Great Matt! I might be seeing some increases as well, so I guess I could test again, or keep hitting the high range and slightly above, then test again as called for? My first OS, so also mindful to be sure I can hit my weekend training plan.
I'll defer to the coaches on this, but if is your first OS and/or you are new to training with power then I would seriously consider a re-test. It won't materially impact your training week, just do it in place of your Tuesday or Saturday scheduled Main Set. You can do 2x20 or 5/10/20, whatever you prefer.
I actually think a week 4 test for first-OS athletes or athletes new to power is a good idea in general as you will gain a lot of FTP just from doing the test more effectively. For example I've been PM-ing with a newbie EN-er who did their first FTO test and got a number of just under 100 and then was saying the intervals were too easy. Honestly, z4 intervals should never be "too easy". Ever. So I suggested she re-test and just told her to go so hard she should fall off the bike by the end. She got a new FTP in the 130's. There is NO WAY a 30% increase is from 2 weeks of fitness gains. It is fitness + learning how to push in the EN way and do the test properly. Now she can spend 6 weeks doing the correct intervals instead of training inefficiently.
@ Fred: The week 4 Tuesday bike ride is 2 x 15' at FTP. It would not be a grossly different workout to just repeat the FTP test on that day. Take the Sunday run preceeding it just a little easy....drop one of the intervals and/or just keep it to the work and not extend it.
If you have a valid FTP, then a 2 x 20' workout should be very, very tough. An hour at IF 1.00 should be equivalent to all out race effort and leave you dusted the next day.
Calling it the rabbit ears of the honey badger.....had a blast with 3 other team members of our local racing team!!! Note this was the second bike workout of the day. 60 min and a normalized power of 253 IF of 1.053. Adjusting my FTP off of this workout.
This afternoon's bike was pretty uneventful. I bumped up to the ADV plan for interval durations....and I will be interested to see if the downstream workouts are affected.
Today's MS:
12'(4') @z4 – NP: 239 (IF 1.003), VI 1.00, HR 144avg / 147max (<----Z1 HR per Data Tool)</div>
If this weekend's ride has me at same HR and RPE that Saturday and today gave, I will substitute a 5/10/20 test for next tuesday's ride. If I had to guess, I would think my FTP is back up in the high 240s to low 250s; up from my tested 237 at the start of the OS.
I am leery, however, of just SWAGging my FTP as I know from past experience how cunningly the OS fatigue can build up and -- POW!! Deep Fatigue Hole.
I guess this aligns with the 'I would rather be 1% undertrained and healthy, than 1% overtrained and injured' philosopy.
I was excited to do my first TR WKO but the technology gods were against me. I had gotten everything set up/paired the other day but wasn't working tonight. Didn't have the time or patience to play around w/ it tonight so I'll try again Thurs.
2 x 10' @ .998 & .968IF, 93 and 77 avg. cadence. Trying to play around w/ cadence as I tend to gravitate towards the high 70's. A 93 avg. is rare for me but it is starting to feel more normal.
30' min on 'mill = 2.5mi (12:00). Target pace was 12:40 but that's too slow even for me. Felt pretty decent (Much better than last week's brick run).
Finished it off with a protein shake with vanilla Chobani, frozen strawberries, bananas & peaches, almond milk and 1/2 scoop protein powder. Not bad!
Joe - As you almost certainly know, many of us have fitness limiters in the skeletal muscles, not the cardiovascular. Don't sweat the HR if the power is there and the RPE is right. I'll come.
If you want to demonstrate this to yourself some time, get some Big Ass Paddles and go swimming. If you're a pretty normal triathlete (not a killer swimmer....sorry I don't remember), you'll find you can't get your heart rate up nearly as high as you'd think!
Uneventful but very tired after today's bike. No run for me. Calf still bothering me and I'd rather put the effort into Wed's run and this weekend's run (which I need to reverse).
WU for 20" @ .789 2 x 10 @ 1.003 & .992 1 x 10 @ .855 (like usual in the OS, as I progress thru the weeks, the post MS z3 time seems easier to do now).
Joe - As you almost certainly know, many of us have fitness limiters in the skeletal muscles, not the cardiovascular. Don't sweat the HR if the power is there and the RPE is right. I'll come.
