginner athletes may find these tests difficult, so feel free to use perceived effort (explained in the second-to-last section) until you are comfortable doing the testing below.

There are four ways to measure intensity: pace, heart rate, power, and perceived effort.

Pace is useful in swimming and running because it’s a performance-relevant variable and an outcome. You race on the clock, so why not also train by the clock? However, pace becomes unreliable when you’re running uphill or downhill and is not recommended for cycling.

Heart rate is useful in cycling and running because it helps triathletes avoid the single most common training mistake: pushing too hard in workouts that are supposed to be done at low intensity (Zones 1 and 2). But heart rate is not a reliable way to monitor intensity during short efforts at high intensity because heart rate lags behind abrupt changes in pace. HR for a given effort is also easily influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature, and is impractical to measure in real time when swimming. HR is only an indicator of how your body is responding to training, it is not an output or outcome.

Power, the output, is the newest way to measure running intensity and has become the gold-standard intensity metric for cycling and running. Power monitoring provides instant feedback on workout output and its reliability is not compromised by terrain or temperature. Cycling and running power meters are more expensive than GPS and HR monitors, however, and power monitoring during swimming is not yet possible except with some land-based training systems, such as the Vasa Ergometer.

Rate of Perceived Effort— RPE, or your subjective sense of how hard you are running—is important because it ultimately determines how fast you run in races. You may set and pursue time-based goals, but perceived effort has the final say in deciding whether you actually do maintain your goal pace or run faster or slower.

However, perceived effort is poorly calibrated in many triathletes and relying on it exclusively carries some risk. In particular, most end up running at Zone 2b (in the gap between Zones 2 and 3) whenever they intend to train at low intensity if they go by feel. Whenever possible, use one of the more objective measures of intensity—pace, heart rate or power—as your primary intensity metric. In some scenarios, RPE is the only reliable method to measure intensity. For example, when running short intervals up hills, Pace zones are invalid and the interval may be too short for Heart Rate to “catch up.” Without a running Power meter, RPE can replace Pace and Heart Rate in hills.

Once you have chosen a method of monitoring intensity in your Iron Cowboy training plan (and you may use more than one), you need establish personal intensity zones for that specific metric, which is done through lactate threshold testing.

Lactate Threshold

Iron Cowboy triathlon plans use field testing of lactate threshold to determine training zones. Lactate threshold is defined as the exercise intensity at which lactate, an intermediate product of glucose metabolism, begins to accumulate in the blood. In practical terms, it’s the highest exercise intensity that can be sustained for up to 60 minutes. The most reliable field tests for use in identifying appropriate individual training intensities are those that pinpoint the lactate threshold (LT). Although monitoring the blood lactate concentration during exercise isn’t practical or easy, this isn’t a problem. The lactate threshold field tests detailed below are designed to reveal your pace, power, or heart rate at LT intensity, allowing you to use these more practical intensity metrics to regulate your effort in workouts.

LT represents the top end of Zone 3 in the SOAR intensity scale and is the polestar for determining all other zones. Once you determine your LT, you can enter it at zone settings in TrainingPeaks to determine your custom SOAR Zones.

Swim Pace

Pace is the most useful intensity metric for swimming. Your seven custom swim pace training zones are based on your swim pace at lactate threshold intensity. The best way to find your lactate threshold pace in the water is with something called the critical velocity test. It’s fairly simple: Go to the pool, warm up with some easy swimming, and then swim 400 meters or yards as fast as you can, recording your time. Rest for two minutes several minutes and then swim 200 meters or yards as fast as you can, again recording your time. Your plan has regular swim workouts scheduled every 3-4 weeks to test your critical velocity in order to re-establish your zones. Note that your zones will be specific to meters or yards, and if you train in a pool measured differently than the one you tested in, you will have to adjust that session (your pace zones for 100 yards will be approximately 10 percent faster than your pace zones for 100 meters).

After your test, use the use the auto-calculation directly in your TrainingPeaks zone settings to determine your swim zones. Alternatively, you can calculate your threshold swim pace based on the following formula:

Critical velocity (CV) = (400 meters/yards – 200 meters/yards) ÷ (400 time – 200 time)

Let’s look at an example. Suppose you swim your 400-yard test in 4:21 (4.35 minutes) and your 200-yard test in 2:02 (2.04 minutes). Your critical velocity, then, is (400y – 200y) ÷ (4.35 min. – 2.04 min.) = 86.6 yards/min. However, it is customary to express critical speed in the form of time per 100 yards. To make this conversion, divide 100 by your critical velocity. In this example, 100 ÷ 86.6 = 1.15. So your lactate threshold pace per 100 yards is 1.15 minutes, or 1 minute and 9 seconds.

A mathematician will notice that the CV formula result is influenced both by the time and the delta between the two tests. Even if your total combined 400+200 time goes down from test A to test B, if the difference between the 400 and 200 times are greater in test B, your CV might actually increase. In this way, the CV test “punishes” the athlete for poor pacing.

Some swimmers therefore may have a difficult time with the CV test. An alternative test is the 1,000 yard time trial. Swim 1000 yards (or meters) as fast as you can. Your average pace per 100 is your lactate threshold swim pace.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this math as your zones can be automatically setup per our document Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan.

RUN HEART RATE

The simplest way to determine your seven heart-rate based training zones is to back into them through pace. First, follow the guidelines under the Run Pace Section of this article and to establish your run pace zones and Threshold Pace (TP).

The next step is to determine your Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) from your TP. To do this, warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging and then accelerate to your TP on a smooth, flat path or road. Wait for your heart rate to stop increasing and plateau. The number you see after it levels off is your LTHR. Now go to your zone settings in TrainingPeaks and enter your lactate threshold heart rate. Your seven heart rate training zones will be calculated automatically.

If you have not yet established your TP, you can find your LTHR independently through a time trial. Begin with a warm-up that consists of 15 minutes of easy jogging with a few 15-second surges at the pace you intend to run for the time trial. Next, increase your effort to the highest level you feel you can sustain for 30 minutes and hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor watch. 10 minutes into the time trial, press the lap button again. At the end of the 30-minute time-trial, hit the lap button one last time. Your LTHR is your average heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) for the final 20 minutes of the 30-minute test. The reason we use the last 20 minutes of the 30-minute test is that it often takes up to 10 minutes at lactate threshold effort for heart rate to “catch up” to your output.

