Training for Time Trials

[Eden]

First race of the year, coming right up on Feb 24th.
It's a shortie - 9 mile (14.5 km) flat TT - so really it might be too short to really see much of a quantitative difference from the helmet... I did do the same course last year (hopefully I have the results somewhere so I can compare this year to last)

I don't really train on the disc - its a tubular, so its a real PITA to change the tires... I'd hate to be training on it and get a flat, so if I train on the TT bike I do it with regular wheels. The disc is a bit heavy, but I think on a flatish course its well worth it. Rolling is OK, but for very hilly I'd leave it off. I use my road bike for hillclimb TT's - its just lighter all around and you don't get going fast enough to take advantage of aerogear anyway on a hillclimb.

I'm going to talk you into a skinsuit someday I don't know how much of a difference it really makes, but d*mn it feels good (fast) to wear one...

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Eden - I didn't mean training all the time on the disc, rather just trying is out in different winds to see how it feels.
Sorry, I wasn't very clear in what I was asking.
You def wanna make tubbies last asap - and never want to get a flattie in a race!

I have regular wheels to train on too - now I am used to them, the tri-spokes only go for actual TTs.

*ignores comment about skin suits*
lahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlah.....

[Starfish]

Please forgive me if this has been asked. I tried searching, but it didn't get me what I was after...

What kind of HRs do you women tend to average when you are either training for or racing in a time trial of, say, 10 miles?

I know it will vary...that each person's lactate threshold and fitness are different, etc, and everyone's a different age, etc. I'm just curious.

I just spent about 2 hours on a ride with an average HR of 154 (about 85% of max) and lots of longish stretches at about 164 (about 91% of max). I got in some intervals close to max on hills.

I found myself wondering what kind of HR I would be shooting for holding onto for, say 10 miles, if I attempted a beginner's time trial?

[Eden]

I shoot for right around or just above my LT.

[RoadRaven]

Yup... I'm like Eden... try and lurk at or above my LT.

Typical HR pattern in a TT as follows...

In a TT I usually leave with such a rush of adrenilin that my HR seems to spike up to about 168-175 which is approaching my max, but after about 500 metres it settles and I then I wind myself up til it is sitting on 156-158bpm
158bpm is my lactate threshold as measured in a sports lab in 2007.

At the turn-around, or the half-way point in distance, I wind myself up more. I know I can sustain a good power output several beats above my LT for about 10km or 18mins and if my body is responding well I try to keep my HR at 162-165 for the last half of the course.

In the last 2kms I try to lift the speed/power output more and my HR often sits at about 168bpm for the last 1km of the ride - thats 10beats above my LT.

My distances for TT are between 18km and 25km long. 18-20km TTs are ideal for me, but I am still having trouble pacing myself over 25km... that extra 5km makes a significant difference.

[Starfish]

So, RR, you had your LT tested in a lab...how about the rest of you?

I feel very sketchy about setting my zones. I tend to use a combination of percentages I have read about it training books, the number I see on the monitor during really hard efforts when I'm gasping for breath (which I assume to be near my max), and sort of a perception of where I am regarding HR when I do rides that leave me pretty sore after.

Have any of you in Seattle been tested, and if so, where?

Is LT the same regardless of type of exertion...such as flat TT vs. climbing?

I feel like I am always guessing about to set my HRs. This has been bugging me for awhile.

[Eden]

So, RR, you had your LT tested in a lab...how about the rest of you?

I feel very sketchy about setting my zones. I tend to use a combination of percentages I have read about it training books, the number I see on the monitor during really hard efforts when I'm gasping for breath (which I assume to be near my max), and sort of a perception of where I am regarding HR when I do rides that leave me pretty sore after.

Have any of you in Seattle been tested, and if so, where?

Is LT the same regardless of type of exertion...such as flat TT vs. climbing?

I feel like I am always guessing about to set my HRs. This has been bugging me for awhile.

I have been tested. (at Real Rehab http://www.realrehab.com/pages/servi....php#metabolic) I was though, not particularly suprised at what my LT is, as I had been racing for a year before I did the testing and I knew what type of output I could sustain for longer periods without burning myself out completely (which basically is your LT) What I had been naturally TT'ing at was my LT.

I think you may be underestimating your max. VT (ventilatory theshold - when you start gasping) can have nothing to do with LT or Max HR. I reach my VT (breathing hard enough that I cannot talk in full sentences) somewhere in my hr zone 4 - probably around 85% of my max and have definitly hit it at 90% of max. I don't think you nessessarily need to have a whole fancy VO2 test just to get your max hr though - there are self tests you can do on a trainer. I don't have the time to look it up right now, but I have a book with a good test in it (I got an accurate measurment from this). When I get back this afternoon I'll look it up for you. When you really hit your max, you'll probably know - you'll want to fall over or throw up.... The test I have is a bit more gentle - it's a submaximal test, but it still works.

I personaly do find that I can hold a higher hr on a hillclimb TT than on a flat one - typically 5-7 hr beats higher.