Riding with consistent power
So finished first HIM over the weekend and one of the things I noticed is how variable my watts can be. Is there a monitor that I can use that has VI and Norm power displayed or do you only get those numbers once you've downloaded the data? Currently use the 310xt with main focus on 3s power display and cadence. Are there other data fields thatt are more beneficial? Also, are they training activities that one can do to help ride with more consistent power levels?
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Display 10s or 30s power
What was your VI for the ride?
Please read this
Also, what display fields do you use? How many pages? If more than one page, and it set to Auto Scroll, I recommend you put the 3s and 30s power in the same place *on every screen*. That way it is always where you want it.
Finally, when riding on your trainer, I find it useful to do "cadence" intervals while trying to hold a constant power level. By that I mean that I intentionally shift up or down one to two gears so that I am riding well below or above my normal cadence (i.e. I normally hold around 90, so I will shift so that I have to hold 110ish, then a few minutes later I will change it to 60ish). When I am riding outdoors, I will do something similar on climbs -- I will shift so as to get to 30-40 cadence while working to hold my "2nd Gear" power. That way I am used to dropping my cadence if required rather than having to accept a much higher Wattage level when climbing a steeper hill.
John,
I also struggle with the riding steady skill. When I race or do race rehearsals, I usually set up my Garmin with min and max power alerts so that if I get stupid, it beeps at me until I stop. I also find that part of the challenge is riding correctly over the crest and into the downhill. Rich and Patrick harp on the need to keep the power up at the top of hills and into the first 1/3 of the downhill. That's usually the hardest part to get right.
To this I would add that it's also about
1. Proper gearing -- have the gears on the bike that keep you at a comfortable cadence so you don't spike watts on a climb, and...
2. Becoming stronger and lighter. The strong and lighter you are, the more w/kg you have to get up stuff without seeing watts that you don't want to see.
But like Keith said, it's a skill and once you get it, you got it. My training style is 180 degrees opposite of riding steady. But I can put on the Steady Hat at will and ride the way I need to.
In my experience it was just a skill I had to learn. At first I would be staring at the 3sec avg almost all the time. It makes rides very boring, might as well be on the trainer. Now that I have learned the skill I can turn it on and off. I will tape my "power gears" on my basebar during a race so they are staring at me. I also hit lap every 30 minutes, or if for strategic reasons the laps may very depending on the course. By having regular laps I can review them on a page of my Garmin 800. The lap review shows the NP and time for each lap. This kind of helps to show if my overall power is fading, or climbing, but usually fading. The number one help for me in keeping a low VI is having 3 sec power displayed on all of my screens in the same place. I have recently taken speed off of the display all together. This also helps me. I know to race off of power, but subconsciously seeing the power low and a high speed would cause me to back off even more; which in return hindered a low VI. It is a skill that takes discipline and diligence even once learned. But it is a skill that gets easier with practice.
Stick with it,
Gene
OMG that is the most annoying thing EVER. I thought setting my workout on the watch or the 800 would be great but the dang thing beeped at me constantly. Now I just setup the workout as a time interval with No Goal and then label the interval Z4 or something to know what I need to be doing.
Riding with power has kept me more consistent though
Joanne runs with the pace alert thingy on and it beeps constantly. When I run with her I keep telling her the fries are done...