BIG Ironman riding hills

vickaiser

Looks like I'll weigh in at IMTX at just shy of 250 pounds.  Although I'd like (well, LOVE) to be down another 10 pounds by race day, that's just not feasible.  So, looks like I'll be tackling some moderate hills with quite the power/weight ratio.

I've already got my 28/12 rear cassette and on my first race rehearsal, I feel like I followed the EN strategy of going by foot pressure and working through the gears, maintaining foot pressure and then working steady through the crest and down the downside.  But there are some hills on the course where, because of my weight,  I'm all the way in my lowest granny gear and I'm just feeling the pressure.  I got no where else to go with the gears.  There are only 4 or 5 hills on the course where this happens and they're not what I would call long climbs.

Are there any more strategies I can employ in these cases where I'm out of gears and just got nowhere else to go but to grind it up the hill?  I'm staying seated as instructed.  Should I move back in my seat, up in my seat, come out of aero, anything?  How do I get up?

Coach Rich

Victor,

At some combination of fitness, weight, and % grade, we've ALL had to "go too hard" just to get up the hill. In the end, it's a bike ride and we all to get up the hill. At least you're in a place that has encouraged you put the right gears in your bike (you have) and has taught you how to avoid going crazy hard up said hill. Rest assured that 95% of the people out there will be working much, much harder than they should on those hills. I guess I'm saying it could be worse 

charris

This is borderline threadjack material, but here's a thought exercise on this subject based on some recent conversations I've had with a co-worker:

At what approximate weight and W/kg would it make sense for someone to seriously consider getting a triple? (not to say that wouldn't potentially be a mechanical gong show). Or would it not be worth it?

We're talking about someone who has (as much as they are reasonably able to in a certain training cycle), raised their FTP, lowered their weight, gone to a compact and 11/12-27/28, worked on hill climbing technique, but is still going to have some potentially ugly grinds on steeper hills.

vickaiser

Thanks, Rich. My plan is to put off doing any "hard" work on the bike until I get out of Richards. After that, the only hard work I plan on doing is those 5 decent hillls from the turn on 1486 to Jackson Rd. And the ONLY reason I'm doing any hard(er) work there is as you said, I gotta get up those hills to get to T2. I can't skip them. I'm going to be 16 hours on this race so I'll have NO business being out of JRA effort at any other part of the course.

Man, I just read what I wrote above. I'm looking at a 16 hour IM and my strategy is to go slower? How many athletes in my shoes who are worried about finishing and making the cutoff are really thinking about going slower? And how many of them because of poor execution might not make it? I want to tell them ALL about what I'm learning here at EN. I can't wait to put this stuff to the test. Wish I had found you guys 6 months ago.

Barbara Spitler

Victor, I have to tell you that you are not alone! I am in the same boat, being an Athena triathlete. I'm doing IMLOU, and there are 2-3 hills there that have me grinding my little tail off, to get up them. I swear, I have to grit my teeth, to make it up these things! But, I will! And I too, am looking at a 16 hour race. Can't burn ourselves out on the entire bike. We have to race smartly, and we shall! Good luck to you in TX!

Coach Rich

Nice!

You make up FAR more time by not walking, or not walking very much, vs trying to get up a hill faster. Running vs walking is easily 6-10' per MILE for every mile walked. Many athletes walk...many miles...after spending the whole bike ride trying to beat Timmy to the top of NoNameHill, like they were giving away cheeseburgers at the top or something.

chris malone

Victor,

When I am uber fit I'm 225, so I am big for a biker no matter how you slice it, and I ride hills always here in Va.

What has worked for me is mentally conceding the hills. It's not my terrain, so no pressure. I switch into a more relaxed mode, finding a sustainable rythme and cadence as soon as possible and just chug, chug, chug. The other day I tried to lower my heart rate while on a climb. Didn't work but I sure didn't blow up either.

Live to fight later. It's all about the run, therefore it's all about the bike. (Hey, I kind of like that!)

Good luck!

Norton

Victor,

Are you using a compact crankset? You can get a 33 tooth little ring for the inside; it'll help a little.

Another, more radical solution: run a long-cage rear derailleur and a wide range rear cassette. Interlock Racing Design makes 11-32 and 11-34 combinations!

vickaiser

I've got a less radical solution which I am implementing after IMTX. GET THIS LAST 50 POUNDS OFF!! I'm down 130 pounds from about 380 but still have some work to do. Given these same legs and less 50 pounds, that should help just a little bit getting up those hills.

jwpicciotto

@Victor - There are going to be some hills you ride where your cadence is going to fall and you just have to make your way through this. The trick is to take these situations in a relaxed manner. In other words don't think about mashing your way through them. If you feel like you are pushing too hard in the aero position in these situations, you can sit up and grab the base bar, push your self back on the saddle and just focus on riding smoothly up the hill. This is going to engage a different set of muscles and also generates a little more power. More importantly what this does is allows you to relax your upper body and get in a smooth rhythm. This is not for every hill, but for those where you just completely run out of gears. Like Rich said, we all run into this situation. The idea is to find an approach that addresses the mental aspect and allows you to conserve your strength for the run.

I have seen this plenty of times on the Long Horn HIM course. People try to muscle through some of the steeper hills. After about five of these in a row, they are just mentally cooked. Physically they could keep pushing, but they let the course beat them. You have already ridden the course. You know where these challenges are. That means that you are already armed to beat them.

Keep pushing and see you in 30 days!

vickaiser

I understand what you're saying, John. I'm gonna work on this. And the mental thing too. Thanks.

Tom Glynn

@Craig

There is a great geek site for picking gears and gearing analysis / modeling. Drop in gears and cadence, it tells speed. Drop in gears and speed and it tells cadence etc.

http://www.analyticcycling.com/

tom