"1x60" pacing strategy

fastcat said:

I'm interested in working out my FTP based on what I can truly average for 1 hour rather than an extrapolation of a 20 minute effort. Partly out of idle curiosity, partly because I want to challenge myself with the mental side of sustaining an effort for 60 minutes, in preparation for longer time trials etc.

So I have been thinking about pacing strategies.

e.g. tonight I did 50 minutes at 230 watts, followed by 5 at 250 then 5 at 300, with no rest in between, which averages out at 238. Felt like I had quite a lot spare in the tank, as I reckon my FTP to be 250-260 at the moment.

So I'm wondering about how to approach an hour. It would seem to boil down to a couple of choices: start at estimated 100% and seek to maintain it for the entire period or starting a bit lower and building up during the hour, finishing above 100% with the last few minutes as hard as possible? Or are there other strategies I should consider ?

Thoughts welcome !

I'd say start at 100% of your estimate (e.g., 260) and see if you can hold it. But, if you find that you can't hold it the full 60, then hold it as long as you can. That is still a valid data point for using the CP curve (because the data points can be any power/duration, in seconds). A couple of other bona fide max duration/max power data points and you have not only one of the better estimates of FTP but other durations as well.

fastcat said:

I'm interested in working out my FTP based on what I can truly average for 1 hour rather than an extrapolation of a 20 minute effort. Partly out of idle curiosity, partly because I want to challenge myself with the mental side of sustaining an effort for 60 minutes, in preparation for longer time trials etc.

So I have been thinking about pacing strategies.

e.g. tonight I did 50 minutes at 230 watts, followed by 5 at 250 then 5 at 300, with no rest in between, which averages out at 238. Felt like I had quite a lot spare in the tank, as I reckon my FTP to be 250-260 at the moment.

So I'm wondering about how to approach an hour. It would seem to boil down to a couple of choices: start at estimated 100% and seek to maintain it for the entire period or starting a bit lower and building up during the hour, finishing above 100% with the last few minutes as hard as possible? Or are there other strategies I should consider ?

Thoughts welcome !

I've done several indoor 40k's this fall & winter. I treat them primarily as training and only as testing when the 'sensations' are good. So sayeth Fausto ... or was it Eddie? 🙂

My approach is to start off fairly easy probably averaging 5-10W under FTP for the 1st five minutes, then slowly ramp it up to average target power at the 30min mark. At that point, I know for sure whether I'm on a good or bad day and can simply try to maintain that average over the last half --- or to bump it further. In all cases, I never make rapid power swings.

It also helps to get off the saddle now & then though I normally only allow myself 2 or 3 of these 'treats'. It breaks up the rythym too much for me.

Anyway, I would target maybe 5W under what you think you can do and just ramp up after 30min if that still feels easy. Good luck with it.

fastcat said:

I'm interested in working out my FTP based on what I can truly average for 1 hour rather than an extrapolation of a 20 minute effort. Partly out of idle curiosity, partly because I want to challenge myself with the mental side of sustaining an effort for 60 minutes, in preparation for longer time trials etc.

So I have been thinking about pacing strategies.

e.g. tonight I did 50 minutes at 230 watts, followed by 5 at 250 then 5 at 300, with no rest in between, which averages out at 238. Felt like I had quite a lot spare in the tank, as I reckon my FTP to be 250-260 at the moment.

So I'm wondering about how to approach an hour. It would seem to boil down to a couple of choices: start at estimated 100% and seek to maintain it for the entire period or starting a bit lower and building up during the hour, finishing above 100% with the last few minutes as hard as possible? Or are there other strategies I should consider ?

Thoughts welcome !

Try this.......

What power do you want hold in your first serious TT this year?
Lets say it's 280....shoot high.

Start training in block fashion, 60 minute L4 for three days in a row.
Day 1....60 at 97-98% FTP
Day 2....60 at 95%
Day 3....60 at 90%
The last 5 minutes of each day can be at 100-105% FTP
Rest 2 days...day 1, 30-60 minute recovery ride, day 2 30 minute RR or OFF.
Then start another block.

After three weeks of this take a recovery week for 6 days. Spend time on L1 and L2 with some L3 but not much volume. Take at least two days OFF the bike. Day 4 can be a reduced L4 workout but for only 20 minutes and at 95% FTP max.