Note that lactate threshold heart rate is slightly different in running than it is in other aerobic activities, so if you choose to cross-train, you’ll need to do separate tests in each of them.

Heart rate is significantly influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, sleep, stress, time of day and even when you last ate. Therefore, your lactate threshold heart rate testing is only as accurate as the environment in which you test and. For example, a LTHR test indoors in February in the morning will not be the same as an LTHR test in July outdoors in the afternoon. Perform your LTHR in the environment that most accurately represents where you will spend the bulk of your training.

Cycling Heart Rate

The processes for finding your cycling LTHR are nearly identical to the running protocols. The most commonly used method is the time trial test. Warmup for 15 minutes. Next, increase your effort to the highest level you feel you can sustain for 30 minutes and hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor watch. Ten minutes into the time trial, press the lap button again. At the end of the 30-minute time-trial, hit the lap button one last time. Your cycling LTHR is your average heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) for the final 20 minutes of the 30-minute test. Now go to the Running and Cycling Heart Rate section of the zone settings in TrainingPeaks and enter your lactate threshold heart rate. Your seven heart rate training zones will be calculated automatically. The same environmental factors that influence HR described in the Run Heart Rate section above apply to Cycling Heart Rate as well.

Run Power

The protocol is similar finding your Run Pace. Begin with a warm-up that consists of 15 minutes of easy jogging with a few 15-second surges at the pace you intend to run for the time trial. Then, perform a 30-minute time trial. Your average power for that 30 minutes is your running threshold power, or rFTP. Our colleague Jim Vance has developed a different protocol to find your rFTP. Additionally, the power meter manufacturer Stryd has developed a shorter test. This test should be performed on a running track, preferably a 400-meter track, and not on a treadmill. It can also be done with a GPS watch if you program the workout distance and duration in advance. Warm up for 15 minutes, then hit your lap button and run 1,200 meters (three laps) as fast as you can. Recover with a full 30-minute easy jog. Now run 2,400 meters (six laps) at maximal effort. Finally, cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. Find your average power for the 1,200- and 2,400-meter efforts and your total time for the 1,200- and 2,400-meter efforts. Your rFTP is calculated as follows: (6-lap power x 6-lap time) – (3-lap power x 3-lap time) / (6-lap time – 3-lap time) For example, if your average power was 350 watts for the 1,200-meter effort and 300 watts for the 2,400-meter effort, and your times were 5:20 (5.34 minutes) and 11:10 (11.17 minutes), respectively, the result would be: (300 x 11.17) – (350 x 5.34) / (11.17 – 5.34) = 254 watts The Vance or Stryd protocol can replace the Zone 3 section of a scheduled Running Threshould workout. If you already know your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), you can use it to find your rFTP with a short field test. After warming up, play with your power until your heart rate settles in at your previously established LTHR for 10 minutes. Your pace at this heart rate is close to your rFTP. When using the full 30-minute protocol, the need to perform separate tests for LTHR and rFTP is dispensed with entirely if you have a device that captures both heart rate and pace, as this enables you to establish LTHR and rFTP in the same field test. Regardless of which method you choose, enter the results into the Running Power section of the zone settings in TrainingPeaks to determine your zones.

Cycling Power

As you might expect, the processes for establishing cycling power zones is similar to the those used to determine run power zones. The time-trial method starts with a 15-minute warm-up that combines easy pedaling with a few 10-second bursts at the effort level you anticipate sustaining through the upcoming time-trial. When your warm-up is complete, ride as far as you can in 30 minutes, taking care to avoid starting too fast and losing power before you finish. Your average power for that 30 minutes is your cycling functional threshold power, or FTP. Enter the results into the Cycling Power section of the zone settings in TrainingPeaks to determine your zones. This test is no easier than the running version. As with the Run Pace test, you may perform a shorter 20-minute test and take 95 percent of your average power therein as your cycling FTP. If you already know your cycling lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), you can use it to find your FTP with an even shorter field test. After warming up, increase your intensity until your heart rate settles in at your previously established cycling LTHR for 10 minutes. Your power at this heart rate is close to your FTP. This method is useful when your training plans calls for a long, uninterrupted efforts in upper Zone 3. Note that with the full 30-minute protocol, the need to perform separate tests for LTHR and FTP is dispensed with entirely if you have a device that captures both heart rate and power, as this enables you to establish LTHR and FTP in the same field test. Indoor and Outdoor Threshold Testing For various reasons, most athletes will find that their thresholds will be 5-10 bpm and 10-15 watts lower indoors than outdoors. For this reason, it may be practical to maintain both a separate indoor and outdoor set of zones. Or, simply adjust your zones accordingly when moving between outdoor and indoor environments.

Perceived Effort

While we don’t recommend that you use perceived effort as your primary intensity metric in training, it does have its place. Because perceived effort responds quickly to changes in intensity, it is a useful tool for establishing the right intensity at the start of each workout segment, before you have a chance to capture a split time and before your heart rate has had a chance to adjust to the change of intensity. Note, however, that perceived effort increases the longer you go at any intensity, so it is only useful for establishing initial intensity. For example, at the end of a very long run at a moderate pace, your perceived effort level may be “14” even though you are still in Zone 2. Use the guidelines in the following table to regulate your workout intensity by perceived effort. Note that these guidelines work in running as well as in all types of cross-training activities.

