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Would it help to take the zeros out of real-time power watts, during an IM race, to simulate norm po

swimbikeswimbike
in General Training Discussions

I'm racing IM FL this November 6th 2010, I was wondering if experienced power meter athletes have raced with "taking the zero's out of power watts", to simulate norm power?   I heard this during the EN webinar, and I'm wondering if this might be helpful for a mostly flat course?   I only tried it on one training ride, but it seemed to work!   I'd appreciate any input on this? 

Comments

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Barb, I think we discussed this somewhere else in an IMFL thread. Basically, your _real-time watts_ are the most critical piece of data to have. If you can't see anything else, just knowing what you are doing right now and how to adjust is huge. Normalized is really only nice to look at after halfway, and same with TSS. Basically if you are riding the real time watts you are supposed to be doing, then your numbers will look pretty darn close to the Power TSS Sheet which means you are all set. Hope that helps!
  • swimbikeswimbike

    Thanks Patrick,

    Yea, I guess I already knew that..... just last minute race nerves?  I just want to get it right on race day, and not learn later.... that I wish I had done something different!  I know & trust my FTP and will plan to ride .70 % of that during my race day.  I also realize I need to use RPE & HR information, with live power.  Now I just need to execute.  Actually, in past IM's I've raced, I'm the odd-ball athlete that has held back too much on the bike (in my opinion), I've always had pretty good runsimage  I just want to improve my bike to my ability and be able to run well also!

  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Barb, short answer is:

    • Config your PT CPU to not include zeroes. This will make your avg watts, as displayed on the PT, very close to your normalized watts, especially on a flat course like FL.
    • As you ride the bike, focus on the current, real time watts. What watts should I be riding at, right now, based on my pacing strategy, terrain, wind, those around me, etc
    • I might be valuable to have a normalized power target for the first 60-90'. IOW, after 60' I want to see a Pnorm of X.
    • But as you get deeper into the race, you have to understand that this Pnorm becomes more and more solid, ie, you cant move it, and you need to not worry about and do the best you can with real time watts.
  • cwhytecwhyte
    Posted By Rich Strauss on 02 Nov 2010 09:52 AM

    Barb, short answer is:

    • Config your PT CPU to not include zeroes. This will make your avg watts, as displayed on the PT, very close to your normalized watts, especially on a flat course like FL.



    I've actually played with this quite a bit. Flat courses are actually the trickiest in my experience because you're basically pedalling the entire time so it's really no better than AP with zeroes. If you do have a fair amount of variability but no or very little coasting on a flat course (meaning: the highs are too high) then NZAP won't be a good reflection of NP. So, you might think you're riding with a reasonable NP but you're not.

    Honestly, I've found that NZAP works much better on hilly courses than flat ones but that's because AP with zeros doesn't work at all for hilly courses. Either way, NZAP only works well if you ride well/smart. It doesn't work well if you don't ride well/smart.

    Thanks, Chris

     

  • swimbikeswimbike

    This is a very belated reply...... but just a thanks to understanding the value of NZAP for flat vs. hilly courses.  It totally makes sense now! 

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