Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Master

4118

Toronto

Bronze member

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by happyscientist So, considering that I don't have a power meter and won't be buying one, how would you recommend pacing?

Heart rate is a really good one and very commonly used.

I don't' have PM either but will use HR, cadence and RPE to manage my effort. If you're on a hilly course it's harder to maintain a constant HR

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Extreme Veteran

1986

Cypress, TX

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

No power meter than HR, RPE, and cadence would also get my vote.

754	Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3 I do use cadence and RPE. It is just that sometimes I get carried away and ignore how hard I am exerting myself. That is why I am putting an upper limit on my average bike speed. I am trying to force myself to save energy for the run.

Master

4118

Toronto

Bronze member

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

For my IM i took speed OFF my main display on my garmin. I could see it it if I flipped screens but I really needed to focus on HR and cadence so not seeing it helped me not worry about it and fall into the trap ...

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Extreme Veteran

1986

Cypress, TX

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by happyscientist I do use cadence and RPE. It is just that sometimes I get carried away and ignore how hard I am exerting myself. That is why I am putting an upper limit on my average bike speed. I am trying to force myself to save energy for the run.

Your thinking is completely backwards. I'm not sure how many different ways I can say it. You're literally using the worst metric possible to "force yourself to save energy for the run" unless your entire ride is with a tailwind.

Best of luck.

754

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by GMAN 19030

Originally posted by happyscientist I do use cadence and RPE. It is just that sometimes I get carried away and ignore how hard I am exerting myself. That is why I am putting an upper limit on my average bike speed. I am trying to force myself to save energy for the run.

Your thinking is completely backwards. I'm not sure how many different ways I can say it. You're literally using the worst metric possible to "force yourself to save energy for the run" unless your entire ride is with a tailwind.

Best of luck.

I am not trying to be obtuse. Apparently this is something that I don't really understand. I keep reading about people who are strong on the bike and get carried away. Then they don't have enough left for the run. I don't have a power meter and heart rate monitors chafe to the point of bleeding with bra straps, so other than "don't ride too hard" what am I supposed to do to make sure that I don't wear myself out? I am not saying that I am putting a lower limit on the bike speed, but I regularly ride flat stretches around 22-24 mph on training rides, and I don't want to do that in the race.

145

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

I don't have a power meter and heart rate monitors chafe to the point of bleeding with bra straps, so other than "don't ride too hard" what am I supposed to do to make sure that I don't wear myself out?

Do what athletes have been doing for a long time before heart rate monitors and power meters, learn to gauge your effort.

If you're a runner, think about the difference between a 5k and a 13.1. It's not especially hard to pick a pace that is sustainable for 20 minutes or 2 hours, it just takes practice and time.

Same thing with the ride, go out and find the best course you can for a 30 minute flat out, know what that feels like and assume you can't do that for 2 hours. Find your 2-3 hour pace, it will probably correspond with an average mph unless it's due east the entire time downhill, but more importantly know what it feels like, and what it doesn't feel like. If it were me, I would want some 2 hour rides in training followed up with a few miles of runnning just to know what that feels like. It would be hard to log serious training miles and not know what zone 2 feels like intuitively.

Triathlons were conceived before garmin was a company :-)

Edited by chris948 2015-05-08 9:21 AM

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754

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by chris948

I don't have a power meter and heart rate monitors chafe to the point of bleeding with bra straps, so other than "don't ride too hard" what am I supposed to do to make sure that I don't wear myself out?

Do what athletes have been doing for a long time before heart rate monitors and power meters, learn to gauge your effort.

If you're a runner, think about the difference between a 5k and a 13.1. It's not especially hard to pick a pace that is sustainable for 20 minutes or 2 hours, it just takes practice and time.

Same thing with the ride, go out and find the best course you can for a 30 minute flat out, know what that feels like and assume you can't do that for 2 hours. Find your 2-3 hour pace, it will probably correspond with an average mph unless it's due east the entire time downhill, but more importantly know what it feels like, and what it doesn't feel like. If it were me, I would want some 2 hour rides in training followed up with a few miles of runnning just to know what that feels like. It would be hard to log serious training miles and not know what zone 2 feels like intuitively.

Triathlons were conceived before garmin was a company :-)

Well I have been doing that, although most of my ride are more than two hours. I have been riding for years, and in the summer I typically ride 100-150 mpw. The only hard thing is that there is no place around here that I can ride at race pace for 2-3 hours because the race is flat and I live in an extremely hilly area. So I go by effort. For example, last Sunday's ride was a sustained effort (not pace) for 65 miles, stopping only to refill my water and offer help to someone who had a mechanical problem. I am talking about a check to make sure that I don't get carried away by the adrenaline of race day, especially on a flat course.

Extreme Veteran

660

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

take your time and enjoy the course you should have no worries about cutoffs. enjoy the day. HIM are a lot of fun but they are hard and be ready for some suckyiness on the run. try and find me on the run (I think its a out and back) I will have a trisuit with sharks on it. #188

My Race Log

754

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by BuckHamilton

take your time and enjoy the course you should have no worries about cutoffs. enjoy the day. HIM are a lot of fun but they are hard and be ready for some suckyiness on the run. try and find me on the run (I think its a out and back) I will have a trisuit with sharks on it. #188

How do you know your number? Have they given them to everyone? I wonder if mine got sent to spam.

Extreme Veteran

1175

Langley, BC, 'Wet Coast' Canada

Subject: RE: Real talk - Olympic to 70.3

Originally posted by happyscientist

Originally posted by GMAN 19030

Originally posted by happyscientist I do use cadence and RPE. It is just that sometimes I get carried away and ignore how hard I am exerting myself. That is why I am putting an upper limit on my average bike speed. I am trying to force myself to save energy for the run.

Your thinking is completely backwards. I'm not sure how many different ways I can say it. You're literally using the worst metric possible to "force yourself to save energy for the run" unless your entire ride is with a tailwind.

Best of luck.

I am not trying to be obtuse. Apparently this is something that I don't really understand. I keep reading about people who are strong on the bike and get carried away. Then they don't have enough left for the run. I don't have a power meter and heart rate monitors chafe to the point of bleeding with bra straps, so other than "don't ride too hard" what am I supposed to do to make sure that I don't wear myself out? I am not saying that I am putting a lower limit on the bike speed, but I regularly ride flat stretches around 22-24 mph on training rides, and I don't want to do that in the race.

Have you tried to use, or researched, the newer optical HR monitors? There are wristband types that ought to eliminate the chafing issues mentioned.
IIRC, several people have written about one called Scotsche ?? or something similar-ish spelling.

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Real talk - Olympic to 70.3 (Page 2)

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