With the turning of the calendar, we’re all told to make new resolutions, given tips on how to keep those resolutions and sometimes we even succeed at keeping them. For me, my triathlon resolution this year was to test more. Whether that’s FTP testing on the trainer, more regular 400m time trials in the pool or hitting up more local 5ks to get an updated baseline for running paces.

But if I’m being honest I hate the 20 minute FTP test. My trainer workouts are done either early before work or when I get home. And I don’t know about you but I find it really hard to come home from work and bury myself for a 20-minute effort. Or even worse wake up and fuel myself enough so I have enough energy to push through. But I know how important regular testing is to evaluate your progress. That’s why I was intrigued by the MAP test.

The MAP or step test as it is sometimes called isn’t necessarily easier, it definitely hurts like crazy at the end, but it is perhaps mentally less intimidating. Plus there is a growing amount of research that says people just don’t do their FTP test right. Whether that’s because they don’t know how to pace themselves and they blow up or they’re intimidated by the 20-minute effort and they go too easy. A smart trainer is likely essential for this test.  A trainer like the CycleOps H2 ensures that you go up by the right wattage every time. Plus there’s no way you can cheat at the end. Once you reach failure in ERG mode there’s no faking it, you simply can’t push the pedals around to get things going again.

So how do you do the MAP test? Well, you start at 150 Watts and then take a step up by 25 watts every 2:30 seconds, riding until you reach failure. Then you take a percentage of your final wattage and then you can use this number to find your FTP and establish your zones.

The easiest way to do this is to plop a . ZWO file into your Zwift workouts folder and it will appear ready for you to use when you open up the game. Or if you’re like me and you can’t figure that out right away, you can always build your own with the workouts builder tool.

So here’s where I messed up. In my rush to build the workout, I skipped over a couple steps so I had a pretty large jump in the middle from 250 watts to 300 watts and I MAY have increased the time at two of the steps to 3 minutes instead of 2:30.  So you could say there’s some room to improve on this test next time.

Nonetheless here’s how it looked for me.

And here’s how it should look when you do right:

*IMPORTANT, to run this properly in Zwift you need to set your FTP to 100 before you do this workout.

• 10-minute free ride
• 2:30 @ 150%
• 2:30 @ 175%
• 2:30 @ 200%
• 2:30 @ 225%
• 2:30 @250%
• 2:30 @ 275%
• 2:30 @300%
• 2:30 @325%
• 2:30 @350%
• 2:30 @ 375%
• 2:30 @ 400%

Once you reach failure you need to take not of your last completed stage and how many seconds you lasted into the incomplete stage. Once you have those figures plop them into your preferred FTP calculator to get your result.

This workout will feel easy until all the sudden it’s really hard, which is what makes it mentally easier than the 20-minute test which has you in the hurt box for a longer period of time. In the end, the numbers the test spits out should be similar. For me, the MAP test showed an increase in 4 points on my FTP and given the 10-week block I had done leading up to the test this felt like a reasonable result. This is the number I’ll be using for the next 6-week block and I’m looking forward to doing another test soon, but doing it right this time.

The post New Year, New MAP appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.

Oh no, the dreaded treadmill, also known as the dreadmill. After years of back and forth, I have finally learned to love running on the treadmill. Even when the weather is perfectly fine for a run outside, I jump on the treadmill to work on specificity and pacing.

Why the treadmill?

A treadmill offers a controlled environment to take your running technique to the next level. It helps you set a pace and work on your cadence. Running on a treadmill also gives you an opportunity to figure out if you’re over-striding, which can increase the risk of overuse injuries.

When I’m on the treadmill, I like to focus on foot cadence. I try to aim for 180 steps per minute (90 steps per minute per leg).

To test your cadence, count the number of steps you take on one leg for 30-seconds. This number should be roughly around 43-45 steps, which equates to roughly 90 steps per minute per leg.

Pacing on a treadmill is very easy. With a push of a button, you can set your desired pace and train at different race speeds. For example, you can run at a sprint triathlon pace (3:45/km) or a half Ironman pace (4:30/km). Because a treadmill is so easy to use, you can also incorporate interval training by mixing paces.

Tip: Always start at a low pace and progress. The key is to use it as a tool for increasing pace over time. The controlled environment allows you to listen to your body and monitor your effort.

How to do it? 

The biggest benefit of a treadmill is that you have full control over it.

Use the manual button on the treadmill set your pace and intervals. The incline can also be changed to your needs. I like to keep it at 0 per cent at the start and avoid any significant changes in the gradient to protect my Achilles. Tip: If you have any Achilles issues you may want to avoid inclines on the treadmill.

Some studies suggest that increasing your incline to 1-2 per cent when running at paces over 8mph is helpful to simulate running outside, but I don’t implement that. Talk to your coach and see what works best for you.

Don’t hold onto the handrails or console – this will compromise your natural biomechanics and doesn’t help you improve your running. You may be able to go at a faster pace – but it’s a false ability.

Finally, I love to listen to music while running on the treadmill. It helps with motivation and improves my running rhythm. But listen to whatever you want – podcasts or tunes, you may even choose to listen to nothing.

After a few solid runs on a treadmill, you might incorporate it into your training this season.

The post Treadmill running tips from Angela Naeth appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.

— by Kevin Mackinnon

TMC International Female Triathlete of the Year: Daniela Ryf

Could there be any doubt? After struggling with back issues for much of 2017, Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf was late starting her season in 2018, but once she did get rolling, there was simply no stopping her. She got things rolling with a win at Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil, smoked a stellar field at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, winning the race by 26 minutes, and then smoked three-time Kona champ Mirinda Carfrae by over 20 minutes, setting a new half-distance world best thanks to her 3:57:56 finish.

Related: Ryf sets new 70.3 world best time

And that was just the tune-up for the world championship season. In September she took her fourth 70.3 title despite a pesky zipper on her trisuit that had her do the bike ride with what looked like a parachute trailing behind.

Related: Daniela Ryf wins her seventh world title

The coup de resistance, though, was her incredible performance at the Ironman World Championship, where she shattered her own course record with her 8:26:16 clocking.

So, no, there’s no arguing this one. It’s Daniela all the way.

TMC International Male Triathlete of the Year: Jan Frodeno

After a tough day at the 2017 Ironman World Championship in 2017, Jan Frodeno sat down with his manager and planned out the 2018 season. He would take on Lionel Sanders at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside. Patrick Lange at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau and again at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt. He’d take on Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in South Africa. Then he’d make another run for the Kona title.

Other than the final race on that calender, 2018 could not have gone any better for the 2008 Olympic champion. He dominated in California and at the two races in Germany. He took what many consider to be one of the most exciting races our sport has ever seen as he ran clear to take the 70.3 worlds over another couple of athletes who will go down as amongst the greatest our sport has ever seen.

Related: Jan Frodeno wins the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Then disaster struck. A stress fracture sidelined Frodeno from Kona and he had to watch as Patrick Lange became the first man to break the eight-hour barrier in Kona. It would have been the ultimate way to end his career – a win and a record in Kona. (Frodeno admitted during interviews in Kona this year that he had planned to retire if he had been able to capture another Kona title.) The good news from all that is we’ll get to see Frodeno compete for another year in 2019.

Frodeno’s incredible season relegates Lange’s amazing Kona race as a “performance of the year,” rather than one that might have netted him our international triathlete of the year title. It also overshadows Mario Mola’s third straight world-championship season, too.

The post TMC International Triathletes of the Year appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.