First time trial

mkviken

I going to be doing my first time trial next week

It's only 10miles but should be good to get into the sport

Anybody with any advice for before or during the race?

Thanks

explosifpete

First thing is to enjoy it, set yourself a target time, but be realistic, carb up the night before, don't have anything directly before the race or you may see it again, lastly warm up before the race and warm down after.
Have fun

mattshrops

Try not to start TOO hard and then build your effort. try to finish with absolutely nothing left.If youve got a sprint left at the end you didnt try hard enough. Enjoy.

gattocattivo

If it's not a flat course, make sure you don't just coast on the downhill sections - actually push hard. Try counting a rhythmn in your head (say 1-8) as you ride, it'll help you keep your cadence up, otherwise you might unconciously ease off. Try to imagine there is another rider who is about five lengths in front of you and going slightly faster and that you're fighting to stay on their wheel. If you've got a HRM or power meter try to keep a constant effort rather than a constant speed. Make sure you know where the turn is and where the finish is.

mkviken

thanks

i know the course well as its a route i have cycled many times - didn't even realise it was a TT course!

it is quite a hilly course so i will have to try and pace myself

my plan is to go steady but constant in the first lap and push as hard as i can on the last lap with whatever I've got left in the tank.

I'm going to cycle the course tomorrow so i can get a better idea of what to expect when pushing on

danowat

First mile easy, then push as hard as you reckon you can maintain for the last 9 miles.

Pacing takes time to learn, it's amazing just how easy it is to push far to hard in the first mile.

Wear the tightest fitting clothing you have, warm up with a few 1 min "race pace" interval's in a 20min ride, and enjoy it.

jgsi

and just don't get disheartened when you see the size of some chainrings that originate from the dark side of the moon.

SBezza

I wouldn't worry about carbing up, you will have plenty of spare energy if you eat a normal diet. Just eat a snack about 2 hours beforehand and keep hydrated (probably far more important than having eaten enough food).

Start at what seems a very easy pace, it could still be alot harder than you can manage for 10 miles, I like to say start off like you were on a paper round and then pick it up to a level you think you can sustain for the duration. Obviously the 1st attempt will be just that, a first attempt, you will probably pace it horrendously, but it sets a target for you to beat. As you get more experienced at doing them, the pacing becomes easier and you will know what sort of effort level you need to start and maintain for the full duration.

Another thing to do, is ride the course beforehand to see what the terrain is like, check out any corners that might present a problem, check out how technical the turn may be etc. With a hilly course you may want to hit the hils slightly harder and recover a little on the downhill bits (always keep pedalling though, unless the cadence really does go too high for you to maintain), though again this will be trial and error on the 1st attempt as to how hard you can realistically go up hill and not go OTT.

Just go out and enjoy the first one, don't worry too much about pre event planning.

Monty Dog

As you'll be riding for no more than 30 minutes you'll be burning fuel stored in your bloodstream - just make sure you're hydrated before. Pacing is key - start out hard-ish and come back harder, for a 10mile TT you should be right on your threshold without blowing up - it might be uncomfortable if you're not used to going that hard. First time out, you'll just be wanted to get a measure of how hard / fast you can ride.

mikey2341

don't get disheartened if you get overtaken either, it's you against the clock not you against everyone else!

mkviken

i did the course today and averaged 17.7mph so at least have a goal to try and better

i also was too cautious on the first lap so pushing on the second lap didnt really make much difference. i think i will just try flat out from the start and see how it goes

Matt the Tester

well done! pacing is a difficult thing to learn tbh.

mkviken

tonight is the TT so looking forward to it.

i know the really fast times are well above me but as long as i improve on my average speed and time from yesterday i will be pleased!

okgo

Good luck!

I've got my first one tomorrow too having only done a sporting one before, so will be interesting to see how I go on a flat one. Also worried about pacing!

danowat

Just remember, it's much easier to go off too hard than it is to go off to easy.

seanoconn

I keep reading this thread as 'First time anal'

I may have a problem. :oops:

mkviken

well i did the time trial tonight and enjoyed it

i went 2 mins and 1.3mph average better than i did practicing yesterday and i reckon i could have went 1 minute quicker if i had pushed harder as i maybe held back too much in the first half.

pleased to improve my time by that much and hopefully keep it going in the right direction

okgo

What was your time? Was it a ten?

mkviken

it was 10 miles i did 28m20s

hadnt ridden a road bike till 5 days ago and coming back from serious injuries so im pretty pleased with things so far.

okgo

Well done!

SBezza

mkviken wrote:

it was 10 miles i did 28m20s

hadnt ridden a road bike till 5 days ago and coming back from serious injuries so im pretty pleased with things so far.

That is a good time for your first attempt, especially with coming back from an injury and not having ridden the bike for very long.

You will no doubt go quicker next time, as you now have some idea of pacing and where you think your limits maybe. Maybe try and go a little harder and see if you can hang on until the end. It takes time to learn how to pace well, and some people never really do learn it.

danowat

mkviken wrote:

it was 10 miles i did 28m20s

hadnt ridden a road bike till 5 days ago and coming back from serious injuries so im pretty pleased with things so far.

Nice one

mkviken

thanks for the comments.

pretty pleased just to be riding to be honest after the 12 months ive had its something i thought i wouldnt be able to do. just to see my times drop and average speed increase is enough for me at the minute but im really enjoying riding.

another 30 miles done today to try out my new road shoes!

okgo

22.17 for me tonight. Hard to know whether I felt good or bad, all I know is my power number was quite a lot lower than expected, but its a good place to start from. Probably try some tri bars.

Pross

mkviken wrote:

it was 10 miles i did 28m20s

hadnt ridden a road bike till 5 days ago and coming back from serious injuries so im pretty pleased with things so far.

You seem to be robbing yourself of average speed in the post above then. 10 miles in 28' 20" is just over 21mph so if you did 17.5 on the practice run you have increased it by more than 3mph (although I think your average must have been higher on the practice run as well!).

mkviken

i think the course must be just short of 10 miles then. as long as the numbers keep going in the right direction I'm happy!