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Maintaining pace
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 2017-11-27 9:26 AM |
Member  1004 |  Subject: Maintaining paceIt's trainer time and I'm down in the basement watching Netflix while I bike. I've been trying to use a heart rate monitor to help me with my intervals and I've noticed that I'm really bad at maintaining a pace. My mind wanders and I slow down until I realize it and then get back on pace. ADD I've thought about setting my watch to a certain heart rate alarm but then I have to reset it every time I'm at a different intensity. Anybody have any suggestions? |
| 2017-11-27 10:29 AM in reply to: b2run |
Pro 6582    Melbourne FL Gold member | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Yeah, use virtual power if your trainer is supported. mas programs have audible warning when you slow down to much! You can use MaximumTrainer for something like $15 per year now with it's native files which includes the BT Cycling program. I tries to use HRM on the trainer for the 1st year, sucked, went VP and never looked back. |
| 2017-12-02 9:56 PM in reply to: Donto |
Extreme Veteran 1106 , Connecticut | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Originally posted by Donto Yeah, use virtual power if your trainer is supported. mas programs have audible warning when you slow down to much! You can use MaximumTrainer for something like $15 per year now with it's native files which includes the BT Cycling program. I tries to use HRM on the trainer for the 1st year, sucked, went VP and never looked back. Hadn't heard about Maximum Trainer or sufferfest so I checked them out. I like the idea of different virtual rides, and being able to evaluate a session without a power meter sounds great. Hubby set me up with Zwift, are they the same kind of things. I'm not clear on the virtual power thing. Is it an approximation based off a non-smart trainer? That's obviously the kind I've got, a dumb trainer. Excited about the possibilities... |
| 2017-12-03 2:24 AM in reply to: b2run |
Master 8249 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace What do you mean by "pace" on a trainer? Are you using virtual speed as a metric or something? Cadence? Not sure other than periodically check the metric you are using. I train with a power meter, and depending on the effort level, I'm checking it anywhere between every 30 seconds (as a minimum) to every 6 pedal strokes. Some paces just seem to come more naturally (mainly, HIM watts and efforts just over or under it, basically 70-80% of FTP). Probably because I do this a lot in training and know what it feels like in a race. I will drift to that power sometimes if I am going for easier or harder wattage and not paying attention. With easier stuff, I try to check every 20-50 pedal strokes just to make sure I'm not riding too hard. Sometimes with really hard stuff, I'm checking every 6-10 pedal strokes, or just staring at the stupid PM. Anything above about 90% of FTP and I will almost always fall off of it without concentration. I'm not sure this is doable for others. I can auto count strides or pedal strokes while watching a video or running. Not sure if that's normal! We did a lot of workouts this way in high school (run fartlek) and it just got ingrained. Otherwise, you could set up your computer screen to have video time running on it so you can see when to check the "pace" at regular intervals. Aside from that, focus on maintaining a steady cadence and steady pressure on the pedals. I'm not a very experienced rider compared to years of background in swimming and running, and I've noticed that since I've started tri, my ability to hold a steady power without lots of random ups and down has slowly improved as I develop a better intuitive feel for it. I had that feel for running and swimming when I started tri--not so for the bike. You also might look at whether a lower or higher cadence is easier to maintain. I know for me it is easier to maintain a steady power at close to 87 RPM. That seems to be my cadence "happy place", and it takes a bit less focus than lower or higher leg speeds. |
| 2017-12-03 8:44 AM in reply to: Hot Runner |
Expert 2373 Floriduh | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace My 2 cents worth: I started trainer rides using sufferfest. I felt like I was appropriately pushing my pace and getting some good work in but after a year or so I got bored with the rides (the 3 or 4 I regularly played). I went to Zwift and used that during the beta testing period. I dropped zwift when it started to cost money and switched to watching movies when we started a Netflix subscription. I noted that the intensity of my trainer rides dropped pretty significantly (although I watched some pretty good stuff while on the bike during this time - Narcos comes to mind) while watching netflix. More recently I re-upped for Zwift and find that the other riders and the VP number from the program push me and the quality and intensity of my trainer rides have really increased. |
