I've been thinking about TT's and how to properly pace onself. It seems to me that short of a perfectly flat, no-wind course, that the best strategy is some sort of changing or flexible pace instead of a constant one. Now I know that's hardly an original thought by any stretch - what I want to do is figure out the best way to break down the course I'm interested in.
Basically it is a climb I do every week which is about 13.3 miles & roughly 3800 ft of climbing @ 5.3% (which includes a short downhill section). Speaking of which, the downhill section is near the base of a ski area on the mountain, about 6.25 miles into the course, which dilutes the overall grade (though it does give a 30-60 second respite). So before that you have roughly a 5-5.5% grade, after the downhill it goes nearer to 6.5% which some spots higher than that.
What I've noticed invariably is that I go faster and feel stronger in the first half, then have to really grind out the second half. In part fatigue sets in but also it feels like the altitude becomes more of a factor (at 9,000 ft and higher).
My intuition tells me it makes sense to do the first half at slightly less power than the second half - based on the premise that given a finite AWC and FTP, extra power on a steeper grade would yield a high speed than using higher watts on a less steep section.
What would be the best way to approach this climb i.e..., what percentage of FTP would you ride the 1st half vs. 2nd half? And no, I can't just hammer and ride the entire thing at FTP as it takes me well over an hour!