Increase power a bit on each day of week one for the next three week cycle.
Try for 5 watts after the first cycle.....then each each successive cycle increases may need to be more modest.
Continue to train in pure block fashion.

The tougher it gets to increase wattage after each three week cycle the LESS wattage you should try to add after each three week cycle. MICROLOAD the wattage upward as the going gets tougher.

Shoot for your TT power goal. The week before the TT try to hit the goal on day one of the block at 100% FTP for 60 minutes. After two more days of L4 work at 95% and 90% take a recovery week.....then hit the TT fresh after the recovery week. Two days before the TT take the day OFF.... The day before do a short ride with one effort of 10 minutes at 100% FTP.

Good luck.

Thanks guys - I'll probably try both approaches over the next couple of months.

My instinct favours the start a bit lower and build up gradually approach: there's something about knowing you are going to get to 30 / 40 minutes and be able to ramp it up a bit thereafter.

Starting at estimated 100% feels a bit tougher - but perhaps I'm just being soft on myself !

I guess the former might result in a sub-optimal result whereas the latter could risk blowing out too early if you start with an over-estimate. Although I agree the extra data points would be useful.

If I turned the question into a pacing strategy for an 40k TT would the answer be different, or perhaps it would also depend a bit more on the specifics of the course ?

TiMan said:

Try this.......

What power do you want hold in your first serious TT this year?
Lets say it's 280....shoot high.

Start training in block fashion, 60 minute L4 for three days in a row.
Day 1....60 at 97-98% FTP
Day 2....60 at 95%
Day 3....60 at 90%
The last 5 minutes of each day can be at 100-105% FTP
Rest 2 days...day 1, 30-60 minute recovery ride, day 2 30 minute RR or OFF.
Then start another block.

After three weeks of this take a recovery week for 6 days. Spend time on L1 and L2 with some L3 but not much volume. Take at least two days OFF the bike. Day 4 can be a reduced L4 workout but for only 20 minutes and at 95% FTP max.

Increase power a bit on each day of week one for the next three week cycle.
Try for 5 watts after the first cycle.....then each each successive cycle increases may need to be more modest.
Continue to train in pure block fashion.

The tougher it gets to increase wattage after each three week cycle the LESS wattage you should try to add after each three week cycle. MICROLOAD the wattage upward as the going gets tougher.

Shoot for your TT power goal. The week before the TT try to hit the goal on day one of the block at 100% FTP for 60 minutes. After two more days of L4 work at 95% and 90% take a recovery week.....then hit the TT fresh after the recovery week. Two days before the TT take the day OFF.... The day before do a short ride with one effort of 10 minutes at 100% FTP.

Good luck.

My own thought train was also just arriving at wondering about training strategies for a 40k TT - thanks for the input.

Mostly I've been doing 2x20 and 3 x 20 interval sessions sometimes in blocks sometimes not....I need to get my mind around 3 day blocks of 60 minute efforts !

fastcat said:

My instinct favours the start a bit lower and build up gradually approach: there's something about knowing you are going to get to 30 / 40 minutes and be able to ramp it up a bit thereafter.

That'd be my suggestion as well. Just don't wait until the last 5 minutes to try to empty the tank. Start ratcheting up the power with at least 15-20min to go, to give yourself a chance to really grit your teeth and try to hang on. You should be counting down those last few seconds, not finishing with a feeling that you might have done better.

fastcat said:

If I turned the question into a pacing strategy for an 40k TT would the answer be different, or perhaps it would also depend a bit more on the specifics of the course ?

Compared with the common pacing mistake (high/low/high), constant power would usually be an improvement. But, the optimal pacing strategy is always a function of the course and your power/duration profile.

RapDaddyo said:

Compared with the common pacing mistake (high/low/high), constant power would usually be an improvement. But, the optimal pacing strategy is always a function of the course and your power/duration profile.

Thanks - still in the process of identifying target events, so when I do I can think about pacing more specifically.

frenchyge said:

That'd be my suggestion as well. Just don't wait until the last 5 minutes to try to empty the tank. Start ratcheting up the power with at least 15-20min to go, to give yourself a chance to really grit your teeth and try to hang on.

That makes sense - my session a couple of nights ago was a 3x20 90% session that 'went wrong' - I decided part way through not to take the rests, so it wasn't the best planned effort from a 60 minute perspective !