Training but not racing with power?

lancelsu

I have a powerbeam pro and utilize trainer pro for training rides, but come race day I won't have a power meter available on my race wheels. 

Is there really any reason (other than to gauge fitness progress) to focus and train with the power numbers in training? Wouldn't I want to focus more on heart rate and RPE? The power numbers are kind of like a nice to have, but won't have a race day thing? 

Any others have a similar set up and if so what do you do?

Jan Schorpion

Lance, I am in the same situation. I train with power on TR, but dont have power come race day. I posed a similar question several weeks ago, and the 2 answers I got was. 1) look for a cheap wired powertap (if it is a budget issue), 2) pay close attention to HR and RPE in different zones and learn how it feels and then transfer that knowledge to race day. I am looking forward to more input from others on this, as I am sure many of us are in the same boat. Personally, I have blown several 70.3's because of pacing myself based on RPE. 

Dino Sarti

What Jan said ^^^^

Coach Rich

Yep, what Jan said. Consider selling the Powerbeam for an on-the-bike powermeter? Racing with power is a HUGE advantage. 

morpheus

It's my experience that....

RPE lies to you on a race day, no matter how dialed into it you are during training. Everything feels easier than the toll it's really taking for much (1/2 to 2/3 ish) of the day. By the time realistic 'perception' sets in, it may be too late and too much damage done.

Use Power as a whip to get you going harder during the training months and use Power as a governor to keep you in check on race day.

Just my experience.

lancelsu

So throwing out RPE, what about heart rate? Seems like I've found a lot of discussion of pace vs HR on the run on here, but not much about HR vs Power on the bike?

Also in my experience (limited given) seems as if power is good on a flat course (ie Florida) and a trainer (flat), but when I did use one in the past on a rolling course the power number is all over the board.

Am I leaving minutes on the table by sticking to HR on the bike?

morpheus

the short answer is that HR is too variable to count on, for many reasons.

If you have confidence in your FTP value, you can sit on 68% (for example) of that number all day. Whether it's a flat course or rolling hills or mountains, 68% of your ceiling is the same.

HR does matter, certainly. Is very valuable and many people race very well with it. What we're saying here is that Power is the next step up in taking an input (the info the bike computer gives you) and utilizing it for an advantage that many other racers only wish they had or are ignoring their's.

lancelsu

So on a partial side note, I have a SRAM s80 race wheel - can it be re-laced with a wireless powertap? And if so how much does something like that run to do???

Brad Marcus

@Lance - I came into EN 1 year ago in exactly the same situation. I had a power beam pro with power meter on the flywheel but nothing on the bike itself. I started with the Jan OS at the time and used power as a guide to to measure my FTP and vo2 numbers to get my power zones. I paid very close attention to my hr and rpe levels and how they compared to those power numbers. I did my best when I took my bike off the trainer and rode outside, but this was the biggest challenge. I raced two 70.3 races over the summer - one with power on the bike and one w/o - for certain, racing with power keeps you "more honest". Although, I will say that my results from the prior year were vastly improved since I had a better idea of proper hr and rpe pacing.

Agree with everyone above - if you can get a power meter on your bike, that is the way to go. I still have my power beam pro, but don't even use the simulation software anymore. I'm strictly setting up my workouts and watching my power numbers. I still do track heart rate since I wear the monitor for all my workouts.

As for lacing your current wheel - it is possible, but not sure if it is the most cost effective way to go.

Bruce Thompson

Lance...a power meter is even more important on a hilly rolling course.  It helps you keep your effort constant (same watts and %FTP) regardless of the terrain.  It tells you when you are putting out too much power going uphill and lets you know when you need to add power on the descents.  The idea is to keep the watts steady while everyone else burns their matches on the climbs and rests on the descents.  It takes practice to do this but once you learn how to do it, it is a big competitive advantage in race execution skills.  The real advantage of riding this way is that is saves your legs for the run without loosing time on the bike.

I rode IMCDA in 2011 without a PM and used HR.  I've done 2 additional IMs  (WI in 2012 & 13) since using a PM and it made a world of difference.  I was able to cut 65 minutes off my bike (IMWI '13 vs CDA in '11) and still ran  a 4:08 marathon (12 minutes faster than CDA)..

Al Truscott

Posted By Chris Hardbeck on 23 Dec 2013 04:49 PM




Use Power as a whip to get you going harder during the training months and use Power as a governor to keep you in check on race day.

The Truth. Using HR on race day is not helpful as that governor. There is such a lag from the start of a hard effort to the time it shows up in the HR; the effect of wind, heat, hydration, et al on heart rate - all these make it very difficult to use if you are trying to use HR on your bike to set up a good run. It took me five year & 7-8 Ironman races to dial in my HR/RPE before I finally was able to have successful races. One of the big deals about EN is to enable folks to short circuit that learning curve, so you don't have to make mistakes like I did over a period of years before you start to perform well on IM race day. Along with the training plans and the race execution knowledge, using a power meter during an IM or HIM makes it so much easier to avoid messing up and ruining 3-6 months of work and 1000s of $$ in a few hours on race day.

morpheus

Posted By Lance Nobles on 23 Dec 2013 06:33 PM


So on a partial side note, I have a SRAM s80 race wheel - can it be re-laced with a wireless powertap? And if so how much does something like that run to do???

I'm not sure.  EN does a ton of work with wheelbuilder.com and a quick call or email to them would probably get you a quick answer.  If you're stuck on a PowerTap, I wouldn't be surprised if Rich advised you to sell it (assuming that you can't re'hub and relace it) and buy a quality all purpose wheel, with a PT hub, and then get a wheel cover to create a disc for race day.  They work great.  But, many of us use Quarq crank based power meters and love them.  Prices are comparable to everything out there that has a good reputation.  And, I've seen a few on ebay for good prices and appear to be in good shape.  

William Jenks

Virtually any wheel can be re-laced by a good builder with a PT. You'll need to make sure you get a hub with the right number of spoke holes, but I guess that's pretty obvious.

Budget-wise, a good quality training wheel and a disk cover is the way to go, though, over a carbon wheel unless you plan to ride the wheel every day.

Coach Rich

Excellent notes from everyone here, but to consolidate:

• Power on the bike vs a trainer means you can take the training benefits of power with you when you train on the road. There are just far, far too many benefits of training with power on the road to list here. We can just say you'll learn tons about your cycling when you ride outside with power.
• As everyone has said, huge benefits to racing with power but we don't toss out HR and RPE. Rather we use all three on race day (power, RPE, and HR) and you'll just "know" what you're doing by the time you get there. Power is the objective measurement that helps you make sense of and add a depth of understanding to the subjective metrics of RPE and HR. 
• Email me at rich@endurancenation.us if you want a power meter quote. I work with Wheelbuilder for both Powertap and Quarq systems.