RR execution question
Hi. I have my first RR this weekend - guessing/hoping my HIM bike will be around 3 hours (depending on wind conditions in cambridge), I plan to do a 3 hour ride Saturday morning. My question/predicament is that I can't think of anywhere in my area that I can ride uninterrupted (stoplights, stop signs, people sharing trails) for that length of time or distance. How important is an uninterrupted ride? Should I tack on some extra time to cover stops and starts?
thanks.
0
Comments
thanks Beth, that's a very good point.
this is what my HIM plans says for this Sat:
56 mile Race Rehearsal. Pacing and nutrition as if race day. Be sure to pick a flat course, preferrably one you can repeat as needed
If I remember correctly when I read the wiki (or something) about RRs - you should shoot for an expected finish time (but that may have been an IM specific comment...) In any event, my question re: starts and stops is still looming. The only place I can think of around me that's flat and uninterrupted is a 3.5mi loop - I might be completely bonkers if I have to do that for 3 hours... but, it's close by home (as opposed to driving 2 hours to the eagleman race site -- which I won't do solo... too much could go wrong for me to be in the middle of nowhere alone). besides, most think I'm bonkers already.
I might be completely bonkers if I have to do that for 3 hours...
I'm sorry, this made me chuckle reminiscing about European Vacation where Chevy Chase keeps saying Big Ben!!! Parliament... I did a 70 minute workout on a 1.1 mile loop once because it was early and foggy, it was more of a mental workout than physical!
I don't recall discussion about this but I would lean towards doing the distance. Putting a time restraint on a RR for a full IM is more practical due to the potential amount of time spent riding. You want to see how you're going to run after biking for 56 miles at your goal pace.
Having an uniterrupted course is ideal. I live in Chicago and drove to a rural area to do mine last year. That worked for me logistically and I was lucky to be able to do so.
I'd like to hear from others too.
Becky,
if 'stops and starts' means 'riding up 6th ave in NYC', then yes, it's worth it to try to avoid that. Hard to get any sort of rhythm going.
OTOH, it' it's typical suburban riding, then, just go for the ride. Will it be a perfect simulation? no, but no simulation is perfect. Try to find as many long stretches as you can, but it doesn't need to avoid every stop sign/light entirely.
Do the best you can, and for goodness sake, don't do it on a 3.5 mile loop. Reminds me of the time I set out for an 18 mi marathon training run, on a 1/4 mile track...
Mike
@Dan - oh no... if I do the Hains Point Loop that's all I'm going to have in my head now: "Look kids, Big Ben; Parliament!" 70 min on a 1.1 loop... omg... that's horrible!
@Mike - equally painful. I did an 18 miler on a treadmill once in February. Thank goodness the gym had tvs on each cardio piece and there was a decent hockey game on... even still, it was mind numbing! Thanks, I'm sure I will be able to come up with something... just have to do a bit of thinking... the nicer places to ride near me are pretty hilly (which is another think the wiki said to try to avoid)...
@Matt - thanks, I posted the Q to the coaches, too (didn't think of that initially) - will let you all know when I hear back. I took another look at the wiki and it talks about time (but the example is for an IM)... the thought of heading out of the city had occurred to me but if I'm solo (which is likely) I don't want to stray too, too far from home (maybe it's a female thing... but I had a very bad crash last year and was very very lucky to have friends with me to help and ride back to their car to come back to get me bc my bike wasn't rideable and I was not in any condition to ride).
in the grand scheme of things - this ride will be to dial in nutrition and running... since I won't be rested. The last RR I do plan to do at the race site, which will be perfect for the better simulation... thanks again.
Hi, Becky--
I did my Eagleman RRs at Hains Point last year and it worked fine. Yes it was endless laps but it wasn't too brutal (bringing the iPod definitley helped) and I always rolled through the three stop signs (slowing slightly and looking both ways first of course) so I never had to stop. And after a certain number of laps I just kind of Zen-ed out and found a nice rhythm. Of course I counted the 18-mile round trip from my house to Hains and back as part of the ride so I didn't do all 56 miles at Hains (did the run from my house). Not ideal but for me that was a much better ROI than spending 4 hours in the car traveling to and from Cambridge for the RR. And Hains is a pretty good simulator for the EM course because it's flat and there's usually always a head-wind on one side. Good luck!
-Chris
I don't know what the collective EN wisdom is on this but I would try to get in the full 56. I'd look at my route and try to decide how many stop lights there are. The stop signs and people sharing trails is not as much of an issue. You just don't want to have 20 lights on your course holding you up for a minute here and there.
A 3.5 mile loop is crazy short but could you find something 10-12 miles in lengh, minimizing the lights? That's only 5 loops so not sure how crazy that will be for you.
Gordon
Becky,
yes, the plan says to find something flat. We don't all live near flat road. Don't follow directions into something crazy. If you've got a good 50-56 mile route near you that's hilly, it'll be fine.
FWIW, all of my RR's last year were on the same course, much hillier than any race I've done, and all it did was mean that I couldn't use it to figure out how fast I'd bike the actual course. Other than that, it's just as effective an RR, since you're trying to hold watts/effort constant anyways.
Mike
My attitude on what makes these rides useful is: 25% time in the saddle, 25% perfecting nutrition strategy, 40% seeing how well the run goes off a race pace/time bike effort, and 10% actual bike work.
FWIW- even though it's hilly, the Columbia route x2 would be a decent choice because you can rack the bike in your car afterwards and run around the lake. I'm sure you have similar options in NOVA.
thanks for all your thoughts!
@Michele - Balto is about 45 minutes - if the DB is game, that's a possibility as is heading out of town on the VA side.
@Nemo - I did think about heading out in VA... this weekend is DC Tri's Columbia bricknic -- unfortunately I don't think my hand can handle some of those hills yet (otherwise I would go).. making a fist is still hard so I want to be sure I can control my bike when I'm on a more technical couse
@Al - that's a good breakdown! I just got my Infinit, so I'll be trying that out... and I do plan to program my Garmin so I'll have my zones for the bike and the run dialed in ... so seeing how it all feels and comes together will be my main focus.
@Mike - I'm probably about 16 miles roundtrip from HPon the Mt. Vernon trail ... if all else fails (and I'm alone), I may end up there... I can suck it up for one morning.