Ayyyyy. That's the rub. I think my RPE is low. "Think" being the operative word. I do know that I am feeling too fresh....if that's possible...at the end of the Z4 intervals. That is why I am going to use this coming Saturday's ride to decide whether or not I should re-test.
Like Matt, I think my FTP is rapidly climbing during these first few weeks. So, it might be best to retest sooner rather than later in order to maximize the efficacy of my OS work.
Hit my 2 x 12' FTP intervals on the trainer pretty well tonight, locked myself in the aerobars and got them done, pretty quiet night so I tacked that +20 minutes on the end to get to an even hour.
@ Joe - There's a relatively opportune moment every Tuesday to re-test if you want. The week 4 Tuesday, for example, is already 2 x 15 min at FTP, so doing a new FTP test isn't incredibly different. Take it a little easy on Sunday, and test hard on Tuesday, and you're good to go.
I've been off the grid the last couple weeks - life/work constraints - I did all the wko's but scheduling was a nightmare - nice to be getting back to almost normal pace - OS is going fine so far - even swimming 1x/week - actually enjoyng the longer stuff on the weeknds when more time available - thankfully i have a TM in the pain cave as these cold days are tough for outside run
Great to hear from you and that things are going well. I like you am enjoying the longer stuff on the weekends. My goals this OS are simply to increase my power and pace as much as possible. In my mind there is no limits this OS. Busting through the barriers!!!!
My 1st OS I was like you wondering if I was doing enough. You are doing great. Like they said if you are crunched for time get a wu in and just nail the main set and call it a day. It will be fun to hear peeps comments in the up coming weeks. Trust in us that the body will respond and it will start to hit us. Clean diets, hydration, stretching, and sleep will go a long way in da Hause !!!
Last night's 2x12 was like others said 'uneventful'. I did not feel as fatigued going in compared to last week so body is comming around (adapting as Brenda would say).
1st 12min NP 212, IF .986 CAD 92 avg HR 138
2nd 12min NP 212, IF .986 Cad 92 avg HR 142
Could not believe the Edge when the laps were almost identical 'cept for the HR.
Too cold to run outside in Michigan and my goal this year is to NEVER run on the treadmill, so I swapped in tomorrow's VO2 bike workout. Power test VO2 was 303, but I was able to push higher in all of the 30" intervals, with the last two coming in at 332W and then followed that with 10 minutes at NP of 202. Very happy with these results. Now I just have to hope for slightly warmer temps (or at least less wind) so I can get the run in tomorrow!
Great job everyone. Thanks for posting and sharing in this journey. It definitely keeps you accountable and motivated.
I have Wednesdays off and this time my Wed crew went outside. In a group ride this makes doing set intervals tough. So we just rode hard-or at least it felt that way for 2 hours. I did get to pull a lot heading out which helped me get in 30 min at FT, first hour came out to 95%. Funny part was during one FT section for me as I was pulling, my 2 friends were sitting on my wheel and chatting. DEMORALIZING!!! Tom Glynn- Mr 295 FT and my girlfriend- MRS Cat 2 bike racer. I think she even said she was getting cold as I was killing myself. I NEED TO GET STRONGER!! Last hour was 77% as I sat on Tom's wheel. Thank you Tom!!
I learned alot this week but some of it was expected. After doing 2 bike workouts Tuesday and a run, Wed the run, and today needing to cram in Saturdays bike and run I am wiped out but glad its all in and I get the next two days off. I will swim tomorrow but only as a recover.
Todays bike I probably should have bagged. Did the 12 minute warm up and within 5 minutes by HR was 155-160. It usually is 138-145. Then did the 3x1 min FTPs and yep HR spiked to 168-170 and I could feel the burn in the legs. Thought again about bagging the workout and picking it up tomorrow but nope I went on. Todays wko for the me was 1:20 and with 2x12 min FTPs and 2x15 min at .8-.85.
My plan was if I couldn't succeed then to break them up to 4x6 min FTPs. Away we went and yes indeed broke the first interval up as 2x6 minutes FTPs and this was me barely hanging on and barely getting .95%. The recovery my heart rate stayed up. The second 12 minutes I had to chop this down cause after 2 minutes it was not happening so I dropped the rest to .85-.90 intensity.