| 2017-12-03 9:08 AM in reply to: b2run |
Extreme Veteran 5722 | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Originally posted by b2run I've thought about setting my watch to a certain heart rate alarm but then I have to reset it every time I'm at a different intensity. Anybody have any suggestions? You can create workouts with your Garmin wtach that allow different HR for different intervals and the watch beeps if you go over or under. Really easy to do and it works well. |
| 2017-12-05 6:39 PM in reply to: MuscleMomma |
Pro 6582 Melbourne FL Gold member | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Originally posted by MuscleMomma Virtual power uses the known wattage vs speed curve of your trainer, useful for so called "dumb" trainers that are supported as long as you have a ANT+/BT speedo. Using the graph below, going ~18mph is always ~200w. Of course stipulations on the accuracy are on the calibration if the coast down rate is know (for KK it's been documented). I don't know what swift does, never used it. I've used VP in order of; my own spreadsheets, Golden Cheetah, and MT.Originally posted by Donto Hadn't heard about Maximum Trainer or sufferfest so I checked them out. I like the idea of different virtual rides, and being able to evaluate a session without a power meter sounds great. Hubby set me up with Zwift, are they the same kind of things. I'm not clear on the virtual power thing. Is it an approximation based off a non-smart trainer? That's obviously the kind I've got, a dumb trainer. Excited about the possibilities... Yeah, use virtual power if your trainer is supported. mas programs have audible warning when you slow down to much! You can use MaximumTrainer for something like $15 per year now with it's native files which includes the BT Cycling program. I tries to use HRM on the trainer for the 1st year, sucked, went VP and never looked back.
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| 2017-12-06 10:18 AM in reply to: 0 |
| 1520 Cypress, Texas | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Originally posted by b2run It's trainer time and I'm down in the basement watching Netflix while I bike. I've been trying to use a heart rate monitor to help me with my intervals and I've noticed that I'm really bad at maintaining a pace. My mind wanders and I slow down until I realize it and then get back on pace. ADD I've thought about setting my watch to a certain heart rate alarm but then I have to reset it every time I'm at a different intensity. Anybody have any suggestions?
When I am on the Stationary bike at the gym I have the same problem. If they have a song with a high beat (i.e. 90-100) that seems to help. The quieter it is the harder it is to maintain pace. One day one of the trainers came and talked to me and the guy on the bike next to me. I was trying to keep the effort even but didn't watch the HRM, cadence, or Watts. The interesting thing is that looking back at the data I found that during that 15 minute conversation I was 5% over the target pace that I was struggling to maintain. So... some distractions are good. If you have the HR monitor that is going to let you know where you are at when when to push harder. I use Heart Rate, Virtual Watts, and Cadence. Watching the numbers keeps me from dipping but it always is a struggle. If I can get my mind off the numbers and can find a way to keep my mind active (NetFlix doesn't do that for me it just turns my brain off) then hitting the pace becomes easy. As my brain activity speeds up my body tends to as well. So...not sure if this helps and I don't really have any suggestions, but this is what I have noticed. If I can keep the brain moving and the body will follow. Edited by BlueBoy26 2017-12-06 10:20 AM |
| 2017-12-06 4:29 PM in reply to: 0 |
Master 8249 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace I am the opposite--if my brain is too busy, I invariably slow down. But ditto for the effect of music. My exercise in self-control is to hold steady power to Greig's Pier Gynt Suite. (It has a LOT of tempo changes!) It definitely helps to find music with a vigorous tempo that is close to your ideal cadence. You can then put together playlists of it. I do most of my trainer riding to Go-Pro type footage of scenic rides. There's something on screen to watch for distraction, but it doesn't require much mental involvement the way a movie might. Favorites are a channel called Bike the World (no music--bring your own) and HD Cycling, which syncs a limited range of music to each video. I think the latter has been chosen with cycling in mind--it always seems to be close to 90 BPM. Put out by a German cycling club--you even get to see some beer stops! The videos range from about 15-30 minutes to nearly 3 hours. There are other channels that have these "virtual rides" as well, with or without music or instructions for a structured workout. Edited by Hot Runner 2017-12-06 4:30 PM |