Using Scheduled Workouts to Verify Zones

Because your fitness level and lactate threshold can change quickly, it’s important to keep your zones current throughout the training process by retesting your lactate threshold every few weeks. Repeating your chosen field test in every recovery week (recovery weeks fall ever third or fourth week in our Triathlon plans) is the theoretical ideal. As a practical matter, however, this is onerous for many athletes. Fortunately, your Iron Cowboy training plan includes Swim Time Trial, Cycling Tempo, and Running Tempo workouts that may serve as zone testing sessions. Most of these sessions feature Zone 3 effort that are less than 30 minutes in duration. Advanced athletes can replace these with the full 30- or alternative 20-minute time trials described above. Another option is to use the “backing in” method of verifying running threshold pace or cycling or running threshold power. Because LTHR changes less than TP and rFTP over the course of a training plan, you can retest either of these variables in the context of planned workouts featuring Zone 3 efforts as short as 10 minutes by adjusting your effort until your heart rate levels off at your previously determined LTHR and observing the pace or wattage that corresponds to it. Note that cycling temp and running tempo sessions occur less frequently in the L2 and L3 plans because 1) the high volume of these plans makes frequent high-intensity/high-duration testing risky, 2) we assume advanced athletes have a longer training history and are already confident in their lactate threshold, and 3) advanced athletes tend to experience smaller changes in lactate threshold than do beginner athletes. But if you ever feel you’re “outgrowing” your zones, feel free to insert one of the easier testing options into your next recovery week if it does not already contain a cycling or running tempo session.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEAM IRON COWBOY RUNNiNG PLAN

Be sure to read Intensity Guidelines for Running and Setting up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan after reading this article.

A training plan is only as good as its execution. Even the best training plan won’t help you much if you don’t understand it. This article offers guidelines and tips to help you get the most out of your Iron Cowboy Run plans.

Anatomy of a Workout

Each workout has three basic elements. The first two are duration/distance (how long the workout is) and intensity (how fast the workout is). The third is structure, which is how the workout is divided into segments of various lengths and intensities. The workout descriptions you see in the training schedules provide information about duration/distance, intensity, and structure in a condensed format.

Let’s look at one example:

LONGER INTERVAL RUN

5 MINUTES IN ZONE 1, 5 MINUTES IN ZONE 2, 8 X (2 MINUTES IN IN ZONE 4/1 MINUTES IN ZONE 1), 5 MINUTES IN ZONE 1

We chose this example because it has a fairly complex structure. Nevertheless, it’s not at all difficult to decode and follow. The workout has three segments: a warm-up, an interval set, and a cool-down.

“5 minutes in Zone 1, 5 minutes in Zone 2,” is the warm-up segment. You’ll execute this part by jogging easily for 5 minutes at Zone 1 intensity and then running for 5 minutes at Zone 2 intensity.

“5 x (3 minutes in in Zone 4/2 minutes in Zone 1)” is the interval segment. What these instructions are telling you to do is run for 3 minutes in Zone 4, then slow down and jog for 2 minutes in Zone 1, and repeat this sequence a total of five times.

“5 minutes in Zone 1” is the cool-down segment. You’ll execute this by jogging easily for 5 minutes at Zone 1 intensity. There is an almost infinite variety of workout structures, but if you understand how to interpret and apply the example we just covered, you can do the same with any other workout.

Note that you have the flexibility to perform the workout at any point within the zone. For example, if the workout segment calls for Zone 1, and your Zone 1 heart rate is 115 to 129 bpm, you can perform the segment anywhere within that range. Continually performing workout segments at the upper end of a zone does not always lead to superior results. Sometimes appropriate recovery requires performing Zone 1 and 2 segments at the low end of the range. It is also best to perform moderate and high intervals consistently rather than intensely. Performing a set of 5 intervals at mid-Zone 3 is preferred to performing each of 5 intervals at a different point in Zone 3. Only when you are well-recovered and can perform intervals consistently is it recommended to execute the segment at the high end of the zone.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR ZONES

Perhaps the trickiest part of executing the workouts that are prescribed in a training plan is running at the right intensity in each segment. You will find complete guidelines for using our seven-zone intensity scale in our Intensity Guidelines for Running document. But simply reading these guidelines alone won’t enable you to fully master the skill of running in the right zones. A certain amount of experience is also required.

Don’t worry: It doesn’t take long to develop a feel for the various zones, so that, for example, when you start a 3-minute interval in Zone 3, you are able to settle into the right effort level even before your heart rate monitor or GPS watch confirms that you’re in the correct zone. Here are some specific tips for mastering each individual zone:

ZONE 1
Zone 1 is a very low intensity. Staying within it usually requires that you actively hold yourself back to a pace that’s slower than your natural running pace. The common exception is when a Zone 1 recovery jog follows a tiring high-intensity effort. The important thing to understand is that it’s almost impossible to go too slow when you’re aiming for Zone 1, whereas it’s very easy and all to common to go too fast.
ZONE 2
Zone 2 is fairly broad. You might wonder, “Where exactly within this zone should I be?” As a general rule, we encourage runners to go by feel. If you feel strong, run near the top end of Zone 2. If you feel tired or sluggish, go ahead and allow yourself to run near the bottom end.
ZONE 2b
Zone 2b is the trap that most runners fall into, and avoiding it is one of the key objectives of the SOAR Training approach. Just easy enough to not be uncomfortable, yet just hard enough to make you think you’re getting a good workout, this lukewarm intensity offers minimal value in increasing fitness while generating fatigue that interferes with recovery and with performance in subsequent intense workouts. Avoiding Zone 2b allows you to go harder on the hard days and gain more fitness. An Exception for Zone 2b For half and full marathon athletes, Zone 2b can actually be an appropriate racing zone. If you are willing to take the risk on race day, you'll want to incorporate some Zone 2b into your training. To do so, some workouts in your run plan will give you "permission" to include Zone 2b in the workout. How much? Again, it depends on how much risk you're willing to take. Additional Zone 2b in training will compromise your ability to recover, and if using it on race day it will increase the possibility that you'll crash and burn. In general, if you are willing to take the risk, replace your Zone 2 work with Zone 2b using the guidelines below, and only for workouts that specify the Zone 2b option. Week 1-5: replace up to 20% of Zone 2 Week 6-9: replace up to 30% Week 10+: replace up to 50%
ZONE 3
Zone 3 corresponds to lactate threshold intensity and marks the beginning of “legitimate” moderate to high intensity. Thinking in “threshold” terms can help you find this zone and stay in it by feel. The feeling of swimming, riding, or running in Zone 3 is often described as “comfortably hard,” or as the fastest speed that still feels relaxed. When you perform a Zone 3 effort, imagine there’s a cliff edge in front of you that represents the feeling of strain that accompanies faster speeds. Always stay one or two steps back from that precipice when training in Zone 3.
ZONE 4
Zone 4 is the narrowest Zone. Mastering this zone is a matter of connecting the pace and/or heart rate numbers that define the zone with what it feels like to run at that pace or heart rate, so that you are able to reliably start each Zone 4 effort at the right intensity. If you mess it up the first few times, either going too slow or too fast, don’t sweat it. in fact, getting it wrong today is the best way to get it right tomorrow.
ZONE 5
Zone 5 is almost always used in interval workouts similar to the one given as an example earlier in this article. This intensity zone ranges from the highest speed you can sustain for a few minutes all the way to a full sprint. So how fast should you actually run Zone 5 efforts? Tailor your pace to the specific format of the workout. The rule of thumb here is to run closer to the bottom end of Zone 5 when these efforts are longer and to run closer to the top end when the intervals are shorter. For example, if a workout asks you to run a bunch of 90-second intervals in Zone 5, you’ll want to control your pace so that you are able to run all of the intervals at the same speed without slowing down. But if a workout prescribes a set of 20-second intervals, you’ll want to run them as relaxed sprints.

