The "What Did You Learn from the Camp" Thread
Many of you had an opportunity to ride the course several time and run the run course. If you're like me, you learned a lot, have decided to change a few things, were made aware of many others, etc. Let's capture all of that stuff bouncing in our heads so we don't miss anything and for those who couldn't make it.
Swim:
Based on recent discussions, I running with the assumption that the swim will not be wetsuit legal for those contending for AG awards and/or Kona slots. If that's the case:
- Not wearing a wetsuit? I'm looking into sourcing a speedsuit, not so much for the minimal time gains in the water but more for the time gains in transition. I've tried to put on a singlet when wet...it ain't pretty. I would really, really prefer to not buy one so...should we start a Speedsuit Loaner Thread?
. - Wearing a wetsuit? I think I'd be concerned about hydration issues coming out of the water. 1:xx is a LONG time to spend in a wetsuit in 7x degree water. Plan to drink your ass off in transition before the start, for sure, to get a head start.
The Bike (the BIG learning category)
- Gearing: I ran a compact on the front and 25-12 on the back for the camp. When I got home I swapped out the 25-12 for my 26-11:
- I found myself under about 62rpm a few times on some of the hills and I wasn't comfortable. Instantly went to standing. Not a huge deal, the generally the hills put me into a cadence lower than expected, so going with the 26.
- As I'll talk about below, this course is all about Conservation of Momentum, especially the speed on the downhills. I found myself spinning out a few times in my 50-12 at ~37-38mph when I had enough road remaining to stay on the gas up to 42mph+, which is where I spin out with the 50-11. So putting the 11t on.
- Do you need the 11t? Depends. I'm very comfortable at all speeds so I definitely want 42mph vs 37mph. If you don't feel safe above ~35mph (and you will see it several times on race day), fine to stick with a cassette with a 12t vs a 11t smallest cog.
- I went with the 25-12 vs the 26-11 because I didn't want to deal with the cadence gap. But on the course I found that you're not at any one cadence for more than a couple minutes so the gap isn't an issue. Gonna suck on my flat rides over the next few weeks but...oh well.
- Gearing Summary: everyone reading this thread should have a 26-12 or 11, no exceptions, regardless of what chainrings you're running. And because of the non-existant cadence gap issue above, I would say go with a 28-12 vs a 27 or 26-12. You can never have enough gears.
- Conservation of Momentum:
- I learned that while we know where they are and have a plan for the bigger hills on the course, in our focus on those we've ignore the hundreds of other hills, small rises, in/out of this/that corner, etc. Hopefully while you were riding the course you learned the flow of the course: how this little hill has a slight downhill that takes you into this corner, into another downhill and into another set of hills. Staying on the gas across the first hill, into the slight downhill on the other side and carry that speed into and through the corner sets up you for the downhill and the remain hills...x 1000. This pattern is repeated over and over again.
- For those who haven't ridden the course, always look ahead of you on the first loop and ride the terrain you're on now with an eye towards the terrain you see ahead of you. You'll get the rythm of finding the free speed and can do a better job of finding it on the second loop. You'll then carry that habit and knowledge home to T2 on the stick back to down.
- The net: DON'T COAST (very much). Yes, our normal guidance is to just coast above ~33-34mph. But the thing with WI is that these coasting opportunities aren't very long to give you much rest. Instead, stay on the gas so you can increase that speed on the downhill and carry it with you around the course.
- What you do on the up's portion of the hills...you know. You all know what to do and what to dial in. But, again, the key opportunity is carry that speed with you around the course, especially into and through the corners. You have some time to learn how to corner faster between now and the race.
- Position: I normally stay in the bars at speeds > 13mph. For WI I'm moving that up to 16mph, coming out of the bars to rest my neck and back. However, remember that staying in the bars on climbs is a good tool to prevent you from working harder than you should on the hill.
- Tires: Vittoria Open Corsa and latex tubes. Gonna gets me some of them ASAP
- Race Helmet: yes please! I have a blue Marvin the Martian LG Rocket TT from '05 but have asked Patrick to mail me his Lazer so I can try it on. I want white, and vents.
- Nutrition: 175-300cal/hr, depending on body size, try the low end of that range and go up if you need to. Liquid vs solid or semi-solids are highly recommended. You have time to practice this and confirm what works for you.
- Heat on the bike: I got very dehydrated in the last 90' of the Saturday ride and suffered back to Madison. Planning to turn the watts down by about 5w if it's above about 80 degrees.
Transition: gonna ask Matt Ancona to post his transition plans for this race. He's a ninja!
Run:
- Miles 1-6 = E-pace + 30": VERY tough to stick to this off the bike, I learned. What felt like 8:50's was 8:10's or faster whenever I looked down. Leg's screaming "just let me run!"
- When I flipped it at mile 3 and dialed in E-pace of 8:15-20...and caught a tailwind and thought I would burst into flames, I was reminded of the importance of dialing down pace to account for heat using Matt's heat pacing tool. Gonna find that and get very, very familiar with it!
