"A Tale of Two Winds"

Tuesday night's Orlando Time Trial presented some challenges thanks to some mighty easterly winds (partially due to a few tropical disturbances)! There were 12 of us (MEN - in all age categories) competing in the 7 mile distance. The course is a flat loop fairly even in circumference; 3.5 miles out and then 3.5 miles back.

We all enjoyed the comfort of significant tailwinds straight off the start line. However, all the fun ended while we hammered back through "pounding" headwinds! The wind is part of Florida racing - dealing with it is part physical and most definitely part mental.

I have included a chart (my actual race file) to help illustrate the effects of wind in a time trial. If you want a closer look, you should be able to click anywhere on the graph which will bring you to a larger version, then you can zoom in again (if interested). The blue line is my "moving speed." You will notice initially a fairly smooth line and then a break which is the half way point or the turn-around. It's easy to see that I'm facing a headwind on the return do to the drop in the blue (speed) line. The higher the line, the higher my moving speeds. For additional reference, the red line is my heart rate and the yellow line is my pedal cadence - also useful info, but beyond the scope of this particular blog.

The purple / pinkish wavy line is my WATTS or power output line. I have a sophisticated "gizmo" on my bike called a POWERTAP which provides real-time power output. I use power regularly in my training and is a useful tactic for time trial pacing especially with extreme wind variance.

When you are faced with challenging winds, it's almost impossible to use speed to guage your progress or performance. At least for me, maintaining the same speeds is impossible with diametric wind conditions. But, power output is easier to control and dial in. For example, I know from my training that I'm quite capable of producing an average of at least 240 WATTS over a 7 mile time trial effort. So, as long as I'm hitting the WATT goal, peak performance does exist regardless of wind conditions. Essentially, speed or average speed gets indirectly sorted out.

The graph indicates average power output of approximately 259 WATTS for this 7 mile Time Trial. Even though this was not my fastest 7 mile effort, I was absolutely in peak FORM based on my power output.

It's a bit difficult to accept that I may have raced my strongest race to date (if I measure results by WATTS) and not achieve a PB (personal best).

Final results: I did get the 2nd fastest time out of 12! My average speed was 25.5 mph.

Have a safe Labor Day weekend!