On to the 2x15 minute section-this is usually not a problem for me and I was just plain beat up. After 5 minutes I took a 1 min break and hammered the rest successful. The second 15 min section I had to break it up as 3x5 min and was successful. Then the last 5 minutes I was able to sneak out a .93 intensity.
Note this was at my new FTP also....yep it was work!!!! Ended up sneaking out a .85 for 80 minutes so happy overall.
I then relaxed for an hour, had a cup of coffee with the wife, stretched, and dropped my daughter off at school. Then off to the gym for the 50 minute run at MP and HMP......Targets were 7:09 and 6:52. targets hit.
Happy to be done and get the next 2 days off. Hopefully come Sunday I will be looking forward to the run intervals.
Entire workout: Saturdays WKO done on Thursday....OUCH!!!!
WOW! Another hard working, tough WKO in the books. Got up about 4:15 and on my stationary bike by 4:45. Had to shorten the official bike WU for the 1st time by cutting the 12' down to 6'. I WU pretty quick, so it didn't hurt my WKO. Did the intermediate MS: 4 x (6 x 30/30) @ Vo2/283/Very Hard. Take 2' easy between each set of 6 x 30/30's. did the 4 x 6 x 30/30 for each @ 290, 295, 300 & 305 and it was not easy at all. The easy was at 190/175, 175, 175 & 175. Cool down 1-2 miles for 19 miles done in 54:xx.
Going to give myself about 38 hrs rest before doing Sat bike ride Fri night. Will do the Sat run Sat morning, then head to Miami for the HM Sun as my Sun run.
Wow Carl, 2 bike WKOs and a run in one day?!? Impressed you attempted it even if the results weren’t quite what you wanted.
Got my 2 x (5 x 30/30) done. Added 3 gears and aimed for 27mph for the 30s. HR didn’t get above 164 which is the top end of my zone 3 but it was a struggle to hold 27mph for the last 2 so I am guessing I’ve got things about right. Final 20’ in zone 3 was tedious.
Well. that was a tough bike today. My quads let me know they were a bit tired in the 25' wu tempo section. Hit 20 intervals above my number, 4 below. I still can't seem to figure out how to get to my number and hold it. Working on it, working on it.
This was the perfect wo for me today...my sophomore ticked me off big time with some bad news about his final in History, and I used this ride as anger management/thearapy. Thank you EN, and my trusty steed Fiona..I feel much better.
First Trainer Road bike done. I def. don't NEED TR, but I do like it. (And saved me from counting all those sets!) Can anyone tell me what the "Accuracy" percentage means?
Got all the 30/30's done in an acceptable wattage range (+/ 3 watts-ish).
I did today's workout -- prescribed: 5 x (6 x 30/30), actual: 5 x (3 x 1/1) -- and it felt way too easy. My NP over the ON/OFF cycle was 1.0xx, but my HR barely made it out of Zone 2 for most of the sets.
Combined FTP and VO2 workout tonight (12' + 5x6(30/30) + 12'). That last 12' was a killer. I had to keep alternating between to gears in the back to keep my legs going.
Nothing like reviewing your data with one of the team still sweating it out in the basement…sorry Andrew (my good friend who I train with often) but way to get it done late!! Actually between my squeaky wheel and Matt Ward's (former EN-er) bottom bracket basically falling out of his bike Andrew is probably better off on his own in relative peace and quiet. Once again we modified the 6x[5x30"(30")] to be 3 sets of 1' z5 intervals instead. The workout was a good one and again I was able to hit the tested 299-watt z5 without any problems and also hit the z1 recoveries. And once again I built my power over the 3 sets and was able to really hit my stride in the final set. I'm guessing one more week of these then we're ready to move up to 75/75 or 90/90.
Overall 61' @ 237 watts, IF 0.993. Full warm-up of 10' easy then 3x3'(1') @ z3. Then 15' of z5 time, structured as 3x[5x1'(1')] with 3' between sets:
Target z5 at 299 watts, z1 recoveries at 155-166 watts
Interestingly my avg and max HR on each interval was within 2bpm of last week's workout in every case (and most times within 1bpm).
