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First TT
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First TT this weekend (30km)...... Pacing will be critical, but that’s about all I know. What do I need to know? Any suggestions?

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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Ya, pacing. You have a PM? Make sure it's zeroed and keep your power under wraps for the first 10 minutes. No matter how strong you feel do not believe that a miracle will happen, and you'll be able to maintain 120% of FTP. Save that for the last 10k...

Stay to the left of the white line, or on it.
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Re: First TT [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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Yup. Plan is to start around 95-100% FTP.

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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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All about pacing and coping with the pain. Simple but beautiful.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Flat? Out and back, or circuit?
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Re: First TT [jstonebarger] [ In reply to ]
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Completely flat. Out and back.

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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Bring your trainer and get in a hard warmup. Like others have said, the first 10 minutes of the race should feel pretty good, and that will be easier if you hit the trainer hard beforehand.
Also, have a clock near you at all times. Don’t be the guy that misses his start time.

Lastly, bury yourself the final 5k. No sense holding back for a run.

Alex Arman

Strava
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Re: First TT [doublea334] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks. Was planning on hauling my kickr with me for a good warmup. Should get a nice sweat on riding the trainer outdoors in 80+ degree weather.

I assume 30k is short enough where I won't need a bottle. I figure if I'm fueled and hydrated prior to the race, that should be enough to get me through 40ish minutes of pure pain.

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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Don’t chase the pain. It’ll come to you....
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Consider the wind as a factor in pacing. I can't give percentages, but your start should feel even easier if you have a tailwind.

Lots of folks like tylenol beforehand. Some swear by earplugs, too. If you use beet juice, this would be a good time.
Last edited by: jstonebarger: Apr 2, 19 7:23
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Re: First TT [RCCo] [ In reply to ]
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Slowtwitch needs multiquote yo, what is this? The 1990's internet forums?


RCCo wrote:
Don’t chase the pain. It’ll come to you....

Oh yes it will.

GreatScott wrote:
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

For me, it always feels more like that for the first 1/2 to 2/3......then the last bit is more like "be OK with thinking you might die......you won't, or shouldn't".


Do your non-physical prep work also. Check the wind direction for out/back pacing. Check course profile online. Clean, inspect, lubricate. Have a realistic goal. If the course has a few lumps and there's fair wind and it's cool.......don't go out saying "Immma bust out a 10mi PR today". Go out according to plan. I'm still learning that. Execute my plan the best I can with what I'm dealt.

I've some maturity to gain on that front.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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stevej wrote:
Thanks. Was planning on hauling my kickr with me for a good warmup. Should get a nice sweat on riding the trainer outdoors in 80+ degree weather.

I assume 30k is short enough where I won't need a bottle. I figure if I'm fueled and hydrated prior to the race, that should be enough to get me through 40ish minutes of pure pain.

If it is going to be 80+ degrees be careful not to get too hot on the trainer warmup. You can’t do a hard or long warmup at that temperature with no air circulation and your core temperature will only increase during the race.

If the race is flat and straight I would default to being less warmed up rather hot and over-cooked. You only need to be totally reved up if the coarse is technical. Something like a sharp climb right off the bat that needs 110% of FTP is different than a race you can build into.

If you can get out on fairly open roads I would just do 2x10 minutes of tempo riding and a short build of maybe 1 minute at 70,80,90,100% of ftp. Then go back and just spin lightly as you wait for your start time. If you pace the start correctly you will be comfortable and you can slowly build toward your FTP.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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i would bring a bottle. surely you have at least aero neutral options. a sugary solution would be a good thing and has generally proven effective even for short time trials.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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I stole this warmup routine from the Internets and found it works for me. Gaimon may be the original source.

Warmup
-Have a coffee or something with caffeine 60 min before the start time.
-40-45 min before your start, ideally on a trainer, start riding easy, just turning the legs.
-When you’re loose, pedal harder until your heart rate is 120.
-The second you see 120 on the heart rate monitor, shut it off and turn the legs again real easy.
-When you’re fresh again (won’t take more than a couple minutes that early in the routine), pedal harder until your HR touches 130, then again totally shut it down and pedal easy.
-Keep upping the effort every time you’re fresh, by 10-beat increments.
-When you get within 15 beats of the HR you time trial at (or if it’s taking a little longer than you want to respond), start going by 5 min increments.
-Once you’ve touched or passed your TT heart rate, shut it down again, spin the legs until they’re fresh, and head to the start*
*wear a jacket and drop it in the lineup. The start team will return it to the sign in rack.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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stevej wrote:
Completely flat. Out and back.

