Am I the only person thinking these FTP & VDOT goals are nuts?
Okay, I've been holding my tongue on this for what seems to me an eternity but I have to ask those who have been through an EN OS before. I see these signature files folks post with current and goal values that just do not seem possible without burning out. Are these goals people are trying to achieve at the end of the OS program this winter or some time next summer? Some of the jumps in power just seem impossible. Heck, I look at my own FTP (242w based on my first OS test) and just cannot imagine tacking on 24w to go up to 266w by February, much less a 15% or more increase. Same thing with the VDOT. I worked my ass off last year and went from a VDOT of 44 to a 47 (with a 21 minute flat 5K race) but that took me from February to September.
I haven't trained the EN way before so maybe I should just shut up and do the work but knowing myself, I find it hard to believe I'm going to make those gains. That said, I'm doing my damndest to make those numbers in my plan every time I strap it on and get to work. I'd love to get over 270w for an FTP.
Comments
Someone new to structured, intense interval training like this, and coming "off of the couch" can and should see a 10-15% FTP increase over the course of trhe OS. At the other end of the scale, someone who took only a couple of weeks of downtime after his last season, and has a few years of EN type work under his belt may struggle to get even a 5% increase in FTP, and a 1 point VDOT increase. Oh, and if you are over 55, simply holding serve is a victory.
Put yourself somewhere along that continuum to see what might be possible for you. Last year in the OS, I was @ 215, peaking @ 219 by then end of the year; note my goals down there in my sig line (and my new quote).
On the other hand, I saw a jump of 4 points, from 47 to 51, in my run VDOT based on 8 weeks of the Get Faster plan. It was, by far, the most threshold running I've done in such a short time span, and it paid dividends. I seriously doubt this OS, even with the longer time, will see a similar bump from 51 to 55. I'd like it too, but I feel like my muscles just aren't there quite yet.
There was a podcast I listened to where Tom Glynn said that one OS he had a great bike result, and the next OS he had a great run result. So I think there's a degree of variability just based on what your body is ready to accept and improve on. The $64k question, to me, is how to get your body ready for that next jump if you've reached what seems to be a ceiling. That's something I've been pondering for a few weeks. Some might say it's doing VO2max (on the bike) and faster-than-threshold intervals on the run, but I've also seen stuff indicating that a period of easy and completely aerobic running is what is needed - almost like your aerobic systems have to catch up. Hell, it might even depend on the person, and their distribution of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers.
I suck. Vdot 35 and FTP 204. I GOTTA be able to improve those before August (and the IM Mont Tremblant) rolls around!
The whole point of signing up with EN is, for me, to make some dramatic improvements in my abilities. I'm 46, clock is ticking!!!!!!!!!!!
If you need to tell yourself that you suck to keep yourself mentally motivated (I use that trick myself), then by all means do whatever is necessary. But the reality is that you don't suck. Numbers shmumbers - they don't mean anything in a vacuum. All that matters is that you are improving, using whatever metric is applicable to you.
You, sir, are a very positive person!!!
@Andrew - x2 on Ryan's comments
You are where you are, and you could complete an IM at VDOT 35 and FTP 204 as long as you build for the distance. Like most of us, you will be faster than many and slower than many. It's great to know your starting point. Build from that, starting with OS. My own numbers are different; compared to Craig Alexander they suck; compared to "the pack" I'm MOP.
I have no idea whether my gains will match the spreadsheet - and it's really hard to guess - but it's fun for me to dream about a five-hour HIM and it's motivating to have a goal regardless of whether I achieve it in the end.
Jury is still out on how dramatic my gains are - I'll take a look over the course of the season. Clearly, I'm here to grow as well, and my tactical approach is to follow the plan until I get clear signals that the body needs more rest time, in which case I will reach out to the coaches for guidance.
I believe that consistent training to a clear objective with adjustments as necessary to stay healthy is the approach that will yield the greatest gain over time. I believe this is true regardless of starting point. There are so many variables that can affect actual growth, ranging from age to genetics to quality-of-sleep to viral exposure to training history - some things inside your sphere of control and some outside.
Having the plan and the real time expertise and the community are all helping me with that consistent and directed training.
Can't wait to see where I land, and I hope all of you enjoy meaningful gains as well.
@Ryan - one other thought related to this and some of your other posts - I suspect it's really hard to gauge progress during the OS, because fatigue levels are high. To really know, you would need to rest then test, probably more than you want to because you will not want to sacrifice your current training just to validate your past training.
So, bringing this back around to the OP - it may feel like the current FTP and TP runs are tough, but they have been done over the course of 5 weeks of built up fatigue, with relatively few rest days (even fewer depending on the hacks you put into place over the t-day holiday). Five weeks of constant FTP, VO2max, and threshold runs capped off by MP miles and progression runs - that counts! If you remove fatigue as a factor, you may very well end up finding you are a good 1/3 of the way to your goal VDOT and FTP's already.
At the end of the day everyone is different with a different situation. I would say do the work, trust the process and you be amazed. We say "work works" around here for a reason. And, I think Al says it best in his sig line.... we all like to dream.....
What Al forgot to mention about being over 55 , is that only applies if you have already been doing this kind of training for 5-10 years. I know he will agree with me that you can certainly expect to improve for at least your first 5 years or more regardless of age. I have a friend who is 65 who has been active in triathlon since 2005 and he is still setting PR's.
That said! First year everybody shows big gains of fitness ,but a huge amount of those gains is just learning how, to test and how to push yourself! I ended up with around 30% gain in FTP my first year and 3% the second year. Yep, I'm one of them gotta re-do my sig line to reflect reality. Goals this year will be in the neighborhood of 2-3% FTP and 1 VDOT point!
I'm probably one of those guys you are scratching your head at and wondering about the gains. For me I'm in my 4th OS and really only gone all out on 1 of those the second was decent the the thrid was not consistent enough. Given I was 250+ last year out doors I should bea be able to get the 250 in the OS. How do I get the other 20 we will see. It's definitely a hard goal 13% increase on my 4th OS but doable I believe.
As for the run, I just need to remain consistent and have no knee of achillies issues and I will get the VDot increase. For me its a factor of weight and consistency on the run. If I could get down to 200lbs there's no doubt in my mind I'd be mid 40's. I just need the discipline to get there.
Gordon