Jim Vance - Run with Power: The Complete Guide to Power Meters for Running

Copyright 2016 by Jim Vance

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CONTENTS

Introduction:
The Future Is Here

We are on the cusp of a performance revolution in the sport of running. The science of training and the art of coaching are entering a new relationship, one much stronger than weve ever seen. With the advent of the power meter for running, we now have a tool to measure athletic performance directly, objectively, and with precise repeatability. We can measure the athletes power output not only throughout the days and weeks of training, but also during competition. This lets us plan for each events specific demands and capitalize on the athletes specific strengths. The power meter is easily the most powerful tool weve ever had to analyze running form, fitness, and potential. When used correctly, it will make you a better, faster runner.

You may think youve heard this story before, and in a way, you have. When heart rate monitors first came on the market, there was a period of time when many people didnt bother learning how to use the technology. Today, however, if you are using only a heart rate monitoror simply a stopwatchyoure considered out of touch with technology, since youre not using GPS. The advent of GPS was a significant step, and it can still be a useful training tool. But once you learn of the full range of the power meters capabilities, you will see that GPS was just scratching the surface, especially for athletes who have high goals.

The sub-2-hour marathon is todays most prominent running barrier, equivalent to the mythical 4-minute-mile barrier broken by Roger Bannister in 1954. Today, we see similar doubt about the 2-hour marathon, with many scoffing at the idea that humans are capable of running that fast. Countless articles, publications, and forums have discussed and debated the feat. Many top runners and experts disagree on whether it is possible, when it might happen (if ever), what it would take from an athlete to accomplish it, and what the course requirements would be for such a spectacular performance.

For years, many thought the sub-1-hour half-marathon was not likely or possible. Yet the sub-1-hour half-marathon was first recorded in 1993, and by 2011 that so-called barrier had been broken more than 150 times.

Look back to the mid-1990s, when a group of young East African men came onto the distance-running scene and rewrote the record books for 5000 and 10,000 meters, month after month, year after year. We went from wondering if anyone other than Sad Aouita could run sub-13 minutes for the 5000 meters, as he did in 1987, to seeing it done more than 250 times by 2011. As I write this, the record stands at nearly a 4-minute-mile pace: 12:37. Heck, the mens mile is now down to 3:43. Thats over 4 seconds faster per lap than Bannister ran! The womens world record for the mile still stands at 4:12. Could a woman break the 4-minute-mile barrier? I believe we are closer than we realize.

Call me overly optimistic, but I believe well see a sub-2-hour marathon very soon, probably by the Olympic year 2028 at the latest. And thats just the beginning. Yes, 2028 sounds like the distant future, but many of us remember the blitz of those 1990s performances like they were yesterday.

The problem with a belief that a particular performance is impossible, or that the prospect is too far away for any of us to see in our lifetime, is that this viewpoint looks at the result, not at the process of getting there. As a professional coach, however, I believe that the results come when the process of training improves.

I am a coach who is big on data and technological training tools. In cycling, we have power meters, which have done wonders for training and performance. In swimming, weve profited from important studies with force plates, swim flumes, and video technology for stroke analysis as well as the insights from bold and knowledgeable coaches creating new periodization models and training plans. In many endurance sports, the processes of training and performance have improved as much as the technology, but in the running world, weve been very limited in our use and advancement of technological tools throughout history. That has now changed.

What weve been missing with running is a way to measure output consistently, throughout an entire season, in races, across different terrains, course profiles, weather conditions, and more. This tool is here now, and its so simple that its hard to believe it didnt arrive long ago, but I believe surpassing the sub-2-hour marathon mark will be just the beginning. Every world record will fall, from the marathon to the 100 meters. In fact, as the power meter becomes available for other sports, the records for every field eventfrom the horizontal jumps to the high jump and pole vault, and all throwing disciplineswill be broken as well.

This will be because of a simple tool, the power meter, and that tool for running is now available to you. With the power meter, we can measure your output directly, in the actual process of performance, not just indirectly through recorded times or other postperformance marks. Using this tool, we will know much more than we have ever known, with metrics and measurements weve never even considered or knew could exist, and this information will open the floodgates to a new level of high performance.

New technology can be intimidating, and there will be some who will reject the very idea of using a power meter. Theyll say that they are happy with the way theyre doing things. But I guarantee that if you embrace this opportunity to learn how to train with a power meter, you will find yourself a smarter and faster athlete, thanks to a training schedule improved by power data. The initial onslaught of data and feedback for coaches and athletes will be overwhelming, but those who study it and learn to use the information to their competitive advantage will be the ones who set themselves apart. Once the best athletes come into contact with the best coaches, who know and understand how to use this technology and data to design training programs and improve an athletes weaknesses, the next revolution will begin, with performances that will leave us dropping our jaws. If you dont believe me, take a look at the history of running and training, and you will see that the writing is already on the wall. History tends to repeat itself. The future is here.