indybiker01

My last (and only) time trial I didn't get a proper warm up before the event.
I have noticed it takes me 4.5 miles for my legs to feel good and comfortable. Either to shake soreness from the other days training or to get my lungs conditioned to handle the race.

The TT is 40k

Should I ride
A)4.5 miles high intensity before the race
B) ride 8 miles of low intensity
C) ride 5-7 at medium intensity

Do I want to leave myself hardly any time before the race to rest or should I warm up and then relax for 15-30 minutes?

Thanks

koffee brown

None of the above.

The shorter the race, the longer the warm up. I'd advise going for a 45 minute- 1 hr warm up just before you have to start your race- with just a few minutes between the time you end your warm up until the time you get out and race. Take about 10 minutes to warm up, then spend the rest of the time spinning up to threshold, then hold that threshold heart rate, spinning at a high speed to get your lactate buildup in your legs. The more lactate you have as you enter your time trial, the looser your legs will be and the less stiff you'll be when you go into your time trial.

My opinion- but folks I had do it always performed well for those short, intense races.

koffee

indybiker01

I wish I had reset my stats after the 4 miles.

Here were my total ride stats. I will compare them to the race tomorrow. Hopefully with a proper warm up I can blow these away. I only went 20.2 miles due to light conditions and I really started to move the last 14 miles. I have only been cycling for a year. My goal is to finish the 40k time trial in 1 hour 5 minutes.

Distance 20.2
Average speed: 20.54 mph
Average Cadence 87 UPM
Max speed 25.45
MAx Cadence 106 upm

8 mph wind into (10.76 miles)

Uphill 1.72 miles Average speed 18.76
Avg Inclination 2%
MAx inclination 4%
Vertical Climb 339 feet

Downhill Distance 2.36 miles Avg Speed 21.22
Average inclination 1%
max inclination 3%

Carbonfiberboy 

The shorter the TT, the longer the warmup. I do zone 2 on the trainer for 20 minutes, then do two 1.5 minute speed intervals at slightly above TT effort with 2.5 minutes between, then ride 5 minutes at zone 2 pace again, trying to finish the warmup as close to start time as possible. If you don't have a trainer with you, do similar on the road. I like a few hard, short climbs. Like Koffee said, get some lactate in your legs. The better your conditioning, the more you can tolerate a harder warmup without tiring during the race.

Randy!

I found this routine in Thomas Chapple's book and have used it several times. He suggests it for warming-up before a critical power test. I've used it for that, and before cirts and TT's with good results. It doesn't work well for me before a road race.

I tape a version of the chart below to my bars.

Start time|Duration|Effort Level
0:00 20 minutes, Zone 1-2 (easy)
0:20 15 minutes, Zone 2-3 (moderate)
0:35 5 minutes, Zone 3-4 (hard, but below TT pace)
0:40 5 minutes, Zone 2 (easy)
0:45 1 minute, 95% max (really hard)
0:46 3 minutes, Zone 2 (easy)
0:49 1 minute, 95% max (really hard)
0:50 3 minutes, Zone 2 (easy)
0:53 5 minutes, Zone 3-4 (hard, below TT pace)
0:58 10 minutes, Zone 1-2 (cool-down)
1:08 finish

umd

4.5 miles, huh? That's rather precise...

indybiker01

+ or - .867 miles with a standard deviation of .76 and a delta of htfu

umd

htfu?

indybiker01

You know what that means...i just need to htfu

umd

I know what it means, just not sure how it applied to your post.