Bike Position Experiment

I believe in utilizing sports science testing in establishing proper training zones based on individual physiology.  I truly believe that using training plans out of magazines and estimating training zones (heart rate/power/pace) based purely on field testing is not necessarily a waste of time but is absolutely a gamble.  A blood lactate test with Coach Gareth at the TRIO Lab two weeks ago revealed OK results for this time of year.  I’m a few months outside of peak fitness so it was somewhat expected that my Steady State Threshold would be slightly lower than during peak race season.  It was down about 10 watts from last season’s peak but I have been doing some serious base mileage and I really thought that I would test a bit better.  Coach Gareth has always been somewhat suspect of my fairly aggressive time-trial position on the tri-bike and suggested that we retest this week on my road bike to check if I was losing power in the TT/aero-position.  

I retested today, 2 weeks after the initial test and the jury of sports science returned a clear verdict; significant power lost in my current TT/aero-position.  Today’s test on my road bike showed a gain of 15 watts at Steady State Threshold and I put out my highest peak wattage since I started testing 15 months ago.  Blood lactate levels were up to 50% lower at given power outputs and heart rate was much lower as well indicating that I did indeed have pretty solid base conditioning.  In fact, this was my strongest bike test ever; but has left me with a serious issue of fixing my TT/aero-position without breaking the bank and without losing too much in aerodynamics. 

At the end of the day power on the bike trumps everything.  Magazines and websites love to sell you expensive aerodynamic gear.  However, the reality is, it’s all a waste if you’re sacrificing big watts to get more aero.  The objective now is to set up my tri bike to essentially mirror my road bike position from foot to knee to hip to shoulder…and then reestablish the aero position from there.  I’m probably too low in the cockpit and a bit far forward on my tri-bike.  The shorter cranks on my tri-bike might be holding me back a bit too, although only time and more experimenting will tell.  At the very least, I know that I’m capable of pushing those bigger watts, and I have the numbers to compare. 

The lesson here is to make sure that your TT/aero-position is efficient and get into the lab to get tested if you want to find out if you are losing watts due to position.  The most expensive TT bike in the world will likely not give you as much speed as a 20% increase in pure wattage.  It hurts a lot and takes a lot of time to build sustainable power on the bike, but it is truly the gold standard for measuring improved bike fitness.  Keep in mind that the aerodynamic equipment being marketed to triathletes is overblown and definitely produces massive profits for the companies that sell the equipment.  Don’t get me wrong, a good set of wheels and a nerdy aero-helmet that makes you look like an odd shaped penis can make a big difference.  That said, I've put in some time working in this industry and know for a fact that there are a lot of triathletes that would much rather buy fancy gear than sweat it out on the trainer doing their intervals.  This is all just food for thought, but might point you towards a power-based bike-fit rather than a second set of aero-wheels.

Train smart, have fun and remember to always race against the grain!

This post was written by ANTI-Mike

Busy Bodies

Every time I open up a triathlon magazine or log on to a tri-related website, there is always much talk about the “limiter”.  The limiter is a nice way of saying weakness.  It is what limits the potential of an athlete.  Maybe the swim & run are fine but the bike is a weakness/limiter, like me.  Sometimes the limiter is not a single sport but rather specific aspects fitness such as endurance, strength or speed.  All of this is fine and well, but I truly believe that time & genetics are the genuine limiters for most all age-group triathletes.  There isn’t much we can do about the genetics, but we can manage our time better to maximize the genetic potential that we all possess.  There is generally not enough time to swim-bike-run, let alone enough time to strength train & recover properly.  The key to overcoming the time limiter if efficiency and planning.  Just stop the excuses and be positive.  I promise you that most everyone toeing the line at your next race is busy too.  Plus, people who complain about being busy are annoying.

I’ve written in past posts about getting scientific with training and that does fix part of the time limiter issue.  Every session can be purposeful and relevant.  Simply putting on a heart rate monitor does not mean that you are training by heart rate, you need to test fitness to establish proper zones.  See www.go2trio.com for information about metabolic testing. 

Once you have proper training zones and a great program to follow, it’s all about overcoming the time barrier.   It takes planning to get it all done without blowing deadlines at work, neglecting your family and turning into a total triathlon-tool.  Plan every session in advance and try to utilize time when you will not be missed.  Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Spend a few minutes on Sunday nights planning out the week.  Merge all your work, family, social & training calendars to put together a master plan for the week.  As a school teacher, I usually spend a couple hours on Sunday’s writing lesson plans and I usually do all my weekly planning then too.    
2. Try to find some routine for key workouts.  I do a Wed & Fri mid-morning swim during my conference period at school.  The pool is set for long course meters and it’s not too busy.  I get to school about 60 minutes early every day to I can escape for these swim workouts and not fall behind at work.  Swim 3-4K + a transition run + quick shower = a very productive conference period & lunch hour. 
3. Be ready to go in the morning.  Lay out the gear for the workout the night before, pre-grind the coffee beans, & set yourself up for success.   Have a swim & run bag in your car, you can’t forget it if it’s already packed up.
4. Get an indoor bike trainer, sweatproof headphones, ipod shuffle & Netflix so you can watch Friday Night Lights.  Many busy triathletes only ride outside once a week and that’s fine.  Make the trainer sessions pure quality knowing that you are not wasting any extra time checking the weather channel & putting on extra layers of clothes.  (Less clothes = Less laundry)

Find the local stuff.  I swim at a pool less than 2 min from one of my jobs on Wed & Fri.  I swim on the other side of town the other days.  I do run intervals on the high school track where I used to coach football, the service road behind the local little league fields, and some amazing trails about 5 minutes away for my longer runs.  Find training spots around town so that wherever you are, you can get it done.

This post was written by ANTI-Mike