# Warm up lap for a 15km ITT?



## 02tones02 (Jun 16, 2005)

Hello,

This is the first season where I have taken cycling seriously and on a competitive level. Howeve,r being a Cat 5, I still have a lot to learn. I was participating in an 15km ITT with my club that is held every week. My question concerns warming up...

There are a handful of riders that bring trainers and sit on them for 15 to 20mins prior to the start....whereas others just show up with their TT bikes in there cars and simply gear up and go....Is warming up or taking a 5 to 10km moderate pace ride prior to the TT necessary? Will it help?


NOTES:
I am a sprinter.... however, I have been working on my endurance by doing 2x1km swims each week as well as 150km rides with the club on Sundays at a 30kph average with stretches where we push up to 38kph and hold it for a good 10km. I have noticed that I can keep a good pace without running out of breath for these long rides. But when it comes to the short 15km TT, I cramp up and find myself losing breath about 6-7km into the ride going at 35-36kph.....Would warming up with a 10km moderate pace ride prior to the TT help at all?

Also, in your opinion, is it better to push hard for the first part of the TT and let the pace slowly drop towards the end? Or should it be the other way around. At the moment, I do the following:

1/4-go at a pace slightly below what I am trying to average
2/4-go at the pace I want to average
3/4-go at pace slightly above what I want to average
4/4-hail Mary and just go all out...


Thanks for all the responses in advance!


A.


----------



## spastook (Nov 30, 2007)

I think the biggest mistake for people new to the sport, and some veterans is not warming up properly. For ANY T.T., whether it be 5 miles or 50 you should ride 15-20 miles and your heartrate should be in the 65-85% zone. I'd also suggest several hard "jumps" where you simulate the explosive start of the T.T for maybe the first 1/4 mile. This will kind of condition your body for the abuse you should be dishing it out over the course of the T.T. I'd suggest if you own a H.R. monitor to aim for 90% of your Max rate for the entire T.T. Yes it's going to hurt, it's supposed to.


----------



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

The shorter the ITT the longer the warm up. For a 15K ITT, I'd put in a 40+ minute warm up on a trainer. Get off 5 minutes before the start time to put away the trainer and get in line...then go.


----------



## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

Warm ups are personal. 20-40 min is usually plenty and depends on how hot/cold it is. Hotter the temp, less warm up is needed Steady riding with a few short efforts at race pace, 30-seconds long.

As for pacing, start conservatively and build. Going hard and fading will definitely be slower.

and for a 50-mile TT, heck the warm up should be enough to check your equipment is OK and that's about it. The opening miles serve as warm up.


----------



## 02tones02 (Jun 16, 2005)

Thanks for the advice! i will definitely warm up next time before the ITT (30-40mins prior to race at the pace suggested). Also a good opportunity to play around with my new garmin 305.

again, thanks!

A.


----------



## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

Don't forget about weather conditions. Take advantage of the tail wind. Some may say to save for the headwinds but I say go balls out. Unless the TT is over 15k you should still have some juice left in the tank. I also don't sprint at the start up to speed. I do a moderate takeoff. While I want to have an elevated heart rate at the start I don't want to peak too fast either. 

IMO TT's are pretty hard to gauge your effort w/o a heart rate monitor, cadence or power meter. If you don't go hard enough and you are not totally exhausted at the end you could have done better....this pisses me off because you only got a 20 minute ride in. 

TT = pain


----------

