I've got a 70.3 in 8 weeks and wanting to see how I'm travelling fitness wise so I did an OD today. Training has been going well, running around 45 miles/week. This is the leg I'm trying to improve the most. It wasn't a great race for me today unfortunately, got off the bike feeling good, we had strong winds today and the run was 4 x 2.5km laps. Heading out we had a headwind and coming back a tailwind. Do they cancel each other out? So in theory you should run as well without any wind? I really battled into the headwinds, pace was really slow and although quicker with the tailwinds it didn't seem to amend for the time I was losing with the headwind. Ended up with 43.45. 2 - 3 minutes off what I was realistically hoping to get. Not sure whether I put that one down to the conditions or treat it as big fat reality check!
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Re: Running with wind [zedzded]
[ In reply to ]
Same as cycling, cycling or running on a looped/out & back course on a windy day will be slower than no wind. Although you spend the same distance with a tailwind & headwind, you spend more time going into the headwind which slows your average.
Example - let's say you avge 30kmh on the bike and you have course 15km out and 15km back. If there's no wind it will take 60min/30kmh.
Now let's say there is a wind that slows you down by 5kmh into the wind and speeds you up 5kmh with the tailwind. It will take 36 min heading out and 26 min back - total 62min/29.5kmh.
Same concept applies on hills. If you ride up a hill and back down your average speed will be slower than on the flat as you spend more time going uphill at a slower speed even though the distance is the same.
On a windy day it's likely your average running speed will be slower.
Example - let's say you avge 30kmh on the bike and you have course 15km out and 15km back. If there's no wind it will take 60min/30kmh.
Now let's say there is a wind that slows you down by 5kmh into the wind and speeds you up 5kmh with the tailwind. It will take 36 min heading out and 26 min back - total 62min/29.5kmh.
Same concept applies on hills. If you ride up a hill and back down your average speed will be slower than on the flat as you spend more time going uphill at a slower speed even though the distance is the same.
On a windy day it's likely your average running speed will be slower.
Re: Running with wind [zedzded]
[ In reply to ]
Average speed on a windy day will always be slower, the head and tailwinds don't cancel out, and crosswinds just slow you down full stop.
If you're measuring your performance by your overall time, then it's just bad luck if it happens to be windy on a course that you wouldn't normally expect winds on. If you're measuring relative to the rest of the field then everybody else should be going slower as well so it evens out. In terms of effort then similar to cycling you should really be aiming to maintain steady effort which means going slower into the headwind and faster with the tailwind. Heart rate is your best bet for this, since your RPE is likely to be way off. In terms of technique I find it really helps to try and stay relaxed into the wind. Obviously you should be trying to be relaxed when running anyway, but it's very easy in a headwind to really tense up, as the body tries to fight into the wind and the mind gets frustrated at how slowly you're going. Stay loose, try not to think about speed.
2-3 minutes off your target doesn't sound too bad if winds were strong.
If you're measuring your performance by your overall time, then it's just bad luck if it happens to be windy on a course that you wouldn't normally expect winds on. If you're measuring relative to the rest of the field then everybody else should be going slower as well so it evens out. In terms of effort then similar to cycling you should really be aiming to maintain steady effort which means going slower into the headwind and faster with the tailwind. Heart rate is your best bet for this, since your RPE is likely to be way off. In terms of technique I find it really helps to try and stay relaxed into the wind. Obviously you should be trying to be relaxed when running anyway, but it's very easy in a headwind to really tense up, as the body tries to fight into the wind and the mind gets frustrated at how slowly you're going. Stay loose, try not to think about speed.
2-3 minutes off your target doesn't sound too bad if winds were strong.
Cool, thanks lads :)