Don't sleep on running power 😴 | TTT Sep22
On run naps, run power, my current training and how your run passion makes a better world
🏃🏽♂️Skim time (400m intervals): 47 seconds
🚶🏽♀️Read time (long run pace): 4 min 25 sec
What is up! If you are receiving this piece of electronic mail, it also means that you are legit subscribed to the monthly (ish) newsletter that I (DLake Creates) put out called Three Thing THURSDAY aka TTT.
Not Three Thing Monday, Tuesday, or even Wednesday. We talkin’ bout THREE THING THURSDAY, BABY!
💁🏽♂️ OK, So… WTF is TTT all about?
Each month on the third Thursday (see what I did there?), you get an email so you can ingest 200 grams of informative carbohydrate-like goodness faster than it takes you to run your best mile.
I do this quickly and simple because the world of running and endurance sports is more complex than Garmin’s Vo2 max algorithm. And because you are saying to yourself…
👋🏽 What’s good to the new folks joining and a “YELLO” to all the ride or dies.
Let’s get into this month’s newsletter and touch on;
My current training updates aka Ye Ol’ Fitness-Health-O-Meter
Feeling this? Share this link with a friend - dlakecreates.substack.com
🔋 Thing One: Eight Reasons why you should run with a power meter
No one-man person (inclusive!) should have all that POWER!! Well, except runners. They need it to run smarter and more effectively… or do they?
The Eight reasons why you might want to consider a run power meter are below;
Improve your running economy
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 vs watts on different terrains
Pace perfectly
Scientifically choose the fastest shoe for you
But with all the "why you shoulds" come the "why you shouldn'ts". And one of those is because it's not cheap.
Check out the eight arguments for why you should use a running power meter in your training and racing and also a counterargument as to why you shouldn’t. We keeps it wholistically 💯 at TTT!
Learn more here.
😴 Thing Two: How long should your nap be?
Training for a marathon or big triathlon means long hours outside early in the morning. That also means you might be crashing mid-day and need a nap.
But does taking a nap help you if you're tired? Or would it derail your day?
We have different sleep stages, and getting to those stages depends on how long we've been asleep.
The verdict? Shorter naps (10-30 mins) will give you a turbo boost for the day, and you should be fresh after waking up. But if you want to sleep longer (30-60 mins) understand that you might feel a bit sluggish for up to 15 minutes after you wake up. The holy grail seems to be 60-90 mins because you enter the REM stage and a full sleep cycle. It’s also easier to wake up out of this stage. (For me, it’s not. I cap all naps to 25 mins max and wake up ready to go. Different strokes for different folks.)
Also, the time of day matters. So don't nap too late in the afternoon, or you might mess up your sleep that night!
Find out all the sleep info and science (in a simple way) here.
📅 Thing Three: My current training
I’m right at the threshold of being fit and healthy. So zero points for health and zero for fitness. I’m probably going to go into health debt to get fitness gains, but oh well, it’s temporary. My body can recover if I do this every now and then. The problem is if you do it for weeks or months on end.
Remember folks - Being extremely fit does not mean being healthy. Usually means you sacrifice your health to run your best time or distance. Don’t get it twisted, but do it if makes you feel cool! But… also don’t be mad if you burn out, get sick or get injured. All things in moderation - the universe is always in balance.
🤷🏽♂️ #SorryNotSorry to you metrically sensitive American folks but I live in Australia now and the metric system > imperial American measurement. Email me for the conversion or Google it.
Notable Quotable
Master of Some(s)
Whether you know it or not, we are all Masters of Some. The goal in life is to not master all, not master none, but try to be a MASTER OF SOME.
This is a new experimental section that is a community shoutout to all the new folks that signed up. The objective is to hold them passively accountable (in a good way) for their upcoming race and event. I’ll try to check in with them periodically to see how they did and we can all support them.
Robert - Aiming for a 3:10 marathon in October at the Baystate Marathon in MA, USA. Follow their journey on Instagram @rreal_fitness.
Samuel - Sub 3 hr marathon in Perth, Australia in October. Follow their journey on Instagram @gltmeoiwsid.
PS - If you want to be featured here email me (just hit reply). If people like this I might turn into its own thing via newsletter/podcast/video/Instagram/Patreon or something else in the future if it gets popular.
And…
…for September (aka the start of marathon season in the northern hemisphere).
🙏🏾 Thanks for reading! Again, if you like this stuff, please share a link with cool folks like you. If you got any feedback (good or bad), hit me up - talk@dlakecreates.com
For real-world documentation of my training/races, follow me on Instagram & Strava.
🧠 👟 PS - What do you need to finish a marathon, brain or shoes?
Train smart: race easy,