Value of real-time TSS???
Didn't know if this belonged in the power forum or race execution, so I put it here.
I've been trying to decide whether a Joule or Garmin 500 would best fit may needs. I can use the $200 I'd save to put toward a 310XT to replace my Polar 625. But one question keeps coming to mind. If I have TSS on my computer during a race, and find out that I'm going to be way over my TSS target, am I going to do anything different for the rest of the race than I had originally planned? Do I just pay more attention to my "gears", and make sure that I stop being stupid? Or do I just shift to first gear and stay there for the rest of the race trying to bring total TSS into line? Another way the question is can I recover from starting too fast by going signficantly slower than my target for the remainder of the race?
Comments
I've been riding with an Ergomo, with IF, TSS, and Pnorm, on the main screen since 2006. These are VERY cool metrics to have in real time. In training. IF becomes a huge stick to make you work very, very hard. And seeing, feeling and tasting the interaction between IF and TSS, in real time, just makes the data more real.
For racing, yes, you just ride the gears in real time and the numbers work themselves out. However, if you're a smart discipined, know how to race with power person, I feel more data is better and I'm able to make better decisions when I have all the data. Often the decision is to keep doing what I'm doing, but it's very powerful to know that I rode the first hour of an IM bike at .71 IF per my plan. Not .70, not .73, not it felt like .71 but rather I, no shit, rode .71.
Sawiris got his hands on a Joulle and was telling me a little bit about it on our ride yesterday. I had just TT'ed up a hill for 45' so I don't remember much of what he said but he said it was pretty cool. Hopefully out soon
Rich...thanks for your feedback on this. My decision to have a joule was based largely on your past writings and power download stuff. I feel better about my decision to spend the $$$ on it.
Vince
I've heard the ship down from Saris to vendors is March 1st.....posted over on ST.
NO - at least I haven't been able to when I raced an IM stupidly. All the more reason to watch those real-time analytic numbers like NP, TSS, and IF in the first 1-2 hours of the bike, as Rich implies.
Rich - I think I've got it. The real value of the additional data is that it will allow me to determine earlier if I am not executing according to plan. Then I would go back to the plan. I guess if I was confident that I wouldn't make any pacing mistakes (or that I could recognize them quickl), then I really don't need the additional data - except it would be interesting. Experience leads me to believe that I do make mistakes - especially on hilly courses. I think you also made the point somewhere, that the Joule is probably worth the extra money just so you don't have so many vendors products in the mix.
Bob, yes, for racing it's good data to have. For training it creates an evil feedback loop that is very powerful for the solo rider. I simply can't get on the bike and not hammer the shit out of myself when I'm solo. If I'm being cheesy, that IF number just screams at me to work harder and harder