Michael and I started working together in the winter of 2012. He remains one of my longest-standing athletes. I still remember our initial phone call, I was sitting in a coffee shop (no surprise) and we spent the good part of an hour talking through his list of questions, concerns, and test questions. Up to this point, Michael always dealt with Achilles issues and he was needing a change in his approach.
Prior to starting with me, Michael was a good athlete with a long history of endurance training. At an earlier age, he grew up a runner where he excelled at mid-distance on the track.
Michael is an engineer and from a coaching perspective, that’s very important to understand. An engineer’s way of thinking is different than most. How they think and process data and training needs to be considered. His way of thinking blends well with my prescription of training and progression of workouts on a weekly and monthly basis.
Michael as an athlete is “All-In”. However, he is quietly “all-in”. What I mean by this is when you talk with Michael, you don’t get the impression that he is intensely trying to be the best athlete in his age group. He has a quiet personality but a deep desire to be the best. Anyone who follows him on Strava knows he loves to train, he has quite the fanbase. Anyone in his circle of friends knows he’s very humble and always open to help others. His balance between training, high performance, and lifestyle is one of the best I’ve seen. He never goes full in on one category. Incredibly well-balanced. It’s how he’s gotten to this point.
2020 was a turning point for Michael. With every event being cancelled, Michael’s love for training and routine shined. He raised his CTL to the 2nd highest load ever. 2021 was his highest training load ever. To be the best, you have to enjoy the process. You have to be willing to train when you don’t want to. This is Michael’s strength. Preparation is truly day-to-day.
Michael pushes me as a coach as much as I push him as an athlete. As a coach, my job is to be 100% invested in my athletes and provide them with what they need to be successful.
Michael was the driver in my investing in the INSCYD software. This was the difference-maker into his 2nd Place at the World Championships.
As his coach for almost 10 years, I feel like I have a good idea of his physiology. To this point, we’ve already achieved many podium performances and a Kona Qualifying slot at IMKY. However, we wanted to be better in 2021. The INSCYD testing results showed us something we couldn’t see in the training data and assumptions.
We completely changed the next block of training. With his previous diet habits, training volumes, and what I’ve seen in his training I would have assumed his VLamax (glycolytic power) would have been naturally lower, but it was actually much higher than preferred for an endurance athlete with his goals. With this data, we also got a good estimate on how many carbs he was burning at specific power outputs. This helped us dial in his fueling plan for race day.
We reversed our thinking and in the next 8 months, we saw an FTP increase of 20 watts and an increase in his 70.3 sustainable power. 20 watts for someone of his level is significant. In my podcast #111 I dive deeper into this. The workouts didn’t change too much over the 8 months, we stayed consistent on the prescription and waited for the plateau, but we never saw it. I also believe there was a small placebo effect involved. We were All-In believing this was making him a better athlete. The mind is the primary driver, you have to believe in what you are doing. It was like his body couldn’t get enough of the stimulus we were pushing for. The perfect storm was brewing for Worlds. Without this test, there wouldn’t have been the big FTP jump or the 2nd place finish.
Our original plan in 2021 was Ironman Texas in the spring and 70.3 worlds in the fall. When Texas was canceled, we didn’t chase another Ironman with the fitness we developed, we stayed on track for 70.3 Worlds. Chattanooga and Steelhead went very well along the way. After Steelhead, Michael took his 2-week break where he was completely OFF. This left us with 10 weeks of specific preparation for 70.3 Worlds.
We resumed the volume we were training at and made the decision to focus solely on the specificity of the race versus choosing more volume as the primary stimulus. We were confident with the load we developed and felt like more volume as the primary load would only be detrimental. We went on a bi-weekly schedule of loading where we worked between hill repeats and extended tempo efforts running. On the bike, we focused primarily on zone 2 development with bi-weekly sessions of “hour of power” connection work and over gear work at 70.3 and above 70.3. We knew exactly where his LT1 was with blood lactate testing.
Our weekly schedule also moved towards a Thursday long run and a Friday-Sunday cycling-focused schedule where Monday-Wednesday was recovery-focused. Friday would be an “as you feel” ride, Saturday would be a standard 4-hour ride, and Sunday would be a specific interval ride, loaded with fatigue from the days before, with a specific run off the bike.
The weekly volume barely changed. The intensity and loads of intensity within the volume changed. This allowed adaptations without too much stress added.
The week before the race is when we took our recovery. This is what we call an “unloading week”. Monday-Friday is reduced volume and intensity. Then Saturday-Thursday we resume training to 60-75% of normal volume and intensity. This allows race weekend to feel like a normal training weekend, with a tad extra rest.
Watching Michael have the best race of his career was very satisfying. To be a part of his team and know how hard he works makes the result feel even sweeter. The journey to this result wasn’t easy or linear. There were countless bad races, injuries, and frustrations along the way. However, Michael kept believing and we kept adapting.
If you are still reading and have an interest in coaching, the first month of coaching is FREE. This allows you to see if coaching is a good fit. More information here for coaching and more information on INSCYD testing