Cadence was about 1rpm lower today than last week, I think based on tire inflation and pressure of the resistance unit (because "avg speed" was 0.4 mph lower for the ride despite higher NP!). I was pedaling 91-92 rpm for the first 9 intervals, 92-93 for 10-14 and 95 for #5…used the same gear for all of them.
Comments
I'll defer to the coaches on this, but if is your first OS and/or you are new to training with power then I would seriously consider a re-test. It won't materially impact your training week, just do it in place of your Tuesday or Saturday scheduled Main Set. You can do 2x20 or 5/10/20, whatever you prefer.
I actually think a week 4 test for first-OS athletes or athletes new to power is a good idea in general as you will gain a lot of FTP just from doing the test more effectively. For example I've been PM-ing with a newbie EN-er who did their first FTO test and got a number of just under 100 and then was saying the intervals were too easy. Honestly, z4 intervals should never be "too easy". Ever. So I suggested she re-test and just told her to go so hard she should fall off the bike by the end. She got a new FTP in the 130's. There is NO WAY a 30% increase is from 2 weeks of fitness gains. It is fitness + learning how to push in the EN way and do the test properly. Now she can spend 6 weeks doing the correct intervals instead of training inefficiently.
If you have a valid FTP, then a 2 x 20' workout should be very, very tough. An hour at IF 1.00 should be equivalent to all out race effort and leave you dusted the next day.
Calling it the rabbit ears of the honey badger.....had a blast with 3 other team members of our local racing team!!! Note this was the second bike workout of the day. 60 min and a normalized power of 253 IF of 1.053. Adjusting my FTP off of this workout.
This afternoon's bike was pretty uneventful. I bumped up to the ADV plan for interval durations....and I will be interested to see if the downstream workouts are affected.
Today's MS:
I was excited to do my first TR WKO but the technology gods were against me. I had gotten everything set up/paired the other day but wasn't working tonight. Didn't have the time or patience to play around w/ it tonight so I'll try again Thurs.
2 x 10' @ .998 & .968IF, 93 and 77 avg. cadence. Trying to play around w/ cadence as I tend to gravitate towards the high 70's. A 93 avg. is rare for me but it is starting to feel more normal.
30' min on 'mill = 2.5mi (12:00). Target pace was 12:40 but that's too slow even for me. Felt pretty decent (Much better than last week's brick run).
Finished it off with a protein shake with vanilla Chobani, frozen strawberries, bananas & peaches, almond milk and 1/2 scoop protein powder. Not bad!
If you want to demonstrate this to yourself some time, get some Big Ass Paddles and go swimming. If you're a pretty normal triathlete (not a killer swimmer....sorry I don't remember), you'll find you can't get your heart rate up nearly as high as you'd think!
WU for 20" @ .789
2 x 10 @ 1.003 & .992
1 x 10 @ .855 (like usual in the OS, as I progress thru the weeks, the post MS z3 time seems easier to do now).
me go bed now.
Ayyyyy. That's the rub. I think my RPE is low. "Think" being the operative word. I do know that I am feeling too fresh....if that's possible...at the end of the Z4 intervals. That is why I am going to use this coming Saturday's ride to decide whether or not I should re-test.
Like Matt, I think my FTP is rapidly climbing during these first few weeks. So, it might be best to retest sooner rather than later in order to maximize the efficacy of my OS work.
Hit my 2 x 12' FTP intervals on the trainer pretty well tonight, locked myself in the aerobars and got them done, pretty quiet night so I tacked that +20 minutes on the end to get to an even hour.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/265090060
Afterward felt fine so it was onto running, (very cold in Chicago, but no ice so outside I go), 35 easy minutes nothing fancy
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/265089529
Feeling good, great OS so far!
Bike done this morning. No run today due to work obligations/time constraints.
http://tpks.ws/5TbC
Jeff-
Great to hear from you and that things are going well. I like you am enjoying the longer stuff on the weekends. My goals this OS are simply to increase my power and pace as much as possible. In my mind there is no limits this OS. Busting through the barriers!!!!
My 1st OS I was like you wondering if I was doing enough. You are doing great. Like they said if you are crunched for time get a wu in and just nail the main set and call it a day. It will be fun to hear peeps comments in the up coming weeks. Trust in us that the body will respond and it will start to hit us. Clean diets, hydration, stretching, and sleep will go a long way in da Hause !!!
