The focus on breathing can help because some folks really shortchange themselves with the amount of O2 they take in with each breath. It's easy just to breath into the chest but notice how much more air you take in filling the stomach area first, it's like half of our lung capacity.
For the warmup, it's important not to kill oneself, but you do want to get a little lactate flowing around the system. That just won't happen with easy riding. So that pace that I'm talking about working up through over the 20 mins starts with typical easy endurance pace, then builds into tempo, then for the last few minutes approaches just below what one would do in the effort. The couple of 2 minute efforts (with a few mins easy pedaling in between) are just slightly above what one would do for the effort. In power meter terms that would be ~105% of FTP (Functional Threshold Power: in layman's terms the TT effort someone could hold for one hour), which is the zone known as "VO2", or L5 (in HR terms this is probably about 90%+ of MaxHR). If I was doing anaerobic intervals as part of a set for a workout, "short high effort stuff" as you put it, that would be an intensity of ~120%+ of my FTP. That 15% is a big difference in what one is asking their legs to do but it is a fine line, especially without a powermeter or solid race training. So better to go a little under than a little over.
IMPORTANT: I mentioned 90%maxHR above, but since HR lags behind the effort, you cannot use it to gauge a 2 minute effort accurately. If you try to hit 90%maxHR for your 2 minute warmup "pipe-cleaner", you will have gone too hard. i.e. by the time you are reading 90% you may have toasted your legs, especially if L5/L6 work is not part of your training bread and butter
For a relative noob, if you do 20 mins building up to tempo type speed and then spend a couple mins at what you think you'll be riding at you should be ok. But ideally you do not want to be going your TT speed for the first time, in the TT. Once some lactate has built up and your body has had a chance to clear it out a bit, the mechanism seems to do a little more efficiently the next time.
PS - since HR is all you have, it's better than nothing but a something to pay attention to:
With a consistent power output (which is ideal for a TT) heart rate tends to rise slightly, especially over the duration of your TT (~30 mins). That's long enough for HR to actually be of some use. Everyone's a little different, and the HR at which we hit deflection point varies (that's the point at which your body is producing lactate faster than it can be cleared out and it wont be long before you are unable to keep the power at full gas). This number also changes depending in what kind of shape we are in. Early in the season I hit my deflection point in the low to mid 80's of my maxHR, when I have a good base of fitness and have done some speed work that number is closer to the 90's. That means if I exceed 87-88% of my maxHR during a long steady effort I know I am about to be in BIG trouble. If I am already seeing my HR at 85%max 5 minutes into a 30 minute effort, I know I am about to be in BIG trouble if I don't roll off the throttle a bit... because HR gradually rises through a steady effort. If I am at or close to my deflection HR early in the effort what does that mean? BIG trouble!
Some folks may have a different opinion or a different approach, but If I were using HR to gauge that effort (knowing my own physical parameters), I would want to warmup for 20 minutes or so bringing my HR from about 65 to 80% of my max HR, do a couple strong efforts, then pedal easily around the start area for several mins making sure I had enough to drink and didn't need another pee. Once settled into my corner of the pain cave after making sure I didn't blast out of the gate too hard would ideally want to watch my effort rise steadily over the 30 mins from about 80%max to 88-89%, and then with a couple kilometers left to go just turn the screws till Jesus made his entrance. I would probably roll over the finish at close to 95% of my maxHR (or higher). This approach assumes we know what our actual maxHR is and not just some formulaic derivation like 220-age or some nonsense.
This is what I would call a failed TT, 20k...
my warmup was supposed to be the ride out there but I got lost and then had to TT to the course to make it for my start. Then there was too much time spent cooling off while registering and getting the race # on (I was off the bike for over 20 minutes and a little stressed). I started too hard (notice I am already above my deflection point way too early, and going from 70%maxHR to 90%maxHR is not the way to spend the first 5 minutes of a 30 minute effort). And I wasn't properly hydrated forcing me to ease back temporarily when a calf cramp started to bite (see the dip at about 25mins in). It was a brutally hot day in July and this was on an open aircraft runway with no shade which contributed to the dehydration. You might say kudos to me for staying above 90% of my maxHR for so long but that just meant I spent 30 minutes suffering, not necessarily going fast. Dead last in my Cat. I would have actually completed the course faster entering with a clear mental focus on the task at hand, and riding a more controlled effort that didn't explode early, rose steadily, and finished strong. But another lesson learned.
