Help for Friday RR#2 Plan
On Friday I'll be doing Race Rehearsal #2 for my Sept 29th HIM in Kerrville, TX. I should say this is also the only RR I will have been able to do this season. So, I'd like to get it as "right" as possible.
A few questions...
* Biking time: The podcast guidance for week 18 says to ride for as long as you think 56 miles will take on race day. I've never ridden the course, and it's hillier there than where I live (Dallas), so it's hard to guess how long it will take. I've looked at the elevations, and it doesn't look crazy hard, but it's still hard to guess. My best guess is 17pmh...so 3:15...but that's just a hunch. My FTP is 125. Any tips on how to figure it out?
* Biking steady: My FTP is 125. I'm guessing bike will take 3:15. So, I should ride at 79-80% (@ 100 watts)...except for the first 20 minutes at 90-95 watts. My question is that when I try to ride steady (FTP intervals w goal of 125), I'm disappointed that I maybe rode too easy after the ride. I know the slowing/stopping parts of my ride bring my power to zero...and I'm trying to not spike power on the few hills around...so if I aim for 125, I end up having ridden closer to 110. So do I just live in the present and aim for 125 when I can...and let the slowing/stopping parts go in my mind? Or, do I try to aim higher in the "present" so that my average is closer to the number I'm aiming for?
* Run pacing: The HIM Race Execution on the wiki says Miles 1-3 are Z2+:30 (for me, 9:50) plus walking 20-30 steps at aid stations...then Miles 4-10 are Z2 (for me, 9:20). The RR protocol says to do Miles 1-3 at Z2+:30 (9:50) and then Miles 4-6 at Z2 (9:20) plus 30 step walk break per mile. On race day, I would like to walk 20-30 steps at the end of every mile (minus the last one!). I'd like to mimic this in my RR. With the difference in RR & HIM protocol, I can't decide how I should pace myself. It seems like a lot to add :30 sec to my pace miles 1-3 and then walk as well. Any thoughts on how to choose my pace if I plan to walk 20-30 steps every mile?
I realize these are picky details, but I only have one real practice...and it really helps to know what I'm aiming for! :-)
Thanks!
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Comments
1) Wouldn't stress too much about estimating how long it will take you. If you think it will mentally stress you out that you might be on the course longer than you rehearsed, just for the piece of mind, overestimate it.
2) I'm still new to power and haven't done a HIM with it, but I'm sure the same rule as the IM goes- better to ride to easy and have a great run than ride too hard and crash and burn on the run. How long have you been riding with power for? Do you feel you had a good test? I just did IMWI and found in my RR that I was significantly above the goal wattage based on FTP, however, in my RRs I felt fine and ran well off of the bike. I chalked it up to being new to power/testing and that my FTP was probably higher than I tested at. Its tricky since you only have one RR, but you could try shooting for a slightly higher goal watts and seeing how it goes, and if it hurts you on the run, dial it back for the race. Otherwise, just be glad the ride felt easy and kill it on the bike.
3) I'd still try to add 30 sec + walking. It might seem crazy slow, but overall it is 1.5 minutes, nothing! Save it for the kick at the finish line.
Hope that helps! And remember- its a rehearsal- not suppose to be perfect. :-)
Rebecca,
1) Ride 56 where you are, and this should be fine. Add 10-15 minutes if you must but either way if you have put in the training you will be fine on race day.
2) Ride the plan, You only get to ride harder if you prove that you can run off the bike FTP that you put in for this race. If you are riding with a Garmin 510 or other device hit the lap reset every 15, 20 ,30 minutes to ensure even FTP riding over the 56 miles. I have a power tap with a little yellow computer and live in the moment. Just remember after a couple hours it's really hard to increase the Avg FTP and we are concerned with normalized FTP and keeping the VI low. Again don't worry about 5-10 watts and if you can't break the ride in to segments live in the moment for your goal pace and don't go over except for the guidance in short and long hills.
3) You can work in the walking to account for the +30 but again you don't want to over extend. For the 1:30 that you are giving up over miles 1-3 you will pass many in the last 6 miles of the run if well paced. In the end if you find yourself pushing the pace in the final 5K you might have left something on the table for next time this is the learning experience of 70.3. On the flip side for every mile you walk you are losing a lot of time.
Gordon
Even if you were in excellent condition, I would not ride at harder than 80% FTP. If you feel that you have to/want to walk at each mile due to conditioning issues then riding above 80% (or 100% as your goal of 125W would be) will bury you into a huge hole that you are unlikely to recover from on race day.