| 2017-12-06 9:09 PM in reply to: Hot Runner |
Member 1004 | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Originally posted by Hot Runner What do you mean by "pace" on a trainer? Are you using virtual speed as a metric or something? Cadence? Not sure other than periodically check the metric you are using. I train with a power meter, and depending on the effort level, I'm checking it anywhere between every 30 seconds (as a minimum) to every 6 pedal strokes. Some paces just seem to come more naturally (mainly, HIM watts and efforts just over or under it, basically 70-80% of FTP). Probably because I do this a lot in training and know what it feels like in a race. I will drift to that power sometimes if I am going for easier or harder wattage and not paying attention. With easier stuff, I try to check every 20-50 pedal strokes just to make sure I'm not riding too hard. Sometimes with really hard stuff, I'm checking every 6-10 pedal strokes, or just staring at the stupid PM. Anything above about 90% of FTP and I will almost always fall off of it without concentration. I'm not sure this is doable for others. I can auto count strides or pedal strokes while watching a video or running. Not sure if that's normal! We did a lot of workouts this way in high school (run fartlek) and it just got ingrained. Otherwise, you could set up your computer screen to have video time running on it so you can see when to check the "pace" at regular intervals. Aside from that, focus on maintaining a steady cadence and steady pressure on the pedals. I'm not a very experienced rider compared to years of background in swimming and running, and I've noticed that since I've started tri, my ability to hold a steady power without lots of random ups and down has slowly improved as I develop a better intuitive feel for it. I had that feel for running and swimming when I started tri--not so for the bike. You also might look at whether a lower or higher cadence is easier to maintain. I know for me it is easier to maintain a steady power at close to 87 RPM. That seems to be my cadence "happy place", and it takes a bit less focus than lower or higher leg speeds. I've been using my heart rate to keep an eye on my pace. I have a fitbit but the screen is really small so it's very hard for me to see it during the ride. I try to focus and keeping my cadence steady but my mind wanders and I catch myself going slow. When I look at the heart rate results at the end of the ride, I see that I really go up and down in my effort. I usually watch Netflix while biking and that might have something to do with my distraction. |
| 2017-12-06 11:14 PM in reply to: Hot Runner |
Extreme Veteran 1175 Langley, BC, 'Wet Coast' Canada | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Karen Do you know if the gps / Garmin files for any of those ride videos are available? The videos look cool, and if one had a smart trainer, I wonder if the file would control the trainer... |
| 2017-12-07 2:42 AM in reply to: triosaurus |
Master 8249 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace Not sure. HD Cycling has some of their newer videos with Garmin data like speed, elevation, distance, speed, etc. posted on screen; there might be a way to get the files. I'm not big on social media so not sure if the club shares those or not and, if so, on what platform. You could try asking in the comments section, maybe. I don't think Bike the World has any rides with that feature. Again, maybe you could try contacting the posters through comments. I agree, these would be extremely cool as Computrainer or other "smart trainer" rides. Would much rather "ride" them than most IM or HIM courses. I have bike toured a lot in Europe; actually been on some of these routes (not many of the climbs, though) or hiked in the general area, so they bring back great memories and are much more enjoyable than looking at the laundry in my utility room. |
| 2017-12-07 2:49 PM in reply to: b2run |
Master 3888 Overland Park, KS | Subject: RE: Maintaining pace I like the virtual power route. I use Golden Cheetah (Free) along with the ANT+ stick and a speed/cadence sensor. On my monitor I see target watts based on the workout and if the wattage gets too low/high that screen changes color. My winter trainer rides vary from 55 minutes to no longer than 1 hour 35 minutes so boredom rarely happens as the required power changes every couple of minutes (maybe 15-20 minutes tops in one of those longer workouts. I don't use HR, just power as my cycling HR is much lower than say running or swimming. |
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