I did the Chicago Triathlon and my bike split was 1 minute Slower than last year…this despite the fact that all of my training and racing has been faster this year compared to last year…plus, I have logged 600 more mile this year than the same pont last year and I am on a properly fitteed bike, etc…I maintained a good RPM 87 - 95 for the entire race, but just never seemed to get moving the way I thought I could. The conditions were fine, with only a mild wind, but nothing that should have slowed me by a minute…I wasn’t at a peak, but I wasn’t overtrained either. I estimated that I would go 3 - 5 minutes faster this year than last based on training times, etc…
Almost all of my training is in an area with lots of small rolling hills with little opportunity for extended all out flat rides…I seem to perform better in comparison to the field on hilly courses than flat courses. Is it possible that I need more flat/interval/speed training? Any other suggestions commenets? I now more info would be helpful, but hope soemone can shed ligtbon this for me…Thanks.
I know a guy who does the bike leg in the winning relay the past two years. His time this year was something like 30 seconds slower, which is a lot considering he goes 56 minutes for the course. Maybe it was just plain slower this year. I know you expected to be a lot faster rather than the same as last year, so maybe this doesn’t completely explain it.
Maybe just a bad day. Maybe it was because you weren’t warmed up. I know that I am a much better cyclist this year than last, but it takes me longer to get that engine to optimal performance this year, and Chicago does not give you much time to do this. Plus it’s tough in general to compare bike splits across triathlons, as the other events have an effect on each other, they are by no means independent. How did your swim and run compare?
Personally, if you saw my post on the Chicago triathlon, I had a terrible day on the run, averaging 1.5 minutes/mile slower than anticipated. I guess I take solace in the fact that someone else had trouble matching their potential that day, but I’d rather have been a minute slower on the bike than 10 on the run.
How do you ride the rollers around your place? I’d think that if you keep your cadence relatively high, and stay seated, and keep the power output constant, you shouldn’t be at a disadvantage on the flat courses. At least this is my rationale when I get to rollers since I’m a flat lander (I thought there were rollers at chicago). I don’t worry about how my speed drops off, I just keep a constant exertion level. Seems to result in close to the same average speeds whether I’m on rollers or flat land. But I’m a newbie, so keep that in mind.
Did you ride a PowerTap wheel both races? Maybe an SRM crank? NO? Sorry, but the time comparisons are almost meaningless, and I’m being generous. So many issues, so little time. Wind, humidity, bikers, course, hydration, food, equipment, attitude, position on the bike, training, rest, physical condition, iron levels (hematocrit), testosterone levels, slight infection (bad tooth), etc. I doubt I covered half of the issues…
If you keep a very good journal you should have a fair idea what your current state of “readiness” to race is. If you use a Comptrainer, PowerTap, or SRM to measure power then you are more likely to have accurate information for that journal.