The bad... woke up half an hour before my alarm with the extreme need to empty the ol' bladder. The good... I just stayed up and knocked out the VO2's and had time left over for some Z3 work at the end to fill out my "hour". Oh, it hurt so good!! You know you killed a workout when your thighs lock up when trying to take off your cycling shoes!
Amazing what a good night of sleep can do! I was running late and decided to see if I could actually do the 3 X (5 X 1'(1') @Z5) with just 1' rest and not 2'. It was a struggle on the last set, but I got it done.
Although I haven't gone back and looked at the last two OSs, it seems as though the bike workouts are harder this year. If so, that will explain the improvement on my bike tests and the flat results from my run tests. Either way, I'm working hard and looking forward to some more hard work before this OS is done!
@Roy - watching the SEC this bowl season has been interesting to say the least! FLA last night didn't perform like the #3 team! I'm rooting for Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma next but will pull for Notre Dame vs. Bama for sure. I'm at 16 wins and 13 losses so far - almost as good as the pros in Vegas!
Well that hurt but I did it. I am really struggling with this blood donation experiment but I suppose it is worth it. Maybe. I could not handle Z3 so I tacked on 8 minutes of tempo riding after the intervals. HR was in the Z3 zone though...
V02 workout in the books. Everything feels good. I was off for a few days during the holidays and I got in the habit of doing the workouts in the middle of the day. It carried over into the weekend. I am still trying to get back on schedule and get the workout in as soon as I get up in the am. I just feel better all day if I workout early. For some reason, my body did not believe me when I told it that at 5:00 am this morning.
Well this is the first time in the 9 weeks that I felt bad enough that I couldn't finish a workout. Today was 3 X (4X 1'(1') @Z5) and after the first set I was cooked. I've never quit before so it's playing with my head a bit. But I worked really hard last night on the run (2x200, 2x400, 2x200)...too hard Im supposin. Combined with a lousy night's rest. I woke up sore and muscle cramping a few times. Thought I could still bang out the effort, but no...not today. Convince me that I'm not being a slacker.
Maureen, relax. Get some good nuitrition, hydration, and some rest. 1 workout isn't the end of the world (Don't tell anyone else, but I've missed more than one this OS...). Its perfectly normal to have an off day, it means your body is responding to the good work you've been throwing at it. Listen to your aches, get back at it when your body says it is ready, and you'll hammer that day's work then. You and your fitness will have forgotten this workout in June when you are ready to smoke Eagleman!
So I'm finally back in the groove of things after two weeks of holiday travel. I'm nice and rested, but that's two weeks of being off the bike .
Managed to get the VO2 set done, but it felt pretty hard. Still pretty happy with it seeing that I haven't been riding at all recently. I expect it to come back pretty soon though.
I had been doing 60/60's, so I upped to 90/90's on this since the plan bumped up to 60/60's recently, and removed the break between sets - so straight up 10 x 90/90 for the same total 15' of VO2max time. Like the change so far - as always keeping an eye out for potential downstream effects when tinkering..
3x4x1/1 in. Had to be careful not to overcook (too much) the warmup, the vo2 intervals, and the 'bonus' .85 at the end. Surprising since yesterday's workout was so tough AND I swam for 30' earlier today. I think I may bump up the intervals to 75/75 or 90/90 for future sessions.
This week is turning out all cattywampus, due to a half marathon on Monday and 2 24 hour call shifts Wed and Sat. So Tues and Wed were rest/recovery days after the half marathon (which served as my Sunday run).
Today were the 3 x 15' FTP intervals, which I did while Jack Bauer lost Habib Marwan once again. At least there were a couple of prolonged firefights, which helped me turn in the intervals @ .97/.98/.96. Time to start turning the screw up a bit more so I'm hitting 1.0 on these longer intervals @ my new FTP by the end of the OS. Aiming to springboard off that into 2-3% more on the FTP at the final test.
Tomorrow, bike VO2 intervals, run intervals before work on Sat, then the weekend's FTP on Sunday, with a couple of 50' swims thrown in if I have the stamina. Hopefully back to more normal next week.
Everyone, keep the hammer down. All this stuff pays off as much in your head as in your legs, expanding your horizon on what work is. I focused on that the last 5 minutes of the last two intervals.
Hacking the Thursday bike workouts to allow more focus on closing the gap between FTP and VO2 max, so planned for a sweet spot training instead. Targeting 2 x 20' at 90% FTP with 2' rest in between. All went well, it was serious work but very doable. Got both intervals done at IF 0.92. Very happy with that since the last 2 bike workouts have been hard so I could use a boost.
Hey folks - actually looked a my TR results for the V02 workout. It's interesting looking at my NP vs Power. The NP is a bit lower than the power. My set up: Computrainer Trainer Road Power Meter
The Power source is set up Computrainer. Just curious if anyone knows why...usually NP/Power are the same on the trainer....Maybe because the ramp up from 65% to 120%.
