Would this be bad?!
Ok...I am having an argument with a couple buddies. You may know/have heard of them. Scott Bowe and Matt Amman.
A few weeks back we made a bet. It was a biking TT bet. There is a 16 mile course near us and the winner of the 3 gets gu and of course pride. Pride being the primary motivation. Chris Wichert is part of the bet as well...but couldn't make it yesterday.
Yesterday we had our first smack-down ride...call it the preliminaries. It was about 40-45 degrees and we went out to the course.
As an aside:
- I had never been on this course.
- I was riding a new position with at least an extra 7cm of drop. Matt and Scott helped me here...I had about 0 drop previously.
- And I had no aero gear...(those losers came in their full race kits.)
- I was not rested - did the EN run the previous day.
So anyway, these guys are faster than me. There was never much doubt that they would beat me...and they did. The bet is more for March based on me doing the EN workouts and being somewhat talented. Plus I've been riding with zero aerodynamic help or drop for the last couple years.
So anyway we did the ride and I came in 2-3 minutes behind Matt and 4-5 behind Scott. All of us were somewhat out of shape. In-Season I was further behind than that. I believe the more aero position made a big difference as my watts were WAAAY down but I stayed somewhat close to those two.
So I have a few questions.
#1 - In talks with Matt and Scott who are helping me with my fit/aero-ness they feel I have another 8cm of drop before my hip angle starts to close. My FTP is about 305 but yesterdays ride was at 265. (First ride in that position). I know I'll get better in that position, but how much wattage can I expect to lose as I get more aero. OR...do you think it will bounce back as I get used to the position and ride in it more.
#2 - I live in Wisconsin. I heard on the news that it was going to be 60 out...rare to say the least. I was thinking I would swap today and tomorrow...head back out to that course and ride my EN workout outside all aero today and simply take tomorrow off instead of today. Scott seems to think that this would be a bad idea because I did a hard ride yesterday. But my thought is that I'm doing hard workouts 5 days of the week now...so what's the bfd? My reasoning is simple....I'll be outside....I can ride all aero and get into that position....plus I can get to know the course a bit better. I would do the EN intervals as written as best I could in that new position. But Scott is being very stubborn and persistent. Of course Scotts final argument was simple...."what do your coaches say?"
Thoughts?
Comments
1. Your goal should be to get as aero as possible. You may in fact end up pushing less watts in a more aero position but still go faster with less effort. It is all about running well here so if you can get the same or better result while riding easier that is always the option. Of course we all want big watts but your results don't tell you that you rode 300w, only your time.
2. Sure we have plans here Eric, but it is also about having fun with your fitness. If you want to ride and the weather is nice go for it dude. Just make sure you get your rest tomorrow.
Enjoy yourself.
Oh and as an aside, you may want to check out TTBikeFit. We have a discount with them and everyone raves about the service. He should be able to help you get your position sorted out. I know I am thinking of doing it as we near the end of the OS.
Your sitting up (powerful) and aero (fast) positions will have different FTPs. The goal is to spend lots of time in the aero position adapting to that position and the gap between the two positions (FTP) will close.
IMO, I don't worry about it too much. I mainly race 1/2 and IM so I can hold <85% of my sitting up FTP on the tribike, no problems. I'm not as concerned about that gap. I would be concerned if I had a smack down bet<img src="http://members.endurancenation.us/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/tongue.gif" alt="" /> or I raced TT, Oly, and Sprints. I would want that gap to be small between positions. Specificity - work the position and it will adapt.
You can do the EN OS plans in the aero bars working on closing that gap. It will be hard. Very hard. I just concentrate on the work and push pedals until I blow up and call it a day.
Scott...is that you???
I actually concede the point. I didn't realize the whole week was supposed to be nice. So I am going to take today off and do exactly what you just said.