After a week of rain, and I mean constant rain, the weather was perfect for race day. Wind was coming from east to west, which is ideal for a disc. I decided to use my HED Stingers with my powertap. The day before the race I had a talk with my coach and my training partner Dave and the goal was stick the pace. Not to be stupid and go with the leaders and blow up. That was the goal.
The morning came quick and I was getting ready to start the swim. a 1km 2 loop with a beach run in the middle. My goal was to get on the front group feet and hang on. I did just that and came out of the first km in 14 minutes. Solid! Was feeling great and my Xterra Vendetta was feeling great and my shoulders were nice and loose. I came out of the 2nd lap in 28 minutes, which was awesome! Now onto the bike.
I have been working a lot on nutrition and that was the main focus for this race. I have been tweaking it for the 90 km bike ride and finally dialed it in! I was feeling awesome, best I have ever felt and came away from the 90km bike ride in 2:14, 3rd fastest bike split of the day. I averaged 280 watts, which was perfect. Since I started using Cera Sport it has really kept my energy levels up on the bike and feeling awesome off the bike. Thanks Jennifer!
The leader and I came into transition together and we were off. I took the lead and was feeling awesome. I held the lead for 12km before Bruno caught me but didn't really pull away from me. My goal was simple, stick 6:30 miles. Nothing slower, nothing faster! Bruno got ahead of me and then Mike Hay caught me around 16km. I stayed right on his feet but didn't want to blow up so didn't push it. The goal for today was time not the win. As my coach put it the win will come! The leader won by 90 seconds and I came in 3rd but felt awesome.
Finishing time 4:13
Getting ready for Calgary! Off to Younique Cycles to get my bike pampered! She worked hard yesterday and love the fit Ian has got into on the bike. Also my bum feels great after a 90km bike ride on my ISM saddle.
Thanks also to: The Running Company, Sable water optics, Xterra wetsuits, 2XU, Guru bikes, Altitude tech, ISM Saddles, Cera Sport and Trigger Point
3 comments:
Hi Tyler,
Hope you don't mind me asking a quick question or two? I figured since you had easily made tracks past me on the bike in Muskoka and GL1 that you have a pretty good cycling background. My question relates to hill climbing during a race and which method you think works best to create an overall quicker bike split. Power or spinning? I have been using more of a power (sometimes out of the saddle) style and think I may be wasting overall energy. I may go up the hill a little quicker but seem to feel flat once I crest. Just curious.
Thank you,
Larry Bradley
Hey Larry,
I really focus on Power racing. I have a power meter, which gives me the weight to torque ratio. I know that if I push over 310 watts I will explode, so my goal for a race is to keep the wattage constant. I take that into the hills too! I think the biggest issue most people do is hammer the hills too hard. I did a clinic the week before in Peterborough and age groupers were blowing past me on the up, but by the time we were on the way down I was keeping the same power.
Racing, I don't mind pushing it a bit harder and hitting 400 watts climbing a hill, but my goal is to keep the power going and not cost at all. If the grade is steep I usually like to spin a bit more and drop it into the small ring. I am not ashamed of spinning out for the longer gains!
So, I do agree that you are "hurting too much" on the uphill and not working enough on the down..haha
Hope that helps!
Tyler,
That is really great info! I appreciate the time you took to share that with me. It sounds like the power metre is something I would be wise to invest in to improve my cycling skills. Also, I am going to start training more on the hills in spin mode to get a good feel for it. I think my overall bike split will benefit from this.
Thank you very much and best of luck for the rest of the 2009 season!
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