There is a local weekly 20k TT here and I was curious what some thoughts were on using this as a part of training. I generally do a 30-40 warmup Z2 mostly with some V02 max pickups that are very short. Takes me 29min to do the 20k and then go home. I am training for a 70.3 and ride at least 4 others days per week. Is there a place for that type of all out effort? I am getting faster already and hope to get to break 28 by the end of the season.
TG
Yes, 30 minutes at high zone 4/low zone 5 is a great workout, you will also learn to suffer, and learn to pace evenly (if you work at it)
It is a good excuse to practice in race kit, race wheels, race tires etc so you are comfortable with all of it.
I did a 20k TT every other week last season, some on my own and some part of a local series. The end result wasn’t a faster bike split but rather faster run splits for me.
I did the same thing last year (unfortunately that TT got canned this year) and I found it great. 30 minutes slightly above FTP will have a bigger training effect than the TSS score might indicate, plus I never found it left me fried and compromised the training the rest of the week. Also serves as a decent FTP test as long as you don’t head into too fatigued. One of the best benefits I found was riding the same course over and over allowed me to play around with my lines through corners and learn how aggressive I could be.
Thanks guys, that is how I feel but I wanted to other experiences and opinions. Only time I think I will skip is the week before the HIM.
It’s an excellent workout for a few reasons.
Firstly it is ~105% FTP, so a good FTP builder.
Second, you learn how to suffer.
Third, you’re doing all this on your TT bike.
Fourth, you’re getting good FTP or LTHR numbers to work from.
Fifth, you can track your progress.
Sixth, you can experiment with position, hydration set up, wheels, tyre pressure etc etc
All great points! Last night I focused on hard even pacing and keeping my position. Often I find myself sliding forward on the saddle. Another was picking lines and holding them, I am not to the point where the 25min guys are but every second counts and riding all over the road can add up to a minute over the course.