Brian Reynolds

You have had races where the bike legs have not been immediately available. Our working interpretation is that this is much more likely to be rust than fatigue. A flat first 15–20 minutes is information—not a verdict.

You tend to find feet early, then sometimes begin losing contact around 400–600 m. The objective is not simply to work harder when that happens. It is to arrive there having spent less in the opening several hundred meters.

You are very fit, durable, experienced in the heat, and running well off the bike. Once the race clearly says yes, you need to say yes back.

• Be assertive enough to establish position.
• Do not spend whatever it takes to hold a group that is simply too fast.
• Once you find good feet, stop trying to improve the swim and start protecting them.

• Stay directly in useful water.
• Match rhythm rather than repeatedly accelerating.
• Do not interpret discomfort as evidence that the feet are unsustainable.
• If a small gap opens, close it once and decisively.

• If you are still attached beyond the traditional problem area, stay there.
• Do not voluntarily move around the swimmer without a clear reason.
• Do not mistake discomfort for inability.

• Maintain rhythm into shore.
• Bring the kick up slightly.
• Prepare the legs to stand and ride.

Your job: Establish the bike, establish today's HR/RPE relationship, and determine whether the legs are immediately available.

• Do not immediately demand 280 W.
• Let HR rise naturally toward the upper 140s / low 150s.
• Use mostly 285–300 W on gradual early rises.
• Avoid unnecessary 315+ W surges while the race is still settling.
• If power feels abnormally difficult, use the rust protocol.
• Start hydration and cooling immediately.

This is where the roller hierarchy begins to matter.

• Gradual rises: ~285–300 W.
• Shorter meaningful rollers: ~300–315 W.
• Steeper short pitches: ~315–330 W only when warranted.
• 330+ W should remain exceptional and very brief.
• Release as soon as the grade eases.
• There is no reason to force HR toward 152–154 yet; let it arrive naturally.

This is where you have permission to use the fitness. The race should now be settling into the HR range that has accompanied some of your better 70.3 racing.

• 152–154 bpm + appropriate power + appropriate RPE: excellent.
• 285–300 W remains the default for longer rises.
• 300–315 W is appropriate for shorter rollers.
• 315–330 W remains brief.
• Do not artificially suppress effort simply because HR touches 154.
• If HR is already 156–157 but RPE remains normal, monitor rather than react.
• If HR is moving toward 158–160 with clearly rising RPE, begin compressing the hierarchy downward.

The profile begins turning materially more favorable. Stop treating average power as something that needs to be protected.

• Let power fall when speed becomes cheap.
• Use ~220–260 W or coast when high speed makes extra wattage inefficient.
• Stay aero.
• Continue hydration and cooling even if you still feel completely normal.
• A small HR rise here can be normal; judge it against RPE and power.

This is where thermal accumulation becomes increasingly important. The terrain is giving you speed. Use that opportunity to reduce unnecessary metabolic cost while staying completely current on fluid and cooling.

• Stay aero.
• Do not chase 270–283 W downhill.
• Use favorable terrain to drink and cool.
• Compare current HR at similar power with what you saw earlier.
• 154–156 bpm with normal RPE is not concerning.
• 156–157 bpm with controlled RPE can still represent acceptable heat drift.
• If HR is moving toward 158+ and RPE is simultaneously escalating, begin adjusting before the final bike sections.

After a long stretch of favorable terrain, the course begins asking for more work again. Do not confuse a slower speedometer with poor execution.

• If HR/RPE remain normal, return toward 270–283 W.
• 154–157 bpm can be entirely acceptable this late if RPE remains appropriate.
• If HR reaches ~158–160 with clearly rising RPE, favor ~265–275 W.
• Heat-adjusted gradual rollers: ~280–295 W.
• Heat-adjusted shorter rollers: ~295–305 W.
• Keep steeper heat-adjusted efforts closer to ~305–315 W where possible.
• Avoid 330+ W unless terrain genuinely requires a very brief effort.

Do not wait until you feel hot to manage the heat. Cooling begins immediately.

• Let mechanics settle before demanding ideal-condition pace.
• Allow HR to migrate naturally through the upper 150s.
• If 6:05–6:15 produces ~157–160 bpm with controlled RPE, that is excellent.
• If 5:50 appears because the legs feel incredible, do not chase it yet.
• If HR is already 163–165+ with high RPE this early, treat that as an important warning.

This is where you should move into the HR range that has accompanied some of your better 70.3 run performances.

• If ~6:00–6:05 produces 160–163 bpm with controlled RPE, stay there.
• If HR drifts to ~164–165 but RPE remains controlled, accept some thermal drift and keep cooling.
• If HR is reaching ~165–167 unusually early and RPE is also climbing, allow pace to soften.
• A 5–10 sec/mi adjustment now can prevent a much larger slowdown later.

If 6:00 pace has become disproportionately expensive, 6:00 is no longer the correct race pace. It may temporarily be 6:08, 6:12, or 6:15 while thermal strain is managed.