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Most effective Way to Increase IM Bike Speed
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I race exclusively Olys and sprints. I had planned to do am IM later this year, but I think I am postponing until next year.

I have read a ton on IM bike speed and certainly appreciate the "consistency is king" approach. I have seen lots of gains from that model in the last 9 months.

But, even more specifically... for increasing IM bike speed over a 12-15 month period, is it generally a better approach to increase FTP first and then add in the longer stuff or build up the longer distance stuff and then increase power at that distance?
Last edited by: DFW_Tri: May 9, 17 9:06
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Re: Most effective Way to IM Bike Speed [DFW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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Power first, endurance second.
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Re: Most effective Way to IM Bike Speed [DFW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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For 75% of roadies I see no difference in how you should train between just road riding or the steady IM bike effort. Why? 75% of roadies ride solo most of the time.

I've ridden with people a couple times this year, but never a paceline. So there was never that anomaly of hiding in a pack.

Traditional roadies will, in season, mix in HIIT sessions with powermeter, zone 2 recovery rides, and a longer weekly ride into their routine.

I'm still newer. But right now I do a 35 min to 45min HIIT session with intervals well above FTP (not quite tabatas, but 4 min intervals and some 1 min max intervals), I do one metric century ride during the week, then one or two short and easy rides to the coffee shop to meet the wife and kids on the weekend (they drive there). This totals about 80 mi a week.

That's still not much mileage for many seasoned roadies or roadies who train to longer distances.

Either way, doing this, I've gained 70 watts on my FTP in about 7 months. I'm still low power, as I'm a noob, but it's working.

I would say.....the reason I still focus on ftp more than some 3-hour 1/2 IM output is that there are some small/sharp hills here. I'd lose lots of time on those parts if I only ever trained to put out right at FTP and not much more than.

It can be helpful to put out ftp+100w or ftp+150w for a few minutes at a time then pull back a few watts under ftp once the hill is over and resume.

Then again, that's me. I gain more time at my current skill by killing a few hills then cruising at 20mph in the flat to catch my breath.

Wind resistance is non-linear, hills mostly are.
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Re: Most effective Way to IM Bike Speed [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]
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I appreciate the post but aren't sure what you are advising...i think you are advocating for increasing FTP first?
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Re: Most effective Way to Increase IM Bike Speed [DFW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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What NordicSkier said. Power first (it takes much longer to develop), endurance second.

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Re: Most effective Way to Increase IM Bike Speed [DFW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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Consistency as you point out is king for triathlon - it's such an honest sport you put the work in and in general you get the returns. No hiding.

Regarding your specific q relating to Ironman Power/Speed.

1 - Aerodynamics. If you can get your CDA down and hold your Aero position for the duration you will gain a significant amount of time for return on investment. Easy win. Train on Turbo, practice TT Position. Hold. Repeat. Done.

2 - Polarized approach similar to your current FTP focus plan I'd imagine. Take it from someone who recently did a focus on IM pace work and power zones, effectively the dreaded Z3 work but my approach was on longer days to spend a lot of time in these zones in order to address previous nutrition/salt/cramp issues.
I can safely say I didn't improve much overall in comparison to training in the Z2-Z4/5 approach and have since reverted back to a more specific polarized approach as a result. Similar with running imo.

3 - Build long rides in z1-2-3 up past 5 hours, maybe even 6 or so depending on time goals.

4 - Continue with FTP focus/Z4-5 sessions as normal, stronger is stronger much like more is more.

5 - Strength and Conditioning. Often overlooked, sorts out muscle imbalances, reduces injury likelihood, gains stronger core and overall muscles for all disciplines. Ironman isn't fast racing, it's strong racing.


You mention thinking of postponing till next year - not sure your history or if you've ever done a 70.3?
If you're new to triathlon then what's the rush? Enjoy the sprints and olympic distance as you get fitter and learn what works for you etc.
Nothing worse than hobbling or walking an ironman marathon cause you weren't fit enough or didn't have the strength etc. No enjoyment there imo.
I did my first ironman in year 5. It was my most enjoyable race to date after 5 years of sprint/oly/70.3's. I was fit enough to cope with the distance and enjoy it without pressure of chasing time or struggling to make cut offs etc.

6 - Enjoy the process, steps and training and racing. Ironman puts a lot of eggs in to 1 basket for the season. A lot can go wrong and something most likely will go wrong during an ironman.
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Re: Most effective Way to Increase IM Bike Speed [Fazz] [ In reply to ]
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1. Yes, this is probably something I need to work on.

History--I've been doing tris since 2004 so never been in a rush--the short, faster stuff is more fun IMO. I did a few 70.3s about 10 years ago, but have just focused on shorter stuff since. I have the base that I could probably ramp up to a full IM in a few months if I really "had to" but I think I want to postpone a year and gain some more speed.

I am relatively new to the PM scene though (approx. 18 months). During that time, I have generally been taking an increase the FTP first approach, but just wanted to make sure the same approach is okay if an IM is the goal.
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Re: Most effective Way to Increase IM Bike Speed [DFW_Tri] [ In reply to ]
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Typically you race IM at ~70% of FTP. So the higher your FTP the better off you are.

+1 on power first.
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