Attacking vs. Tailgunning, Pre-Workout Supplements and More – Ask a Cycling Coach 198

This is going to be a fun one! We’ll be covering attacking vs. tailgunning, how to transition from the trainer to race season, how your job affects your training, pre-workout supplements for cyclists and much more. Join us live tomorrow (Thursday) at 8:00am Pacific!


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#1: easy
#2: all tips welcome

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:kissing_heart:

If you get the chance, please answer this shoes question as “New Shoes Buying Day” is fast approaching :slight_smile:

I’d love to know how much difference carbon soled road shoes make over the cheaper but still quite stiff plastic soled road shoes?

Some decent road shoes can be gotten for less than $100. I am now seeing shoes towards the $300 mark. What gives?

Thanks,
Colinio

Must have a peak!!!

and pre-race supplements please!

Definitely buy carbon sole shoes, for one reason, durability.

At first the plastic shoe will almost be as good as the carbon shoe, but over time the plastic will deteriorate and become less stiff, whereas carbon will remain as stiff as when it came out of the box.

I had a set of plastic shoes that were quite stiff when I bought them, but after a year and a half of use and I could literally bend them in half, they were a $100 shimano shoe. After that I bought a $300 pearl Izumi shoe with carbon soles and they are still just as stiff as when i bought them.

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Carbon soles do make a huge difference imo… This will probably put the shoes at the $150 mark, anything above is mostly boa dials and lighter material… so that’s up to you if you think it’s worth the extra money :slight_smile:
Boa dials are nice though… :smiley:

I’m happy with my Shimano RC701 shoes, carbon soles and 2 boa dials + support wider feet. And they don’t break the bank :wink:

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  • Transitioning from the trainer to race season

can’t wait for this - been almost too scared to get back on road after training indoors since the weather turned in November … have become addicted to training inside and its benefits !! any tips for confidence would be awesome!

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Hey everyone, the stream isn’t working properly on Youtube at the moment.

Join us on the Facebook feed for now: Episode 198

Thanks!

-Nick

EDIT: The YouTube video is now working and can be accessed from the top of this post. The thumbnail shows as Episode 197, but it’s streaming the most current episode.

You can also click into it from the following link: Episode 198 on YouTube

Enjoying these new camera angles :+1:

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Quick question, I asked in Youtube but had to leave so I could not watch the entire podcast. My FTP updated itself automatically the other day, no Ramp test was performed. Just logged into the website and noticed my career had an updated FTP setting. Is this a new feature or was this in error? I only ask because it looks somewhat accurate after the workout that I performed with all other metrics inline. I might just leave it and see. If it hurts to much then I will roll it back to the previous numbers. I’m not due to perform another Ramp test for 4 weeks.

This question is better sent to support@trainerroad.com so they can review your issue.

Now that’s funny. They’ve been hinting at a big new something in the podcasts, and the chatter on the forum has suggested this exact feature. I guess you got it before the rest of us, by accident or otherwise.

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Congrats @Nate_Pearson and @Jonathan on the crit win! Way to race to your plan! :+1:

In your recaps, you referenced “normalized power” for some of your short efforts. It was always my understanding that normalized power is unreliable for durations under 20 minutes.

Here’s a reference from a TrainingPeaks help topic:

Normalized power is generally considered invalid for durations less than 20 minutes.

Curious if TrainerRoad uses a different algorithm or you’re just being humble since for short durations, average power can actually be higher!? :wink:

Yes, you’re right. Coggan says don’t use it for anything shorter than 20. But when the number is big it’s so tempting to share! :slight_smile:

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Excellent discussion of stress and possible stress management. I stopped racing in my mid 50’s due to work stress. The mistake I made was quitting riding altogether. It’s been a climb back to fitness upon retirement.

Interesting podcast on altitude training.

On the flip side I was doing English the other day, 120% for 1:20 reps, and my NP was often lower than average - do I care at all (hope not!)?

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