IM Rookie Pacing Question

[Deleted User]

Hello,

 

I am training for IM Lou and had a great camp last weekend with Rich and the team.  Of course as soon as I got back I came up with a million additional questions!  Hopefully you can help me with this one.  I train and race with power.  I have my estimated 'gears' for race day based on my current FTP.  When looking at my power meter ( a Joule) should I  try to keep NP as close as possible to 'gear 2 watts' or should I try to keep actual watts close to gear 2? 

I'm not sure if there is actually a significant difference at the end of the day.  However up until now I've been using the actual watt method and I did want to check before race day !

 

Ian

[Deleted User]

 NP should be close to your goal watts, but ideally your average watts too. Two reasons:

• NP is greater than or equal to your average watts, as it's an estimate of the "true" work that your body is doing. 
• Your VI=NP/(Average Watts). So riding steady means keeping both as close to each other as possible.

Hope that helps!

Bob Irwin

When you're looking at your power meter, you should try to hit your target watts for the situation. Gear 1 = first x miles. Gear 2 = most of time. Gear 3 or 4 for hills. Figure out what you should do right now. If you've ridden too easy or too hard earlier, you don't want to try to make NP or average power come out a particular number. NP and average power will come out how they come out depending on how you do at keeping to your target throughout the day. Good Luck.

Al Truscott

 Don't forget to use the interval function during the race. Rich probably talked about this at the camp. But every 30 minutes, start a new interval. That way the NP you are looking at covers only the most recent 0-30 minutes, and you get a better "real-time" picture of that metric. As others have said, keep glancing at the current watts. Because that number naturally bounces around, you'll need to carry in your head the range within which you expect to ride. EG, if your target watts are 150, seeing 135-165 at any given moment is probably OK, as long as your NP number is very close to 150, like 147-153.

Personally, I keep the IF number on my screen, rather than the actual NP. That way, I get less confused by looking back and forth at actual watts and NP. I can always see NP on the bottom row when I select the IF on the big screen. Also, as my FTP varies from month to month and season to season, I don't have to remember in the thick of the race, gee, what's my target NP today. I ALWAYS know my target IF is going to be .7-.72 for an IM, .81-.83 for an HIM, .92 for Oly, etc.

[Deleted User]

Great advice all. Many thanks. I will try those tips during my long rides this weekend. Another reason why EN rocks ;-)

Bob Irwin

One other thing - I have a garmin edge 500, so I'm not sure if the Joule is the same. I set my display to show 3s average - current power bounces arround too much, and 30s average. NP is calculated using the 30s rolling average - so if you can keep that where you want it, you'll be good.