RR # 2 For Liberty HIM June 12
Was out the door by 6 on the bike by 6:46. I rode the race course again and dang I just can't seem to race that hilly course with an IF of 80. My IF ended up being 70 and VI = 1.22. Total watts = 95. I am so frustrated with trying to figure out what I am doing or not doing on this course. I am a small peep so I don't push big watts, goal watts for this race is around 107. I only hit 16.2 mph!! Yikes I have raced this course in the past doing 19, but my legs are usually toast for the run. I have been trying to execute the EN style, uphills spinning like heck and trying not to spike watts and downhill my watts usually go way way down to like 50. Just can't seem to ride this course steady. Any peep out there do Liberty Course in Minneapolis and use EN execution? What am I doing wrong? Total time it took me was 3.5 hours! That seems way too long for me....guess I am comparing my pevious times on HIM courses getting it done by 2:50 ish. Help 
Comments
Kathy- can you post a pic of the graph from your WKO workout? Fellow L'il peep here can totally understand your frustration= but we should be able to figure a way to get you riding a little more steady. If I've pulled the right race up, the below course looks crazy hilly at first glance, but the scale would indicate that none of these hills are more than about 250-300ft in elevation gain and it looks very very rolly. How comfortable are you descending and are you taking advantage of the downhill momentum to get up the next hill? We still have 2 weeks to help you figure this out- don't panic!
Hey Nemo, you are a lifesaver and so is my hubby for helping me figure out how to upload this data!! Anyhow, here is the record of the ride from wko. Lemme know what you think! Thanks so much
Kathy,
I don't have a lot of feedback other to confirm the difficulty of the course. By "difficult" I mean that there are a lot of ups and downs and turns. I rode the course on Saturday morning - only one lap since my aerobars were creaking so bad I could no longer take it. Granted, I did not know the course and so had to stop and check my directions frequently, but I never found that I could get into a grove.
For the race next weekend I am going to just focus on my goal watts especially on the uphills (keep my watts down), hill crests (make sure I don't ease up to catch my breath), and on the downhills (take advantage of all the free speed I can).
BTW, I'm not sure I found the run course... I ran the 6.2 mile loop within the park once, plus a couple miles on the front-end. I was hurting for water half way through - whoops.
I'll be wearing my EN tank and shorts, I hope to catch you before the race to meet!
Hi David,
Yep, I agree course is really hard to dial in goal watts. It is a difficult course to execute, with all the rolling hills. I have been out there 4x and just can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. But, I submitted my WKO files to Coach P last night and he already got back to me with some tangible advice. So, back out there this Sat to practice one more time before the race. I think the run may be an out and back, at least that is what the website indicates. It is a decent run, some shade, some sun. My two goals with this race are; execute bike well enough to have a good run. I always fade on the run.....every time. This is my 5th HIM and I really would like to nail the run. For sure I will try to find you race morning, I will be wearing my EN singlet also. Good luck!
Good Luck!
Thanks Nemo! Coach P recommended I dial back my goal IF from .80 to .77-.76 and like you said get to the goal watts before the hill and maintain those watts up and over the crest into the downhill until I run out of gears. He said I will really need to dial in and focus hard on maintaining those goal watts. After training on this course and now trying to execute well on the rolling hills, I am beginning to appreciate the work ahead of me for IMWI!! Guess it is good training!
You will do great. Thanks for submitting your file. Here is the link if anyone else wants to hear my cursory review. Don't worry about hitting goal watts this close to your race, rather it's how STEADY can you be at GIVEN watts for those hills. Keep us posted!!!
P
Thanks P! Your comments from the Crucible were really helpful! I decided to take your advice and dial down the intensity to .76 and try to sit on 102. Like you said steady will be my battle cry next weekend, if I can do that and run well, I will consider my race exection successful. Will post on the forum will results on June 12th!! Wow, it is coming fast...feeling a little nervous...funny, I have rarely put this must thought into the bike portion...I ususally just get on and go as fast as I can for as long as it takes
But, now that has all changed with the EN way!