Endurance Lab

Running • Triathlon • Performance
Science-backed training for endurance athletes.
Train. Adapt. Perform.

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

@CyclingTodayEn 🦓

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

The subtext that gets missed in these debates: it's not just money, it's rider load. A long-haul flight to Guangxi at the tail end of an already brutal season is a real fatigue and injury-risk cost most fans don't price in. Calendar geography matters almost as much as calendar length fewer late-season long-hauls means healthier riders going into the off-season.

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

Solid session. One add from the triathlon side: for age-groupers chasing sub-4, the aerobic volume doesn't have to come from more running. Swap 1-2 of those 3-5 weekly runs for zone 2 bike or swim same aerobic stimulus, way less impact and injury risk. The engine doesn't know if it's built on pavement or a saddle.

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

Lab Test: Blummenfelt, 7 days from 70.3 Worlds in Nice.

Real lap data from the session:
Reps: ~400m @ 2:48–2:53/km.
Recovery: 44 seconds covering 60-70m. Pace: 10–12/km.

That's not jogging between reps. That's walking.

Full recovery, not float recovery confirmed by the splits, not a guess. This is pure neuromuscular sharpening riding on top of a near race-distance day (20.78km total, the 70.3 run leg is 21.1km).

Second layer: Sankt Moritz, ~1800m altitude, one week before racing at sea level in Nice. That transition timing is its own periodization call.

Lesson for age-groupers: the reps are all-out. The recovery is basically dead. That contrast is the whole point sharpen the top end, protect everything else. Not a hard session. A precise one.

https://t.co/40M6fZC1zp

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

I asked AI: "How long should my Ironman 70.3 taper be?"

AI said: 10-14 days, cut volume 40-60%, keep intensity.

Here's what 15 years of coaching real athletes taught me:

Taper length isn't fixed. It depends on your training age, how you absorbed the last block, and how you handle reduced load psychologically.

Undertrained athletes taper shorter 7-10 days.
Athletes coming off a big block need the full 14.
Get it wrong either way and you show up flat or undertrained.

AI gives you a rule. A coach reads YOUR data.

What's your taper been like worked or backfired?

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

@CyclingTodayEn Wild context: Pogačar's salary alone (~$8M) is more than 20x the ENTIRE Ironman World Championship prize purse ($375K, split across 15 places). Two endurance sports, two different planets financially.😅

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

@fcbliebe1900 Wow 😅

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

@dcrainmakerblog Fit range matters more for triathletes than roadies most indoor setups nail power but ignore aero position transfer. If V2 actually holds a proper TT fit without hacks, that's the real upgrade, not the frame itself.

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

@247_endurance Smart call, not a gamble. You can't half-periodize for Kona. Dropping 70.3 Worlds means full aerobic + heat-specific build with zero compromise that's how you actually contend for a world title, not just show up.

[Endurance Lab @enduranceLab13]

Most endurance athletes don't need more training.
They need better training.

I see it every week with my athletes:
more volume -no progress.
more intensity -burnout.

The real formula:
Stimulus → Recover → Adapt → Repeat.

That's it. That's the whole science.

Train. Adapt. Perform.

What's the one thing you'd cut from your plan right now?