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-   -   Two Minutes/ (your best advice) (https://www.bikeforums.net/triathlon/211668-two-minutes-your-best-advice.html)

Triguy 07-17-06 01:47 PM

Two Minutes/ (your best advice)
 
I am looking to gain two minutes between this year and next. Whats your best suggestion. I am still debating between doing an ironman and not next year. If I don't the majority of my races will be long sprints to olympic distance.

Just for background... I'm pretty much maxed out on running, maybe 15-20 seconds could be improved. I am getting swim coaching for technique but not workouts. I ride my bike as low and narrow as a I comfortably and powerfully can.

So whats your best workout/ tip/ advice?

I think I need to get back to more speedwork on the bike like I did last year, and I think I have 15 seconds to cut of my transitions. Also, I ride 303s, debating getting a disc cover for the back?

Sprocket Man 07-17-06 03:18 PM

How about a time trial helmet? From what I've read, the speed benefits are pretty substantial.

Also, are you already doing the run-barefoot-through-T1-with-shoes-on-the-pedals thing? That could save a little time too.

Finally, for me, I don't have much opportunity to practice T1 - running fast upon exiting the water and starting off the bike quickly. I do a lot of bike-run bricks, but because I don't practice the swim-bike transition, I know that I could probably shave a little time off there. Is that the case with you?

Triguy 07-17-06 04:18 PM

I do keep shoes on pedals in transition and I have a TT helmet, and it fits fairly well. Doing swim-Bike bricks would be tough due to scheduling, it may be something to consider on weekends.

good suggestion.

cslone 07-17-06 06:28 PM

Get a wetsuit, practice fast transitions and buy a disc or wheelcover.

Sprocket Man 07-17-06 06:59 PM

One more - I hear that EPO is pretty good stuff. Give it a try - all the cool kids are doing it.;)

H2OChick 07-17-06 07:07 PM

Ha ha ha Sprocket Man...

You could easily cut just your swim time by two minutes! Okay, I'm making a lot of assumptions here... assuming you're only a mediocre swimmer if you're getting lessons. If you are only mediocre, improving your technique, and thereby your efficiency, could save you heaps of time - plus you'd have the added benefit of not being so worn out as you begin the real meat of the race. Ask chrisesposito how much faster his swim has gotten... I think he's improved significantly. If you're talking about a mile swim, you could definitely drop significant time.

Of course, I'm kinda biased toward the swim... :)

chrisesposito 07-17-06 10:31 PM

I hear there are some ex-Tour riders that won't be needing their stash anytime soon :D

I'll second H2OChick's comments regarding swimming and how improvements there can pay dividends later in the race. At the Kirkland tri we did together last year I got a photo of me coming out of the water in the 1/2 mile swim leg and I looked like death wrapped in damp neoprene. I was so tired I didn't have nearly as good a bike leg as I expected and had an even worse run.

I've been working mostly on technique since February and it's paying off big time for me. At the race 10 days ago I was fresh enough out of the water to PR on the bike, and last Thursday swam a mile in a very comfortable 34 minutes, putting me in good position to meet my goal of a sub-40 swim leg for my September 1/2 IM while not being too trashed for the bike where my real strength is. That swim time isn't fast by real swimmer standards (H2OChick could still crush me like a bug in the pool and smile sweetly while doing it), but any energy you save on the swim is available for the bike.

Dalai 07-18-06 05:11 AM

Most important way to get the best improvements is to focus on the weakest of the three sports.

The following is aimed for sprint / olympic distance - IM is another beast...

Swimming - work on your technique then focus on speed with intervals.

Riding - Disc is free speed (no matter how windy), deeper front wheel also if it can get within budget. Intervals, hill repeats especially are brilliant for max power for the shorter events. Any hills close to home which are say ~7km at 5%. Regular trips up this against the clock are a great tool to see how you are progressing.

Running - Regular Brick - Bike Run sessions. Fartlek or interval sessions.

So Cal commuter 07-18-06 05:11 AM

practice open water. If you cant, at least in a 50 meter pool. Sounds like your most time improvement will be in the water, and you'll have much more energy left for your bike.

Triguy 07-18-06 07:40 AM

Great stuff, I was going to post this last night but the server was "too busy". My swim is my weakest but I don't think I can improve by 2 minutes. I'd be coming out of the water top 3-5 in most races, thats a big jump to make in one year. I was thinking more 40-60 seconds in the next year in the half mile(currently about 13:00 with a wetsuit give or take 20 seconds).

