Time trials - getting started

specialCK

I am getting started on time trials. I have bought a new time trial bike, did my first 25 miler on it and did a low 1.05 on it. The bike is great.

I would love to bring my time down, closer to the hour.

For instance, I have started on the weights (a lot of one-legged squats and leg presses etc., need to work on core a bit), am making great gains there and am putting out the week day and week-end miles.
How do I translate the work I have done in the winter to bringing down my time?

I am getting kitted out on a new skin suit and helmet, am looking for suggestions as to decent brands there also.

Jack Joll

Best place to start is to determine your Lactate Threshold and work out your training zones, there's loads of info on the Google box on this.
Then start by doing one or two turbo sessions of SweetSpot Intervals starting maybe with 8min duration with 5min Recoveries. increase every two weeks in 2min durations, so your 8min, then 10min, then 12min and so on! No real need to go above 20min Intervals.

You can then start playing around with it when you get used to the pain, Under/Overs, In and Out of the saddle. Whatever breaks up the session as when you get long intervals, your mentality accounts for alot.

As you get into it, you'll start to find out more yourself on the subject. But TT is all about keeping yourself on the cuspe of your Lactate Threshold with out blowing your Spuds!

Good Luck! Its great craic.

victorcarrera

Assuming the 25 mile test you did was out and back.(That,s very important).
What was the air temperature and total elevation? Because if it was cold and a draggy 1:05 you could just go up north on a warm day to Woodgreen and go under or very close to your goal.
The pointy helmet will be worth up to 60 seconds over 25 miles.
If you are not already doing intervals these will bring you on especially the 20min or 10mile efforts.
Pacing, course strategy and motivating yourself in harsh weather is very important and recognising fatigue early and knowing how to correct it are things you will learn with practice. (Don't go too hard in the first 2 miles.)
Experiment with stretching and getting as aero as possible without loosing power by lowering the arm rests.

specialCK

Yes, that time trial was out and back, using the "batterstown to trim and back again" course.

The temperature was mild, it was July. There was a fairly strong cross breeze both ways. The course was fairly tough and draggy.

I am doing 20 mins x 3 strength endurance at the moment, at and below threshold, a couple of times a week.

I have more questions:

What do people do here to motivate themselves when the weather and conditions are tough?

Do time trialists here on boards use a powermeter to do a tt or do they do the time trial on feel?
I would plan to use my powermeter but am not certain if it will be distracting while doing the timetrial.

niceonetom

specialCK wrote: »

What do people do here to motivate themselves when the weather and conditions are tough?

If you're serious about improving you can't expect to enjoy all of your training. "Motivation" is, in my opinion, an unhelpful concept in this regard. It's a false belief that there is some trick to making yourself want to train, regardless of the weather, fatigue etc. That's not going to happen. Better to cultivate discipline instead. That is the stoical understanding that training must and will be done regardless of your opinion on the matter.

This is a helpful frame of mind not only in regards to getting out the door but also in tackling the many many intervals you have to do if you want to take significant time off your 25 miler. Spending time at threshold is unpleasant. Acknowledging that it is indeed unpleasant but that this cannot be allowed to matter is something to focus on as the lactate begins to eat you alive.

specialCK

I have a bit of a masochistic gene in me so if it hurts, I do my best and just get on with it.
On the turbo, I tend to focus on a number on the power meter and stick with it and then fall off the rig in a heap after.

On the road that it would probably not be recommended to focus on the power meter reading (riding with the head down) for safety reasons, right?

Beasty

PMs are the perfect "tool" for pacing a TT. You don't need to be looking at the computer continuously, but having info on your average power (and on that course, which has a few drags, NP) definitely helps as you can target threshhold power throughout with a view to trying to pick your effort up towards the end (I tend to find the 2nd and 3rd quarters of a TT are the ones I put slightly less effort in, and on that course will look to raise the effort on the way back through Batterstown as you take the slight decline past the GAA club)

I'll typically set the Garmin to lap every 4km over a 10m/16.1km TT and try and even my efforts out. When fully fit I can get to around 300w over that distance but may be a few watts higher in the first and last 4km, and a few adrift in the middle 2. I will use the same procedure in a 25m TT but maintaining effort is much more challenging over the hour+ it takes and the PM definitely helps me pace myself to ensure I do not fade badly towards the end

specialCK

Thanks Beasty, can't wait to get started on the Power Meter using the time trial, have never paced a tt using a power meter before. If you are doing a short time trial like a flat 5 km or 8 km tt, is it still worth using a power meter or should you work on feel?

