by Joanna Zeiger

I have been training with power on the bike for several years now but switched to the PowerTap earlier this year. I knew that the power meter I had been using was measuring too high and was not terribly consistent, so in my preparation for the Olympic Trials I wanted the most accurate information possible to finely hone my biking for that race and subsequent races this summer.

HED kindly build me a beautiful Jet C2 for my wireless PowerTap SL 2.4. I knew from my first ride that it would be an adjustment to the true power number from the PowerTap. In fact, I was convinced the calibration was off; my numbers differed so much from my previous power meter! Wow, there was a lot of work to do before the trials and beyond. My coaches Terry Kerrigan and Dr. Phil Skiba had to make some adjustments to my training program to adapt to the numbers from the PowerTap. We quickly got things dialed in, and I worked hard to increase my 1 minute to 1 hour power.

In preparation for the Olympic trials, I did several high intensity workouts a week on the trainer and in the hills to prepare myself for the surges of the drafting style races and the hills on the courses. As a more aerobically suited athlete, these sessions were an absolute killer for me. Seeing the numbers increase kept me motivated, and when I got to the Trials, the bike portion felt awesome. There were 8 laps on the bike with a steep hill. I knew going into the race how many watts to push up the hill to keep me in the pack without zapping my legs for the run. When I came off the bike, I felt fresh and executed my fastest ITU 10K in years.

Since I did not qualify for the Olympics, my training focus shifted immediately to non-drafting long course. This meant a lot of long solo rides with 20-30 min time trials efforts. While these rides were less muscularly demanding than the higher intensity workouts, they take a lot more mental focus as you have to push through the fatigue and yes, sometimes boredom of long intervals. It has taught me how to even out my rides and keep a steady pressure on the pedals.

When you train with power, there is no blaming the conditions, no coasting, and no excuses. The numbers speak for themselves. It is fantastic when you are having a solid workout and you can hit the intervals, but there is nothing more frustrating than starting a workout and realizing that you are 20 or 30 watts off of the plan. Those are the days you pack it in early and go home! It truly separates the good days from the bad days, and more importantly than executing the key workouts, it has prevented me from overtraining because I know when my legs are off and should not be pushed.

While most people think of using power for intervals and racing, it is also useful for recovery. I know what I need to hold for a truly easy ride, instead of just riding by “feel”. I often notice when I am riding with others on a recovery ride they will inadvertently start picking up the pace, particularly on the hills. With the PowerTap showing me numbers that are too high in those instances, I just back off and let them go.

I most recently raced the Eagleman 70.3 in Maryland. After 15 years of racing, I had a bike PR in stifling conditions, and the normal fade in speed I see at the end of the bike segment was non-existent. I ran well and won the race.

Get more information about Joanna Zeiger including race reports, training diaries, race results, and photos at joanna-zeiger.com