My wheels are my wheels for now, except the disc cover. Open water swimming is tricky, I'll talk to some swimmers I know to see what they do.

H2OChick 07-18-06 10:44 PM

Triguy - I don't remember where you are... is it ocean swimming or lake?

Triguy 07-19-06 08:35 PM

Lake swim, MN

andygates 07-20-06 05:53 AM

Short bike/run bricks focusing on run cadence to get over that heavy-leg first mile?

And there's always the fun of streamlining the wetsuit part of T1 :)

Triguy 10-12-06 09:40 AM

I thought I'd bring this back. When I started it I was midway through the season. I ended the season with some big improvements over 2005. I'm looking to keep improving with these changes:

-I'm bumping up my training volume for next year.
-Doing a two part periodized season, one for May/June. one for August/Sept.
-Continuing swim coaching.

Ultimately, no specific time gain can be guessed from these 3 things, but in the spirit of this thread; What are your changes, or continuations, for next year to improve?

My one recomendation to everyone is... run more!

merlinextraligh 10-12-06 01:34 PM

On the bike, HED Trispoke front, or a Zipp 808. (The front wheel is more important than the back). Also,if you haven't done it, have you considered getting fitted by someone who works with Triathletes. Sometimes minor position adjustments can lead to more power with little or no cost to aerodynamics. There's a guy here who does fittings on a computrainer with a power meter, and also measures frontal surface to the wind. He's had clients improve more than a mph, often by raising , rather than lowering, their position.

SaabFan 10-12-06 02:03 PM

Not trying to start an argument, but:


Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
On the bike, HED Trispoke front, or a Zipp 808. (The front wheel is more important than the back).

Have any data to back that up? The last data I saw was a recent biking magazine (maybe a few months ago) that gave results from MIT's wind tunnel working with CSC. They put the front wheel very close to the bottom of the list as far as aerodynamic importance.

merlinextraligh 10-12-06 02:33 PM


Originally Posted by SaabFan
Not trying to start an argument, but:



Have any data to back that up? The last data I saw was a recent biking magazine (maybe a few months ago) that gave results from MIT's wind tunnel working with CSC. They put the front wheel very close to the bottom of the list as far as aerodynamic importance.

1) http://damonrinard.com/aero/aerodynamics.
htm http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004.../tech/?id=zipp
http://www.zipp.com/Default.aspx?tabid=103
http://sportsci.org/traintech/aerowheels/jmn.html


2) my personal experience, owning Zipp 303's a Hed Trispoke, and Hed disc.

3) the recomendations of my coach who rides for a US domestic pro team.

4) common sense. The rear wheel is already in dirty air, and already faired to a degree by the rider, and the frame, particularly on a TT bike with a rear wheel cutout.

5)My recollection of the MIT article in bicycling was that the testing was done by students (albeit smart ones) Their results also were done I believe only with a direct frontal wind. And the comment about front wheels was in comparison to aero helmets. I'm not doubting the value of the aero helmet, but the OP already has one. Moreover, some of the statements in that Bicycling article are contradicted by other published reports. (for example the statement that watterbottles should be on the seat tube, rather than the downtube, which is backward from other tests http://www.profile-design.com/road_t..._bottles.html) http://www.velonews.com/tour2006/tec...s/10296.0.html.

Dalai 10-12-06 05:29 PM


Originally Posted by SaabFan
Not trying to start an argument, but:

Have any data to back that up? The last data I saw was a recent biking magazine (maybe a few months ago) that gave results from MIT's wind tunnel working with CSC. They put the front wheel very close to the bottom of the list as far as aerodynamic importance.

The MIT study listed in bicycling magazine didn't provide full data and appears only tested at 0 degrees yaw. For more discussions on this article check out -

http://biketechreview.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=917

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.c...;guest=9330691

Once the winds start to come from angles other than just the front, the wheels do make a greater difference.

Also in regards to waterbottles, another article http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadin...erbottles.html

Triguy 10-12-06 08:45 PM

I have actually raised my bars this year, from 17cm drop to about 14cm.

I will be getting a powermeter soon and doing a little expirementing of my own. Thanks for the tip.


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