Do you know what the wind is projected to be? If it's slower on the way out, I would push just over threshold on the way out and then completely empty the tank on the way back in. If it's a head wind on the way back, I would ride at or just below threshold on the way out and give everything on the way back. Check this out https://www.bikeradar.com/...to-a-headwind-46946/

Also as far as warm up goes, this is a good resource. https://cyclingtips.com/...rt-ii-warm-recovery/
I really like the 20-25 minute warm ups but they aren't for everyone.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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Keep in mind that for a bike race the finish line for your effort is actually a few meters before the actual finish line, unlike running.
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Re: First TT [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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If you're using caffeine, be sure to pee about 10 minutes before start time. Caffeine is a diuretic and if you give it 60 minutes to kick in plus the race time, bladder discomfort can impede performance.
When I TT, I try to hold right at FTP until the last 3 miles, then I try to nudge it up a little. Last mile is lungs falling out, gasping for air, face contorted into an unrecognizable grimace.


GreatScott wrote:
I stole this warmup routine from the Internets and found it works for me. Gaimon may be the original source.

Warmup
-Have a coffee or something with caffeine 60 min before the start time.
-40-45 min before your start, ideally on a trainer, start riding easy, just turning the legs.
-When you’re loose, pedal harder until your heart rate is 120.
-The second you see 120 on the heart rate monitor, shut it off and turn the legs again real easy.
-When you’re fresh again (won’t take more than a couple minutes that early in the routine), pedal harder until your HR touches 130, then again totally shut it down and pedal easy.
-Keep upping the effort every time you’re fresh, by 10-beat increments.
-When you get within 15 beats of the HR you time trial at (or if it’s taking a little longer than you want to respond), start going by 5 min increments.
-Once you’ve touched or passed your TT heart rate, shut it down again, spin the legs until they’re fresh, and head to the start*
*wear a jacket and drop it in the lineup. The start team will return it to the sign in rack.
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Re: First TT [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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Ohio_Roadie wrote:
Do you know what the wind is projected to be? If it's slower on the way out, I would push just over threshold on the way out and then completely empty the tank on the way back in. If it's a head wind on the way back, I would ride at or just below threshold on the way out and give everything on the way back. Check this out https://www.bikeradar.com/...to-a-headwind-46946/

That's actually pretty misleading. When the thing making you slow is a headwind, there is very little to gain by going over pace. It's just physics. Plus if the headwind lasts for half the race you can't be more than maybe 3-5% over, and that would make sense only if the headwind was really extreme.

You can gain a significant amount by varying power on hills, but that's because power/speed to overcome gravity is linear versus being ^3 for air resistance.
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Re: First TT [GreatScott] [ In reply to ]
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GreatScott wrote:
I stole this warmup routine from the Internets and found it works for me. Gaimon may be the original source.


Warmup
-Have a coffee or something with caffeine 60 min before the start time.
-40-45 min before your start, ideally on a trainer, start riding easy, just turning the legs.
-When you’re loose, pedal harder until your heart rate is 120.
-The second you see 120 on the heart rate monitor, shut it off and turn the legs again real easy.
-When you’re fresh again (won’t take more than a couple minutes that early in the routine), pedal harder until your HR touches 130, then again totally shut it down and pedal easy.
-Keep upping the effort every time you’re fresh, by 10-beat increments.
-When you get within 15 beats of the HR you time trial at (or if it’s taking a little longer than you want to respond), start going by 5 min increments.
-Once you’ve touched or passed your TT heart rate, shut it down again, spin the legs until they’re fresh, and head to the start*
*wear a jacket and drop it in the lineup. The start team will return it to the sign in rack.


