I know this sounds stupid, but ...

Pendejo

I do intervals back-and-forth on a straight rural road about 1 1/2 miles in length. We're very near the Gulf of Mexico, and there's almost always a strong wind coming in off the water and aiming straight down my road. So half my intervals are with the wind and half against. I don't have a powermeter but after quite a few years of training I have a pretty accurate sense of effort. I try to keep the same level of effort on each back-and-forth leg (so obviously I go slower into the wind). So why do the stints into the wind hurt so much more than the ones with the wind?

To my way of thinking there's only two explanations. One is that I'm actually working harder and putting out more watts when I'm going into the wind. The other is that, for example, putting out 250 watts into the wind hurts more than putting out 250 watts with the wind (which doesn't make sense).

Does anyone have an opinion on this? Have any of you with powermeters found that a certain watts output into the wind hurts more than that same output with the wind?

daveryanwyoming

I suspect you're working much harder into the wind. When I hold near constant power into headwinds or up moderate hills vs. tailwind or flat sections it feels easier. I don't have to keep on top of it mentally as much since the headwind or hill keeps me honest. I've got one ride I typically use for L4 work that starts with about 8 minutes of fast flats, goes up a four to five minute moderate hill and then flattens out again. It's a relief to hit the hill and I almost always put out a few extra watts at lower perceived exertion on the climb. I have to get back on it at the top of the hill or my power invaribly drops.

You say you pace on your "sense of effort" but you also say it feels harder going into the wind. I guess I'm missing something here.

-Dave

Alex Simmons

Dave is right, you have to concentrate more to keep the same power down when you are getting an assist such as strong tailwind or decline. But it isn't necessarily a bad thing to have power fluctuate a bit, as long as the session overall is working the adaptations you are seeking.

Can you find a bigger loop to ride? 1.5 miles sounds a bit short for longer intervals but if you are safe and getting a good workout, that's the main thing.

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Animator

Too true! Do you have any mental tricks to overcome the higher perceived exertion on the flats? I could use some pointers in this regard.

Pendejo, when I'm riding at threshold, it hurts a lot more to put out the same power in a tailwind as in a headwind. Brother ass (my body) keeps telling me to let the wind do the work for me and I keep shouting back, "No! You do it!"

daveryanwyoming

The best "tricks" I've found are to use all my gears during the faster stretches. I'll shift up a couple of cogs which feels easier for a bit but if I'm not careful I'll start bogging down in the bigger gears. I try to pay attention to effort and power and to some extent cadence and when I start to bog down I drop down a cog or two and spin it back up for a while then when I'm on top of the gear I upshift again. I don't want to soft pedal the way I would during a race, I just want to find a steady gear I can wind comfortably at my target power. I don't know if that's the best strategy, but it's the best I've found for holding power on tailwind sections or gradual descents and it falls apart if I don't pay very close attention to what I'm doing. FWIW I don't typically use this strategy in a TT where I like to ride a pretty fast cadence throughout but it seems to help during weekly training.

-Dave

POGATA

riding with a tailwind is faster, ergo more fun and more motivation to push harder.

Pendejo

Yes, I guess you all are correct in suggesting that, in spite of my efforts to keep everything even, I'm putting out more power into the wind. I think probably looking at my speedometer during the intervals coaxes me to do that. The wind is often 15-20 mph here, and going under 20 mph during an interval is discouraging, so I guess I do what I have to in order to keep above that speed, even into a strong wind. On downwind legs I probably also let the speedometer fool me into thinking I must be working hard to be going so fast.

Thanks to all for forcing me to recognize my limitations as a powermeter.

And, yes, I wish I had a longer stretch of safe road for the 20-minute intervals, but I don't. I just do the fastest turnaround I can at the end of each leg and get back up to speed as fast as I can, which is probably good training for doing that in TTs.