Hi all,
I am planning to do a long hillclimb race soon and it got me thinking about pacing through HR and/or power data. While I do subscribe to the power training philosophy, this climb is so steep and the weather so unpredictable (i.e. could be like 95 degrees and humid that day) that it had me wondering if HR data would be the way to go for pacing.
For example, say the day of the race turns out to be super hot and humid; couple that with the possibility of different pedaling dynamics due to the severity of the grade, and I start to wonder if it would be better to measure the stress on the "engine" rather than the power output at the road. My concern is that, pacing based on my flat-land FTP in good conditions could lead to a blowup whereas paying attention to my HR exertion (I have carefully mapped-out HR zones) would be a truer measure of how hard I am actually working.
What say you?
I am planning to do a long hillclimb race soon and it got me thinking about pacing through HR and/or power data. While I do subscribe to the power training philosophy, this climb is so steep and the weather so unpredictable (i.e. could be like 95 degrees and humid that day) that it had me wondering if HR data would be the way to go for pacing.
For example, say the day of the race turns out to be super hot and humid; couple that with the possibility of different pedaling dynamics due to the severity of the grade, and I start to wonder if it would be better to measure the stress on the "engine" rather than the power output at the road. My concern is that, pacing based on my flat-land FTP in good conditions could lead to a blowup whereas paying attention to my HR exertion (I have carefully mapped-out HR zones) would be a truer measure of how hard I am actually working.
What say you?