Just wondering.....bike "power" hills vs flats

Just a few random thoughts, I'm certainly not one of the most scientific guys here, perhaps they will chime in...

First, what you should be doing on the trainer is riding. Lots, if your goal is to get faster. Interval workouts are nice but you also have to have the volume to build strength. And get outside more if you can, nothing beats training on the road. That said, if accurate your YTD volume looks to be pretty good.

Again I may be off the wall, but to me your post is why I think watts/kg is an overrated metric. You probably have a relatively high ratio which gives you the advantage on the uphills that is negated on the flats. Since most triathlons have a net elevation gain close to zero, the measure is nearly irrelevant IMHO.

I have heard the watts/kg is used as an easily calculated surrogate for power/aerodynamics (is it watts/cdA?) which leads to my next question: how is your position on your road bike? If you are less aerodynamic than your competitors then they can get more speed with less power than you. Conversely, if you become more aero, you'll have more speed at any given effort/power level. Again, on the uphills your watts/kg gives you an advantage but on the flats and downhills that advantage may be trumped by inferior aerodynamics?

Again, just random ramblings and observation by someone who has only enough understanding of the science to be dangerous.

It's the phyics. YOur results are completely expected on the bike.

CLIMBING: Power to weight ratio.

FLATLAND SPEED: Power to AERO ratio.

A lot of light females have moderate power, but very low weight. Hence strong on climbs like yourself.

A lot of big muscular, heavy dudes might have more power, but also a lot more weight. Hence not as good on climbs.

On the flats, it's not about weight at all. Weight is nearly irrelevant for cruising once you're up to speed. Your aerodynamicness is the limiting factor. Thus, Mr. Big Heavy dude with a good TT setup and good aero profile might have comparable (or better) aerodynamics as Ms. Lightweight. 

Bigger heavier people also intrisnically generate more power at baseline. It'll be easier for a 250lbs guy to generate 300 watts than Ms. Lightweight at 115lbs. Thus the difference on flats vs climbs.

Of course, best solution is to have high power and low weight and great aero profile to be good at all.

First of all 20 mph in an Oly race is not slow!  What you could do is photo or video yourself on the trainer in your new aero setup and post back here.  If you feel there's a lack of fitting related expertise in your area some on this site might be able to help.

^^^ This. 

Your bike profile is similar to mine, though perhaps more extreme. I'm a runner who is relatively light (relative to middle-aged bikers, not relative to runners), and I do 99% of my biking on the trainer. I have a fairly good w/kg, and I pass loads of people on the climbs, despite almost never riding up a hill in training. My aero position isn't the best, and my w/CdA could be better, so on flats and downs I'm less good (plus, I'm a little timid on technical descents). You'll continue to improve by keeping up the trainer work, and by optimizing your position, but as a smaller athlete you'll always find that there will be a difference between your flat riding and climbing. Seek out hilly races!

For a good model, look up Emma Pooley, world class and pint-sized cyclist. She's a demon in hilly TTs, but is always at a disadvantage on flatter courses.

Thanks for the insights--I know next to nothing about the technicalities of cycling. Seems like position may be a big factor, and size, perhaps, a limiter. (Doesn't help that I'm not compact like Carfrae or Poole, just medium-tall and skinny.) I did notice when I rode the computrainer (on my hybrid) at the tri club at home last winter, I was putting out similar power numbers to other women (and some smaller guys) in the group, but their "speed" was faster.  Hitting the road more, unfortunately, isn't usually an option for me here with my work hours, the traffic, and weather. I do try to take bike tours on vacation and do a lot of cycling when I'm home in Oregon.

The volume in my logs should be pretty accurate--the stationary "rides" are estimates based on time/effort--might be a bit over for some workouts, but should be close. In the past I think I really had no endurance base for cycling, after the HIM I do to a much greater extent that before. I see it as the one area where I could really make progress despite being 43--I've had my butt kicked recently by women in their 50's and even a 61-year-old! For run and swim, given my age and background, I know it's going to be incremental progress or holding steady for awhile, and then gradual decline--such is reality! But I feel like if I work on my biking, I can improve my OA results at least for a few years, and do better in AG competition.

The owner of our LBS has been out of the country ever since I got back, returning this week, so hoping to work over position with the aerobars here with him; otherwise, manage in Chinese (I'm fluent, but not bike Chinese!) at the new Taiwanese-owned shop!  ("Aero" in Chinese, anyone??)  Will try to post pics when I can figure out all the technicalities of setup, trainer, camera! Trainer probably best for aero--I can only safely ride that way for the one-km. stretch of road in the industrial park that is really traffic-free!

Not sure what's happened to the past five weeks but I wouldn't call 150 hours YTD on the bike "very low" volume, even when compared to the run (120 hours) and swim (70 hours). Might question the quality of that though because it sounds like she's doing a good bit on stationary bikes and estimating her mileage. And it rarely hurts to spend more time in the saddle.

RE the last five weeks--that's been since the HIM(exactly 5 weeks ago)! Considerably higher before!  Kind of in recovery mode at present for a variety of reasons; gradually building the bike back up. But yes, overall bike volume could be better. Hoping the trainer helps with that.

The stationary "estimates"-a computer mounted on it gives you power, "speed", "distance". I'd assume it calculates cadence, resistance, power, and time to come up with "distance". Distance seems a bit long (like 10% over) compared to a road bike on a computrainer at same RPE when I ride with lower resistance and higher cadence, but similar at higher resistance. Most workouts are a mix of resistance/cadence/power.  I almost always used the same bike, and based workouts on its watt meter, for consistency. The stationary workouts were almost never easy riding, except for warmup and cooldown. Hoping to replace them with workouts on my own bike on the trainer. Presumably based on HR or RPE since I'll no longer have the watt reading.

 Since losing my training partner, "road" rides have been mainly in the industrial park--a 4-mile loop that's fairly free of traffic. My road rides for the HIM were mostly steady-state (won't say easy because 27-29 kph isn't comfortable for me) but I can do intervals in the park. I feel like I've gained a lot of endurance on the bike, but speed is the same, or even worse, than last year!  Should longer rides be steady-state, or still with speedwork? I'm planning to mainly focus on Oly length, at least until I leave Vietnam, possibly a HIM in March, or next summer. The only available riding group averages 40 kph and lives to drop people!  The triathlete guys in the group are in the 1:00-1:05 range for 40 km (I'm about 1:16-1:17, more like 19 mph--trying to convert!); the one woman is a semi-pro cyclist. Just a bit too high-powered! 

Almost hate to raise the issue, but strength-training-wise, is there anything that could be helpful for bike power, considering we are talking about a skinny woman runner? I do have access to most equipment; currently mostly do upper body and core (mainly for vanity!) and some lower-body exercises (hamstrings, abuductors, adductors) that was recommended for sciatica/piriformis. Or is it just a matter of position, and riding my brains out?

x2 on the USE your trainer advice.

I do almost all my rides on a trainer. I log about 80 trainer miles per week over 4 separate workouts. Me and the DVD player. It works great. Safe, no fuss, no muss. 

That's enough volume alone that I can race Olys well with no weekend rides. Of course, the weekend outdoor rides here are a nice bonus and give a great training effect as well.