IF on IMAZ bike course

henrysacco

I've yet to dial up a race report, but will do that shortly. In the mean time, i'm wondering how to manage a lower IF on flat bike courses like AZ. It's something i didnt expect and i'm not sure if i could have done something differently.

My planned IF for AZ was .69. Something i practiced during my RR without any issues. I was very happy with my AZ bike splits (minus multiple flats) but my overall IF for the bike was very low (.65) I'd add to this that I watched my HR and Power consistently during the bike leg and while speed was good, power remained low and my HR was exactly where it should have been.

I've also noticed that others had lower IF in IMAZ when reading their RR's. (Even Al T with a planned .73 and actual .65)

My run was within expectation and I didnt slow (as much) as i had earlier this year in IMLP. I'm wondering if i left too much on the table during the bike??

 

kjanracing

My thought is that you had a good run and your bike execution set you up for it. This race is really all about the run. I think you did great.

Swanie

As you may have read in my RR, my IF was substanially low as well. I was planning on an IF of .72-.73 and came in with an IF of .644. Yet I beat my expected bike split by 10 minutes. Then I was "fresh" to start the run. I had my running legs immediately after leaving T2. So I am not sure what to take from this. I could have gone harder on the bike and maybe finished the bike 10 minutes faster;  but what would that have done to my run? 

jhbinsc

+1 to Kurt. Can't wait to read your RR and can make more comments then!

Al Truscott

I think the wind on the second two loops plays a factor. Not sure about the physics of it, or if it's only mental, but I *felt* like I was working harder than I actually was, and of course my speed was slower coming back loop 2& 3 han on the first. My HR was stable the whole way @ 117. I have done this course 15 minutes faster with an HR of 124 (08) and 120 (09). AND my run times were faster by 10-12 minutes both those races. So I think I could possibly have gone faster on the bike. What was holding me back was the knowledge that I had lost a substantial amount of run training trying to heal my plantar fasciitis, so I was purposely holding something back on the bike for that reason. 

Jeff Unruh

Agreed with Al, my first guess is the wind. Read it was downwind coming back the first lap and more cross/head wind coming back loops 2 and 3?

henrysacco

@Steve and @Kurt, I think you make good points. My PE and HR on the bike were in line with my plan and i ran as expected. Maybe this is just a good example of using multiple data points to determine an optimal pace.

henrysacco

@Al, i recall the wind on 2 & 3. Good point. 

I'm having trouble downloading from my Joule, but will check when i get it figured out. Thanks!

scott dinhofer

The wind on loop one was light and a headwind on the way out and a tailwind back, I think it was a non factor on loop one. I felt like I was hitting the numbers I wanted on this loop. Loop two I did not feel the big tail wind as it just felt like loop one where there wasn't much of a wind. During this leg, I suspect the wind made it's switch and quickly built. When I turned around a shea, it was a strong wind in my face. I both legs of this loop I wasn't making #s. I think on the way out, the help of the wind was probably doing some of the work for me and making it easier, but still I think I should have been hitting #s and going faster, no? Likewise against the wind i would have expected to be going slower but making power numbers. The whole thing seemed odd to me, but I knew well enough not to push and pay for it on the run. Things felt good. My lap times for the three laps were only a couple of minutes apart so, nothing major went on. It is curious. Most people I have spoken to reported the same issue as we are hearing here....

Keith Wick

If I remember right, there was a thread a while ago about having more difficulty keeping power numbers when going into a wind. I think there was also a link to an article where one of the pro's also confirmed this in some way. My search ability is weak, so maybe Nemo the search master can find it.

It would be interesting to break down your ride into intervals according to whether you were going into the wind or had it with you. This may help you see whether you should have pushed harder when the wind was to your advantage or whether you didn't push hard enough into the headwind.

@ Henry--I think the other issue in comparing this to LP is that AZ is pretty flat, so that makes a difference in that you have to ensure your pushing the watts vs. on a hill those watts magically appear because your going uphill (spikes). You also realize the LP watts a little more as if you don't keep them where they should be you're bound to go so slow that you fall over.

henrysacco

@Keith. Excellent point on the hills in LP compared to AZ. Thinking back on the day, i recognize that many others were in the same situation, but my observance of HR was probably what held me back the most. I know many folks dont pay a lot of attention to it, but have found that HR is a very good indicator of PE for me personally....especially when combined with power data.

Scott Alexander

My IMAZ IF ended up being .584...WAY below where I intended. Also, my AvgHR was 125, which is incredibly low for me. I still ended up with a 5:28 bike split (even with a long special needs stop and pee break).

I'll provide more details if I ever get off my butt and write my RR, but it is what it is.

Coach Patrick

I don't have THE answer, but I do think that a flat course can be harder to pace with an absolute watt number when you have repeated variable head/tail conditions not because of the wind, but because of (A) the effort you are putting out and (B) the total distance covered/time ridden.

A - the effort will feel harder in the head and easier in the tail, it's harder to stay on this as time continues (read: 112 miles) as fatigue sets in, etc.

B - your overall TIME/Distance Covered/Avg Speed is actually pretty good...so while you were spun up on a .725 for a 5:30...you are already enroute to a 5:30 so who cares?

This comes down to a lot of discipline and mental/physical strength. Being able to ride the same IF you hit in hour 2 in hour 5 could take 10-15 minutes off your total time, but few can. That said, it all comes down to how well you ran!

jhbinsc

@Scott How bout that RR???

Scott Alexander

@jeff, it's in the race reports forum. And it was a 5:26:##, not 5:8, so even faster than I recalled.

jhbinsc

sweet, will look for it!