Race Rehersal #1
Did my first RR EN style today. I had a hard time keeping my watts steady at 139. My average was 142 but I was jumping around quite a bit. I am new to riding with power, particularly outdoors, but I was surprised to see my average so close to my goal. I know for sure that the last 15-20 miles average was less than starting out. I will definitely aim to reverse that on the next rehersal. The route I chose was relatively flat, as my first race is Patriot HIM with a rolling hill course. I did complete it faster than I anticipated though.
A few things I noticed about the set up:
1. I need to practice drinking while aero!
2. My left elbow hit the metal support on my aerobars (after the padding ends) and I can't figure out why that occurred the last 12 miles or so only. Maybe I was adjusting my position too much on the saddle it was affecting my forearm position?
3. I stuck with my plan of drinking water and 2-3 sips of liquid calories every 20 min. I took in a bit more water towards the end of the ride, but went through all my liquid calories and didn't think it was too much or too little. Do most people have a mileage/time reminder during the race to get in fluids? My half last year was partially thwarted by dehydration, so I'm really trying to head that off from the start.
I was concerned about hitting my paces on the run. I hit them for the most part with one 30 step walking break to get in some shot blocks. First 3 miles were supposed to be 8:27 and last 3 at 7:57. My spilts were 8:18, 8:16, 8:33, 7:55, 7:42, 7:53. I was working pretty hard at the end and, as usual, have a hard time judging pace throughout the mile split without a footpod (ie it takes a minute or two for the lap pace to calibrate, so I might be working too hard or have to back off once it catches up at the end of the mile). I really tried to conserve that 3rd mile in anticipation of the faster splits. Any thoughts on better pacing without using a footpod?
Overall, very happy with the results and looking forward to improving for #2 and the race!
Thanks for any and all feedback! I feel like this is a bit hodge-podge, so let me know if I left something out!
Comments
Nice. I drink every 10 minutes and eat and drink every 20 minutes.
I set an alarm on my Garmin Edge 500, too. Every 15 minutes I do two sips of concentrated Infinit followed by a sip or two of water. I have yet to master walking and chewing gum at the same time, so I avoid solid foods on the bike - chewing and riding would prolly be detrimental to my well-being!
Regarding drinking while aero - do you have an aero mount bottle? And the metal support - what kind of bars do you have? Is it possible something wiggled a little loose and your pad shifted while you were riding? I had an old set that used to do that if I cranked on them too during hard intervals on the trainer...
I'll be at Patriot, too - can't wait (I have a score to settle with that course!)!
Jess
I will program my watch for 10 min. to take in nutrition and water. I'll see how it goes remembering water only between then. I don't currently have a speedfill/something similar. I have thought about getting one for the exact reason of enabling water access. I'll see what I can do in the next few weeks and try in out on the next RR.
I have Profile Design T3+ Aero Bars. I fiddled with the pad a bit. It seems like it slid forward while I was riding which has never happened on my trainer rides. I'll give it one more solid ride and then change it out if it happens again.
.86 is high for a half, you will want to look at the chart and stay lower than that with accumulated TSS so it doesn't affect your run. I did Miami HIM last year at a .85 and paid for it dearly on the run...
What was your average speed at that power? Thanks!
@ Carly VI= 1.04. Better than I thought, however, I realize that my IF was too high. I am concerned about bonking on the run. I will work to slow it down this weekend.
@Dewey I'll look into those pads!
@Kurt my average speed was 18.1mph
Time: 3:00
IF: 0.84
VI: 0.96
Avg Speed: 18.4 mph
I've looked at the power document Rich posted in the wiki regarding IF for a HIM. I'm torn because my goal time is 3 hr, maybe just under depending on the day (right on the bubble of .80 vs .85). I am scared to push too hard and try to hit .85 on race day. I was trying for .83 during my RR. Any thoughts?
I used the water bottle holder zip tied between my aerobars and it worked well. I had my watch alarm set for every 5 min and having a bottle closer was much more convenient. I was planning on using the course bottles, but based on what's been going around EN, I am considering a Speedfil A2. We'll see.
Run splits: (goal 8:27 then 7:57)
8:20
8:37
8:25
7:50
8:05
7:56
I tried to slow down on the run because of the heat index. I took a number of walking breaks because I was having a hard time slowing myself down. I tried to add about 5 sec per mile because of that, but it didn't work as well; I had my goal paces already in my head. However, when I finished my six miles, I could tell I would have definitely slowed down if I had another 7 miles left; I was overheating. Great practice for Patriot!
Don't torpedo you race with a time goal. It's good to have them but with external factors such as wind and heat 3 hours on a good day could be 3:20 on a very windy day. Also if the running was difficult you may want to dial back the IF just a tad. Going for the top end of .85 takes really good fitness and execution.
As for the running use walk breaks at to slow your self down early on if needed. As you have noted the last 7 miles will be much slower or much more walking if you don't account for the heat.
If you were overheating looking to cooling techniques such as water on head, ice in hat, hands, or short short etc. Cooling cloth around the neck, arm coolers or even a cold pack in T2.
Gordon