Cycling tips had a couple of articles a few years back detailing Mick Rogers pre-tt rituals. Might be worth a look through if your pre-race routine isn't nailed down yet.

https://cyclingtips.com/...-pre-race-nutrition/
https://cyclingtips.com/...rt-ii-warm-recovery/
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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The first 30-45 seconds is where I see a lot of newbies screw things up. The first 10 seconds are a delicate mix of getting up to speed as quickly as possible without going into a full blown sprint. The next 20 seconds after that is easing your power back down to your target goal. I've seen a lot of people who have a target goal of 285 watts churn out 400 for the first 45 seconds without realizing it (*raises hand*). I've also seen people start way too conservatively as if they were getting going from a stop light on their weekend ride.

Generally, if my goal is 285 watts, I expect my first 6-8 seconds to be around 500-550 watts out of the saddle, 10 seconds at 310-330 after that (continuing to accelerate), then by the end of 1 minute, my total average is down to around 310. For the next 5-7 minutes, I try to sit at 270-280 watts to bring my overall average back down to 280-285 and let myself settle in focusing on staying smooth and breathing normally. Then I'll sit on my goal wattage. After about 10-12 minutes...then I kind of assess how I'm feeling and if I can adjust my goal wattage higher (usually not). As others have mentioned, you're going to feel really good the first 5-10 minutes...so don't bump up your goal wattage based on how you feel early.

If it's an out and back with a sharp U turn...practice your turn around. Seriously...practice it 10-20 times if you can. It's a combination of keeping your speed and staying tucked until the last possible moment, shifting into the correct easy gear, and only coming up onto your horns when you plan to brake. Obviously you need to make a clean turn, but you also need to be able to apply power out of the saddle once the turn is complete. If you picked the wrong gear (or didn't down shift at all prior to making your turn) then this process won't be ideal. I've seen people hammer into the turn around in their 53/13 gear, sit up, brake, make the U turn, then realize they had to reaccelerate in 53/13. This is where di2 can be a huge benefit shifting from the horns...I never had di2, so I had to click down into the right gear before coming out of my aero bars to brake. This can be tricky because usually you're clicking down about 3-4 gears and it's hard to guess which gear you want...unless of course you've practiced it before. If you ever work the turn around of a TT, just watch the time difference between from a land mark 150 meters away from the turn around and how much of a time difference there is between riders to get from that point, through the turn around, and back to that point.

Also agree that you should empty the tank just before the finish line on a flat finish because your speed won't drop off at the same rate that your power does. So even if you time it *a little* wrong where you blow up 5 seconds before the line...at least you'll maintain almost all of the speed you built up as you soft pedal through. Compared to if you are still full blown sprinting through the line...technically you're going to carry that top speed for 5+ more seconds past the finish line.
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Re: First TT [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:
Ohio_Roadie wrote:
Do you know what the wind is projected to be? If it's slower on the way out, I would push just over threshold on the way out and then completely empty the tank on the way back in. If it's a head wind on the way back, I would ride at or just below threshold on the way out and give everything on the way back. Check this out https://www.bikeradar.com/...to-a-headwind-46946/


That's actually pretty misleading. When the thing making you slow is a headwind, there is very little to gain by going over pace. It's just physics. Plus if the headwind lasts for half the race you can't be more than maybe 3-5% over, and that would make sense only if the headwind was really extreme.

You can gain a significant amount by varying power on hills, but that's because power/speed to overcome gravity is linear versus being ^3 for air resistance.


You know...I always thought a little more power going into a headwind was beneficial net/net, but I did the math with cycling power lab, assuming you put out 3% more power into a 10 km/h headwind and put out 5% less power with the tailwind and it's pretty much a wash. And only going 5% lower with the tailwind is a bit optimistic, especially in a 40k. Usually if you go 3% over goal for more than 30 minutes, you're going to pay a much bigger price on the other half...probably closer to 6-10%. I mean...103% for 32 minutes or so is borderline all out for most people's power curve.
Last edited by: Jason N: Apr 2, 19 11:45
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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If you’re warming up in 80+ degrees, try to find some shade to warm up in and also bring your biggest ice pack and put it on your upper back-neck area to keep cool. Being over cooked going into a TT will make it a very miserable experience.
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Re: First TT [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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If you make it to the half way point and aren't sure you'll be alive at the finish line, you're doing it right.
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Re: First TT [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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nickwhite wrote:
If you make it to the half way point and aren't sure you'll be alive at the finish line, you're doing it right.

This is idiotic advice unless you're trying to positive split in a huge way.
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