2. Wetsuits
• Benefits: • Types
– Floats body higher in water – Full length
– Insolation, lowers cold water – Sleeveless (Farmer John)
• 1% slower, cooler, easy to get in/out
shock,
– Speed suit
– 3-7 % speed increase • For non legal wetsuit swims
– Biggest help to weak swimmers
and people with low body fat
• Negatives:
– overheat in warm races
– Hard to get off in T1
– Hard to feel the water
3. Drafting
• 18-25% improvement!
– Next to their hip is most
efficient behind the bow
wave
– directly behind them if
they are not kicking
– Stay on lee side if
possible
7. Biking Form
1. Your form is a balance of Aerodynamics vs Comfort vs Power.
2. Aerodynamic is not just important for the fast biker. Slower bikers spend more time on
the course and the benefits add up.
3. Body take time to adapt to more aggressive positions.
8. Air resistance
12
• Air drag is major resistance
above 10-12 mph 10
• At race speeds 70-88% of drag
8
is air resistance
• Body takes 65-80% of the total 6 TT
drag at race speed. ROAD
Friction
• Drag is not linear but goes up 4
at a cubic rate with speed 2
• Aerodynamics goal
– Decrease frontal surface area 0
1 2 3 4 5
– Smooth the flow of air.
– Retain as much power and
comfort in the position.
9. Reducing Wind Drag
• Body is 65-85% of drag • Bike frame is 15-25%
– Changing body position is the $1500-5500
best and least expensive way
• Wheels are 6-16%
to become faster
– Deep dish 60% decrease
– Aero helmet can save 3-7%
~$900
total drag ~$150
– Disk 70% decrease ~$1200
– Tight fitting clothing instead of
loose fit can save 3-4% ~$50- – The best wheel < 10%
150
– Clip-on aero bars 25% ~$100
10. Rolling Resistance
• Each tire takes can take 10-30 • Training tires
watts to move depending on – Made of thicker rubber, puncture
tire material, inflation, and barrier
weight load. – Longer life 2000+ miles
– Fewer flats
• Tire inflation
– Most tires work best between 90- • Race tires
120 psi. – Light, supple, no puncture barrier
– Lower pressure for wet roads – Wear out quickly 500-1000 miles
– Over inflation does not let the tire – Can save 10-20 watts
deform over bumps. This hurts – Easier to puncture
traction and slows you down. – Need to be watchful of road
– Front tire should be ~5 psi lower
then rear to help turning
• Risk vs. reward, you have to
– Too low of pressure and you can
decide how much of a risk you
pinch flat are willing to take of puncturing
to go faster.
–
12. Getting faster working less
• Updated tires • year 2011 2012
• Updated bike • norm 273 264
• Updated body • avg 259 252
position • mph 22.7 24.0
– Lower body
– Moved arms in
Net: 7-9 watts less work
– Form fitting jersey
to go 1.3 mph faster
13. Cadence
• Slower 50-80 rpm • Fast 80-100 rpm
• Recruit fast twitch muscles • Use slow twitch muscles
that burn glycogen stores that burn mostly fat
• Muscles are depleted for • Can have similar cadence
the run as run (85-90)
• Feels harder • Lower perceived effort
• Higher stress on joints • Become more efficient at
• Stress muscle system vs high intensity
cardiovascular and • Become inefficient at very
respiratory high cadence
• Stress cardiovascular and
respiratory systems more
then muscle system
14. Gearing
• Standard Crank 53 X 39
– Gives high end speed 35+
– Not great to climb without a
bigger rear cassette.
– Requires strong power to weight
ratio
• Run out of gears • Compact Crank 50 X 34
– climbing – Easier to climb with
– descending
– With new cassettes still give
– tailwind
good top end speed for most
• Important to have the right races
gear ratio for the race terrain.
