Louisville RR#2 - why do I always fall apart after hour 4?
Had a much better RR this weekend. Two goals: increase my cadence and hold a .68 IF for hours 2-6. I succeeded in both...sort of.
BIKE
Weather was great; and had no nutrition issues. Breaking down the 6 hours looked like this:
HOUR V.I. CAD IF
1 1.05 89 .64 (easy warm up; hills affected VI)
2 1.03 92 .68 (flat and steady)
3 1.02 93 .68 (flat and steady; starting to get tired)
4 1.02 86 .67 (legs becoming fatigued; losing cadence and IF)
5 1.04 75 .63 (legs worn out from spinning; stopped watching watts and went by RPE)
6 1.06 77 .60 (RPE only; just wanted to get it over with!)
All was good the first 3 hours (first and last hours had hills which messed up my VI a bit). Hour four, I couldn't hang onto my cadence or IF. Eventually in hour 5 I was so far removed from my Wattage Gear 2 that I mostly stopped watching the Joule since I was well below the goal watts.
I rode the first hour well below my goal IF of .68 so I don't think I rode too hard. My guess is that I've only had a couple of training rides over the 4 hour mark. Perhaps it's lack of endurance on the bike? Nothing I can do for this race, but should I consider adding long rides (4+ hours) during the OS?
RUN
Relatively easy, considering how tired my legs were after the 6-hr ride. Accidentally ran an hour, instead of stopping at 6 miles. Felt so good, I decided to test miles 4-6 at my race pace and it felt fine.
Comments
Sounds to me like your legs weren't cooked, your brain was. If this were a nutrition or hydration thing, you wouldn't have felt so good on the run. My suggestion: you have to believe your legs are stronger than you think on the bike. Hopefully, in the race, you can use the folks in front of you in the last two hours of the bike as rabbits, to pull you forward when you're feeling "tired". While a few 5-6 hour rides may have helped, the WAY they would help, IMO, is to get your brain and focus used to how much "harder" it gets to maintain watts in the last third of the bike, and teach you that you CAN keep the watts up without harming yourself or your run. The RPE, on each of the three separate legs of a triathlon, should get progressively harder through the entire course of the leg, even while holding watts or speed (pace) the same. Your body is capable, your mind has to be convinced it's possible.
I admit I don't feel daunted by the distance and I know I can make it (depending on what the heat does to me). In fact it's terribly difficult to ride so slow in the first hour. Even race pace (gear #2) feels ridiculously easy....but that same EXACT power/cadence just wipes me out after 4 hours. I'll literally feel like I'm doing a z4 interval and look down at the Joule and I'm shocked to see double-digit watts. It's not a pain/soreness/tightness thing, more like my legs feel drained/weak after about 70-80 miles. My brain still feels like it's in the game, I just can't get my legs to move. That is....until I get off the bike and start running!
FWIW- several of us have found it hard to keep the head in the game for all 112 miles and thus take some form of caffiene around the mile 80ish mark. Not so much for the boost in energy- but more for the mental focus.
Hey all, to answer the questions:
Cadence has always been on the low side. Typical cadence average is usually low 80's so I knew it was something I needed to work on. Some team members critiqued my bike fit video and felt my seat was too high/back, so I made the adjustment for this RR and spinning certainly felt easier.
My nutrition / hydration was a 6-hr supply of Infinit, with an aerobottle of water which I re-filled twice. I was constantly drinking, but ran out of pure water in the last hour. Due to Louisville humidity, I plan on drinking 20-30 oz of water per hour during the race.
Route was out and back with about 10 miles of hills at the beginning/end and the rest pancake-flat.
I've heard about using a caffeine source during the bike...espresso brownie? 2x caffeine gel? (recommendations?). Hopefully it won't have some weird effect on race day. Maybe I'll test it out on this weekend's final long ride. I hope it's a mental block and not lack of fitness. I'll definitely be more adrenalized on race day so that should help.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Mac - two comments
1. Unless you have tried it successfully in a race or RR, DO NOT try a big caffeine boost mid race. I've ruined two races doing just that. The small amount of caffiene in a Coke (6 oz of coke = 1/12th the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee) or a "spiked" gel is OK, but slamming 200 mg at a time mid race may not be your thing. Gotta test it out first.
2. I stick with my thought that your brain has to start ignoring the messages from your legs after hour 3.5 or 4. This is the world cyclists rhapsodize about - learning how to tolerate, or even embrace "suffering" Your legs are trained to handle the workload, you just have to get them working. That's why I suggest focussing externally instead of internally towards the end of the bike - using those who are slowing down in front of you to drive yourself on. You'll be amazed at what your legs will do at mile 90-112 of the bike if you just stop thinking about how much they are tired, or hurt, or whatever, and start thinking about how powerful you are feeling by passing all those people, or by keeping your watts up.
I never fail to be amazed at how well I can run after I've bike harder than I thought I was able (yet still within my limits). "Trust your training".
If I were you, I'd learn the following lessons:
Bottomline, I would use this ride as a lesson in the value of riding easy for the first hour because, as bad as you felt in the later half of your ride, it could have been MUCH worse
I've heard how the RRs and race day are supposed to be the "easiest" days of the season in regards to intensity. I guess I took that to heart and expected it to be a cakewalk
Perhaps I was holding back because I want to make sure I have a good run. Al, I'll try to stick to the mindset you mentioned.
Add'l info:
I had 275 cal/hour of concentrated Infinit in 48oz of water (per my consultation with Infinit) and 96oz of water over 6 hrs (will most definitely bump that water intake WAY up during the race).
Weight before = 138
Weight after = 136
Sweat Rate:
138-136 = 2 lbs + 9 lbs (total fluids consumed) = 11 lbs fluid loss in 6 hrs (29oz/hr)
Weather was good for riding: mostly overcast with sun in the last 2 hrs (temps low 60's to mid 80's). Doubt it will be that nice during the race!
For what it's worth, my RR #2 My goal was 187w (IF 70%) and just sit on that all day:
0-1:00 187w
1:00-2:00 187w
2:00-3:00 188w
3:00-4:00 181w
4:00-5:00 168w (starting to daydream, losing concentration, NOT bonking)
5:00-5:42 158w (last 4 miles in town, more turns, more coasting, feet alittle sore, ready to get off bike, NOT bonking)
For me, it's a mental thing, just not looking a powermeter as religiously, just losing focus alittle, never felt I was physically doing poorly. It's amazing how alittle let up mentally afftected my wattage. At IMLOU the last 24 miles or so is net downhill with the last 10 miles flat. Really easy to let up the power output despite MPH staying consistent.