race target watts? after last St. George race sim

robin sarner

 

Hello,

 

Looking for opinion on race goal watts.

 

Outdoor ftp test last week actually 353.            

I overachieved as putting 70-73% of this into an ironman does not seem possible currently?

 

Combining indoor and outdoor testing and looking at the WKO 28 days graphs, I’m guessing my ftp may be around 320.

 

Today did the last race simulation.  

6 hours 11 minutes.   104 miles.  

Norm power 223.   

I was shooting for 72% of 320 (230) +/- gears.    

Did not feel great for the first half of the bike.  

Catching up with nutrition seemed to help and the last third felt pretty good and finished strong. 

 

6 mile run afterwards was no problem. Actually went too fast.  

 

So rested race goal watts?  

Somewhere from 225 to 245?

 

And yes I have read all the EN related information under the Wiki, etc.

 

thanks

Coach Rich

If 320w is the number you're confident you could hold for an hour with a gun to your head, call your FTP 320w. You've been doing FTP intervals long enough to have a very good feel for that.

Then use 70-71% of that number for your goal watts.

Many of the climbs at IMSG are very long...the whole world going up at 6%...so if it were me, I'd "maybe" ride these climbs at goal watts or goal + 10-15w...maybe.

The IMSG bike course really is simply a warmup for the run. The run is nothing but an opportunity to go absolutely backwards as you walk vs your keep running self. So all the couldashouldawoulda stuff on the bike really goes out the window on the run course.

robin sarner

Ok coach.  sounds good.   though gun to my head, outdoor ftp is probably closer to 330-340.   So may adjust things up a bit.   thanks.

Tom Glynn

Most people I know who did St. George did not hold goal watts. I don't have it at my fingertips, but I think I was around .68 or something like that. The water was freezing and it took almost an hour to really warm up on the bike. Long climbs as Rich mentioned, but also long descents at zero watts or thereabouts, which tended to drive the NP number down too. On the second loop the wind was really blowing in some areas, especially on the long descent back into town, so I was holding back the speed for fear of blowing off the bike when some of the gusts blew up. Bike execution is incredibly important on that course because of the hilly nature.

Challenging but fun. Save you legs for the run; that's where the fun begins.

Coach Patrick

Per Tom's post, I'd keep the FTP slightly lower. I personally enter race day with a hard FTP number that I dial down by 10-15 watts, then do my zone math. This ensures I am 100% ready to run!

robin sarner

Thanks all.   Think I'll take my 353 ftp, do the Patrick to 340, and calculate from there.