After riding 70.3 World Champs at StG, I realized most of my training was on terrain where I could maintain a power number almost all of the time (lots of flat parts, short ascents, short descents.) Training with 80/20 Endurance training plans, I had a small power range in Zone X that I targeted for all of my race sim intervals as I closed in on the race. But how should I race a hilly course with a avg power target for the whole course, considering the descents with zero or near zero power? Is there a rule of thumb for this, such as target 15% higher than your full course target for the ascents to balance out the zeros on the descents? Overall, I rode at an IF of about .83 which is on the high end for me I think, but I felt like I had more left in the tank when I finished the bike and wondered how to better manage and apply power in a hilly course. And does some app like Best Bike Split address this issue too?
no rule of thumb for me really but my method is by feel a lot of times. Ill surge hills a lot, and on descents I’ll usually pulse my pedaling (pedal fast, then coast) especially if your cruising at 30mph. Really what I look out for is an even tension on the pedals at all times except where pedaling on a descent is wasting energy.
Sustained climbs you shouldn’t venture far out of your target power, so between SS and T. Those heavy surges can really burn you.