V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/coachdirectory/searchbydiscipline.asp#MarilynTrout
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at marilyn@mountainpedals.net, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
V-Club member Jim McDonald is our 31st winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate! His training question follows...
Fanciful Training Advice OR Does it Really Work?
V-Club Training Tip Follow-up
Several months ago, I had an athlete write in, “I did a 40K Time Trial basically holding my wattage at my critical power point. I am also going to do shorter Time Trials of 5K and 10K. What power level should I strive for in these shorter distances?”
This follow-up reminds me of Car Talk’s “Stump the Chump.” Here’s the scoop…
Recap
- Using power as a parameter for training zones is much like the concept used with the heart monitor as a training tool. General physiological adaptations, as well as specific fitness gains, can be seen at a particular critical power when training is done in that zone.
- Jim’s reference to Critical Power is another way of describing peak power that can be maintained for a certain amount of time. During the 40k TT, Jim established a CP60 of 254w. His CP20 was 260w for the same race. Since then, his power threshold, PT, increased to 267w, establishing his PT training zone of 243-282w.
- Other useful data averages for the 40k TT ; 153 bpm, 96 rpm, 22.4 mph. (His sub-threshold heart rate zone is 146-155 bpm, so he zeroed in on a good target.)
- 5k and 10k TT medals is what Jim was looking for in ’09. Medal winning times for these events are between 7 and 15 minutes. Knowing what he can produce powerwise is important for developing VO2max interval training. Here are his power numbers:
CP6 - 304w, CP10 - 284w, CP12 - 281w, CP15 - 273w.
Recommendation
Aim for a wattage around 281-284w in these shorter time trials. If you are having a good day for the 5k, you could aim for a slighter higher number. It is also important to keep in mind, the kind of gears you’ve been using in training, heart rate you’ve had in the past for this effort (~ 150bpm) and optimal rpm (~ mid 90’s) that have helped you perform at your best.
What Happened
Before the initial article was written in May, Jim raced the 5k TT at the Virginia Senior Olympics and aimed for 280 watts. Here’s a look, graph and table, at what happened over the course of the season with three of his major events – Virginia Senior Olympics, Colorado Senior Games, National Senior Olympics
| |
VSO*
5km
5/8/09 |
CSG*
5km
6/14/09 |
NSO
5km
8/10/09 |
| Avg Power |
279w |
284 |
308 |
| Avg HR |
150bpm |
152 |
156 |
| Avg Cadence |
96rpm |
94 |
95 |
| Avg Speed |
23.6mph |
24.8 |
24.4 |
* Gold medal performances
Coach’s Response
- Power: Your increases in power over your season races (let's take the 5ks) climbed in a nice direction and had a personal best for CP6 of 307w for NSO. It sure would've been wonderful for you to have some hardware for that! Puzzling why your average speed at NSO was 24.4 (CSG 24.8)...your avg power was up 24w and your avg rpm was slightly higher at 95 yet you were 0.4 mph slower. I believe that is due to some aerodynamic situation. We just needed ~ 20" to make the podium.
- Turn-around: This has improved since CSG by about 10". By practicing this, I believe your confidence will increase and thereby you will have greater speed going into the turn-around and coming out. The best way to learn this is by following a good TTer or tri guy in a few sessions.
- Cadence: Your legspeed developed very nicely over the season which helped your sprint and your starting turn-over in your TTs. (It looks to me that in the NSO 10k you were pushing a much bigger gear at the start and for a good portion of the TT. Big power numbers/lower cadence/lower speed. You had some pretty significant power increases up to the around the 6' mark. Not a big plus in a 11+' race and as you can see you paid for it. ) As we have noticed, dropping the cadence is what the brain defaults to when tired but if you concentrate on keeping the cadence higher, it sure is beneficial. Indeed, one has to be very intentional about this. Spinning the legs when tired is a better option in future races.
The training advice worked well for Jim and his power increased for these shorter time trials over the season. There are some pretty quick seniors in his 65-69 age category with the winner cruising to the tune of 25.9 mph. So for the 2010 events, if he is able to stay injury-free, train at this intensity at the right time of the season and hone his time- trialing skills, I have no doubt he’ll be standing on the National Senior Olympic podium.
Marilyn