Race Data Screen - what data fields to look at

Sheila Leard

I want to set up my Garmin for my last long ride before IM Boulder. In the past I have set it to see NP, HR, Distance and Pace. I program it to reset every hour.

Here's my question.  Boulder is at 5000 + elevation and dry. In the past I have trained with data but race with RPE and HR. @Coach Patrick says in the WIKI that FTP can come down as you get close to your race. So how critical is watching Watts. I do see value in looking at watts coming out  of T1 to pull the reins in. 

Would 3 sec power be better than looking at NP knowing it's a bit lower than after to OS season? 

Thanks Team 

John Withrow

https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/184084#Comment_184084

But here was my response in that thread (with a few edits to make it current):

I use the Edge 520. I LOVE data. And I keep the same page for all of my training and racing so I just know at a glance where to look. I only use one page but have 9 cells on it: 

[ Time ] 
[Pwr 3s] [NP Lap] I used to auto-lap every 4 miles. 
[Cadence] [Heart Rate] 
[Avg speed] [NP] 
[Speed] [Distance] 

I have a second screen that replaces [Avg Speed] with [Total Ascent]. Depending on what type of training ride I'm on I'll choose on or the other of these screens as I like to play games with myself. i.e. "I can't stop until I get to 7,000'" or "I've averaged 19.8mph through 3 hrs, I must get that over 20mph by the end of my 5hr ride". This is the same reason I have NP on there. I like to look at that number 3.5hrs into my 5hr ride and tell myself I must get that up by "x" watts before I finish. All of these mental games force me to finish my rides strong. I leave them on there for races because I'm so used to the layout of this screen, and even though it is blasphemous I sometimes play these same games during races so I don't wuss out in the last hour of a ride... I do not use auto-pause, because the few times I tried it, it gave me false pauses going up very steep hills. My alarm goes off every 30 mins just to wake me out of my trance to make sure I'm eating/drinking enough. 

I have a 935 on my wrist just in case I need an emergency backup. Auto-lap every 4 miles. The 4 cells I use are: 
[Power 3s] [NP Lap] 
[HR] [Time] 

For the run I have 2 nearly identical screens 
[time] [HR] 
[current Pace] [distance] 

The other screen is exactly the same except it replaces [current pace] with [average pace]. 
My watch auto laps every 1 mile.

Jeff Horn

I'm glad this thread popped up.  I just started using my Wahoo Bolt right before Chattanooga 70.3 this past weekend.  and had to make sure all my cells were configured to my liking.  That computer is nice because you can stratify which cells are more important and then zoom in / out to have 1 -9 cells on the screen depending on what you want to look at.  There is also a separate climbing "page" to view ascent / grade info so these don't go in your main screen cells.  I have similar cells to @John Withrow but also have IF in bottom right corner to monitor ride progress.  Unfortunately the bolt was not doing something properly as my IF was reading > 0.94 the whole ride and I finished at 1.02 lol.  I checked the iPhone app and FTP is set properly so not sure what is going on yet. Nothing new on race day I know but the computer is pretty slick.  I like the games that Withrow has built in to his data.  
I'm still tinkering with run information on my Fenix5.  I have a screen for HR, a screen for power and then the main pace screen.  I will be changing that up shortly to have pace and HR on same screen.  

Al Truscott

Note Withrow views his NP/IF by lap. Looking at IF/NP for a 3-6 hour ride becomes increasingly frustrating, as it has smaller and smaller pendulum swings even if you are making rather large changes to power later in the bike.

Does the Bolt show IF (specifically the %, not the raw watt number) by lap? When I looked into it last year, I could not get confirmation from Wahoo that it had that ability. That is a key metric for me - probably the one I look at more than any other during a race. I prefer the IF rather than the NP, because as my FTP changes over the course of the season (and my career), I keep forgetting the exact number I'm aiming for. But 0.82 is always 0.82.

Also, I do not auto lap. I make a conscious effort to hit the lap button as the terrain changes. So I monitor my IF during a climb, or a descent, or on the flats - goal IF will be different for each of those, of course. If the terrain doesn't change for 15-20 minutes, then I may hit lap. This is one way I keep myself alert to what I am supposed to be doing at any particular point in the race.

