Riding into headwinds - Triathlon Week

Bucky · 05-18-2005, 08:53 PM

Hello all.

I'm looking for suggestions on how train for, or simply handle headwinds better.

This will be my third year doing triathlons, with my season having just begun with some duathlons. The last two race days have been very windy (35 kmh gusting to 45 kmh), and I just felt frustrated as my gears and speed dropped as I battled into the wind. I focused on trying to keep my cadence at 80 to 90 RPM while maintaining a low profile on the aero-bars, but again it was frustrating to feel like I was fighting a losing battle.

I thought perhaps doing some hill work, or doing heavier squats might help, but I'm just not sure. I should qualify the above by adding that I'm basically a "middle of the pack" competitor, who's in it more for the fun than aspiring to win; but, I would really like to move a little further ahead in the final placing and/or improve my race times from years past.

Thanks.

crazylegs · 05-18-2005, 11:05 PM

I'm not sure what type of bike your riding, but if you have a road bike you might try making it (and yourself) more aerodynamic by adding aerobars. I live in a place where the wind gusts everyday at about 2 p.m. and doesn't stop until the middle of the night. Going into the wind feels just like going uphill. I get that same lactic acid buildup. Maybe try and fool around with your position to get lower and possible a more streamline helmet. These might be minor adjustments, but when going into the wind, every little bit helps.

KenMierke · 05-19-2005, 05:50 AM

Improving aerodynamics, particularly placing the elbow rests of you aerobar narrower will help in headwinds. Stay in the aerobar the entire time in a headwind. Keep cadence up to your optimal level. Be careful not to push hard in headwinds, where 5% additional wattage will create a smller speed increase than with a tailwind or no wind situation. Push harder when you're with the wind than when it is against you.

Everything else that aids in increasing the wattage you can sustain for race duration ... lots of very easy miles, strength training with heavy weights and extremely slow movements, low cadence over-torque sets, LT training, aerobic capacity training, and improving your pedal stroke. I have articles on any of these topics tht I'd be happy to send to anyone who writes me at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Ken

Smartt/RST · 05-19-2005, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucky

Hello all.

I'm looking for suggestions on how train for, or simply handle headwinds better.

This will be my third year doing triathlons, with my season having just begun with some duathlons. The last two race days have been very windy (35 kmh gusting to 45 kmh), and I just felt frustrated as my gears and speed dropped as I battled into the wind. I focused on trying to keep my cadence at 80 to 90 RPM while maintaining a low profile on the aero-bars, but again it was frustrating to feel like I was fighting a losing battle.

I thought perhaps doing some hill work, or doing heavier squats might help, but I'm just not sure. I should qualify the above by adding that I'm basically a "middle of the pack" competitor, who's in it more for the fun than aspiring to win; but, I would really like to move a little further ahead in the final placing and/or improve my race times from years past.

Thanks.

Dealing with headwinds is largely a psychological battle - just because the speeds are low doesn't mean everyone isn't working hard. I find that many people overemphasize the differences between climbing, flat riding, windy conditions, etc, etc. Some things just don't change: stay in the aero bars (unless it's very steep or technical of course), keep cadence between 80 and 100rpm, pace yourself according to the duration of your event (with some considerations I mention below), know that if you are struggling with the conditions then so is everyone else...etc. Also, you didn't mention if you are a small or large person, and this can make a large difference. Larger people are inherently better at flat and windy conditions due to the nature of physics and absolute power output (vs relative power output which makes smaller people better at climbing).
Other issues you bring up:
Triathlon performance is dependent on aerobic and muscular endurance, substrate availability, oxygen transport and mental stamina, and has nothing to do with strength.
Hill work to increase your steady state power is fine for the challenge and if it motivates you to work hard, but keep all the other variables the same - stay in the aerobars, maintain similarcadence as you would going into head winds, etc.
Also, Ken is correct in saying that there is a point of diminshing returns when pushing into a headwind; at some point, you can't push your body over a certain intensity given how long you are going to be out there. However, pacing strategy always calls for working harder when going uphill and into headwinds because you will proportionally spend more of your overall time doing these two things. IOW, headwinds and climbs will always hurt you more than tailwinds or decents will help you. You must therefore limit your losses/maximaize your gains during harder sections of any course.
As moderator of this website, I must also express my dissenting view on "long easy miles" (although that's a very general statement and I may be misinterpreting what Ken is saying), low-cadence work and supposed pedaling "efficiency" training.

KenMierke · 05-19-2005, 06:59 PM

Hi Michael,

I'm curious as the reasoning behind your arguments in the following areas;

1. Cycling "has nothing to do with strength." My understanding is that strength consistently improves cyclists' economy. Can you site, or have you conducted research to the contrary?

2. "However, pacing strategy always calls for working harder when going uphill and into headwinds because you will proportionally spend more of your overall time doing these two things." Science would agree with you about climbing, but doesn't pushing hard into a headwind expend more energy displacing air molecules than increasing speed? Please share your research on this.

3. You seem to believe that improving pedal stroke technique doesn't have significant value. Have you done testing in this area? Please share the results.

4. Low cadence work ... as with strength training, my understaning is that high-torque segments during the right time of year improve pedal stroke economy. Please elaborate on the basis of your disagreement.

