JRA pacing IF

novaavant

So I have my gears setup for IMFL and per Coach P's talk the other night we should be doing JRA for about the first 30 miles until we hit Rt 77.  My gear 1 IF will be 70% but what is the window for the JRA pacing? I don't want to go too JRA.  Thx.

Norton

Unless your FTP is north of 300 watts your Gear 1 is too high. Do you really think you can hold 73-74% for the bike leg and then run well? Many have tried, very few succeed.

Back to your original question: JRA is 60-68% of FTP: an all-day, yukking it up with buddies, easy-peasy pace.

novaavant

Thx for the catch Bill. My early morning typing is not so great. This is what I meant:

FTP: 223 so goal watts would be 70% per EN power calculator.
1st 148
2nd 156
3rd 164
4th 172

Nate Parady

Attila,
I've got similar numbers as you. FTP is 220, did first RR off of 215, doing second RR with 220.

.65 feels like a good JRA pace for me. I'm guessing the first 30 minutes of the bike will be similar to my first RR where I came in around .59 because I was cold, getting settled, and not in the groove just yet. I could see it be the same in FL. I'll probably spend the first 30 minutes just getting used to my environment, drinking down perform, wondering why everyone else is going so fast, and having a small celebration on the bike about making through another 2.4 mile swim. I'll then settle into .65 until mile 30 or about 90 minutes total time.

I need to go back and review the TSS chart. I did RR1 with a total IF of .68 and felt awesome getting off the bike. was trying to hit .68 for each of my 30' intervals after doing JRA pace for the first 90 min.

I think the challenge with FL will be when you are stuck behind a pack of folks, pushing 120 watts, but going 19mph....the IF will be going south even though you are going pretty fast...

novaavant

Nate that's a good call on the initial 30, you're right I think the temps will be cool and who knows what we will feel like after the swim. I keep forgetting that before the bike I'll have to do the longest swim of my life first in the ocean. I reviewed my RR file and did .66 for the initial 90 minutes. Then like a dummy rode hard into the strong winds that day and had a high VI and netted out an IF of .705. Run was decent but 1 hour is very different from a marathon. I think I will back off on the second RR and see if the results are improved while taking better care of the VI and noting if the run improved even more. I also changed up my Garmin fields to watch. I was chasing my Pnorm lap average instead of real time power (10s), again not super smart.
Patience will be the rule race day I think with all the packs of people.
All the details are starting to stress me out with small panic attacks. When Bill noted my mistake my stomach completely dropped to the ground and I immediately thought I screwed everything up ; )

Nate Parady

Attila, the small panick attacks are about right...I am getting those and stressing about stupid stuff...Similar to how I felt for IMLP 2011. What I remember is a lot of the stress goes away as soon as the gun goes off and you realize, its just SBR.
For me, as I'm a much stronger runner, I would rather go a little conservative on the bike (.68-.69 versus.70) and just know I'm gonna make it up on the run. There is so much time to be made up (or lost) on the run.
Granted, I'm a middle of the pack, non Kona hunter type of guy.

For power, I look at real time Watts (10s), IF, nPower. I know IF and Normalized Power are basically the same, but I don't do math on the fly.

I also watch, Time, Speed, Cadance and distance..I will spend most of the time looking at the Interval I'm currently in only switching over the look at the entire ride states a few times to see where i'm at with my overall power numbers.

John Withrow

@Atilla, don't tell the EN Execution police, but I only do JRA for 10-15 mins max (similar to my normal bike workout warmup) and I do it around "1st Gear". I think the Haus approved level is lower than that, call it 60-65%.

Attila and Nate-- Mini panic attacks are actually healthy, but channel them into things like this where you grow your knowledge base and refine every detail you can control about race day. The reality is there will be a lot of things in the coming weeks you cannot control, let them slide off your backs. You have done the work, you will execute like Ninjas and you will have AWESOME races.

novaavant

Thanks guys for all the guidance, this type of detail and encouragement really does help a tremendous amount!!

Norton

Attila,

During my final IM, at IMFL, I executed that living crap out of my bike and run. I took it stupid easy for the first hour on the bike then settled down to a good clip of 70-72% of FTP. Except, of course, when the bike packs rolled over me. Then, I'd slide to the back, look around and make sure I was last, then sit up, eat, drink, stretch and enjoy the ride. I rode at legal distances and played the game. I finished with an IF of .68 and a 5:36, then ran an IM Marathon PR.

This plan works, IF the athlete executes correctly.

Be strong at the end, when so few are.

irahelp

 What does JRA stand for?

novaavant

Just Riding Along. Think shooting the sh$t pace with your buddies, super easy effort. Typically would be 65-68 of FTP. I equate it to the run pace for the first 6 miles of the IM marathon. Do no harm and just get yourself collected; nutrition started; dial-in your brain for what is coming etc. As I do my RRs for me it falls around 66% but each person will vary slightly so they give us a range to work with.

Cary Blanco

I always took JRA for 30 minutes to be ride in gear 1. Depending on the course, this may or may not be entirely possible. I do not believe is should be an issue at IMFL.