Last night's 2x12 was like others said 'uneventful'. I did not feel as fatigued going in compared to last week so body is comming around (adapting as Brenda would say).
1st 12min NP 212, IF .986 CAD 92 avg HR 138
2nd 12min NP 212, IF .986 Cad 92 avg HR 142
Could not believe the Edge when the laps were almost identical 'cept for the HR.
Great job everyone. Thanks for posting and sharing in this journey. It definitely keeps you accountable and motivated.
I have Wednesdays off and this time my Wed crew went outside. In a group ride this makes doing set intervals tough. So we just rode hard-or at least it felt that way for 2 hours. I did get to pull a lot heading out which helped me get in 30 min at FT, first hour came out to 95%. Funny part was during one FT section for me as I was pulling, my 2 friends were sitting on my wheel and chatting. DEMORALIZING!!! Tom Glynn- Mr 295 FT and my girlfriend- MRS Cat 2 bike racer. I think she even said she was getting cold as I was killing myself. I NEED TO GET STRONGER!! Last hour was 77% as I sat on Tom's wheel. Thank you Tom!!
I am tired.
http://dmfd416.blogspot.com
. The second 12 minutes I had to chop this down cause after 2 minutes it was not happening so I dropped the rest to .85-.90 intensity.
The above ^^^^ has my week 3 summed up.
I learned alot this week but some of it was expected. After doing 2 bike workouts Tuesday and a run, Wed the run, and today needing to cram in Saturdays bike and run I am wiped out but glad its all in and I get the next two days off. I will swim tomorrow but only as a recover.
Todays bike I probably should have bagged. Did the 12 minute warm up and within 5 minutes by HR was 155-160. It usually is 138-145. Then did the 3x1 min FTPs and yep HR spiked to 168-170 and I could feel the burn in the legs. Thought again about bagging the workout and picking it up tomorrow but nope I went on. Todays wko for the me was 1:20 and with 2x12 min FTPs and 2x15 min at .8-.85.
My plan was if I couldn't succeed then to break them up to 4x6 min FTPs. Away we went and yes indeed broke the first interval up as 2x6 minutes FTPs and this was me barely hanging on and barely getting .95%. The recovery my heart rate stayed up
On to the 2x15 minute section-this is usually not a problem for me and I was just plain beat up. After 5 minutes I took a 1 min break and hammered the rest successful. The second 15 min section I had to break it up as 3x5 min and was successful. Then the last 5 minutes I was able to sneak out a .93 intensity.
Note this was at my new FTP also....yep it was work!!!! Ended up sneaking out a .85 for 80 minutes so happy overall.
I then relaxed for an hour, had a cup of coffee with the wife, stretched, and dropped my daughter off at school. Then off to the gym for the 50 minute run at MP and HMP......Targets were 7:09 and 6:52. targets hit.
Happy to be done and get the next 2 days off. Hopefully come Sunday I will be looking forward to the run intervals.
Entire workout: Saturdays WKO done on Thursday....OUCH!!!!
Duration: 1:21:25
Work: 958 kJ
TSS: 98.2 (intensity factor 0.853)
Norm Power: 205
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: 6.37%
Pa:HR: 5.45%
Distance: 24.975 mi
Elevation Gain: 20 ft
Elevation Loss: 20 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-3 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 333 196 watts
Heart Rate: 105 177 167 bpm
Cadence: 31 108 77 rpm
Speed: 0 30.5 18.4 mph
Pace 0:32 0:00 3:16 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 11 7 lb-in
Altitude: 319 350 337 ft
Crank Torque: 0 472 217 lb-in
Temperature: 68 73.4 71.5 Fahrenheit
Carl, you've been working really hard fitting in your WKO's. Nice job, now get some rest for Sunday.
WTG Carrie! I love accountability and motivation. Always great to be motivated by what others are doing and being focused on a plan.
