IMCDA Race rehearsal #2 results
RR #1: Wt 189, FTP 264, VDOT ~42-43: Swim 1:23 (pool), Bike 107mi in 6:13 @ NP 189, IF 0.71, VI 1.07 w/ 2650ft elevation, run 6 miles in 53 minute @ HR 155 (target was 9:19/mile)
RR #2: Wt 184.5, FTP 270, VDOT ~43-44. Swim 1:24 (open water). Bike 104mi in 6:05 @ NP 180 (first 90 minutes NP of 175), IF 0.67, VI 1.09, TSS 270 w/2684 elevation, Run 6 miles in 57:40 @ HR 135 (target was 9:45/mile). Also changed to a more aero bike fit, aero helmet.
Overall experience: Was over hydrated to start with (peed x 3 on swim, x 4 on bike), my target of 1L/hour on bike is better than 1.5L, unless super hot at CDA (it was 75-78 here today). Otherwise, nutrition plan is really dialed in and it worked great again. Need to work on swim technique, obviously. My swim time was 5 minutes slower than the same effort last week. The aero fit changes did not cause any pain except I somehow screwed up putting my fork/stem back together because now the front does not respond well when turning (something is over tightened). Had to stop to loosen it. I think that was the reason for the higher VI this time, but that is another obvious target for improvement. Overall fewer stops which is why I went faster, impressive that I was faster with a lower NP. I think the wattage execution was successful and HR stayed 125-135 for most of the 6 hours. The end result is I think I can go push the NP up to 182-185. I felt very strong coming off the bike. The run felt really slow, but I hit my target pacing (thanks coach Truscott), and considering there was 20 miles to go, seems right. At the end of the run I very much felt like I could keep going with less neck tightness and none of the hamstring issues that occurred during RR1.
Thanks again for all input. I am confident this is going to work out. Bike is going to the shop, going to focus on swim last two weeks.
DS