Why Run Power is Your New Best Friend for Running Success

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8 reasons why you might want to consider using run power in your training and racing

For decades now running’s cousin sport, cycling has understood the power of… power is the ultimate objective metric in a lot of areas of our lives including – endurance sports training and racing.

How does power in running work?

I mean we have heart rate, pace and the very accurate Rate of perceived exertion (RPE)… but how can you use running power to train and race smarter?

WTF Is Running Power?

First things first: what is running power? It’s a measurement of force over time. Every time you run, you generate force with a push off with your foot. That force is a unit of energy that we call power, which is generally measured in watts. Power is a quicker feedback mechanism than heart rate, which has a time lag between registering a change and stabilizing at a new level. In contrast, power is an instantaneous measurement, which makes it a useful tool for keeping pace constant.

But how does running power differ from power in cycling? In cycling, power is an actual physical measurement of torque, whereas in running, it’s an estimation using three 3D accelerometers in a pod that measure your movement in time and space. This makes running power less exact than cycling power, but it’s still a useful metric for improving your running.

How To Get Started

So, how can you get started with running power? The first step is to understand your target audience, which in this case is yourself. What are your goals and what do you hope to achieve with running power? Once you know what you want, you can start looking at power meters like the Stryd pod that measure your running power.

It’s important to note that power meters aren’t cheap, so you’ll want to make sure you get one that’s accurate and reliable. Stryd is still the market leader and the most accurate, but there are other options out there, so do your research before making a purchase.

Test to get your power zones

Once you have your power meter, the next step is to do an FTP (functional threshold power) test either on a track, treadmill or flat non windy/protected pavement surface.. You can then use this information to calibrate your power meter to your heart rate and start training to power instead of heart rate.

This test isn’t necessary but good to know so that you have a reference point. You can also take an average from your last 5k or even a vo2max building session.

But keep in mind that running power is still an estimation using an algorithm, so don’t rely on it too heavily. Use it in conjunction with other metrics like heart rate and pace to get a more complete picture of your running performance.

Should You Even Get a Run Power Meter or Care?

So, is running power for you? That depends on your goals and what you hope to achieve with running. If you’re a serious athlete looking to improve your performance, then running power can be a useful tool for training and racing smarter. But if you’re just looking to get into running and enjoy it as a hobby, then running power might not be necessary.

In conclusion, running power is a new and exciting metric that can revolutionize your training and racing. It’s not a replacement for other metrics like heart rate and pace, but rather a complementary tool that can help you achieve your running goals. So, if you’re curious about running power, give it a try and see how it can improve your running performance.

Summing it all Up

IMPROVE YOUR RUNNING ECONOMY
TO KNOW WHEN YOU’RE OVERTRAINING
KNOW WHEN YOU STOP IMPROVING
BOOSTs YOUR TRAINING SPECIFICITY
Helps you GET YOUR POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO CORRECT
UNDERSTAND PACE PER WATT
PACE PERFECTLY
SCIENTIFICALLY CHOOSE THE FASTEST SHOE FOR YOU !

Episode Timestamps of What You Will Learn

We’ll start off with a quick warmup to see where we are at in our current training
Then get into the meat of this episode – running power
Then end it with our episode question – would you rather focus on high cadence or longer stride length.

Notable Quotables

You are the most efficient person in the world at doing sports the way you do it. If I tried to copy you, I would be less efficient as you.
Power can be used in the lab to test to see how our output changes with different cadences and shoes.
Power is a quicker feedback mechanism than heart rate
Power is force over time. Every time you generate force with a push off of your foot and is a unit of energy that is measured in watts.
The technology is there. It hasn’t been mass produced. I think it maybe comes down the fact that runners are basically tight, they don’t like spending money. Except on Vaporflys.
If I run there could be a 3 minute lag. With power, if I put the pace, the power goes up instantly. Power is a much quicker feedback than heart rate.
It’s using 3d accelerometer with an algorithm to estimate how much power you are putting out.
Power is still an algorithm, estimating the power going up the hill and mud. It’s not a real figure.
Power is hard to see on your watch as your arms are moving. There are still lots of things to overcome before it becomes a popular tool in the running world.

NRG COACHING (MIKE TREES) – SPONSOR

This episode is brought to you by NRG – Coaching which is Mike Trees’ coaching service. Mike coaches beginners to pros and all levels in between.

No one is too fast and no one too slow. They just want a desire to learn and improve.

They focus on 1,500m to marathon running and triathlon training.

NRG Coaching is constantly overbooked, so Instagram and this new podcast venture, gives Mike and the rest of his NRG coaching team a way to reach out to more people.

Contact mike and his team NRG-COACHING.com for more info

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