TRIATHLON PHYSIOLOGY FOR DUMMIES AND THE TENDENCY TOWARD THE MEAN

I have been avoiding this issue, but I need to explain everything to my athletes; everything that we human beings know regarding physiology and triathlon.  This knowledge is applied physiology and experimentation in one or two subjects.  Kazdin writes:

I do not get to the point of the Nobel Prize winner, Barry James Marshall, on self-experimentation, but we have done self-experimentation.  I will not follow a protocol but I will divide arbitrarily in five chapters.  This would be the first one.

Why one subject experimentation? A tendency toward the mean will be present most of the time because the amount of variables present when testing a very small cohort, 20-30 or 40 subjects, does not give a statistical power; “science does not proof, just proves.”  The experimentation is useful when we know the different variables.  For instants, I have seen graphics which do not belong to me. It is a testing of the Mexican Federation, where increasing the pacing (decreasing the time per kilometer) when increasing the cadence, correlates with a better outcome while competing running, compared to increasing the time flying (increasing the stride length).  When you see the outcome it is difficult to make something out of it if you do not have a good idea about the variables, but knowing the background it is easier.  This is the strongest reason why the tendency toward the mean exists, or as I would say:  “chance plays a major role when we do not have an intervention for each variable.”  Improving technique is an intervention.  That is why Einstein said: "God does not play dice with the universe."

Let’s continue with the example of cadence.  It is said that increasing cadence increases oxygen consumption, reason why some coaches advocate low cadence.  This looks like a paradox because we do not take into consideration the type of fibers use and the neurological training needed to run or to cycle at a high cadence, above 220 running and above 105rpm cycling.  When we do a metabolic test, the more oxygen we use the fitter we are.  Increasing cadence augments oxygen consumption because the heart, lungs and legs use more oxygen.  The advantage is the type of fibers used while cycling or running, oxygen consuming fibers, the ones that fatigue until they die, or if there is an oxygen debt.  If we decrease cadence, e.g. to 180 running or 80rpm cycling keeping the same speed, involvement of the other fibers that do not use so much oxygen takes place and fatigue sits in or bonking is a consequence.  What to do with high oxygen consumption in the case of high cadence? Eat more in order to continue exercising.  How much? For a 70kg athlete, 450 calories per hour is the goal, in order to avoid the bonking.  Of course, we need to have a neurological training and anaerobic training to face the competition at a high cadence which I will explain later.  Empirical observations we have with Lance Armstrong and the athletes we have trained.  In some we have a before and an after when changing the cadence, a one subject experimentation.