In two weeks I’ll be doing my first ever TT event.
It’ll be 16 miles of rolling hills on a looped course.
My plan is to go out moderate for the first 10-12 miles and then push harder towards the end if there is anything left in my legs.
I’ve raced plenty of tri’s and I’ll be using my steep angled tri bike and riding in the aero position.
What sort of warmup do you guys/gals recommend?
Also, any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
Make sure you get around 30 minutes warm up, I usually spin and do some short 30 seconds efforts towards the end to get my legs ready. Make sure you synchronize your watch with the race clock so you dont miss your start.
You might also want to practice going from a held standing start with a friend to find an appropriate gear.
KR
http://www.timetrial.org/firsttt.htm
and:
Time Trial Racing on a Shoestring
By Gary Tingley
Welcome to the greatest endurance sport known to man! Often called the “race of truth”, time trial racing is one of the purest representations of rider’s power and endurance, you cannot hide from the clock. New riders may be intimidated by all the flashy bikes, clothing and helmets they see at the races, but it is important to remember that time trial racing is 90% rider and only 10% gear. Of that 10% (gear), a rider can achieve 90% of the performance of the most high zoot gear on a budget, with the following tips:
Clothing & Helmet
These items are very important aerodynamically, and relatively cheap: Skinsuit: If you can get a deal with your club, use their skinsuits, if not (or you race unattached) then get a $70 Voler skinsuit from www.velowear.com Helmet: If a $100 Garneau Prologue is out of your current budget, you can get almost the same aero benefits by simply covering the vents in your current road helmet using clear packing tape. Shoe covers: These are not very important, saving only a few seconds over a 40k, but you can get a $27 set of Assos shoe covers at www.excelsports.com and they come in multiple colors.
Aerobars
The most important upgrade you can make to convert your road bike to a TT machine is to add a good set of aerobars, clip on aerobars can be added to your existing road bars: Ebay: Aerobars galore. Profile and Syntace clip ons are your best bet. Profile Design: The least expensive clip on aerobar set is the $65 Century bar (www.profile.com), which will meet your TT needs.
Wheels
An upgrade from ‘box sections’ wheels to aero wheels is a significant upgrade and you will see significant time improvements. You don’t need a set of $1700 Zipp 909’s to be fast. You will first want an aero front wheel, then a deep section rear wheel - or even better, a disc. You can get started with deep section wheels from various sources: Ebay: look for older but quality Specialized or HED Trispoke front wheels (which run $200 - $300 normally), deep HED front wheels (e.g. Stinger), older Corima and Zipp deep front wheels, and older Corima, HED, Jdisc and Zipp discs, avoid the aluminum disc models that are very heavy. Build your own front wheel by using a Velocity deep dish aluminum rim paired to a nice hub. Renn disc: www.rennmultisport.com (or bicyclesports.com) have sub $400 rear disc wheels which are very nice, and they are rumored to have an inexpensive front deep carbon model coming in 2004 Build your own disc covered wheel
Frame
Guess what? The bicycle frame is one of the least important aerodynamic parts of a bicycle, so this upgrade should be way down on your list. Use your current road bike with the aero wheels and clip on bars, get fit properly and have fun!
hiya,
check out also this article on warming up for TTs–
good luck!
http://www.roadcycling.com/news/article458.shtml
toad
mad aussie, Gary, & toadplamer,
Thanks for the advice and links!
Hopefully I can put the info to good use. 
Mike
Once you get to max speed/effort, then go up another gear or two. Don’t worry about spinning–MASH DEM PEDALS and stay relaxed…
http://www.timetrial.org/firsttt.htm
I like this article, especially…
“In a time trial, you may finish many minutes behind the event winner, yet have the satisfaction of recording a personal best time. Thus, time trials are unique, in that it is possible for everyone to be a winner.”
Just like in special olympics!
i just did my first tt a couple weeks ago. the responses you are getting have been pretty spot on. the only thing i could add would be to leave the triathlete biking mentality at the door. there is no holding back for a run. think of it in terms of a stand alone 5k or 10k. the hr is going to be soaring and you will be pushing much bigger gears than you would in a tri. definitely take the stationery trainer out to the race site and get some work in or just spin out on the course/roads nearby if possible. have “fun” with it. it’s going to hurt, but it’s really a good experience…
Try to treat the race as 2 separate races. One to the half way mark and the other to the finish. Don’t hold back on either. Stay seated in aero as much as possible. If you can sprint out of the saddle at the finish, you didn’t manage your power good enough. Race it with the intensity that it is the last race you’ll ever do. After all, it may be. Anything can happen out there. And lastly, know in advance and expect to be in a great deal of pain. Speed hurts. But have the mindset of “So what”. It’s just pain and it’s temporary. Keep the hammer down all the way and concentrate on good form and minimizing drag. Rev it on the redline!
There is no better training on the bike for triathletes than TT’ing. Congratulations on taking up the challenge. If I was coaching triathletes competing at all distances it would be a weekly staple of their training, pre and in-season.
Pacing is key, but it should be an all-out or near all out effort for the full distance. You should cross the finish line of the TT feeling like you could not have pedaled another rotation at that effort.
If you make it a regular part of your weekly training and you keep at it, you should notice some substantial improvements in your cycling in about a month.
Good luck.
I like this article, especially…
“In a time trial, you may finish many minutes behind the event winner, yet have the satisfaction of recording a personal best time. Thus, time trials are unique, in that it is possible for everyone to be a winner.”
Just like in special olympics!
iktool,
Are you suggesting that anyone who time trials qualifies for the Special Olympics? Is this because of some mental deficiency?
There is no better training on the bike for triathletes than TT’ing.
If you make it a regular part of your weekly training and you keep at it, you should notice some substantial improvements in your cycling in about a month.
asd99,
Fleck is absolutely correct. IMHO There is no better training on the bike for cyclists as well.
You will discover that your average speed will increase and you will ride faster in all cycling efforts without any greater effort.
Time trialing and the desire and effort to improve at time trialing will make you a stronger cyclist!
If you are ever going to experiment with lower hands to get more power, a short course like this would be perfect…especially with no run afterward. The lower hands position allows me to really pull against my driving leg for more power…it tires my lower back…but, with no run to follow…who cares? As someone else said, lower rpms are faster, find your normal gear and click it one higher…or two higher. THIS is weight training for bikers.
I did my first ever TT a couple months ago. Like others have said, I think they should be called exercises in pain management. Just drop the hammer, stay aero, and just hang on until the line. I made the mistake of trying to just sit in and spin it, I could probably taken 30 -60 off my time, had I dropped a gear or 2. Hammer up to your favorite cadence then drop a gear and repeat, until you feel like your going to die.