When using heart rate to measure intensity, you’ll soon discover that your BMP takes 1-2 minutes to “catch up.” As a result, you’ll often not reach the heart rate target during very brief Zone 4 or 5 intervals. Pace and Power are more reliable methods to measure those high intensities.

TWO-A-DAYS

In the advanced Iron Cowboy run plans, some days have two workouts scheduled in the same day. These are always scheduled with the first workout as a Run and the second as a Run or Cross-train. Regardless of whether you choose to run or cross-train the second workout, the two workouts would ideally be done in the AM and PM, or at least as far apart as possible. In extreme circumstances, the two workouts can be combined together, but preferably the second workout is simply moved to another day of the week.

CROSS-TRAINING

When should you cross-train and when should you run? There are two competing, but equally valid, truths to consider when deciding whether to run or to cross-train. First, the more you run, the more you’ll improve as a runner. The principle of specificity teaches us that if you run instead of cross-training each time you’re given the option, your running performance will increase more than if you do the opposite. Second, the more you run, the more likely it is that you will develop an impact-related overuse injury such as runner’s knee. So, if you’re injury prone or concerned about injury, you may be better off doing some or all of these option workouts in a non impact cardio exercise modality such as bicycling Finding the right balance for you may require some trial and error (See the section The Importance of Listening to Your Body below). When in doubt, play it safe and cross-train, and even if you’ve been durable in the past, don’t do all of the option workouts as runs if this would entail running a lot more frequently than you have in the past.

The best cross-training activities are those that are most similar to running without the impact element. Pool running, antigravity treadmill running, indoor and outdoor cycling, elliptical running, outdoor elliptical biking, steep uphill treadmill walking, indoor and outdoor cross-country skiing, inline skating, and steep uphill treadmill walking have all been used successfully. Strength training is a completely different sort of cross-training that we strongly recommend but as a complement to aerobic cross-training rather than a substitute for it.

Note that effective SOAR training requires that you spend 80 percent of your combined aerobic training, encompassing running and cross-training, at low intensity. In the case of our 80Iron Cowboy Run plans, this means all of your cross-training sessions need to be done in Zones 1 and 2.

In addition to performing cross-training on the days the plan offers cross-training, you may replace scheduled runs with cross-training sessions whenever pain or soreness makes running inadvisable. When you do, simply match the duration, intensity, and structure of the run in your chosen cross-training activity. For example, if the run workout prescribes 3 x (3 minutes Zone 3 / 3 minutes rest), this can be done via heart rate zones or perceived effort on a bike, or in any other legs-dominant non impact aerobic modality.

Perfection Is Overrated

While it’s important to execute workouts as they were intended to be done, it is not necessary that you execute every perfectly, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up when a given is not done to the letter. If the 10-mile run on your schedule for today ends up being a 9.9-mile, no big deal.

There’s a well-known story about a legendary running coach who always had his athletes run 187-meter hill repetitions. Another coach who admired this legendary coach emailed him to inquire about this very precise distance. “Why 187 meters?” he asked, assuming there must be some deep physiological rationale for it. But the legendary coach came back with this answer, “Why 187 meters? Because that’s how long the hill closest to our training camp is.”

Keep this story in mind as you can execute your run plan. As with horseshoes and hand grenades, close is good enough.

The Importance of Listening to Your Body

There are some times when executing the workouts in your training plan to the very letter is a bad idea. For example, if you get three intervals into a nine-interval workout and you feel absolutely terrible, you should probably stop, or replace the remaining intervals with an easy jog. (A helpful guideline to follow is this: If your pace for a given interval is more than 3% slower than it was in the previous interval, terminate the interval set and complete the remaining time in Zone 1 or 2.) Similarly, if you wake up one morning with a really sore foot that hurts even to walk on, you should not run that day.

A training plan is really an attempt to predict the future. The many workouts that comprise a training plan represent what you should do if everything goes perfectly-that is, if there are no days when you feel really lousy or have an alarming sore spot. But things seldom go perfectly all the way through a training program. It’s important that you listen to your body at every step of the process and make adjustments as necessary based on what your body is telling you.

INTENSITY GUIDELINES FOR Running

We recommend also reading Understanding Your Run Plan and Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan.

Your Iron Cowboy Run plan employs a seven-zone intensity scale. Performing each workout and workout segment at the right intensity is at the heart of training. This article provides all the information you’ll need to determine your intensity zones so you can monitor your intensity during workouts and ensure you’re always in the right zone.

Your personal intensity zones can be automatically calculated based on the protocols described below directly in TrainingPeaks using the steps outlined in the document Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan. Beginner athletes may find these tests difficult, so feel free to use perceived effort (explained in the second-to-last section) until you are comfortable doing the testing below.

There are four ways to measure intensity: pace, heart rate, power, and perceived effort.

Pace is useful because it’s a performance-relevant variable and an outcome. You race on the clock, so why not also train by the clock? However, pace becomes unreliable when you’re running uphill or downhill.