Paul Curtin

Great topic @Sheila Leard.  NP will certainly trend down from its peak as you taper.  But for race day I'd suggest only a small drop in planned power.  While your FTP will be lower, you'll be much more rested.  Use this upcoming long ride to hone in on your race day power number

The unknown factor though is altitude.  Do you plan to adjust power accordingly?  I presume you haven't been training at altitude.  @Al Truscott: what's your recommendation for adjusting power at high-altitude races?

But to answer your question, I'd suggest looking at 3s and 30s power, along with NP lap.  Watching 3-second power will help avoid super-short spikes on small climbs; 30-second power will help keep things in check on longer climbs (which I presume Boulder has a lot of); and of course NP to watch the trend for each hour

If you're not a "data" person like me and like @John Withrow, then don't add a bunch of stuff to your Garmin screen.  It will only mess you up on race day trying to make sense of it all

Al Truscott

@Paul Curtin Of course it depends on elevation and acclimitization. For Boulder, it's probably about a 5% discount for the acclimitized athlete. Chart here:

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/09/altitude-and-aerobic-performance.html

Chris Oubre

@Al Truscott so based on that chart, if I estimate my FTP to be 280 then I should race as if t was 255?  If I was up there for weeks then I should race at 266?  I will be getting there a week early. Should I stick with the 8.9% driscount or slide it down ~1/4 of the way to 7%?

Al Truscott

@Chris Oubre A week gets you about 2/3rds of the way too being acclimatized. I'd consider a 5-7% discount in your case.

Here's a fun calculator to play around with - includes the effects of both altitude and reduced air resistance from "thinner" air. Often, the two cancel each other out, depending on your personal factors (size, FTP, position on bike, all accounted for in their model): https://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/EffectsOfAltitude.aspx

Jeff Horn

Yes, @Al Truscott playing with the 'puter it looks like you can have IF and VI as both main data screen, as well as on the specific lap data screen for lap review.  

Al Truscott

Jeff Horn said:

Yes, @Al Truscott playing with the 'puter it looks like you can have IF and VI as both main data screen, as well as on the specific lap data screen for lap review.  

Lap IF in real time is what I'm looking for. Is that what you are saying, Bolt shows current lap IF while riding?

Jeff Horn

I'm still figuring out how to use it @Al Truscott.  So after your first lap, one of the "pages" that you can scroll to is the Lap page, that shows information from the last lap.  There is a data field in that pulldown for IF, but it does not say (lap) next to it, so I'm not sure that it won't give you overall ride IF.  I will ride with it tomorrow and see if it works.

Scott Alexander

I'm like Al, I'd like "lap IF" too.

For my tri racing, I live very simply with regards to the display...3sec power, HR, time and distance. Not much you can do with IF or TSS to swing it one way or another. If I had lap IF that'd be nice to have too!

Jeff Horn

I guess most people on here have an auto lap feature where it ticks over every 3 or 5 miles or something.  I like the idea above where you lap manually on various terrain.  If you have a hilly section, new lap.  Long flat section, new lap.  Probably easier to manage lap IF that way I would imagine. 

Joe Hallatschek

Great thread!

In a race, I manually use laps to coincide with my race strategy, which is course dependent. For the first 15mi or so on a HIM, I dial it back to an "ABP" pace. Then, for the next 30, I break it up and plan on a Z3 and try to keep it steady. The last - I plan for a "better" Np than the last 30mi.

@Al Truscott - is exactly right on the frustration on the pendulum. The laps gives you "head space" to manage your effort.

I agree with @John Withrow on the data fields, minus the cadence. I am at 80 RPM for my Z3 and after thousands of miles, I pretty much know what feels right and don't use it. Also, I use prescription glasses and the less data fields to focus on, the better for me!

Jorge Duque

Since no one has mentioned it, I’m going to add one of my favorite data fields to this thread: % Grade. I love this because then I can make sense of the other data. If I’m going flat, HR, Watts, Speed should be at a certain point, but if I’m going 5%, then I know it’s ok to slow down, and let the watts increase for a while. It also allows me to decide when to stay aero and when to get off the aero position for climbing dynamics.