It's more that I bumped up a measly 4W in the first half of this OS, so I'm tinkering around to see how I can tweak the workouts to maybe eek out some more power in the 2nd half - cuz right now that 30W predicted jump is seeming to be a bit... aggressive.
Is that the FTP you're talking about? I would work on adding more sweet spot time instead of extending out the VO2max intervals. I feel you're more likely to boost your threshold without the higher likelihood of high end burnout. I was just listening to the webinar and we got another strong dose of "DO NOT OVERDO IT!!"
Is that the FTP you're talking about? I would work on adding more sweet spot time instead of extending out the VO2max intervals. I feel you're more likely to boost your threshold without the higher likelihood of high end burnout. I was just listening to the webinar and we got another strong dose of "DO NOT OVERDO IT!!"
Hmm.. interesting, because I saw things in the past where if your FTP was plateau'd, Coach P suggested more VO2max time to raise the attic, so to speak. However, maybe thats if FTP and VO2max are very close to one another, like is VO2max is IF of 1.05 or at most 1.1? I'm not sure.
The other thing is that I'm going with VO2max as IF=1.2 - so it is possible that my true VO2max is significantly off from there, making my workout seem less crazy (and perhaps explaining why I've been able to get more aggressive with it?) Again - I'm not sure.. first time for me on this OS rodeo, so I'm just trying to be measured in my approach as I get my bearings as to what works and what does not for me
@Ann ... If you are talking about the NP for a short 30-60 second interval @ 120% of FTP, then a difference between NP and avg Power would be OK. The NP formula is based on a rolling 30 second average power raised to the 4th power, with some complex math in their others can explain better than I. So if your interval is only 45 seconds long, at least 2/3rds of the NP will be based on the preceding recovery interval. For thisvreason, most other programs dont bother calculating NP for short intervals. In TrainingPeaks, the minimum time is five minutes. For PowerTap software, its one minute. On the Joule, it starts showing up 30 sec into the interval.
when Im doing VO2 intervals, I look at the NP/If of the entire set of, say 5 x 60/60. That should be a fair measure of work, and should be NP=FTP, or an IF of 1.0
i have the same setup...CT, TR, and a PowerTap PM, with the CT set as the power source for TR. I record the PT data on a Joule, and read the files in Training Peaks, Train Road, and Power Agent
Well, Ryan, what was you average wattage in the first 5 minute window when you did the 5/10/20 test? I hit a 337 watt average and that is what I shoot for in the 1/1 type workouts. If I went by FTP x 1.2 I'd only be looking to hit 311 watts. The workouts would be much easier and I don't think I'd make gains.
Well, it's safe to say the cumulative fatigue is catching up to me
This morning's bike was a mess
Standard warm-up and again some trouble getting into the z3 groove for 12'
Then, 1x18, 2x9, 1x8 @ 95%, 95%, 90% and 88%
Broke the 2nd 18' into 2 with 2' rest between, but wasnt able to get back to z4
Really going to focus on rest and nutrition from here to the end of the OS. I'd also been trying to shed a few Pounds, but going to just maintain my weight and try to get good work in
The body, bike, and trainer cooperated, but my computer speakers (and headphone jack) totally blew up this morning during my warm up. Support triage had me running to grab my iphone and loading a playlist on to that. Then the work started for 2x20 and 1x10. They were all tough and required some "SHUT UP LEGS!" but I got them done. 0.96, 0.95 and 0.96. I threw in 1x10 at 0.81 for good measure and then called it a day.
This one's a toughie, so pace smartly! Good luck everyone.
Tough but BOOM! 2x18mins is nothing to laugh at, and I had a bit of a mental dip somewhere in the middle of each interval, but I gutted it out and at the end of each thought I could have held on longer (mind you, at this point, I was sitting up and pedaling in 1...). Did the third interval and then finished w/ some z3 stuff. I think giving myself a bit longer warmup help. Knocked out the run afterwards. Now to take it easy and settle in for the best football weekend of the year. BOOM!
Comments
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/144355
Although I haven't gone back and looked at the last two OSs, it seems as though the bike workouts are harder this year. If so, that will explain the improvement on my bike tests and the flat results from my run tests. Either way, I'm working hard and looking forward to some more hard work before this OS is done!
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/144559
Well this is the first time in the 9 weeks that I felt bad enough that I couldn't finish a workout. Today was 3 X (4X 1'(1') @Z5) and after the first set I was cooked. I've never quit before so it's playing with my head a bit. But I worked really hard last night on the run (2x200, 2x400, 2x200)...too hard Im supposin. Combined with a lousy night's rest. I woke up sore and muscle cramping a few times. Thought I could still bang out the effort, but no...not today. Convince me that I'm not being a slacker.