Heart rate is useful in because it helps triathletes avoid the single most common training mistake: pushing too hard in workouts that are supposed to be done at low intensity (Zones 1 and 2). But heart rate is not a reliable way to monitor intensity during short efforts at high intensity because heart rate lags behind abrupt changes in pace. HR for a given effort is also easily influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature. HR is only an indicator of how your body is responding to training, it is not an output or outcome.

Power, the output is the newest way to measure running intensity, and perhaps the most versatile. Using a running power meter, such as a Stryd, provides instant feedback on running output and is not compromised by terrain or temperature.

Rate of Perceived Effort— RPE, or your subjective sense of how hard you are running—is important because it ultimately determines how fast you run in races. You may set and pursue time-based goals, but perceived effort has the final say in deciding whether you actually do maintain your goal pace or run faster or slower.

However, perceived effort is poorly calibrated in many triathletes and relying on it exclusively carries some risk. In particular, most end up running at Zone 2b (in the gap between Zones 2 and 3) whenever they intend to train at low intensity if they go by feel. Whenever possible, use one of the more objective measures of intensity—pace, heart rate or power—as your primary intensity metric. In some scenarios, RPE is the only reliable method to measure intensity. For example, when running short intervals up hills, Pace zones are invalid and the interval may be too short for Heart Rate to “catch up.” Without a running Power meter, RPE can replace Pace and Heart Rate in hills.

Once you have chosen a method of monitoring intensity in your Iron Cowboy training plan (and you may use more than one), you need establish personal intensity zones for that specific metric, which is done through lactate threshold testing.

Lactate Threshold

Iron Cowboy run plans use field testing of lactate threshold to determine training zones. Lactate threshold is defined as the exercise intensity at which lactate, an intermediate product of glucose metabolism, begins to accumulate in the blood. In practical terms, it’s the highest exercise intensity that can be sustained for up to 60 minutes. The most reliable field tests for use in identifying appropriate individual training intensities are those that pinpoint the lactate threshold (LT). Although monitoring the blood lactate concentration during exercise isn’t practical or easy, this isn’t a problem. The lactate threshold field tests detailed below are designed to reveal your pace, power, or heart rate at LT intensity, allowing you to use these more practical intensity metrics to regulate your effort in workouts.

LT represents the top end of Zone 3 in the SOAR intensity scale and is the polestar for determining all other zones. Once you determine your LT, you can enter it at your zone settings in Training Peaks to determine your custom SOAR Zones.

RUN Pace

Our training plans use a proprietary calculation for pace-based training zones. To determine your pace zones, visit the your zone settings in Training Peaks and enter a recent performance for one of the distances listed. The performance does not have to be a race, but it should reflect your current maximum capability for a given distance whether it comes from competition or training, or is simply an estimate of how fast you could run a given distance today.

Alternatively, you may enter a known Threshold Pace (TP) from a previous testing protocol.

A more accurate test is a 30-minute time trial (covering as much distance as possible in 30 minutes). This is a brutal, but precise method to establish your threshold pace. Begin with a warm-up that consists of 15 minutes of easy jogging with a few 15-second surges at the pace you intend to run for the time trial. Next, run as far as you can in 30 minutes, being careful to avoid starting at a pace that’s too fast to sustain and thus slowing down involuntarily near the end. Your average pace for that 30 minutes is your threshold pace.

This test can be modified to just a 20 minute time trial, but using just 95% of your 20-minute speed in miles (or kilometers) per hour to determine your threshold pace. For example, if your average pace for 20 minutes was 8:45 per mile, first convert this result to decimal form, or 8.75 minutes per mile. Then, convert that value to miles (or kilometers) per hour. In this example, 8.75 minutes per mile converts to 6.86 miles per hour. Multiply 6.86 times 0.95 for an TP of value of 6.52 miles per hour. Convert 6.52 miles per hour back to minutes per mile, or 9.2 minutes per mile in this example, which is a TP of 9:12 per mile.

If you already know your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), you can use it to find your TP with an even shorter field test. After warming up, play with your pace until your heart rate settles in at your previously established LTHR for 10 minutes. Your pace at this heart rate is close to your TP.

When using the full 30-minute protocol, the need to perform separate tests for LTHR and TP is dispensed with entirely if you have a device that captures both heart rate and pace, as this enables you to establish LTHR and TP in the same field test.

RUN HEART RATE

The simplest way to determine your seven heart-rate based training zones is to back into them through pace. First, follow the guidelines under the Run Pace Section of this article and to establish your run pace zones and Threshold Pace (TP).

The next step is to determine your Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) from your TP. To do this, warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging and then accelerate to your TP on a smooth, flat path or road. Wait for your heart rate to stop increasing and plateau. The number you see after it levels off is your LTHR. Now go to your zone settings in TrainingPeaks and enter your lactate threshold heart rate. Your seven heart rate training zones will be calculated automatically.

If you have not yet established your TP, you can find your LTHR independently through a time trial. Begin with a warm-up that consists of 15 minutes of easy jogging with a few 15-second surges at the pace you intend to run for the time trial. Next, increase your effort to the highest level you feel you can sustain for 30 minutes and hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor watch. 10 minutes into the time trial, press the lap button again. At the end of the 30-minute time-trial, hit the lap button one last time. Your LTHR is your average heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) for the final 20 minutes of the 30-minute test. The reason we use the last 20 minutes of the 30-minute test is that it often takes up to 10 minutes at lactate threshold effort for heart rate to “catch up” to your output

Note that lactate threshold heart rate is slightly different in running than it is in other aerobic activities, so if you choose to cross-train, you’ll need to do separate tests in each of them.

Heart rate is significantly influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, sleep, stress, time of day and even when you last ate. Therefore, your lactate threshold heart rate testing is only as accurate as the environment in which you test and. For example, a LTHR test indoors in February in the morning will not be the same as an LTHR test in July outdoors in the afternoon. Perform your LTHR in the environment that most accurately represents where you will spend the bulk of your training.

RUN POWER

The protocol is similar finding your Run Pace. Begin with a warm-up that consists of 15 minutes of easy jogging with a few 15-second surges at the pace you intend to run for the time trial. Then, perform a 30-minute time trial. Your average power for that 30 minutes is your running threshold power, or rFTP.

