Yeah, I am a little peep. I will hit 4.0w/kg when my watts go back over 200. Not quite there yet. The highest I have been in the past is between 211-214. I could only hold those numbers in the OS in 2009. Then I got injured in the run at Oceanside 70.3 that year - tearing my calf. In the comeback I got back to 205 that year before IMLP. That was a baby steps comeback. Since then I have not been above 205. It takes SO much work for me to budge my numbers upward. I am going to keep trying.
Did my 3 x (5 x 45/45) @ Vo2 this morning. No problem hitting the targets for power (260 watts), but my heart rate was unusually low from the get go, including my wu. Max HR was lower part of zone 4 and it barely got there. Average HR was a good 10 beat/min off usual. Fatigue or improved fitness?
Brad- I would interpret that as improved fitness. Could you have pushed harder and held bigger watts at that usual z5 HR? You'll see next week at you test.
Dare I say I'm looking forward to testing next week????
I started the OS with an all-time low FTP of 140 - but then, this is the earliest in a season I've ever tested (not sure why - previous coach didn't have me testing until MAY!?!?), so it's possible that I've always been this low this time of year and just didn't know it.
2x20 was great... I will admit to mashing (ave cadence was 78RPM's - YIKES!), but... I felt I had to hold back (I'm a big-time rule follower and feel the need to earn my numbers before I over-shoot!). So... 1st 20' - NP 150; IF 1.071; VI 1.000 2nd 20' - NP 151; IF 1.078; VI 1.006
Vo2 started at 186 (yep... high threshold, no diesel engine), so 3x (5 x 45/45) today was great.
SO... any advice on how to approach next week's test? My FTP is typically in the 170's in the spring, but I doubt I'm there quite yet. Max HR for FTP work has dropped by 10 BPM since testing if that's helpful.
I'm lurking a lot - love seeing how great everyone is doing!
Brad - I just returned from my Vo2 session an can exactly report the same. Especially I've to mention that the complete workout felt somehow "easy" ... of course the last 10-15sec of each ON repeat are very hard but all together if felt much less crushed as the weeks before I'd also say that's how WORK WORKS
Posted By Jess Withrow on 21 Feb 2013 01:39 PM Dare I say I'm looking forward to testing next week????
I started the OS with an all-time low FTP of 140 - but then, this is the earliest in a season I've ever tested (not sure why - previous coach didn't have me testing until MAY!?!?), so it's possible that I've always been this low this time of year and just didn't know it.
2x20 was great... I will admit to mashing (ave cadence was 78RPM's - YIKES!), but... I felt I had to hold back (I'm a big-time rule follower and feel the need to earn my numbers before I over-shoot!). So... 1st 20' - NP 150; IF 1.071; VI 1.000 2nd 20' - NP 151; IF 1.078; VI 1.006
Vo2 started at 186 (yep... high threshold, no diesel engine), so 3x (5 x 45/45) today was great.
SO... any advice on how to approach next week's test? My FTP is typically in the 170's in the spring, but I doubt I'm there quite yet. Max HR for FTP work has dropped by 10 BPM since testing if that's helpful.
I'm lurking a lot - love seeing how great everyone is doing!
Jess-
Everyone is so different but here is how I approach my test: The 20 minutes segments I have to break them into 5 min segments and each segment do something a little different. The first 5 min I spin at 70 Next 80 The third segment of both is the worse for me so I try and spin at 80 then 90. Last 5 min I just drop the hammer trying to increase my power each min
I then savor the 2 min rest and go at .75-.85
Second 20 min I repeat but go just a little harder until again the last 5 then give it every ounce of energy!!
Well my 45/45 were great today. Felt very strong through the sets and even tried some higher numbers at the end to feel those out in prep for the tests next week. Now to rest up for the weekend. Managed to get my first massage of 2013 as well. Good use of a Valentine's gift from Linda Good luck everyone!
1) Never eat a big jar of Kimchee prior to doing a VO2 ride. 2) I realized today that I have made a huge mistake this entire OS. I have been using the workouts on Trainer Road and just followed them without thinking about it at all. I realized today when I was reviewing my stats that I had not been riding Z3 after the main sets. The workouts are set to go back to Z1 after the main set. Now that I caught the error I will be spending a lot more time in Z3. Started tonight.
Jess- I feel te same way! Ready to test and love the VO2!
Larry-Yeah, I wish the TR was set up for Z3 after the main set. I hate having to think at that point!
Wicked hungry pre-WKO so I woofed down a banana before hitting the VO2 WKO. Not just a little hungry, but stomach rumbling kinda hungry. Afterwards too. Maybe cuz I had a bagel today? Anyway felt pretty easy so looking forward to test Monday! Hit all intervals at IF ranging from 1.22-1.29.
Nice work everybody!! I think many people are ready for a good test next week.
