Big Bike Week pacing
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I'm planning to do a BBW at a five-day cycling camp next month, and I was just wondering how people typically approach their pacing. From the wiki, I understand that there should be "easy" and "negative split" days, but typically what zones are we aiming for? Should most of the riding be Z1-Z2? There's going to be plenty of climbing too, and I'm tempted to throw in a bit of Z4 work to lift my FTP, but I'm worried about pushing too hard and burning myself out.
Any guidance? Thanks!
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The guidance on Big Bike Weeks is spot on: the longer you ride on consecutive days the lower and steadier your efforts need to be. If you think that you are the One True Exception and you can get away with higher efforts early on, go ahead, try it. You'll see.
To me the sweet spot is 3 hour rides @ 80-85% of FTP, except while warming up for the first 20-30 minutes. On multi day bike tours, which often have a long rest mid-day, I can ring up 2.5 hours rides @ 80% AM and PM for 4 days. Throwing longer days, a longer camp/trip, or additional workouts (brick runs, swims, etc) into the mix requires lower FTP and even recovery days.
Instead, focus on what the wiki says: spent one year time writing steadily with the goal, for example, to sustain the same IFR cross all 5 days. Or perhaps you want to negative split each ride, starting at .7 and then finishing the last hour or hour and a half at .75.
By keeping the intensity steady, you're gaining fitness in no way that is sustainable. After one or 2 days of rest, you'll be able to return to your normal training cycle and see gains that will last the rest of your season. If you're still not sure, try to find all of the tour of California veterans inside the house. They'll be sure to tell you the real value of steady riding.
My BBW will look something like this:
Day 1- 50 miles @ .75
Day 2- 50 miles @ .75
Day 3- 50 miles @ .75
Day 4- 160 miles @ .65
Day 5- 100 miles @ .70
Day 6- Off
Day 7- Off
There is a long supported ride from Seattle to Portland that I am doing on Saturday (day 4) and plan to ride part of the way back Sunday (day 5). How does this intensity look for this type of BBW. I can move the 50 milers around anyway that is best.
Please leave any advise you have.
Steve - I'll just add my plan for this week - remember, I;m @ 6500-12,000 foot altitude
Day 1 (Today) 53 miles, 3700' climbing, 14 mi warm up gentle down hill, then 2 x 6 mile climbs @ alt. adjusted FTP. Total IF for the ride FWIW was .725 I will run 45 min easy this PM (Snowmass and Capitol Creek Rds)
Day 2 66 miles, "main set" is an 18 mile climb I will plan to do @ HIM pace. Then I flip it and go downhill into the wind @ 0.75. Swim in the PM. Warm-up is 14 mile gentle downhill, cool down is going back up. Total climbin is about 2500' (Fryingpas River Road)
Day 3 Run 100 minutes
Day 4 Swim. Depending on how I feel, I will do an easy (o.65) ride of 2-3 hours on day 3 or 4. Or I may rest.
Day 5 - 120 miles 11,000 feet of climbing over three passes. I plan on 0.72-75 on the climbs, and whatever I can muster on the downhills, flats, meaning probably 0.60-65. Starts @ 7300', tops @ 12,000.
Day 6 - Flip that ride from day 5. This is a local big ride like the STP - the Triple Bypass. Like the STP in One Day, if you do both, its called the Double Triple BP. I assume you are doing the PTP - leaving from your house, and not Seattle.
Total planned 350-400 miles in six days, with 2 swim sets of 45 minutes, and 2.25 hours of running.
Good timing in revisiting this thread. I started my BBW 3 days ago. I have taken the Patrick and Bill approach of riding steady with lower intensity. Originally I was planning on hitting .75 on all my rides but after my first RR at .75 didn't go so well I backed off target to .70-.74. I find in the EN training program up till now plenty of FTP and 85% work and that got me ready to have an awesome IMMT 70.3 but the 112 distance is another animal and I need that pacing,distance practice that comes with the volume.
Day 1 - 3 run , 100 bike .70
Day 2 - 1.3 swim , 61 bike .72 , 2 run
Day 3 (today) - .6 swim , 101 bike .71 , 2 run
Day 4 - masters swim , 30 bike .70
------- completed masters swim then 32 bike no data recorded but estimate below .70
Day 5 - 2.5 hr long run w/30 steps per mile walk strategy
-----18 miles done at 8:32 avg pace... my LRP is 8:23 ... happy considering the 4 previous days....
Day6 - 2.4 mile swim , 40 bike .70
...........LOL rest day was needed completed 1700yds swim very very very slow... 25yds at a time then rest all day
Day7- bike 100 local century ride in the white mountains .70
------------ bailed on the supported ride and did 108 at .745 and felt great..
I wanna be able to pedal .7 in my sleep cause on race day I know I'm going .75! Feeling like I am getting there already what a difference a 100 miles makes when you come down from .75 to .70. If all goes well I'm thinking of extending it to 9 days (just tacking on another couple medium days 40-50) before rest days. That will give me a week of recovery before last RR. A couple weeks hard work EN style . Then taper for IMMT!
-------I am not even remotely considering extending my BBW to 9 days..... easy swims and rest.... So pretty close to my original plan and I like the way it worked out.
I did 4/6 days cycling last week' with 3 runs and a swim added in. The bike days were all between 7500 and 12,000 foot of elevation, very little flat ground.
Day one...3.5 hours, two 6 mile hills @ .9-.95 of FTP. TSS of 175 ran 45 min in PM
Day two ... 4.5 hours, long hills of 17,5, and 6 miles. TSS of 175
Day three ... 40 min run, 35 min swim
Day four ... 1 hour run
Days five and six were an organized ride over multiple high passes. First day featured killer thunderstorm as i was descending from 12,000 to 9,000 feet. Most miserable I have ever been on a bike. 7.75 hours each day, TSS avout 350 each day.
I was fairly exhausted at the end of the two day ride, and was only able to swim 45 minutes at a pace 5+ sec/100 slower than three days earlier. By today, I am back at it, with another swim 6% slower than my sea level pace (pretty good), and 3 x 1 mile intervals 3.5% slower thasn sea level (I'm @ 2400 meters).
I really don't like being on a bike more than 6 hours in a day, and doubt I'll ever do that again. I've done enough on bikes I don't have to prove anything to myself any more. Unless someone challenges me to do something both epic and worthy with them.
Wed- 14 mile Run
Thur- 50 mile bike @ .75
Fri- 50 mile bike @ .73
Sat- 160 mile Bike @ .66
Sun- 100 mile Bike @ .68
I have taken monday and tuesday completely off because I was trashed. Getting back on the bike tomorrow morning for a 50 miler before work then OWS in the evening. I don't have TSS or or interval numbers because I don't watch the metrics like I did last year, I found that I would blindly follow the "numbers" into a brick wall. I am enjoying myself much more just going by feel. Friday morning I am flying down to Tahoe to ride, run, and swim the Ironman course. Oh, my daughters getting married there as well...thought I might show up for that too if I can fit it in.