[pcsronbo]

So, can someone confirm for me something basic..<br><br>
Time Trial - Z5 effort 60-75 min @ 40k - but basically all Z5<br>
CyclosCross - Z5 effort 30min (for Cat4)<br>
Road Race - Z3-5- 40k, 60k? What are normal distances or is there any such<br>
Criterium - Z4/Z5 - 60mim?<br><br>
Been talking to CC and Roadie stuff is someone outside her area of expertise, but to me it seems just like these are Z5 efforts mostly, except maybe road races which would be variable depending on if you can hang, surge, or get dropped. So Z3 while in the peleton and Z4-5 surging and/or trying to hang.<br><br>
Also, as a general rule is it accurate to say that roadie workouts tend to me be Z4/5 focused? Always "big dog" placement type of stuff?<br><br>
Trying to see how to fit this into tri training and making sure I have expectations right

 

[jroden]

I don't really know about the zone stuff, but a TT will generally be a distance of 10mi up to 25 mi and an output around yout AT or FT, depending on how you see the world, pretty much pushing a big gear and trying to go fast. Cyclocross is 40-60 minutes, generally there are spots where you go anaerobic and spots where you catch your breath, it feels pretty hard atthe end of the day, perhaps from all the sprinting. Road racs can be over 100 miles and as short as 40, generally they are hard to force selections in the group and may continue to be hard for those who make the selection, but in general the pace may vary, especially in the lower categories. Crits are shorter, often under an hour, with a fast start and a lot of anaerobic attacks for primes or tactical reasons.<br><br>
Bikers and triathletes have a similar core of training, cyclists tends to also work on sprinting once a week, are more apt to do training races during the week, will practice increasing the pace as a climb continues and will do some shorter intervals early in the season. A strong triathlete with a good tactical sense can do fine in road events. Sometimes triathles can be bone heads in road events and waste energy towing the pack around.

 

[pcsronbo]

Z5 would be right there at AT<br>
Z4 below and sustainable longer<br>
Z3 sustainable "forever" assuming enough food and water<br><br>
"forcing the selection" means... what? That when stronger guys will try to break the pack apart and you either stay with them or drop, praying others will drop and form a sub-pack?<br><br>
What I'm working on with CC is the idea of possibly pushing my long Z3 rides to mid-week and racing on a weekend. Can't really do both without risk of injury. I'm not sure how much sustained racing at that level I can do but I do know I don't want to tag a 60 mile long ride with a TT on the same day <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif"><br><br>
Just figuring out how to balance my HIM training with exploring some new avenues.

 

[jroden]

Ron, in a nutshell, the whole idea behind mass start road events (crits and road races) is to use your strengths to get into an ever smaller group off the front of the pack and work together until a point comes when you seek to screw each other for the win. If you can climb for example, you might attack 1km before a big hill when people are already concerned and try to get your gap on the climb, perhaps you will use a crosswind section where others can't get much of a draft or a part of the race where there is confusion from a break being caught. The tactical part of racing is really a major part of mass start races, you have certain strengths and you try to maximize your results.<br><br>
I'm not the most talented, fit or strong rider in any race I do, so I try to use my head and get into the right combination of riders and do as little work as I can. One of the interesting things people see whne they race with a power meter is how much of the time their wattage is zero, e.g. they are coasting. The winner will often be the one who can apply a great dose of wattage (power) at the right point in the race (tactics) and be able to finish it off with a strong sprint. There are times when the selection is very stark, you can see someone's back 10 feet in front of you and if you close the gap, you know that's the winning move, but it's easier said then done...

 

[fox-runr]

how many zones total? some coaches have 7 zones. If z3 is sustainable forever, I wonder: what is zone 1 and zone 2??<br><br>
I train based on 5 zones and your z3 would be what I'd call z1, z2 you pretty much avoid for running it'd be marathon pace work, z3 is below threshold, z4 threshold is met and you begin to redline (this would be interval training), z5 is max (strength, sprints...)

 

[jroden]

Ron--It's hard to train for bike racing in isolation, which is why things like group rides and training races are popular with bikies. Bike racing often requires you to make a very difficult effort at some point in the race, either for a tactical reason or to simply keep from getting dropped. It isn't so much of a steady sort of effort, you may have to sprint all out to close a gap after a climb, so going hard and recovering are more important that for a tri.<br><br>
I hope you get involved with bike racing, it is fun and will make you a better and stronger triathlete and will help you understand your strengths on the bike better.