- On the Sunday run I was suprised to relearn how much flat or very slight downhill there is until you get to Observatory. This is a good thing because I felt I could really dial in my pace, RPE without having to adjust for grades. The first 3-4 miles, after the slight downhill and crowds of State Street, looked to be pretty quite = not too many distractions to take you out of your box. So, in general, I didn't find too many places where I need to do some mental gymastics to square an 8:15 on an up or down with what it really is. However, I'm sure the course will look much less flat on the 11th
. - Looking through Matt's Racing in the Heat post to dial in clothing selection (ie, DeSoto arm coolers for bike and run, drifit hat with neck shade, etc), ice and sponge strategy.
So...there you go. Did I miss anything? What are your learning points?
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Comments
And getting a K-Edge Chain Keeper, in annodized red. Dropped my chain twice on Saturday, including once right at the bottom of Timberlane....grrrrrr....
Sue: I think the first turn you're talking about is Hwy G onto 92, a high speed sharp right into a short pop. Since the corner is controlled, I plan to swing out wide before the turn, hit the turn with as much speed as I can, then stand for a few pedal strokes to get up that little hill.
The other hill/turn with the "SLOW" on it is Timberlane. 40-45mph downhill into a left with some trees on the inside of the turn so hard to see around it. I'm going with the assumption that there will be far fewer cars out there on race day, so taking a lot of speed into the corner and cutting the apex. There's a slight rise about 100-200m after the corner where you can stay on the gas, using that corner speed and a very short wattage spike to get over that, carrying that speed into the next half mile or so to the bottom of Midtown.
x2 on Rs advice on carrying speed around the course. This was also tricky for me to stay at goal watts. My body seems to either want to "coast" or "attack" the downhills. But worth it to carry that speed.
Need to carry more water. At my slow speed and high sweat rate I'll need a lot between aid stations. Going with a speedfill to address this.
Handled the Perform all day with no problem and no stomach cramping going into run - first time anything has worked for this without going with water only for the last hour of the bike. Gatorade and Gu are great for me on the bike but I can never run after. Feeling good about course nutrition.
Gotta drop some more weight by race day - 200+ makes those hills that much tougher!
Thanks to Rich and all the ENers for their support at the camp! It was a blast.
If there is anyone out there who didn't go to the Rally, but is planning to train on the course at least once in the next six weeks, it seems to me the best thing you can do is make sure you do at least two loops of the course. On the first one, really be a scout and on the second one really try out the things you think you learned. If you have another day to do it again, great. I was pretty amazed how much difference I made from day 1 to day 2, with Day 2 focused on this task.
@Rich - re the arm coolers...something you put on in T1? I kinda like the "wings" version on paper because of better sun coverage on the shoulders; is there a practical reason to go otherwise?
@WJ: I would wear them under my wetsuit, if a wetsuit legal swim. If not, I'd probably put them on while riding the bike somewhere.
No practical reason to go with one vs the other, other than I already have the arm coolers and would like to try those out first (have only worn them a couple times) before a buy another friggin' gear item. Just bought new shows and $95 tri shorts last night. Ugg.
Well Coach Rich and all please jump in here
Not too much to add short of the "look for opportunities to stay on the gas". Pushed the downhills and some of the flats and here were the results (just stick-loop-stick for me -- not doing IMWI).
Friday:
4:05:02
233.5 TSS
.828 IF
182 PNorm
VI 1.05
Avg Cad 84
Saturday:
3:52:37
214.8 TSS
.804 IF
177 PNorm
VI 1.05
Avg Cad 84
13 minutes faster at 5 fewer watts = Happy
One thing - a big disparity between the TSS points on my Joule versus WKO (Joule about 30-40 TSS higher). The VI's were the same but not the TSS -- weird...
Perhaps the secret was the Coke at Uphill Grind on Saturday
@Jeff, what were your average watts for each for those rides? That's the one you want to look at also, as it's the physics of you riding your bike = you did less actual work (kj's) to go faster.
@WJ: not really supposed to swim with the number on under your suit, as it gets jacked up. WTC frowns on it, not that they can really do anything, I guess. I plan to put mine on in transition and then probably tuck it into my shorts so it's not flapping around.
@ Rich, I "tri-sherpa'd" for a budy who KQ'd in your AG last year. We safety pinned his number to his tri-suit the night before. Had the same number on his back all day(under his wetsuit to finish line) The key was to get your back arched as close to bike aero position as possible. Not saying this is the only way, but if every second counts, it is one less piece of admin to attend to in T1
@Group, I think being a slave to my LYC is what I learned at camp. I rode a much smarter race on day two, with tired legs, than I did on day one. I cut my coasting by 2/3rds and my tss was way down. I am going to look at replacing my 12 tooth cog with an 11 to keep my speed going on the downhills.
Riding the course next friday if anyone wants to join us