Training for Time Trials

[hellosunshine]

brilliant thread!


im still doing the base work for the 2007 season which will end in a week,getting up to 21 hrs a week.......everyother day i do 10 mins on/off big heavy gear work.



intervals twice a week in the racing season,
race twice a week
RECOVERY RIDES
1 endurance hilly ride of 3 hrs
and also power sprints,where i find a gradual hill of about 90secs "climb" and sprint up it 7-12 times in the hardest gear i can push until my performance drops off.


im also a light weight so twas interesting that the point was made different builds have different things they are good at.im better at hillier events and also the longer distance stuff,10 mile time trials are not my forte.

40 in 13 days max hr 184 resting hr 51. 48kg and 5' 5"


ALWAYS REMEMBER,LOSING TOO MUCH WEIGHT MEANS LOSS OF POWER.

[downhilldiva]

Thanks so much for all of the great TT tips. I will be trying my first one this spring. I am excited to try some of your workouts and I'll definately be working on my positioning.

[RoadRaven]

Hey there DH Diva!
Most excellent to hear you are going to give this type of racing a go.
Some people love TTs (erm... me for example?) and some people just don't want to even try.
I look forward to reading your first race report on your TTs this spring (that seems funny to write - its autumn here!) and I am anticipating that you will find it interesting and fun

[CR400]

Ok, help me with this I read somewhere that it is pointless to buy a TT bike unless you can go fast enough to use it. In the case I read it was 25mph. How true is this statement?

[SheFly]

Ok, help me with this I read somewhere that it is pointless to buy a TT bike unless you can go fast enough to use it. In the case I read it was 25mph. How true is this statement?

This is a personal choice! There are certain elements of a TT bike that will actually increase your speed. Of course, you DO need to have some power to do that. You're not going to jump from 20 - 25 mph just by going to a TT bike, for example.

I definitely increased my speed when I moved to a TT-specific bike, and added other aero-dynamic components. I am now on my SECOND TT bike (see the new beauty at: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=14378). I also race on this bike WEEKLY through the season...

You haven't stated what your goals are, so it is difficult to say if this would help or hurt you moving forward. Sorry to seem disjointed, but I really do think the correct answer to your question is "It depends".

SheFly

[Eden]

Ok, help me with this I read somewhere that it is pointless to buy a TT bike unless you can go fast enough to use it. In the case I read it was 25mph. How true is this statement?

I doubt that is true.... I looked at the some of the TT results from around here and the winners in the 1/2 women's fields are generally doing right around 24/25 mph.

Of course a TT bike is not going to suddenly turn you into a speed demon right away either. Everything you change (areo bars, aero helmet, bike, disc wheel, etc.) will likely shave off seconds in a short tt (10 -12 mile) maybe minutes if you are doing long tt's or tri's, so really what to look at is how far back from placing you are. If you are 10 min back from the winner, then work on your fitness. If you are right up there and you are missing out by 30 seconds then equipment just might put you up on the podium. (and practice at the turn around and finish - two places where it is easy to lose precious seconds)
First thing to get - aerobars - this will give you the biggest boost out of any piece equipment you can buy. I'm pretty sure the aero helmet is next. Other things get more tricky. I've heard you can reduce your drag by not wearing gloves as much as putting a disc rear wheel on will do - so pick and choose carefully.
I chose to get a dedicated TT bike more for convenience. I do a fair amount of stage racing in the summer and having to change over the bike (put on aerobars, change the saddle position) to do the TT, then change it back for the crit can be a stress that you just don't need on race day. (Plus I got mine used and it was a really good deal).

[CR400]

My goals as far as TT are to accoplish as much as I can speed and time wise without a TT bike. I feel that I have to be fast enough to earn it. In other words I want to be strong enough and fast enough to be competitve with myself and others before I lay down the cash. I mean you only use them for that one thing. Right now even a TT bike wouldn't make me competitive enough. Example, 5k slightly rolling TT the best I have ever averaged was 22.58 and 8:24. Even though Monday I did 20.40 and 8:50 at the beginning of my road season. So I am hoping for good things by July. That historically is when I am the strongest and fastest. Tests and races show that I have a high LT, but I really don't know how to develope it. I have problems with high speed tolerence. I can hit and maintain 24 to 26 but only for a mile or so, and of course when I do so my heart rate goes up above 105% of LT.

[CR400]

Oh I should also mention that my course has two 90 degree turns in it one left and one right. Plus a set of railroad tracks. It may be that I scrub speed while getting around these obsticles. I almost wiped out on monday trying to take the left at 22mph. Regular back roads as well.

