70.3 Bike Workout: Pacing and Fueling Execution
The aim of this workout is to help you enhance your abilities in pacing and fueling. It might seem challenging at first, but with dedication and practice, you can become a pro at pacing your workout, especially during a 70.3 bike leg. Stay focused on both your pacing and fueling to get the most out of this session. Consider it your initial practice round. Take the lessons you learn here and use them to improve your pacing and fueling skills on all your future long rides. You’ve got this!
Write down your fueling and hydration plan: calories or grams of carbohydrates per hour, ounces/mL of water per hour, and mg of sodium per oz/mL of water. Prepare and organize your fueling, hydration, and electrolyte sources; plan refuel stops as needed. For more guidance on how to do this, check out A Half-Ironman (70.3) Nutrition Plan.
Warm-up:
30 minutes building from 50-65% FTP/ up to 85% of LTHR/Zone 1 to mid-Zone 2
Main set:
20 minutes at endurance effort level – 65% of FTP/84-86% of LTHR/mid-Zone 2
20 minutes at a slightly higher endurance effort level – 70% of FTP/85-87% of LTHR/upper Zone 2
20 minutes at the top-end of endurance effort level/bottom-end of tempo effort level – 75% of FTP/87-89% of LTHR/Zone 2/Zone 3 border
20 minutes at tempo effort level – 80% of FTP/90-92% of LTHR /mid-Zone 3
Cooldown
10 minutes easy – 50-60% of FTP/let HR drop toward/below 83% of LTRH/Zone 1
