Is your easy too hard? and why injury does not equal the end.

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NoTRAINING BREAKDOWN

“Injuries are opportunities”

By Emma O’Toole

Hey there,

Working too hard in your training, huge personal bests from multiple coached athletes and choosing opportunity. That’s the focus on this week’s STAMINA SURGE.

Before we get into it, a quick note to say thank you to you for subscribing to this email and to our sponsors Nike and BetterSleep for helping support this newsletter and keep the lights on!

FITNESS:

Is your “easy” too hard?

I’m not a huge fan of the word “easy” getting thrown around, as an “easy” run/ride for many of the athletes I coach and for myself is often 3x resting heart rate… not quite chilling on the sofa watching Netflix.

I prefer the term: steady, but nonetheless “easy” is what we often see, hear and read about when referring to our Zone 2 training sessions.

First up a quick recap on what is zone 2 training?

Zone 2 is the bread and butter of your endurance training. It is characterized as a low-to-moderate intensity that can be sustained for a substantial amount of time.

It allows you to accumulate volume without overloading intensity, meaning you can perform well in your sessions targeting higher zones. Due to the longer duration of these sessions we typically run/ride based 'on feel' through heart rate and effort level.

You should feel pretty comfortable as you run & ride, and these sessions are a staple in every endurance athlete’s training plan throughout the season.

Zone 2 is usually calculated in the following ways:

▪️ 80-90% of lactate threshold heart rate.

▪️ 76-87% of running threshold pace.

▪️ 55-75% of cycling threshold power (FTP*).

▪️ 4-6 Rate of perceived exertion.

What happens if you’re working too hard?

Simply put: you’re not getting the training adaptations that you’re aiming for.

You’re left in that grey-zone where you’re not working steady (easy) enough to allow for the aerobic adaptations you’re targeting, but you’re also not working hard enough to get the benefits of higher intensity work, eg. vo2 max improvements from vo2 max intervals.

This can present in different ways, but here are 5 of the most common:

• You may feel like you’re not making any progress with your training.

• You may struggle to recover between sessions - this can open you up to higher risk of injury, and overtraining.

• You may under fuel your session and recovery because you’ve misjudged the intensity.

• You may not be able to hit higher power targets/faster paces when you next set out to do so.

• You might bail on your next run/ride.

How can we stay in the targeted zone 2?

Take a multifaceted approach to measuring your training using a combination of subjective and objective training metrics. (check out this article)

Take this example: 

Imagine this...

You're tired.
You skipped lunch.
Work has been stressful.
You haven't drunk anything except coffee.
You jump on the bike, your heart rate is higher than usual and it feels tough.

Your workout is this:
90 mins at upper Zone 2 power (65-75% FTP)

... You're struggling.
Your legs aren't responding.

So, what do you do?
If you try to ride to power and hit those set targets, you’re focusing your session off a metric that may have been set 3 months ago. A metric that does not account for the day you’ve had. You’ll likely struggle on through the session, but feel pretty rubbish by the end of it.

This is a classic example of many cyclists who often ride their steady (easy) sessions too hard.

Yes you’re in your power zone 2, but your heart rate is reading zone 3 and RPE reading a 7/10 instead of a 5/10. Your body is telling you that was not a steady session, regardless of what the power meter reads.

We need to be intuitive with our training because we are human.
We need to take a broader approach to our training rather than being shoehorned into hitting certain numbers.

RESULTS:

With most races drying up and athletes now able to dial in their winter training. Here are just 6 incredible results which I want to share with you as a testament of the work and consistency that these runners, cyclists and triathletes put in week after week.

• After 125 days of training with me, Sarah has set 5 new PBs - some going back as far as ones set in 2021.

• Mhairi has improved her cycling FTP by a phenomenal 45% in just over 12 months of dedicated cycling and strength training.

• Cheryl hit an all time 5km PBs.

• Andrew hit his fastest 5km in 4 years.

• Stephen ran his fastest 5km since the pandemic and a PB on that course.

• Philip ran a 1 min 15 seconds faster on a slightly longer race course than this time last year.

A huge congratulations to these athletes and to everyone else making waves, I couldn’t be prouder and happier for you.

RESILIENCE:

Injuries.

I’ve had my fair share over the years and know how hard it is.

But they don’t equal the end.

I often liken it to being near the top of a mountain and then slipping back down. However the part that often gets glossed over is that every injury you encounter is an opportunity to develop and learn, so you’ll have more tools and find different paths to help you back up the mountain.

Injuries are opportunities:

• opportunities to learn from your training:

  - were there warning signs?

  - was your training progressive or if you look back are there huge spikes and drops in your training?

  - what was your monthly training volume compared to previous months, and how did this look week to week?

  - did you stop strength training?

• opportunities to improve other aspects of your training:

  - can’t run due to injury? then see if you can ride/swim.

  - can’t do any lower body strength work? then strength train your upper body.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Whilst it may not be the easiest thing to think opportunistically, especially when you’ve had a setback, you’re laying down your resilience and becoming a stronger athlete.

And don’t forget, you can reduce your risk of injury through strength training!

Want a FREE strength training program for runners and cyclists? Click “Yes” on the poll below!

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