Bike pacing for IM

Why (and how) would you pace off of FTP without a power meter?  Use RPE and/or HR.

FWIW, if you did have a power meter, that's not the best way to pace the race (and probably too hard overall, as well).  Even effort.  Practice it in training the best you can.  Probably best to play it conservative on race day.  If it ever feels 'hard' before about mile 18 on the run, slow down.

That's pacing.  Too hard for your fitness.

Assuming you have your powermeter well in advance of your race, I would advise you to go at whatever % of FTP your "all day" pace is.  And by "all day" I mean, "could get off the bike and tackle some heavy rock-moving yardwork afterwards" pace.  Someone who is wise in the way of the powermeter can chime in on what % of FTP that might be.

However, regardless of the magic number, IMHO you don't want to exceed "this is ridiculously easy and everyone is passing me" pace on the bike.  If you want to meet a certain goal time on the bike, train so that you can go at the easy pace and still meet your goal time.  This is the way to set-up a good run, especially for your first IM.  In your later races, you can flirt with higher efforts on the bike.

I strongly advise you not to bike at "comfortably hard" pace or risk walking a 7hr marathon like I did at Louisville.

The best advice you will hear has just been written above:  Do not exceed the "OMG ths is so embarrassing everyone is passing me" pace.   I just did my first IM (IMWestern Australia) a few weeks ago.  I planned to ride at a certain fixed HR (as determined by testing).  My HR monitor didnt work so plan B was to just stay comfortable - this wasnt easy in the strong winds and heat that prevailed on the day.  I got off the bike feeling great and stormed home in a 4:38 marathon  - which for me was sensational.  I couldnt believe how many fit strong looking blokes were walking.  All of those guys are boasting now about their massive bike split but not their finishing times.  Ironman, gentlemen, is not a bike race, is wanted I wanted to say as I comfortably trotted past them! (I've done 7 HIM's - they are quite different to IM in terms of pacing/execution)

I smiled the whole day.  I actually leaped in the air as I crossed the finish line.  I had no soreness the next day not even a blister.  I;m a 47 year old woman and possess modest athletic abilty.  I just knew how I was going to execute my race and stuck with it even in the shame of watching alot of less fit looking people fly past me on the bike. 

Best of luck to you - just wanted to share my recent positive experience.  I recommend you get your FTP sorted and stick to your numbers - adjusting lower for heat and wind.  Have fun

here is link to an article that really helped me in my recent (first) Ironman http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/the-endurance-nation-four-keys-to-ironman-execution

On the bike, I stayed at a heart rate well within my Z2 (aerobic) zone (my "should" vs. "could" speed as noted in the article).  It was frustrating to watch many people pass me (particularly because I was well below my "could" speed) but got off the bike with gas in the tank and ran a 4:09 marathon...as previous poster noted, passed tons of people (many of whom certainly took the bike out too hard). 

In my next IM, I will tweek this strategy (now that I have bettter feel for the distance) but would highly recommend the advice on the link for your first IM pacing.

First get the powermeter, then you can do work by power in training and in a race.

As stated above, you do not just set your output to values like that. I've seen between 68-75% FTP as generally recommended. These are just general guidelines. What you actually do is based off what your training tells you and what your body says it can do the day of. The window recommended is actually pretty good size and will have an impact on your run. People can bonk the run if they try do what you're saying and it doesn't actually match up with their training.

I typed this below before lunch and before anyone replied, but I forgot to hit the reply button.

I guess time on the course will probably dictate this as well so I will add a few details.

My him times were, 47 - 3:02 - 2:57

I did not train for it, and it was my first. I WILL train for the IM. While the number one goal is to finish, I was looking at 1:30 swim, the HIM was my al lday pace, no wetsuit, IM will be all day pace with wetsuit.

Bike, I was thinking 6-6:30.

After doing some searching I just found on Freils blog that I should probably be in the 60-70% ftp range. Does this sound good? Of course I have a lot of time to train, but was just curious what other use for % of FTP for an IM.

Also a few reponses added based on above comments.

??I will have a power meter by next summer, but for now I'm using the built in digital one that came with the trainer, like i said, i have no idea how accurate it is compared to a PT, but it is consistant from ride to ride, and that is what counts. Of course when I do get the PT, I will restest to see how I do and adjust from there. I'll probably run both meters for a few weeks to see how accurate the trainer one was/is.

And like I said most of my bike training will be on the trainer

Sorry, somehow I missed the part where you said you would have a pm before the race.

I'd guess mid-high 60s% for you.  But, you have a lot of time to figure it out.  There's a big difference between 65%, 70% and 75%--especially over 112 miles.  For now, ride lots and ride hard.  Worry about pacing decisions in about 8-9 months or so.

What a great article! Thanks for sharing.

If you skipped over this higher up in the thread... give it a read.

I know I am going to take a detour here, but don't over-think this yet. You know what your abilities are. I did my first IM with no HIM experience. My bike, on a difficult windy course, was about 2.5 miles/hr less than my Sprint pace. I still managed a 4:05 marathon including walking a pretty good majority of it due to lower GI issues. I did not experience muscular cramping.

