Watts, Torque and Keeping the Balance

This was a pretty good week

Swim: 14000 meter (4 sessions) 4:45
Bike 208 miles (5 rides) 12:30
Run 42 miles (5 runs)5:30)

So, about 22:45 for workout time. I wont detail my work week, but just to say I put in 62 hours at work last week. With the added coaching and my own training, I guess upwards of over 90 hours or so for the week. The only real answer is the cut out the sleep which is fairly chronic for me as I averaged about 6 hrs this week and is not unusual. Still feel fairly refreshed once I get going for the day.

My biggest ride was only 64 miles last week...what?! A 64 mile long ride so close to ITU World long course and Kona? I must be crazy! We'll see...Dont be deceived. Out of 5 rides, 4 of them contained intensity well above HIM wattage and my average wattage for all 5 rides of the week was well into zone 2, even the 20 minutes of single leg at over 200 watts to finish out the week.

My running? 5 runs included 2 intensity workouts plus a long run. My 16 miler was fair and felt ok. Out first 4 miles at Lief Erikson trail in 29 minutes (7:15) with a fair amount of climbing. What hurt were the next 12 miles with a 2 minutes acceleration at every 10 minute mark to slightly faster than 5k pace. Got in 9 of these accelerations and averaged 7:15 pace for the remainder of the run at 1:56 total time, average HR of 128, the very top of my zone 1. The real key in this workout was not my low average HR for the run, as between my accelerations, my HR dropped dramatically. During the accelerations though, my HR was very responsive, jumping up into high zone 4 within 30-60 seconds. Then dropping back into low zone 1 running 7:30 pace on my 8 minute rest periods. This rapid response of HR is a good indicator of fitness, but more importantly, lack of over-training. Not being able to "drive" the HR upward quickly and not getting good responses in HR to pace is an indicator of overtraining. The past 3 IM races I've done, I specifically remember commenting to Ann on my responsive HR going into my 7-8 day taper. Always a good sign.

Swims were ok, typical mixed intensity. Friday's 4x1200 meter hurt me as I used hand paddles in the final 600 on the last 1200. Wasnt paying too much attention and let my left hand "flash" as it entered the water. By bedtime friday I had a nasty tendonitis of my flexor tendons in my forearm. So, this cost me my swim today. Massage helped, as well as advil and a couple of ice water soaks over the weekend. Now its nearly pain free and I wont push it in the pool tomorrow. I will drop the workout if it bothers me. To boot, Ann had a crash late last week and has cuts and bruises all over her, and a nice cellulitis covering almost her entire forearm from road rash. She has held off the swimming but she still was a bit over 200 miles this week and over 40 running, with a week ending quality 18 miler. So, I dont speak too much of it because I know she's tough. I have no worries.

Started thinking about Troika HIM race this Sunday. Have tried to not think of any upcoming race until the week of. Helps me mentally a bit.

As I was cycling down the highway last week, putting together several zone 5 efforts at varying cadence I was interested in the data downloaded. These were all done on a straight, constant wind conditions and flat surface.
1: 330 watts at 50 rpm. Crank torque 455, 24.5 mph
2: 330 watts at 60 rpm. Crank torque 425, 24.4 mph
3: 332 watts at 70 rpm. Crank torque 398, 25.0 mph
4: 331 watts at 80 rpm. Crank torque 380, 25.3 mph
5: 330 watts at 90 rpm Crank torque 360, 24.0 mph
6: 332 watts at 100 rpm. Crank torque 345, 23.6 mph

This caught my interest. Lower rpm work will gain you speed but at a cost of crank torque as more torque is taxing on the flexor muscles of the legs. So, it seems reasonable that if you can lower your torque by higher rpm, you will lower the stress on the legs. This is true, but as I increased my cadence at near constant power, and my crank torque went down, it did feel easier to pedal. However, as you can see, there is a point at which my speed begins to drop. My maximum speed at a given wattage around 80 watts, maybe even 78 or 82, in that range. This allowed a lower torque without sacrificing speed. I do "race" when I race, and will push the envelope. But, to me, racing at a higher cadence, say around 95 will cost nearly a full mph assuming the same race wattage. Over a HIM event, this wont be made up for in the run most likely, as for me its about 8 minutes I would have to make up on the run just to break even.

So, I even further believe that an optimal race cadence is somewhere hovering around 80. Of course, you have to train at greater crank torques to allow you to race comfortably at a lower rpm. Once this transition is made, as I did in the summer of 2007, it can change your race.


Ciaverella