So I'm finally back in the groove of things after two weeks of holiday travel. I'm nice and rested, but that's two weeks of being off the bike
.
Managed to get the VO2 set done, but it felt pretty hard. Still pretty happy with it seeing that I haven't been riding at all recently. I expect it to come back pretty soon though.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/257638534
Good job everyone !
3x4x1/1 in. Had to be careful not to overcook (too much) the warmup, the vo2 intervals, and the 'bonus' .85 at the end. Surprising since yesterday's workout was so tough AND I swam for 30' earlier today. I think I may bump up the intervals to 75/75 or 90/90 for future sessions.
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/145002
This week is turning out all cattywampus, due to a half marathon on Monday and 2 24 hour call shifts Wed and Sat. So Tues and Wed were rest/recovery days after the half marathon (which served as my Sunday run).
Today were the 3 x 15' FTP intervals, which I did while Jack Bauer lost Habib Marwan once again. At least there were a couple of prolonged firefights, which helped me turn in the intervals @ .97/.98/.96. Time to start turning the screw up a bit more so I'm hitting 1.0 on these longer intervals @ my new FTP by the end of the OS. Aiming to springboard off that into 2-3% more on the FTP at the final test.
Tomorrow, bike VO2 intervals, run intervals before work on Sat, then the weekend's FTP on Sunday, with a couple of 50' swims thrown in if I have the stamina. Hopefully back to more normal next week.
Everyone, keep the hammer down. All this stuff pays off as much in your head as in your legs, expanding your horizon on what work is. I focused on that the last 5 minutes of the last two intervals.
Swim tomorrow!
It's interesting looking at my NP vs Power. The NP is a bit lower than the power.
My set up:
Computrainer
Trainer Road
Power Meter
The Power source is set up Computrainer.
Just curious if anyone knows why...usually NP/Power are the same on the trainer....Maybe because the ramp up from 65% to 120%.
Thanks in advance..for any insight.
It's more that I bumped up a measly 4W in the first half of this OS, so I'm tinkering around to see how I can tweak the workouts to maybe eek out some more power in the 2nd half - cuz right now that 30W predicted jump is seeming to be a bit... aggressive.
http://app.strava.com/activities/35683129
Hmm.. interesting, because I saw things in the past where if your FTP was plateau'd, Coach P suggested more VO2max time to raise the attic, so to speak. However, maybe thats if FTP and VO2max are very close to one another, like is VO2max is IF of 1.05 or at most 1.1? I'm not sure.
The other thing is that I'm going with VO2max as IF=1.2 - so it is possible that my true VO2max is significantly off from there, making my workout seem less crazy (and perhaps explaining why I've been able to get more aggressive with it?) Again - I'm not sure.. first time for me on this OS rodeo, so I'm just trying to be measured in my approach as I get my bearings as to what works and what does not for me
@Ann ... If you are talking about the NP for a short 30-60 second interval @ 120% of FTP, then a difference between NP and avg Power would be OK. The NP formula is based on a rolling 30 second average power raised to the 4th power, with some complex math in their others can explain better than I. So if your interval is only 45 seconds long, at least 2/3rds of the NP will be based on the preceding recovery interval. For thisvreason, most other programs dont bother calculating NP for short intervals. In TrainingPeaks, the minimum time is five minutes. For PowerTap software, its one minute. On the Joule, it starts showing up 30 sec into the interval.
when Im doing VO2 intervals, I look at the NP/If of the entire set of, say 5 x 60/60. That should be a fair measure of work, and should be NP=FTP, or an IF of 1.0
i have the same setup...CT, TR, and a PowerTap PM, with the CT set as the power source for TR. I record the PT data on a Joule, and read the files in Training Peaks, Train Road, and Power Agent
This morning's bike was a mess
Standard warm-up and again some trouble getting into the z3 groove for 12'
Then, 1x18, 2x9, 1x8 @ 95%, 95%, 90% and 88%
Broke the 2nd 18' into 2 with 2' rest between, but wasnt able to get back to z4
Really going to focus on rest and nutrition from here to the end of the OS. I'd also been trying to shed a few Pounds, but going to just maintain my weight and try to get good work in
On the plus side, it's my longest ride of the OS
Quick 20' brick run done afterwards
Good luck with this beast all!
This one's a toughie, so pace smartly! Good luck everyone.
Tough but BOOM! 2x18mins is nothing to laugh at, and I had a bit of a mental dip somewhere in the middle of each interval, but I gutted it out and at the end of each thought I could have held on longer (mind you, at this point, I was sitting up and pedaling in 1...). Did the third interval and then finished w/ some z3 stuff. I think giving myself a bit longer warmup help. Knocked out the run afterwards. Now to take it easy and settle in for the best football weekend of the year. BOOM!