Thanks,

Ken
Head Coach Fitness Concepts [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Director of training, Joe Friel's Ultrafit [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Author, Training for Time Trials
Author, The Triathletes Guide to Run Training
Head Coach, Professional Cycling Team Snow Valley

Bucky · 05-20-2005, 12:21 AM

First off, wow, and thank-you. I'm impressed if not somewhat intimidated by the knowledge and "credentials" of people here.

What I'm taking from the above/previous responses is that I've probably been coming at the problem in the right way so far during the races, in that I stay in the aero-position and try to stay compact, I focus on my cadence and not letting it drop bellow 80 RPM, and I'd like to think I push myself harder when going into the wind or uphill. Perhaps my original question should have had more to do with developing mental stamina, as I think this is a factor which has limited me to date.

In terms of training suggestions/advise, I appreciate the various ideas and I'll have to do some research and experimenting.

Thanks again, Bucky.

Smartt/RST · 05-26-2005, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenMierke

Hi Michael,

I'm curious as the reasoning behind your arguments in the following areas;

1. Cycling "has nothing to do with strength." My understanding is that strength consistently improves cyclists' economy. Can you site, or have you conducted research to the contrary?

2. "However, pacing strategy always calls for working harder when going uphill and into headwinds because you will proportionally spend more of your overall time doing these two things." Science would agree with you about climbing, but doesn't pushing hard into a headwind expend more energy displacing air molecules than increasing speed? Please share your research on this.

3. You seem to believe that improving pedal stroke technique doesn't have significant value. Have you done testing in this area? Please share the results.

4. Low cadence work ... as with strength training, my understaning is that high-torque segments during the right time of year improve pedal stroke economy. Please elaborate on the basis of your disagreement.

Thanks,

Ken
Head Coach Fitness Concepts [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Director of training, Joe Friel's Ultrafit [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Author, Training for Time Trials
Author, The Triathletes Guide to Run Training
Head Coach, Professional Cycling Team Snow Valley

My apologies for the delay...please do not take it as indifference to your reply.

1. I've not seen any research to suggest that strength training is beneficial to endurance cycling performance, especially for a sport like triathlon where steady pacing (i.e.: w/o large power surges inherent to, for example, track cycling, where strength/power lifting has potential) is key to good performance. As for economy/efficiency specifically, there are many factors involved (cadence, diet, overtraining, genetics, fiber-type distribution, aerodynamics, body weight). However, possibly relating to your statement, I've seen one study that noted a difference between world class cyclists and "elites" (which seemed an odd definition to me as their data was like that of "well trained" non-elites) in their EMG response to increased power demands (Lucia, et. al., 1998); this is where I assume the proposed increase in cycling economy resulting from strength training comes from. However, given all of the issues surrounding training specificity (rate of muscle contraction, joint angle and velocity, energy systems, fiber types used, etc) and that cycling efficiency increases as VO2/power output increases, I see no reason to use a non-specific modality to improve what can effectively (and for the reasons stated, I would argue more effectively) be trained directly on the bike.

2. A quote: "Swain (1997) demonstrated that modestly increasing power output during uphill/up-wind sections (by as little as 5%) and decreasing power during downhill/downwind sections resulted in faster times as compared with those during a constant power effort." Atkinson (2000) confirmed this result and Liedl, et al. (1999) gives physiological support to this approach.

3. I assume "improving" pedal stroke technique means appling power in a more even manner, effectively reducing the amount of power in the downstroke and increasing it on the upstroke and so called "dead spots". For low-very moderate intensity cycling, this *may* be beneficial (I don't know, I've not seen any evidence either way), but Coyle (1991) showed that national level cyclists effectively "mashed" (to some degree) while out performing (by 10%) state level cyclists (who "spun") in a 40k TT test (85-90% of VO2max). As the muscles involved in the downstroke are more powerful than those potentially involved in the upstroke, the need to "mash" only increaeses as power demands increase.

4. I also use various drills to challenge the torque generating abilities of my cyclists and triathletes (although less so for tris), however, I would argue that this can be more effectively done while maintaining the rate of muscle contraction that is inherent to the sport. Some have also used power meters to find that they are not generating as much torque during low cadence work as they once believed; this obviously depends on how you logistically perfom your drills.

Smartt/RST · 05-30-2005, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucky

What I'm taking from the above/previous responses is that I've probably been coming at the problem in the right way so far during the races, in that I stay in the aero-position and try to stay compact, I focus on my cadence and not letting it drop bellow 80 RPM, and I'd like to think I push myself harder when going into the wind or uphill. Perhaps my original question should have had more to do with developing mental stamina, as I think this is a factor which has limited me to date.

Remove all the techno babble, and yes, you've got it!
Psychologically, headwinds are a tough one; we all know what it feels like to push hard and seemingly continue to move really slow! Better to guage you pace off other tris that have bike times similar to yours; if you find you end up being unusually slower during a windy days, you may need to take the approach of limiting your losses in the wind and then make up for it in the swim/run; if you find you are unusually faster on windy days, this may end up being your strength/a place where you can consolidate a lead or really make some gains.
Being able to ride fast in the wind is also related to body size when you look at cyclists of similar ability; the larger cyclist will have an advantage over a lightweight one who would otherwise be faster going uphill. Sometimes there is not too much getting around this, so you have to alter your strategy accordingly.
Best of luck, hope all of this helps.

athletekitch · 06-07-2005, 01:26 PM

racing incorps every condition that can be thrown at you so you need to train in every condition that is thrown at you - if that means a head wind then constantly training in head winds will enhance performance. Its as simple as that.