Pacing a Double Century
Hi All,
I am in Week 16 of my first OS - A November peep. I missed two workouts in Week 6 with a cold and this week's Wednesday run due to travel. I have completed all of the other workouts. I have seen only modest gains (5%) in my FTP but have added a few vDOT points (yay!). Living in Southern California, all of my rides have been outside. I've extended most weekend rides but have still been hitting my Sunday run marks.
I am signed up for the Solvang Double Century the week after the OS ends. When being encouraged to partake of the Koolaid, everyone said, "Don't worry - you'll be fine for the 200 if you work the OS and then pace yourself."
So here's the big question - What is the appropriate pace (in terms of FTP) for a double century?
Other questions:
- Will it help to break it up into two rides - say 120 miles, a long (30 minute?) break, and then finish it up?
- Is it better to keep all breaks to less than 5 minutes?
- Any advice for training in the next five weeks?
Rubin
p.s. My A race triathlon isn't until late summer.
Comments
Rubin: A couple of questions. Do you have any time goals in mind? Will this be a sizable group ride with opportunity for drafting in a pace line? How hilly is the ride. What has been your longest ride experience before? What IF do you use for an Ironman race?
Matt
This is a pretty flat event so pace lines will rein supreme. Are you good at riding with others?
Other details: make sure you have your saddle/short interface dialed in; chamois cream/Lantiseptic are your friend. Nutrition: due to your ability to sit in a paceline and lower your effort/heart rate you can ingest more calories; most brevet riders roll on about 350-500 calories/hour; slam the food! Eat while you ride; that way there's plenty of time to eat!
Now on to the main event: pacing. EVERYONE will be drilling it at the start. You have a choice: try to keep up and hope for the best OR dial down the early effort and catch the speedsters as they inevitably fade. And they will. Your PM will be invaluable here. I'd cap watts at FTP and look for long periods at Z3, especially late in the ride when all others will be fading. Much of these events is just like racing Ironman; self-knowledge leads to appropriate pacing leads to optimal times. Support stops are just like transitions in triathlon: have a plan, execute that plan, get out. I pass countless "faster" riders at support stops.
This event is notorious for silent, ungrateful wheel-suckers; think about how you'll deal with them. Or maybe be one of them? It is a way to gain speed/time, but funky on the karmic balance.
As for training before the event; have faith. The OS prepped you plenty well; you'll be fine. I did a complete Super Randonneur Series last year (and a 1000k!) on just the OS; I didn't ride over 60 miles in training.
Hi Matt,
This will be my first double. I'd like to finish in under 16 hours - it doesn't "count" if you take more than 17 hours. I am pretty sure that they limit the number of riders to about 600. There will definitely be pace lines. I would hesitate to join a pace line early in the day that would cause me to go too hard. There will be some friends of mine who would be more than willing to let me draft but they are strong experienced double riders who wouldn't appreciate me saying, "Slow down - even though I am drafting, I am riding at .82 IF and I really need to keep it below .79 IF."
I've never done an Ironman 140.6 but I rode two 70.3's at .82 or so. I've done a few centuries over the past year including a fairly flat one (3K ft of climbing) last week at .8. I also took almost a minute off my 5K time the next day!
This ride (the Solvang Double Spring) has about 7,000 ft of climbing including a 1,000 ft climb around mile 170. Most of the climbs are between 4-6% with only a few sections much steeper.
It may also be relevant that I am riding with my wife. She has been training in a more traditional way by riding more than 150 miles per week. She has a much better W/kg ratio than I do. Even if there isn't a big group for a pace line, the two of us will work together.
Hi Bill!
I do NOT plan to drill it at the start or at any other time! I plan to keep it dialed down. I am fine riding with others but will stay away from any group that causes me to exceed my planned effort. I have never ridden more than a century so I don't have a good idea of what number to pick.
During this ride, I will be a vocal and grateful wheel sucker.