You have a year to prepare. My suggestion is to be consistent in your training and dial in planned pacing as the race gets closer.

Not to start a thread jack, but truthfully, it could have been. I am not sure--I guessed it was my choice of breakfast which was a home blended protein shake.  I figured excess air from the shake may have been the issue as this was lower GI cramping that started at mile 3ish and finally cleared around mile 21ish through the normal process, mind you. As I sit here and think about it, I mixed my own Infinit on the bike and that may very well have resulted in adding even more air to my system. I had no upper GI/vomiting issues and was able to eat and drink on the run. I got off the bike feeling really good and that I had held back a bit. I had plenty of energy as was set to go. Had the gas not set in, I'd have been within range of the 3:30ish mary I was planning.

In the interests of truly figuring this out, not with the intent to argue:

The pace at IM was fairly consistent if not slightly faster than my normal training rides. And it could be that with the inclusion of the 2.4M swim, that this was magnified.

My longest brick was during week 20 when I did a 102 ride followed by a 13.1 run.  The ride was at 18.04/per hour (about 1/2 mile slower per) and the run was faster at an 8:46 pace.  Recalling the day, I felt really really good (no GI issues) and that was a day I held back (on the run anyway).  It might be important to add that the day before I PR'd a local sprint race so this wasn't a well rested brick.

Interestingly, this likely accounts for some reports I recall reading over the last couple of years where athletes doing a follow up or number 'x' IM had GI problems this time, but not in subsequent efforts when nothing (or so they said) changed nutrition-wise.

By far, the most resounding advice I have gotten is that improvement in IM overall finish is directly related to your run off the bike, wherein the bike is the key. Uber bike fitness/restraint [not necessarily the ability to hammer it out (as I think of Chris Lieto who is an uber-cyclist but tends to die out on the run)] directly relates to a faster IM time.

I see a few things in here. One is that you rode a touch faster for the IM than training. No doubt you felt great from the taper leading in, but why did it end up being faster? Is the course faster than your training routes or did you push harder? To my understanding, the actual event should be about the same or a touch slower (ie. easier) since you're going to run a marathon.

And for the second is that the rides are being described in mph instead of RPE/HR/Power. Bike speeds can vary quite noticeably between routes of the same length. And even day to day on the same route due to weather conditions. Were you riding the exact course in the exact conditions of race day?

Getting back to the nutrition, I know that protein shakes will bother me and only have them after a workout or well beforehand (hours ahead). Never just before. They will bother me on a 30 min recovery run. Have you tried having one before a tougher workout? Any other times in training? 

Just wanted to echo this. And to add to just train hard now. Figuring out pacing will come more over the last few months. Fitness should improve significantly in that time. Also wait to get the device you will be using during the race. Use that one to help determine the effort.

I checked my FTP zones between my first response and today and will echo what Fred has said here and note that my IM pace is likely (if the equivalent RPE with the power meter is indicative of outside riding, which is debatable) in the low 60% range.  My IM Wisconsin bike time was in the 7hr range, which jibes with Fred's other comment.  Note that I went very slowly for my bike fitness (lost approx 700 places overall) on purpose so I could run after I blew up spectacularly at IM Lou in 2010.  It totally worked and I gained back every lost place and more on the run. 

Please feel free to read both of my race reports to see the telltale "I was following my usual nutrition plan and my stomach cramped" at Louisville.  I ran with two different guys (they were on loop 2 while I was on loop 1) there who were on track for 11hrs when they experienced the same "out of nowhere my stomach cramped."  Miraculously, when I slowed down (walked) on the run, the GI restarted which caused the dreaded tour-de-potty.  I can't recommend the "4 keys to IM execution" article enough with regard to pacing.   That thing is genius.

In this instance, I'll have to go with RPE. I do not train with power at all.   I generally keep the HR at about 130-140 bpm but I do not know what the HR was during IM as I had major operator error with the new Timex GPS watch I had just bought.  The course was IMFL which is pretty much similar to my training rides in that I live 2 hours away--not much topographical changes. The wind was pretty brutal that day so that was a factor. Maybe I did, but I just didn't think I was over doing it, often times specifically deciding not the hammer it out a bit when I could have. 

For the bulk of IM training, I did not use protein shakes until after a workout.  Most of my runs were done with little pre-workout nutrition as they were all early AM.

EN, the people who wrote the article you mention,  have a decent program for pacing, and I have used it for two IM's.

Also, in the training and racing with a powermeter, the authors have some good advice if you are using a PM. If you know your FTP, then you can calculate your Training Stress Score. Focus on doing the bike with a TSS of less than 300. Basically a TSS of 100 is when you ride an hour at your best hour pace-FTP. This is a simplification, but decent advice.

That being said, you should have a sense of your ability to ride 112 and then run. RPE is still a good measurement. In the two IMs I did, I had to remind myself to go slower, as it is easy to spend the energy early. Your IM bike will probably be slower than most of your rides, except your race rehearsal/century rides if you do any.