WOW! Another hard working, tough WKO in the books. Got up about 4:15 and on my stationary bike by 4:45. Had to shorten the official bike WU for the 1st time by cutting the 12' down to 6'. I WU pretty quick, so it didn't hurt my WKO. Did the intermediate MS: 4 x (6 x 30/30) @ Vo2/283/Very Hard. Take 2' easy between each set of 6 x 30/30's. did the 4 x 6 x 30/30 for each @ 290, 295, 300 & 305 and it was not easy at all. The easy was at 190/175, 175, 175 & 175. Cool down 1-2 miles for 19 miles done in 54:xx.
Going to give myself about 38 hrs rest before doing Sat bike ride Fri night. Will do the Sat run Sat morning, then head to Miami for the HM Sun as my Sun run.
Happy training to all!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/...zGYg.email
Looks like I'm not alone having a lot of fun during these workouts!!!
Just got my Vo2 30/30s done - also added another 15min of ABP to it because I just really felt so strong!
Here are the total metrics:
Wow Carl, 2 bike WKOs and a run in one day?!? Impressed you attempted it even if the results weren’t quite what you wanted.
Got my 2 x (5 x 30/30) done. Added 3 gears and aimed for 27mph for the 30s. HR didn’t get above 164 which is the top end of my zone 3 but it was a struggle to hold 27mph for the last 2 so I am guessing I’ve got things about right. Final 20’ in zone 3 was tedious.
Are you really doing the IMAT that your or is that just a typo in your signature?
This was the perfect wo for me today...my sophomore ticked me off big time with some bad news about his final in History, and I used this ride as anger management/thearapy. Thank you EN, and my trusty steed Fiona..I feel much better.
Got all the 30/30's done in an acceptable wattage range (+/ 3 watts-ish).
I did today's workout -- prescribed: 5 x (6 x 30/30), actual: 5 x (3 x 1/1) -- and it felt way too easy. My NP over the ON/OFF cycle was 1.0xx, but my HR barely made it out of Zone 2 for most of the sets.
Very glad tomorrow is a REST DAY.
Combined FTP and VO2 workout tonight (12' + 5x6(30/30) + 12'). That last 12' was a killer. I had to keep alternating between to gears in the back to keep my legs going.
http://tpks.ws/CjoA
Total Time: 1:15:54
Distance: 23.82 mi
Energy: 982 kJ
TSS: 107 (0.93)
NP: 231
VI: 1.07
Pw:HR -0.72%
EF: 1.52
W/Kg: 3.3
Joe, I agree...I'm VERY glad tomorrow is a rest day. yikes! 12hr shift tomorrow is gonna seem so loooong.
Nothing like reviewing your data with one of the team still sweating it out in the basement…sorry Andrew (my good friend who I train with often) but way to get it done late!! Actually between my squeaky wheel and Matt Ward's (former EN-er) bottom bracket basically falling out of his bike Andrew is probably better off on his own in relative peace and quiet. Once again we modified the 6x[5x30"(30")] to be 3 sets of 1' z5 intervals instead. The workout was a good one and again I was able to hit the tested 299-watt z5 without any problems and also hit the z1 recoveries. And once again I built my power over the 3 sets and was able to really hit my stride in the final set. I'm guessing one more week of these then we're ready to move up to 75/75 or 90/90.
Overall 61' @ 237 watts, IF 0.993. Full warm-up of 10' easy then 3x3'(1') @ z3. Then 15' of z5 time, structured as 3x[5x1'(1')] with 3' between sets:
Target z5 at 299 watts, z1 recoveries at 155-166 watts
AP:
317, 312, 309, 303, 314 (recoveries 174, 168, 173, 168, 157)
319, 316, 306, 318, 317 (recoveries 175, 175, 174, 170, 168)
328, 329, 318, 318, 344 (recoveries 168, 163, 164, 163, 138)
HR avgas / HR max:
145/155, 153/160, 154/160, 157/163, 157/166
153/164, 161/167, 161/169, 162/172, 165/173
157/170, 165/174, 166/173, 168/177, 172/182
Interestingly my avg and max HR on each interval was within 2bpm of last week's workout in every case (and most times within 1bpm).
Cadence was about 1rpm lower today than last week, I think based on tire inflation and pressure of the resistance unit (because "avg speed" was 0.4 mph lower for the ride despite higher NP!). I was pedaling 91-92 rpm for the first 9 intervals, 92-93 for 10-14 and 95 for #5…used the same gear for all of them.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/265674638
c ya this weekend.