During century rides, I treated rest stops as if they were triathlon aid stations - I'd either skip them or stop for 3-6 minutes - just enough time to do what I needed to do. I've been consuming about 400 calories/hour with gels and gatorade. I can also handle bananas and fig newtons but gels and drink seem to work fine for me. I get through without bonking and without being famished at the end. I can also tell that my hydration is fine. My saddle and shorts work well enough that I've never bothered with chamois cream without any ill effects.
So it sounds like a reasonable plan is to cap effort at FTP for climbing [1.05 for shorter climbs] and .8 or so for the rest. If I am in a "good" pace line, maybe I should be willing to go as high as .85 or so.
I'm still conflicted on the rest stops. My roadie friends generally linger longer. They especially like to make one stop a long lunch break and eat lots of solid food. My gut tells me to just keep riding and eat gels and drink gatorade on the go.
PS: I'm new to EN so some of the EN vets can help you as to the OS prep for a double. Just wanted to share my recollection of my ride to help you with calorie and aid station suggestions.
Jeff
@Jeff
LOL - "dreaming about pizza and ice cream" - thanks for that recollection! I'm planning on riding a road bike. 10:47 would definitely be a dream!
@David
The Solvang Century is a week (or two?) before the double. I did that Century a couple of years back. I think the courses overlap somewhat but the Double is a larger (but still single) loop that starts and ends in Solvang. The number of riders is much smaller than that of the Single so while there will be pace lines, there won't be as many. Good luck on your ride.
A couple of years ago, I did several double centuries so I could earn the Triple Crown (3 Double Centuries in one year). I had a Powermeter that only would last for a couple of hours so I used RPE and HR. I think that you will find that "ALL DAY PACE" naturally. That is the pace where if you feed me and water me I can keep going for a long time. 2 very helpful hints that Bill "Brevet" Russell already talked about which is typical EN thinking. Pace very easy the first 40-50 miles. Never exceed your FTP or even get close to it if you can. Don't burn any matches. Starting slow and even pacing will have you counting all the people you are passing in the last 50 miles, just like mile 18 of the marathon.
Another thing to think about is lighting for your bike. If you haven't ridden at night with lights, try it ahead of time. Have a backup light or batteries in case something goes wrong. I have ridden at night in Death Valley and it was one of those you have to experience types of adventures to appreciate. But I had a helmet light and a really good light mounted on my bike. Just something to think about.
Rubin,
Yano brings up the lighting issue. If you don't already have this covered, I'd highly recommend the Planet Bike Superflash for the tail light. Peter White has a great overview of headlights on his website. Reflective gear? I've found the Nathan Y-yoke sash to be comfortable and stylish. If you find yourself out on the course after dark and needing to read your cuesheet you'll need to light that up as well; a Black Diamond unit on a headband around the helmet works well for me.
@Yano
It would be cool to earn the Triple Crown but I probably won't try it this year. My PT/Garmin and/or Joule should be good for the whole ride. While I like the idea of never exceeding my FTP in the first 50 miles, I think that would mean riding alone for the 1st 150. Still, I agree that it may be the wisest course. For some people, a PT can help them from going too hard. For me, I tend to need the PT to keep me from going too easy. I typically gravitate to a pace which is too slow. When training for 70.3s, my RRs were important in letting me know that I could go harder than I originally thought. I don't have a RR for this event and am counting on the experience of others to get me through this first one. It is even more difficult since the folks with whom I ride who have done between 5 and 10 doubles over the years recommend an approach that is more like ride hard until you tire, then rest, and do it again, and again. Worse, is that they can say that it a a good strategy because it has worked for them many times.
@Bill/Yano
We already have a bunch of reflective gear and reflective tape to add to various parts of our bikes and person. Based on a much earlier post of Bill's, I checked out Peter White's site. Some of those front hub generators seem really cool. We have started practicing riding in the darkness using the Super Flash for the rear. For front, we are going with battery powered LED Planet Bike Blaze lights which seem suitable. We also have a helmet mount Cygolite Milion.
My front hub generator/Edelux headlight has revolutionized my winter training. No more worry about being caught out after dark! As someone who despises exercising indoors this has really opened up my workout schedule.
Thanks to all for the advice - I wrote a ride report and put it in the Race Execution folder.