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Should I strive for steady power on a hilly sprint duathlon?

Peter WickPeter Wick
in Racing Forum 🏎

This 6K,21K, 2K duathlon has a hilly first run and a very hilly bike course followed by a short 2K run. Just surviving the first 2 legs will be tough but since it is only a sprint I'm wondering whether I should be trying to go at a steady wattage for such a short final run.

 http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1816733 first run, 6K, some trails

 http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1816704 Bike course, 21K, hilly mixture of steepness and lengths. Very little is flat.

Second run is only 2K and is on a sort of meadow, not very hilly.

http://www.wwchallenge.com  Walpack Wilderness Challenge

Comments

  • Brenda RossBrenda Ross
    Pete, have you done a duathlon before? I did them for 8 years and was coached individually for every race that I did, and the advice from my coach was to try to be within 15sec per mile on the front and the back run. As for the bike, since you work with power, I would shoot between .90 and .95. That should allow you to run well off the bike. What say all you other wickedly smart peeps?
  • Peter WickPeter Wick
    No, I've never done a duathlon before. My first taste was yesterday when a teammate and I did a race rehearsal on similar terrain. It was a rude awakening. While I'll want to go out hard, that first run has a lot of climbing and descending so I am not sure what sort of pace to attempt. My recent 5Ks have been in the 21 minute+ range (6:55 pace) but those courses weren't this hilly. When Larry and I finished a hilly 6K run and hopped on our bikes to go do the club's hill workout route like a race we both wanted to die half way through it. That being said, I was hitting each hill like it was a VO2max interval so I know that isn't a good strategy but I don't know if I can tolerate aiming for a steady power of 210-220 on the hills (My FTP is 233) in such a short race.

    I'll be riding it on my road bike because of the profile since I'm more comfortable climbing in that cockpit and there's very little opportunity to settle into the aero position anyway.
  • Brenda RossBrenda Ross
    I think your race rehearsal shows you that you went out to hard on the front run, which affected your bike. The key in a duathlon is to ensure that your front run is hard, but not so hard that it affects your bike (I would shoot for a Z4 effort). You are a strong cyclist. If you hold back a bit on the front run, and stay at 210 for the bike you should be able to run off the bike well. Thoughts?
  • Peter WickPeter Wick
    I guess that's what I need to do, except that the final run is only 2K, barely a 9-10 minute effort. On the other hand, this race is one I want to place well in but am not in anyway deluded as to where I'll place compared to the elite folks who'll show up. This is actually like being chased by a bear. I only REALLY want to kick my friend's (and teammate) ass so being faster than he is will be all that matters... My HIM PR is 5:49 at Hunter Mountain. I was coaching Larry since July for the Poconos 70.3 and that rat bastard goes and rips off a 5:27. The NERVE of that guy!!! ;-)
  • John WithrowJohn Withrow
    I agree that you should moderate the first run a bit. BUT, the last run just doesn't seem long enough to make or lose all that much time. So maybe not VO2 type levels on the hills, but no need to ride perfectly steady like in an IM either. No reason you can't go at or slightly above FTP going up the hills but still make sure to keep the effort up going back down them. Then get chased by a bear on the run and collapse across the finish line. Good Luck!
  • cgres123cgres123
    GOOD post Peter I'm interested in duathlon for season 2013, I am looking to focus on bike build an leg work. I think perhaps I would like to go a little bit longer than a sprint however perhaps an Olympic or half. Brenda had some good advice for me last year has that was my first duathlon because the water was so crappy they canceled the swim. I enjoyed it.
  • Peter WickPeter Wick
    David! You're in NJ (okay, southern NJ)! Why don't you come up to the Walpack and race with us this Sunday? What about you, John? Hmmm?
  • Brenda RossBrenda Ross
    Let me know what you decide and how it goes Peter. Kick that rat bastards ars.
  • Peter WickPeter Wick
    If things work out with the Garmin I'll post the Strava stuff. Knowing me I will be gunning it harder than I ought to the whole time. Sorta my last hurrah before growing up and being a good EN citizen... All those hills will show a power spike for the first 15 seconds and then a sledding hill drop down to reality.
  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    Hey Peter — since the bike is only 21km, I would be trying to sit on my FTP (as in your supposed max power you can averge for 60 mins).

    Also, like Brenda, I would be shooting for Z4 on the runs as well.

    FWIW, as the race will be around an hour long, you should be able to sit on Z4 all the way (bike and run).

    YMMV
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