Beasty

The key on any flat TT (with relatively little wind to influence it) is to try and keep your output high but as consistent as you can. If you know what power you can put out over 5 or 10 mins you can target that power or even very slightly higher to see if you can use the motivation of a competitive event to push up your power curve a little

Look at the pursuit on the track - 4km is the longest distance, but you can see the effect on riders gettinbg their pacing wrong - either fading badly or having too much left at the end

mark kiernan

hi have a look at matt bottril on the giant cycles uk website. a top tester
he posts up a lot of his training specific to time trialing
all done in around 8 to 10 hours training time a week

specialCK

This is great advice. Have been doing a fair of turbo work on the tt bike in the tt position. Not so easy to keep the tt position on the static turbo trainer.

Looking for some time trials to complete early in the season, to test the new tt bike on the road in competition (only done one time trial on it).Very keen to get a few more times.

Casula

Would be interested in a few early season TTs also. Where can I find out more about where and when these events take place? From a quick scan of some of the usual sites I see very little information on TTs.

Gallant_JJ

Good to see a TT specific thread. Just in the process of building a TT bike. I too would like to get a couple of early seasons TTs under the belt, with a view to improving on my PB in the summer.

The UK time trialling forum is a fantastic resource. It seems more organised over there as a dicipline.

specialCK

Not a whole of events in Ireland for tt's for the next while. Ramping up the training just a little now. I find the UK time trialling forum overwhelming with the amount of information on it.

specialCK

I am now told that the IVCA (Irish Veteran Cyclists Association) are organising week-end time trials (9 am starts!) most Saturdays in Meath (Hatch pub) from around April or so. Delighted to hear this. Fair play.

Beasty

specialCK wrote: »

I am now told that the IVCA (Irish Veteran Cyclists Association) are organising week-end time trials (9 am starts!) most Saturdays in Meath (Hatch pub) from around April or so. Delighted to hear this. Fair play.

There's no info on the IVCA website about the forthcoming racing season yet. Where did you hear this (it would represent quite a change from what they have done in previous years)?

victorcarrera

Beasty wrote: »

There's no info on the IVCA website about the forthcoming racing season yet. Where did you hear this (it would represent quite a change from what they have done in previous years)?

A provisional calendar exists which includes an additional 6 Saturday morning 10ml TT's May to Aug. Hatchet Inn to Dunboyne and back.
This course was used at least once in 2012 and was well received. The idea has been doing the rounds since some of the cancelled Tuesday evening races were replaced with TT and got good turnouts. So now the Tues races are back on it iss thought doing a 10 on a Sat morning would not reduce the Sunday race turnout to any great extent.
There is a meeting next week which should firm up on the calendar before it is released. I will post here when I know more.
(Brand New Age Standards Too)

Beasty

victorcarrera wrote: »

(Brand New Age Standards Too)

Yep - just when you and I would probably have started to see some benefit from the old ones!!

Just for everyone's benefit here though - these TTs will (unless there has been a major change of IVCA policy) be for IVCA members only

Lusk_Doyle

Beasty wrote: »

Yep - just when you and I would probably have started to see some benefit from the old ones!!

Just for everyone's benefit here though - these TTs will (unless there has been a major change of IVCA policy) be for IVCA members only

I wonder if I could pass for Raam with his ID...?

Beasty

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

I wonder if I could pass for Raam with his ID...?

You saying Raam's 40 this year??? Still - he does look younger than you.

Anyway to join the IVCA you need 2 references from current members, and to hope no-one puts in a bad word (ask lenny - he's just gone through the initiation process) .....:pac: