SBR "U" (Page 58)

Nice wattage!!!  Did anyone pass you during the TT?  I imagine someone ripping by 2-3 mph faster while you're pushing 300+ watts must really suck...LOL.  

I agree that the suffer threshold is a big part of sustaining your true potential power.  I have a 40k TT this weekend and I know the last 20 minutes are really going to suck.  When I was doing my 2x20' intervals the past few weeks I was really focusing on breathing control and good mental thoughts.  Sometimes when things start to hurt I get into this state where all I think is "this sucks...this sucks...when is it over...ahhhhhh."  It's okay to think that the last 3-5 minutes...not so much the last 15-25 minutes.  

I found that just trying to stay calm, focus on smooth strokes, and slowing down the mental conversation I'm having in my head tends to mask the pain a little better.  

Hmmm, that's a good question....I have only ridden with the 910 + TR or the 810 + TR, but never TR alone or Garmin alone (on the trainer).  I'll give that a shot this weekend or next week....supposed to be doing 5' and 20' power tests, so not sure I want to goof around with it too much before then.

Nice work on the TT!  Bummer to not realize it was rubbing till the end (though, really, what would you do if you'd noticed it early?  Stop??  I imagine your time would have been even slower with a stop in there!). 

 I am kinda behind on reading anyone's though.

Nice going on this one! Be interesting to see how well you do with the next. Various things can make it seem easier or harder to hold power. Some of the things you brought up may have gotten in my head.

Did it involve making sure your brakes weren't rubbing?

Seriously, that's pretty cool, I can't wait to read about it!

My 19k TT yesterday kind of sucked, I couldn't get near the power I would have liked to do - legs were just not cooperating.  It was also only 3 degrees.  Time was 30:02 on 276w - almost identical to the same TT two years ago.  I forgot to put a latex tube in my rear tire as well - I could have broken 30 mins had I done that!  I'll do a bit of a RR soon.

I seriously need some position help.  40k went well power and execution wise.  281 watts for 57:47 in brutal winds and some rain that made for an extremely slow turnaround.  25 seconds slower on 13 more watts than last year...which was a fast day.  For the life of me, I can't get my head out of the wind.  it wasn't a stacked field, but the winner only beat me by 25 seconds on 234 watts.  He does have an extremely good position and has left no stone unturned with regards to equipment choices.  He beat me by a minute last year, so at least I'm getting closer.

Still pretty fast Jason!

Based on the pictures I saw on Facebook, I'd say that you are right about your head position likely hurting your aeroness.  

Congrats on the race and knocking so much time off your bike split!  Too bad about the heat, it's such a killer!

Yeah, always like seeing going under an hour!

I saw the same thing with the head position. I have a problem with that too. So far I've tended to duck and glance up ahead every now and then, hoping something doesn't run into the road in the meantime. Then it's down at least part of the time. I just can't hold my head in a position where it's both low and I can see very far for much time at all.

57:47 on 281w And 57:22 on 234w. 

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Jason - from the photo, and also from your profile photo, it looks like you move your head slightly to the right when you're working hard.  I'd have a friend line you up straight, then find a plastic strip or something and tape it to the side of your helmet, so that it hits your shoulder when you start getting off center.  Do some reps on the trainer like that and see if you notice it.  Probably hard to repeat when you're thinking about it though...

That said, it's a really good time / performance.  What I said above is just a nitpick.  A lot of the winner's low power comes from a super skinny body type.  He probably benefits from that a lot on a windy day.

If you honestly felt comfortable with the bike pace, and your legs weren't dead at the start of the run, I'd say don't change things for the next race.  Your run was probably affected more by the combination of heat and your recovery from illness.  Being sick like that can leave you dehydrated so you started the day at a big disadvantage.

Yeah unfortunately I think the closest velodrome to Jason would be San Diego :/  Options are kind of limited on Oahu, even outside it's hard to get shelter from the wind.

How long of a straight do you think I need for workable testing?  The only safe areas I can think of (with a decent area where I can park, pull over, and make changes) are only 1-2 miles long.  The ones longer one is prone to some gusts, but the wind stays steady from the same direction.

I'm not going to worry about it for now as we don't have any more TT's the rest of the year, but something I do want to play with in the off season.

For a) He uses a powertap on all training and racing.  He has one in a training rim, and one in a 303 that he'll road race with or cover for TTs.  He's been using power for like 10 years and is very much a detail oriented power junkie.  He's also a full time bike shop employee/mechanic with like 30 years of experience.  So while it's possible his PM was reading low, all his PMs he has ever owned would have had to been reading low.

b)  No doubt.  I don't know if it's the way my neck and shoulders are built, or just a crappy position, but I just can't find a way to get the top of my head anywhere close to the highest point on my back.  Maybe I just have a really big head?

c)  I've thought about this for a while.  My legs being the biggest issue.  From my saddle to the top tube, if you looked at me from behind, you wouldn't see very much free space between my legs.  Any air that comes between my arms and elbows hits a brick wall called my thighs.  Funny because in the first short RR of the season that I won in a sprint, this guy who won the TT came in 3rd and joked at me saying "you finally put those tree trunks to good use."  HAH

You need a military friend who can get you access to one of their big aircraft hangars

No It's a work in progress. I think conceptually, I am able to wrap my head around what I need to do. My coach explained it as not so much being on your toes (and definitely not your heels) but more just touching your foot down as quickly as possible. So, high turnover and a fast touch.

And then I was talking to the RD before the race and he gave me a good visual. He said to think about hiking in screen, when you take a step and it slides away from underneath you. If you pick up your feet quickly, you move on down the mountain before that happens...if that makes sense.

I would say I did a better job putting this into action, but I have plenty of improvements to make. Particularly keeping my turnover rate super high. That is very unnatural for me.

And keep in mind, I am not talking about a road downhill. I am speaking of technical mountain running descents.