Louis Garneau helmet and T2 clipons btw
For the warmup, it's important not to kill oneself, but you do want to get a little lactate flowing around the system. That just won't happen with easy riding. So that pace that I'm talking about working up through over the 20 mins starts with typical easy endurance pace, then builds into tempo, then for the last few minutes approaches just below what one would do in the effort. The couple of 2 minute efforts (with a few mins easy pedaling in between) are just slightly above what one would do for the effort. In power meter terms that would be ~105% of FTP (Functional Threshold Power: in layman's terms the TT effort someone could hold for one hour), which is the zone known as "VO2", or L5 (in HR terms this is probably about 90%+ of MaxHR). If I was doing anaerobic intervals as part of a set for a workout, "short high effort stuff" as you put it, that would be an intensity of ~120%+ of my FTP. That 15% is a big difference in what one is asking their legs to do but it is a fine line, especially without a powermeter or solid race training. So better to go a little under than a little over.
IMPORTANT: I mentioned 90%maxHR above, but since HR lags behind the effort, you cannot use it to gauge a 2 minute effort accurately. If you try to hit 90%maxHR for your 2 minute warmup "pipe-cleaner", you will have gone too hard. i.e. by the time you are reading 90% you may have toasted your legs, especially if L5/L6 work is not part of your training bread and butter
For a relative noob, if you do 20 mins building up to tempo type speed and then spend a couple mins at what you think you'll be riding at you should be ok. But ideally you do not want to be going your TT speed for the first time, in the TT. Once some lactate has built up and your body has had a chance to clear it out a bit, the mechanism seems to do a little more efficiently the next time.
PS - since HR is all you have, it's better than nothing but a something to pay attention to:
With a consistent power output (which is ideal for a TT) heart rate tends to rise slightly, especially over the duration of your TT (~30 mins). That's long enough for HR to actually be of some use. Everyone's a little different, and the HR at which we hit deflection point varies (that's the point at which your body is producing lactate faster than it can be cleared out and it wont be long before you are unable to keep the power at full gas). This number also changes depending in what kind of shape we are in. Early in the season I hit my deflection point in the low to mid 80's of my maxHR, when I have a good base of fitness and have done some speed work that number is closer to the 90's. That means if I exceed 87-88% of my maxHR during a long steady effort I know I am about to be in BIG trouble. If I am already seeing my HR at 85%max 5 minutes into a 30 minute effort, I know I am about to be in BIG trouble if I don't roll off the throttle a bit... because HR gradually rises through a steady effort. If I am at or close to my deflection HR early in the effort what does that mean? BIG trouble!
Some folks may have a different opinion or a different approach, but If I were using HR to gauge that effort (knowing my own physical parameters), I would want to warmup for 20 minutes or so bringing my HR from about 65 to 80% of my max HR, do a couple strong efforts, then pedal easily around the start area for several mins making sure I had enough to drink and didn't need another pee. Once settled into my corner of the pain cave after making sure I didn't blast out of the gate too hard would ideally want to watch my effort rise steadily over the 30 mins from about 80%max to 88-89%, and then with a couple kilometers left to go just turn the screws till Jesus made his entrance. I would probably roll over the finish at close to 95% of my maxHR (or higher). This approach assumes we know what our actual maxHR is and not just some formulaic derivation like 220-age or some nonsense.
This is what I would call a failed TT, 20k...
my warmup was supposed to be the ride out there but I got lost and then had to TT to the course to make it for my start. Then there was too much time spent cooling off while registering and getting the race # on (I was off the bike for over 20 minutes and a little stressed). I started too hard (notice I am already above my deflection point way too early, and going from 70%maxHR to 90%maxHR is not the way to spend the first 5 minutes of a 30 minute effort). And I wasn't properly hydrated forcing me to ease back temporarily when a calf cramp started to bite (see the dip at about 25mins in). It was a brutally hot day in July and this was on an open aircraft runway with no shade which contributed to the dehydration. You might say kudos to me for staying above 90% of my maxHR for so long but that just meant I spent 30 minutes suffering, not necessarily going fast. Dead last in my Cat. I would have actually completed the course faster entering with a clear mental focus on the task at hand, and riding a more controlled effort that didn't explode early, rose steadily, and finished strong. But another lesson learned.
Louis Garneau helmet and T2 clipons btw