Our colleague Jim Vance has developed a different protocol to find your rFTP. Additionally, the power meter manufacturer Stryd has developed a shorter test. This test should be performed on a running track, preferably a 400-meter track, and not on a treadmill. It can also be done with a GPS watch if you program the workout distance and duration in advance. Warm up for 15 minutes, then hit your lap button and run 1,200 meters (three laps) as fast as you can. Recover with a full 30-minute easy jog. Now run 2,400 meters (six laps) at maximal effort. Finally, cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. Find your average power for the 1,200- and 2,400-meter efforts and your total time for the 1,200- and 2,400-meter efforts. Your rFTP is calculated as follows:

(6-lap power x 6-lap time) – (3-lap power x 3-lap time) / (6-lap time – 3-lap time)

For example, if your average power was 350 watts for the 1,200-meter effort and 300 watts for the 2,400-meter effort, and your times were 5:20 (5.34 minutes) and 11:10 (11.17 minutes), respectively, the result would be:

(300 x 11.17) – (350 x 5.34) / (11.17 – 5.34) = 254 watts

The Vance or Stryd protocol can replace the Zone 3 section of a scheduled RT workout.

If you already know your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), you can use it to find your rFTP with a short field test. After warming up, play with your power until your heart rate settles in at your previously established LTHR for 10 minutes. Your pace at this heart rate is close to your rFTP.

When using the full 30-minute protocol, the need to perform separate tests for LTHR and rFTP is dispensed with entirely if you have a device that captures both heart rate and pace, as this enables you to establish LTHR and rFTP in the same field test.

Regardless of which method you choose, enter the results into the Running Power section of the zone settings in TrainingPeaks to determine your zones.

PERCEIVED EFFORT

While we don’t recommend that you use perceived effort as your primary intensity metric in training, it does have its place. Because perceived effort responds quickly to changes in intensity, it is a useful tool for establishing the right intensity at the start of each workout segment, before you have a chance to capture a split time and before your heart rate has had a chance to adjust to the change of intensity.

Note, however, that perceived effort increases the longer you go at any intensity, so it is only useful for establishing initial intensity. For example, at the end of a very long run at a moderate pace, your perceived effort level may be “14” even though you are still in Zone 2.

Use the guidelines in the following table to regulate your workout intensity by perceived effort. Note that these guidelines work in running as well as in all types of cross-training activities.

Using Scheduled Workouts to Verify Zones

Because your fitness level and lactate threshold can change quickly, it’s important to keep your zones current throughout the training process by retesting your lactate threshold every few weeks. Repeating your chosen field test in every recovery week (recovery weeks fall ever third or fourth week in our Iron Cowboy Run plans) is the theoretical ideal. As a practical matter, however, this is onerous for many athletes.

Fortunately, your Iron Cowboy training plan includes frequent Running Tempo and other specifically designed run workouts that may serve as zone testing sessions, as these workouts prescribe uninterrupted segments of Zone 3 work. Most of these sessions feature Zone 3 effort that are less than 30 minutes in duration. Advanced athletes can replace these with the full 30- or alternative 20-minute time trials described above. Another option is to use the “backing in” method of verifying threshold pace or power. Because LTHR changes less than TP and rFTP over the course of a training plan, you can retest either of these variables in the context of RT workouts featuring Zone 3 efforts as short as 10 minutes by adjusting your effort until your heart rate levels off at your previously determined LTHR and observing the pace or wattage that corresponds to it.

Note that these alternate testing sessions occur less frequently in the L2 and L3 plans because 1) the high volume of these plans makes frequent high-intensity/high-duration testing risky, 2) we assume advanced athletes have a longer running history and are already confident in their lactate threshold, and 3) advanced athletes tend to experience smaller changes in lactate threshold than do beginner athletes. But if you ever feel you’re “outgrowing” your zones, feel free to insert one of the easier testing options into your next recovery week if it does not already contain a re-test session.

Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan

Be sure to read the documents Understanding Your Iron Cowboy Triathlon Pl an and Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon or Intensity Guidelines for Running before continuing.

The Iron Cowboy training plans use the revolutionary TrainingPeaks Structured Workout format, which makes correct workout execution easier than ever. This article will walk you through some simple steps to get the most out of your structured workout plan.

Step 1: Establish your SOAR Zones

Review our document Intensity Guidelines for Triathlon or Intensity Guidelines for Running to determine your individual SOAR zones.

Step 2: Change Your Existing TrainingPeaks Thresholds and Zones to SOAR Thresholds and Zones

The advantages of the structured workout format begin within your TrainingPeaks training calendar, where your custom SOAR intensity zones are displayed in the Workout Details instead of generic zone names. When your workout calls for Zone 2, for example, you will see a specific pace, power, or heart rate range in the Workout Details rather than merely seeing “Zone 2”—but only after you’ve completed the following actions. Please note the difference between the Workout Description and the Workout Details. The Workout Description is static and will always present the workout segment with the generic Zone 1, Zone 2, etc. Once you complete the steps below, The Workout Details will change to reflect your custom zones, and the generic Zone 1, Zone 2 will be replaced with your individual values for that workout segment. For example, if you have a workout that uses heart rate to measure intensity, the Workout Details would display your custom Zone 2 intensity for a segment, such as 130-145bpm, but the Workout Description would remain unchanged.

With your SOAR thresholds now established from Step 1, log in to TrainingPeaks.com and select your name in the upper right corner, choose Settings, and then Zones. Note that the default TrainingPeaks zones are similar to but not the same as your SOAR Zones.

The SOAR method is represented by the auto-calculations provided within TrainingPeaks, so updating to the SOAR method is easy. For example, your current Run Heart Rate Zones might appear similar as they do in Figure 1, below. To change your current Run Heart Rate zones to SOAR Zones, complete these steps:

- In most cases you will need to click on the “Add Activity” button and specifically add Run (or Swim or Bike) zones and not use the Default zones. If you already have Run (or Swim or Bike) zones specified, “Add Activity” is not necessary.
- Enter your LTHR discovered from Step 1 in the “Threshold Heart Rate” field (Max and Resting Heart Rate are not used in SOAR calculations and do not need to be changed)
- Under “Auto Calculation” choose “Lactate Threshold” as the Type and “SOAR Running” as the Method
- Click on “Calculate,” “Apply,” and then “Save.”

