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Texas Triathlon Camp, Part II
Aero Positioning on the Bike – John Cobb
by
Terry Beopple
*Note, all material taken directly from notes taken, no material is
reproduced.
John’s session touched on a number of topics
dealing with aero positioning and the need to be comfortable on your bike.
You should not dread getting on the bike or be relieved when you get off the
bike. Comfort is critical in distance racing.
Nutrition is an individual thing. You have to
figure out what works best for you, because like fitting a bike, every body
is different. Nutrition is the key to getting through the longer events.
You have to figure out what works best for you through experimentation and
then implement it. You have to do this during your training for a race.
The biggest difference between the performances of today’s athletes, whether
professional or amateur is the nutrition available to them during an event.
In fitting yourself to a bike, one tool that
can be used is a muscle temperature imbalance analysis. Ideally, your
muscles will be in balance – same temperature – throughout if the work they
are doing is being done properly. The analysis identifies temperature
imbalances in a muscle; by looking at the mechanics of the athlete,
adjustments may be able to be made on the bike’s set up which will bring the
muscles back into proper temperature balance. This might be an adjustment
to your cleats or another adjustment on the bike itself.
Believe it or not, your seat should be level
to slightly nose up. This will keep you from sliding off the front of the
seat and also from having to reposition yourself on the seat as often,
something that is critical for longer distance athletes. It will also put
your butt on the biggest part of the seat, where you will get the most
support and greatest comfort. If your seat is wider on the back, this may
actually be a cause of pain, rather than a source of comfort in a longer
distance event. Every time you stroke, your gluteus maximus is ‘rolling
over’ that wider part of the set. In a long distance event, this will cause
extreme discomfort. You also will probably adjust your set by turning the
nose to one side or the other slightly. You might be a person who isn’t
quite properly aligned (your hips have a tendency to turn right or left as
you stand facing forward) and this type of adjustment will provide better
comfort. The seat turn also helps to get your ‘anatomy’ out of the way.
Besides being comfortable, in a distance race
the athlete will need to make maximum use of every bit of energy they
produce. A human being is not capable of producing horsepower (one
horsepower = 746 watts) so a smaller unit of power is used to measure the
power produced by humans, that unit being watts. The average triathlete
(5’9”, 165 lbs.) must produce 200 watts of energy to average 18 mph in an
Ironman event. To bring that average to 20 mph for the 112-mile course, the
athlete must produce 250 watts. Since the human body is not capable of
producing and sustaining huge amounts of power, squeezing every inefficiency
out of your performance is critical. By eliminating inefficiencies, you can
use the energy those drained from you to further your racing. Following are
some examples of inefficiencies and their cost in watts:
Standard Wheels 30 watts
for the front wheel
Race Wheels 25
watts for the front wheel
Disc Wheels 15
watts for the front wheel
Flapping Race Number 4 watts
Sloppy Gear Cables 3 watts
Loose Jersey 8
watts
Improper Tire Pressure 5 watts
If you are only capable of producing say 200
watts of power for a sustained distance event, by going to disc wheels and
eliminating the last four items in the list above, you could not ‘waste’ 35
watts, but could instead apply that to going faster. You can train with
inefficient equipment or an inefficient set up and then make it completely
efficient for race day. This isn’t a bad way to train as it will build
muscular endurance, but you will also need to do some training in the
efficient set up so that your body knows how to handle the bike in the
faster pace that you will be able to maintain. Spray on adhesive is a good
way to keep your race number from flapping.
Aero bars will help you in distance races
immensely. They are usually adjusted three ways, slightly up, level or
slightly down. The slightly up position is the most aerodynamic, however it
can cause pain in the back/neck if the athlete stays in this position for an
extended period. In a flat or level position, while there is a slight loss
of aerodynamics, the stress to the back and shoulders is eliminated
increasing endurance for the bike and later, the run legs of the event. A
slightly down aero position is something being used in Europe primarily and
may benefit climbing. Aerobars which are shorter, with the elbow pads
forward (so your forearms, not your elbows are in the pad) are the best
position. This can save you 30 watts. For a shorter race, the pads can be
moved even further forward, really making you more aerodynamic, but
realizing that this will only be a non-factor because the race is not one of
distance.
Transitions should be thought about, laid out
and practiced once a week. For short races (less than a half-iron) socks,
gloves, caps, etc., are purely optional – they aren’t needed.
A cadence of 90 is good. If you are doing
Isolated Leg Training (single leg) try for a high number, but don’t be
discouraged if it is less than half of what you are able to do with both
legs. The idea of a higher cadence is that your muscles will be under load
for a shorter period of time. So a slightly lower gear will allow you to
turn a faster cadence which will reduce the workload on your muscles. This
will keep your liver from producing lactic acid. In the end your endurance
is increased. It takes time to raise your cadence primarily because the
diaphragm muscle takes a long time to train – not because your legs are
slow. It takes time for the diaphragm to adjust to the higher RPM
requirements.
You can gain fitness up to about age 45. From
45- 55 you can maintain fitness. Even if you lose strength at an older age,
you may not be able to get the strength back, but you can get your cadence
up.
NEXT
INSTALLMENT - PART III - CHECK BACK!
Joe Friel, Bike
Technique & Training (Physiology)
When
you are not rested or giving yourself enough time to recover, you will lose
fitness. You should maintain your consistency and frequency, but use
different levels of intensity – you can’t do interval training everyday and
expect to get better...MORE NEXT MONTH!
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