If you have a Garmin 500/501 then setting it to show Lap Normalized power, Lap Average power, 3s or 10s power would be helpful. Lap NP will allow you to shoot for the goal of 100W. Keeping your NP and AP close will ensure that your power is not being wasted by riding too hard on the uphills or too easy on the downhills. 3s/10s would just give you a more instant real time power reading though they do fluctuate a bit. I also set mine for 7 miles repeats so I can compare my approximate times for each of the 8 (or 16) intervals on the HIM (IM) course.
Finally I think you might want to reconsider the walking at each mile part. The Race Wiki does not mention walking at each mile for the HIM run as it does for the IM run. I think the reason is simple mathematics and effort. Let me give you my numbers as an example. Let's say my goal IM run pace as dictated by vDot was 8:30/mile. At the beginning of each mile you would walk 30 steps (or approximately 15sec). You would then have 8 min 15 sec to complete that particular mile (15 sec walk PLUS 8 min 15 sec run). This is quite doable as the pace is not overly taxing as it is Zn 1. Let's apply this to the HIM run. In this situation the goal pace for my vDot would 7:09/mile (Zn 2). If we walked the first 30 steps of each mile, then I would have 6 min 54 sec to complete that particular mile. Given that the 30 steps might account for 45-60 feet, I would in essence be running at my Zn 3 pace (6:52/mile) rather Zone 2 in order to make up the time lost for the walking. It's really hard to do so as I accidentally did this in training for my HIM. After a few miles, you really blow up. I definitely did. Now if you weren't trying to hit your pace goals as dictated by your vDot then walking at each mile would not be a problem as you are not trying to hit certain time goals. I would suggest that you try to jog miles 1-3 at 9:50 and then miles 3.1-6 at 9:20. I think that you might surprise yourself. Anyways now would be the time to get it wrong so it doesn't happen on race day.
didn't mention: but I always carry immodium, electrolytes, migraine headache, aleve, pepto in case things go south! and I can manage. the Nutrition is good to peg on these RRs, sleep, nutrition the day before, relaxation and overall execution, and even what to wear etc, which I call a gear check from my socks to my bike.
I just did Prairieman there in Dallas!!! I live in LR... now that was hot!! where is Kerrville? ... I am posting in IMFLA threads btw. Good Luck!! m
For your power, just stay within the moment as best you can. I hit the interval button at least every 30 minutes, sometimes every 15 minutes. Consistently try and put up the, real time watts, IF or Av watts you are going for. Practice being steady. Your total ride IF will sort itself out.
Your Hunch is good enough in my opinion. If you think your home course of 56 miles will be faster than race day, its still probably good enough to go 56 and get off. especially if you are within 15-20 minutes of race day time.
For the run, your mile splits should be for the total time to include walking. in my mind, The walking section/aid station is the start of a new mile. I take my quick 30 steps and then start running. I practice this during the RR to prove to myself that it doesn't slow me down that much and actually makes it all feel a lot easier. For example, if you are going for 8:30/mile pace, you can run at 8:10-8:15 but you have taken 30 quick steps at the beginning which brings you to roughly 8:30 total mile time. Also notice that when you are walking, 30 steps isn't actually that long. I'm also viewing on my Garmin pace of last lap, so I can see my pace for every previous mile. That's how I do it.
and I second the fact that screwing up a RR is actually a good thing...I've had a few tough ones myself which have been invaluable for learning and having a good race.
For #1---glad to know I'm close enough and I'm not missing the secret formula. :-)
For #2--I think my FTP is accurate bc it's from a recent sprint tri...couldn't have gone any harder & took my best 20 minutes. Think I'll just live in the moment with my 10-sec power...and aim for 100 watts.
For #3--I think I'll aim for walking a quick 30 steps to start each new mile...and will aim for my Z2 9:20 pace...except for the first 3 miles when I'll be closer to 9:50. I know this will put me a bit slower than my goal pace, but I can always pick it up from mile 7/8 if I can...and, if not, I'll be glad I was conservative. Clearly, at my paces, I'm not about to win! :-) And, these paces are new for me...and my fastest yet...so I don't think I have a lot of room to make them faster during the race.
And, Kerrville is in Texas...about 5 hours southwest from Dallas.
Thanks again... love having teammates with a variety of experiences and perspectives that are willing to help. And, love the reminder that a terrible RR is not necessarily terrible for my race...just something to learn from!