Repeat these steps for each intensity metric you will be using in your plan (Swim Speed/Pace, Bike Heart Rate, Bike Power, etc…) Technically, you only have to modify the intensity types you will actually use. For example, if you have a Run Pace structured workout plan, you don’t have to modify the Run Heart Rate fields. However, modifying the zones for all intensity metrics (if you know them) is recommended, as this gives you the flexibility to use other metrics later on. Refer to Figure 3 for help on which Type and Method to choose for each sport and intensity type.

Be sure that you don’t only update the TrainingPeaks Default zones at the top of each section, as Default zones aren’t used by your Workout Details, nor pass custom data to your device. You must update the specific Swim, Bike, and Run zones that you will be using in your plan by clicking on the “Add Activity” button and specifying zones for each individual (not Default) sport and intensity type. For example, your zones must include a “Run Heart Rate” not just “Default Heart Rate” listed at the top left of the zone setup.

Figures 1 and 2 below are examples of what your TrainingPeaks zones might look like before and after they are modified in the manner just described, based on an LTHR of 170bpm.

Figure 1: TrainingPeaks zones (before)

Figure 2: New SOAR Zones (after)

Figure 3: Method and Type for SOAR Zones

Sport and Intensity Type	Type	Method
Bike Heart Rate	Lactate Threshold	SOAR Cycling
Run Heart Rate	Lactate Threshold	SOAR Running
Bike Power	Threshold Power	SOAR Cycling
Run Power	Threshold Power	SOAR Running
Swim Speed/Pace	Threshold Speed	SOAR Swimming
Run Speed/Pace	Threshold Speed or Distance/Time	SOAR Running

Completing Step 2 will allow the TrainingPeaks Workout Details to match the Workout Description and your custom SOAR Zones, as well as pass your custom zones to compatible devices when exported.

Once you have completed these steps, you may have to log out of TrainingPeaks and then log back in to see the changes in the Workout Details. Also, if you use the TrainingPeaks smartphone or tablet app, you may have to repeat these steps separately within the app on your device in order to have the Workout Details match your SOAR Zones there.

We also recommend while you are setting up your zones to disable the options “Notify me of suggested threshold changes via email” and “Automatically apply new threshold changes” at the very bottom of the TrainingPeaks Zones setup page. The thresholds discovered and proposed by TrainingPeaks are not compatible with the SOAR zones.

Step 3: Manually Export Your Structured Workout to Your Device

One of best features of the structured workout plans is the ability to export a workout to a device that then guides you through the workout step by step. Instead of having to remember details such as the number, length, and intensity of intervals, with this feature you simply do what your device tells you to do from the start of the warm-up to the end of the cool-down.

To export a workout, click on the workout in your TrainingPeaks calendar, then click on the “export” button in the upper right, highlighted below.

The next step is to select the format you want the workout exported in. The options available to you will depend on the workout and structured plan type. After you’ve chosen a format, your web browser will download the structured workout file, which you will then export to your device per the instructions from TrainingPeaks and use during your workout. Once the export is complete, the workout will appear in your Training/My Workouts menu on your device (this location varies by product, see your device’s user guide for the precise location of exported workouts).

Note that TrainingPeaks does not yet allow for the export of swim workouts, and that a solution from TrainingPeaks is forthcoming.

Step 4 (optional): Automatically Syncing Daily Workouts To Your (Compatible) Device

Be sure to complete steps 1-3 before activating Garmin Connect Sync or incorrect intensity zones may be delivered to your device. Garmin Connect Sync allows owners of certain compatible Garmin devices to download daily Iron Cowboy plan workouts directly to their device wirelessly through their phone. If you do not own such a device, you can still manually export your workouts to most other devices.

Step 5: Read the Structured Workout FAQ Below

Q: Why can’t I export swim workouts?

A: TrainingPeaks reports that this is a limitation on current swim devices and that a solution is coming.

Q: My thresholds recently changed, and I updated my SOAR zones in TrainingPeaks using the instructions in this document. The workouts on my device still display the old zones. Why?

A: Depending on the device, Garmin Connect Sync will sync up to several weeks of workouts to your device at a time. Those workouts contain your custom SOAR zones at the time the sync took place. Updating zones in TrainingPeaks does not trigger a new sync, so the old zones remain on your device. To force a new sync, the workouts must be removed and re-added using one of the following methods:

– Use the Shift feature in the TrainingPeaks calendar (click on the triple horizontal lines found by hovering over a given day or week in the calendar and choose Shift) and shift your plan from today forward by one week. Wait for that change to reflect in the Garmin Connect calendar, then shift the workouts back to their original dates in TrainingPeaks.

– Cut a given workout(s) off of the calendar, wait for that change to reflect in the Garmin Connect calendar, then paste the workouts back to their original dates in TrainingPeaks.

– Unapply the entire plan in TrainingPeaks, wait for that change to reflect in the Garmin Connect calendar, then reapply the entire plan.

These actions lead TrainingPeaks to consider the affected workouts to be “new” workouts and force a re-sync to Garmin Connect, which then sends your updated zones to your device.

Q: Why do the intensity zones on my device not match my zones specified in TrainingPeaks?

A: This is likely caused by the same issue listed immediately above: the workouts on your device need to be re-synced with TrainingPeaks. Use the same steps to resolve.

Q: Can I export run workouts in more than just FIT format?

Yes. Power-based run workouts can be exported to ZWO, ERG, and MRC, as well as in FIT format. HR and Pace-based workouts can only be exported to FIT format.

Q: Why does the Workout Details section sometimes list more than one zone, such as “Zone 4 – Zone 5”?

A: In order to avoid gaps between zones, TrainingPeaks requires the SOAR zones to overlap. Therefore, occasionally the custom intensity values presented by TrainingPeaks in the Workout Details will span more than one zone. Note that the zone range values presented in the Workout Details are still precise, and you should use those range values as your primary target. However, if you are presented with more than one zone in the Workout Details, use the zones listed in the Workout Description or the guidelines below. Again, you can ignore the zones and focus on the actual intensity range values provided, which are accurate if you have followed the instructions in this document.