[Eden]

Once you've got a good base in the best way to build speed is to do interval training. It's not fun, but it works... It will help you build the ability to stay up at your LT for longer periods of time too. (if you know your LT that is generally where you shoot to keep your HR near doing TT's but 5K is pretty short... you might want to go a little harder? the shortest TT we have around here is 8 miles or about 13K)

I was doing 4-5 3 min HR Zone 5 intervals with 3 min recoveries between, and 3-4 8 min hill HR Zone 4 low cadence hill intervals once a week each last month. This month I've got hill sprints and Zone 5 hill intervals on the line up. Ugggh, did the sprints day before yesterday and today I'm posting this to put off doing the hill intervals.....

btw - clip on aerobars don't have to be expensive - I have a cheap pair from Performance that I got while waiting for my nice set to come in - well I ended up modifing the Performace ones so much (with a hacksaw...) that I decided to keep those ones rather than hack up the pricey pair. I think they cost about $15... and aerobars are the piece of equipment that will make the biggest difference in your performance.

[kelownagirl]

Eden - what do you differently with your saddle when you do a TT?

[Eden]

Some people move their saddles forward and up if they are going to use their road bikes for TT's. I never wanted to mess with my saddle height in case I got it back wrong for road racing, so that's one good reason for the dedicated TT bike.

[smilingcat]

Hi hellosunshine,

48kilos and 5' 5"... Sounds like you need to put some weight on. Even for a hill climibing specialist, you need more body mass. I've heard number around 2lbs (approx. 1kilo) per one inch of your height. so at 5' 5", you should weigh in around 59kilos? Well I'm sure that rule of thumb needs to be adjusted for women.

and I need to lose about 10 kilos. not that I race. It's just because...

I hated interval training and still hates it. I prefer the rest day

Shawn

[Grog]

Another fine rule of thumb is 5 lbs per inch above 5 feet (or 6 lbs for men).

It corresponds to a BMI of about 21-23 I think.

A climber would want to be a tiny bit below that, but not much.

[RoadRaven]

CK... if you are interested in TTs you should def get a TT bike...

I mean, if you were interested in playing basketball, would you go play only in your golf shoes because they were the only sports shoes you had? 'Course not...

Having a TT specific bike means that you dont have to mess with the position of your bars or seat - and a big part of doing a TT is being able to output power in the most aero position you can... and that can be tough and uncomfortable to train your body to.

You don't have to spend heaps on a bike to make it your TT bike. We bought a nice Giant TCR Aero 2 on sale for $NZ1500 - thats been the biggest expense. It came with aero bars attached, but I wanted bull horns not drops, so we have picked up from TradeMe (our equivalent of EBay) bull horns for about $20 and redid the front end... we bought an extra long carbon seat post for about $10... I borrow my sons front wheel which has a deep rim...

With my next TT some time away, my partner has just swapped my stem post out for a shorter one... it drops my front end nearly 2 cm and brings it back about 1cm... my profile is much more aero, but I went for a 5km spin on it yesterday and its going to take a few rides to get used to. My thighs tap up into my belly and my right shoulder was feeling the weight of me on it. However, that profile into the wind should gain me about 15 secs into the wind if I dont have to sacrifice my power output. Only time will tell.

I'll ask my daughter to take pix of my road bike and my TT bike so you can see the dif in seat/bar heights.

To choose to race TTs on a non-TT bike puts you at a distinct disadvantage if others are using TT bikes. But remember, a TT bike may make you a little faster initially, but ultimately (as Lance sayd) - its not about the bike. TTs are about shear guts and determination as you battle yourself and rise to your own challenge. Getting aero is not so much about getting fast (although that is the side effect) it is about reducing the wind resistance which is your biggest 'handicap'... even on a calm day.

As for getting faster before you deserve a TT bike - get one now... my averages for a 20km TT are around 31kph... to be up there with the top women in my club I would have to be doing 35-38kph... thats about a 75%-80% increase in my power output. Thats going to take me 2-3 years probably... Get the TT bike, it helps you focus and achieve your goals.

Kelowna, like Eden, I would not want to mess with my saddle on my road bike.
My TT bike's saddle is more forward and pointed slightly more down than my road bike - mainly because I am continuing to drop my handle bars and the leaning down nessecitates some accomodation in my seat.

[missymaya]

These are some great tips for those of us who want to try a TT. Currently, I'm nearing the end of the school semester, so of course all the big projects are due too, so focusing on competition isn't at the top of my list. But, after the semester ends (in about 3 weeks, thank goodness) I want to give a TT a go. Here are a few questions that I have:
On a TT bike, what is the most aero position to be in (seat position, angle, etc)?
What's your starting position when starting a TT?
Reading all of this info really helps and I can't wait for the semester to end just so I can get started. Thank ya'll