• Rear Cassette
Brice Prairie vs. IM Wisconsin
– Old style 12-23, 25, 27
– New 11-23, 25, 27, 28, 29
17. Pedaling
• Pedal Efficiency
• Zone 1 12-5 o’clock
– Power zone everyone does
this well
• Zone 2 5-8 o’clock
– Keep force by pulling through.
– think scraping mud off
• Zone 3 8-12 o’clock
– Unweight leg as it come up. This
is harder the more aero you are.
Don’t let your leg be dead weight
• Increased efficiency
– Studies showed a full stroke vs.
down only increased power 57-
87% with using more muscle
groups and added efficiency.
18. Extra Weight
• Run • Bike
– Drop 2 – Each pound of weight
sec/mile/pound. lost is like gaining 1.5
• 5 lbs = 30 sec on a 5K watts of FTP when
• 10 lbs = 60 sec on a 5K climbing.
– Deal with heat better – Less air resistance
19. Tech to train and race better
• How do you • What to measure
– Find your race pace – Perceived effort
– Hold that pace over – Mph/pace
different conditions – Heart rate
– Train smarter – Generated power
– Learn from your
mistakes
20. Run pacing using GPS
• Benefit • Negates
– Gives consistent pacing – Pacing on hills is hard with
with instant feedback only MPH
– Do interval training – Can take time to acquire
anywhere. Don’t need a satellites in T2
measured track.
– Use tools like VDOT for – Tools
pace guidance – Garmin Forerunner series
– Able to test and recalibrate – Garmin 310XT/910XT (tri
your training zones as you design to be used for
get stronger swim, bike, and run)
– Store races and training – Nike+ SportWatch
runs to review
21. Minimalistic Pacing Strategy
• Perceived effort
– Must be in tune with their body
– Have to fight adrenaline rush at the start
– Physical/Mental peaks and valleys during a race
– Very few people can accurately do this
• MPH on bike
– Influenced by everything, wind, elevation
changes, tires, road….
– Both are impossible to review afterwards to see
how you did
22. Heart Rate Zones
• Benefits: • Negatives
– Shows stress on your body – Reactive measurement of
– You have zones to target body stress.
for training and racing. – Delayed 30-90 seconds
after intensity change
– Zones will be different on
bike vs run 5-10%
– Affected by outside forces
Caffeine, sleep, hydration,
stress, people around you
– Drifts during a race
– Hard to measure fitness
23. Power (watts)
• Benefit: • Negatives
– Measures how hard – Expensive $1000
your body is working – Information overload
– Not affected by at the start
outside stimulus – Requires learning new
– Changes in fitness ways to train and race
levels can be – Only used on the bike
measured and
charted.
– You can use data from
others.
24. Power Measurements
• Power • Normalized power (NP)
– Power you are exerting on your – Average power taking into
crank or wheel. Measured in
watts
affect metabolic cost. More
accurate then average
• Threshold power (FTP)
power as it penalized
– Max power you can hold for 1
hour
harder efforts.
• Intensity factor (IF) • Variable index (VI)
– Average power of a ride divided – Normalized power divided by
by FTP average. Shows how steady you
rode. Below 1.05 is considered a
well paced.
• Training stress score
(TSS)
– Adding intensity factor of a ride.
– How much stress you had in a
ride based on your current FTP
25. Pacing Using Power
• Intensity for different distances – Half Ironman age group 70%-79%
– Ironman age group 60%-70% – Elite Half Ironman 80%-89%
– Elite ironman 70%-79% – Sprint and Olympic bike 90% - 104%
27. Hill Pacing Guidelines
• power to weight rules on hills. • Below 6 mph work well above
Climbing is done at a slow goal pace. Big return on
speed. Get out of the aero output with no wind resistance
position and open up you • 6-12 mph work above goal
chest and get as straight as pace. Wind resistance is
possible. Move back on your minimal.
seat to be in your most • 12-24 mph ride at goal pace
powerful position.
• 24-30 ride slightly below goal
pace. Most of energy is going
towards wind resistance.
• 30+ coast Majority of energy is
going to fight wind resistance.
Stay as aero as possible