If presented with a span of two zones (i.e. Zone 2b – Zone 3) the higher of the two zones presented is the correct zone (in this example, Zone 3)
If presented with a span of three zones (i.e. Zone 1 – Zone 2b) the middle of the range of zones presented is the correct zone (in this example, Zone 2)

Q: The predicted CTL, TSS or pace seems really off in TrainingPeaks. Why?

A: Two reasons:

1) This is a known problem in TrainingPeaks for HR-based workouts. The auto-calculation for predicted CTL or TSS for HR-based workouts has two main issues. First, the predicted TSS value will only increase in units of 10. If you have one run that would should have a TSS of 41 and another run that should have a TSS of 49, TrainingPeaks will calculate both as a predicted TSS of 40. Second, for a given amount of planned workout time, and regardless of the planned intensity, TrainingPeaks uses a minimum value. For example, if there are two runs of 30 minutes, one performed at 75% of LTHR and the other performed at 90% of LTHR, both will have a predicted TSS of 40. Thus, TrainingPeaks systematically miscalculates predicted TSS and predicted CTL for HR-based structured workout plans.

This particular issue is limited to the predicted TSS and predicted CTL for HR-based plans only, and does not impact TSS or CTL for completed workouts, nor Pace or Power-based workouts. TrainingPeaks reports they are looking into the issue.

2) Even with Pace and Power-based workouts, TrainingPeaks assumes that you will be running in the upper quartile of the zone range when predicting average Pace or Power (and therefore TSS). For example, if your Zone 2 run pace was 7:00 to 9:00 minute per mile, TrainingPeaks will assume that you will run an average of 7:30 per mile for a Zone 2 segment when predicting pace, when in reality you could be running as slow as 8:55 per mile and still be following the workout correctly. The inevitable result of Zone training is that your intensity for the day could fall anywhere within a broad range, therefore, the predicted TSS will almost always be incorrect.

Q: When I review the Heart Rate by Zones chart in TrainingPeaks, the sum of all zones is greater than the workout time. Why?

A: TrainingPeaks restricts the workout author to specify a whole number when specifying a range. That means, for example, if “Zone 2b” starts at 90%, we can either say “Zone 2” is 80-89% or 80-90%. If we use 80-89%, what happens to intensity at 89.01% to 89.99%? The workout author “loses” 1% for each zone. This results in the dashboard displaying the sum of all zones less than the total workout time (the exact opposite problem). This missing 1% per zone also causes problems with the workout being sent to devices, predicted TSS, and with the Workout Details. Overall, we find that overlapping zones has more advantages and less disadvantages than the 1% gap.

This issue is mitigated by using Pace or Power. When using HR, you must “pass through” each zone when traversing from one zone to another. For example, If you are in Zone 1 recovering, but then perform a Zone 5 interval, your HR must go from 134, to 135, to 137… in other words it must pass through Zone 2, Zone 2b, Zone 3, Zone 4, and then Zone 5. And, in doing so, it will spend time at every single shared point climbing and then descending that HR ladder, thus adding duplicate time to your zones totals. That’s the nature of HR. Pace and Power, however, are virtually instant. You would go from 170 watts to 320 watts virtually instantly, without having to pass through the other zones. Therefore, switching to Pace or Power minimizes this issue. TrainingPeaks would only include time in both zones if you happen to spend significant time at the exact point at which two zones share a data point, which would be rare.

Download a FREE Team Iron Cowboy Triathlete Training Plan and Improve Your Workout Today!

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Download a FREE Team Iron Cowboy Triathlete Training Plan and Improve Your Workout Today!

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James lives with his wife, Sunny, and their five children in Utah. After breaking several Guinness World Records, James wondered if he had truly found his mental and physical limits. He knew there was more. Experience firsthand the remarkable journey of James Lawrence and his family.

GETTING STARTED WITH

YOUR IRON COWBOY PLAN

Q: Why do the zones in the workout details and the zones in the workout description not match, or why do my zones look totally wrong in TrainingPeaks?

Q: My pace (or power) and heart rate zones don’t line up. For example, when I’m in Zone 2 for pace I’m in Zone X for heart rate.

Q: Where and how often in the plan do I perform zone testing?

Q: I performed a new CV test on the swim and improved my 400 or 200 time, but my LTSP increased. Why?

Q: The swim workouts are described in yards, how can I get them written in meters?

Q: The predicted CTL or predicted TSS in my HR-based plan seems really off. Why?

Q: What zone should I race in?

UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIMIZATION OF SOAR TRAINING

Intensity.

OPTIMIZATION IN SOAR TRAINING

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEAM IRON COWBOY TRIATHLON PLAN

5 MINUTES Z1, 15 MINUTES Z2, 3 X (4 MINUTES Z3/2 MINUTES Z1) 5 MINUTES Z2, 5 MINUTES Z1

300 YD Z1, 400 YD Z2, 10 X (100 YD Z4/20″ REST) 400 YD Z2, 300 YD Z1

Swimming in Yards or Meters

Cadence

INTENSITY GUIDELINES FOR TRIATHLON

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEAM IRON COWBOY RUNNiNG PLAN

5 MINUTES IN ZONE 1, 5 MINUTES IN ZONE 2, 8 X (2 MINUTES IN IN ZONE 4/1 MINUTES IN ZONE 1), 5 MINUTES IN ZONE 1

INTENSITY GUIDELINES FOR Running

Setting Up Your TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Plan

Step 1: Establish your SOAR Zones

Step 2: Change Your Existing TrainingPeaks Thresholds and Zones to SOAR Thresholds and Zones

Step 3: Manually Export Your Structured Workout to Your Device

Step 4 (optional): Automatically Syncing Daily Workouts To Your (Compatible) Device

Step 5: Read the Structured Workout FAQ Below

Download a FREE Team Iron Cowboy Triathlete Training Plan and Improve Your Workout Today!

Download a FREE Team Iron Cowboy Triathlete Training Plan and Improve Your Workout Today!

James lives with his wife, Sunny, and their five children in Utah. After breaking several Guinness World Records, James wondered if he had truly found his mental and physical limits. He knew there was more. Experience firsthand the remarkable journey of James Lawrence and his family.

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