I did the 4x (5x 45/45) @ 325W during my computrainer class tonight. I surprised myself as I was able to hit the target or more on every intervals. Finished with 20' @ 225W. Total ride: 80' @ 240 avg watts. Some days you just feel better than other days...this was one of those better days for me. Looking forward to resting tomorrow, but I think I'm gonna have shovel snow as we're expecting 5 inches tonight in the Windy City.
Former EN-er Matt Ward came over to ride and since he's following a different plan he suggested a different workout from the 45/45 intervals. I've been doing my VO2s as 3x5x60/60 from the start of the OS so when he suggested I move to 90/90 I was game. But then he suggested doing 10 straingt with no "bonus rest" during the set. Yikes. But I tried and conquered it!! It was tough and by the last 3 I was really struggling to keep my power up. My numbers look better than the ride actually went…if you look closely at the charts you'll see in the first intervals I had very consistent power from beginning to end, but in the last few intervals there was a massive dropoff in power over the course of each interval.
But I got them done and exceeded the minimum z5 power on all of the intervals. My attempt to keep z1 power for all the recoveries was wholly unsuccessful…I came pretty darn close on all the intervals but didn't quite make it to z1 on any!! (it's the new FTP…I would have made it with my old FTP!!).
Overall 60' @ 238 watts, IF 0.936. Full warm-up of 10' easy then 3x3'(1') @ z3. Then 15' of z5 time, structured as 10x 90"(90"):
Target z5 at 305 watts, z1 recoveries at 165-178 watts
Former EN-er Matt Ward came over to ride and since he's following a different plan he suggested a different workout from the 45/45 intervals. I've been doing my VO2s as 3x5x60/60 from the start of the OS so when he suggested I move to 90/90 I was game. But then he suggested doing 10 straingt with no "bonus rest" during the set. Yikes. But I tried and conquered it!! It was tough and by the last 3 I was really struggling to keep my power up. My numbers look better than the ride actually went…if you look closely at the charts you'll see in the first intervals I had very consistent power from beginning to end, but in the last few intervals there was a massive dropoff in power over the course of each interval.
But I got them done and exceeded the minimum z5 power on all of the intervals. My attempt to keep z1 power for all the recoveries was wholly unsuccessful…I came pretty darn close on all the intervals but didn't quite make it to z1 on any!! (it's the new FTP…I would have made it with my old FTP!!).
Overall 60' @ 238 watts, IF 0.936. Full warm-up of 10' easy then 3x3'(1') @ z3. Then 15' of z5 time, structured as 10x 90"(90"):
Target z5 at 305 watts, z1 recoveries at 165-178 watts
Nice work!!!!! We have been following the "Revolver" in Trainer Road for our VO max sets and it is alot like yours. You have to reset the % though cause it has you at like 1.32-1.38% of your FTP. Its 16 1 min sets with a 1 min recovery and no bonus sets. You would dig it!!!!! Sweet video that you try to follow......
After training on a Spinning bike for the past two months I finally tried my new trainer last night. And I blew the workout. I'm so pissed at myself. I should have stuck with the Spinning bike until I got my training tire. My good tire was making so much noise rubbing against the wheel that I had to quit. I tried loosening it a bit first but then i couldn't get my heart rate up. The only positive outcome is that I was well rested for my Masters swim workout this morning. I'm glad to see others have had a good week 7 so far though. Keep it up!
Leslie- I feel for you. That sound can be deafening. I rode Wed with a group of 3 of us. My friends wheel was so loud. I cranked my music in my headphones to block it out.
I just finished my VO2 bike workout. Those are my Kryptonite. They kill me and make me dig mentally. If the FT is the ceiling and The VO2 the roof- then my attic was only a few inches high today. Got it done though. Onward and upward!!!
I did my workout late last night. Tried to be good Family Man and be attentive to everyone's needs, which meant I didn't get started until almost 10:30. Then I lost a couple SAU's for that. Oh well, can't win every day.
Perhaps because of that, I had something of a major mojo minimum as I was getting started...though once I got into it, I was ok. I had resolved just to go through the motions because that's all I felt like from a mojo and quads perspective, but the last 20 min or so, I felt better. Finally, I just ended up not sweating the recovery power as long as I was spinning. This felt like a reasonable compromising. I've been swimming on Fridays, but I'm taking the whole day completely off today. Feeling rather guilty about it... but I think this was a warning sign and getting good sleep this weekend plus the rest day on Sunday should kick me back up.
Again, as 3 sets of 5 1'/1'
FTP = 248"
298, 294, 297, 296, 302
300, 303, 302, 300 , 307
303, 305, 306, 311, 319
Used a different trainer, so at least I was going a lot faster. :-)
Been getting the work done this week, just not a lot of time to post about it. VO2 yesterday morning went fine - give me 45/45 over 2x20 any day! Even though it's not per plan, I wanted to run long (no intervals) today, but I wussed out with the snow coming down. So I did some weights & core instead. Looking forward to tomorrow's brick, then it's off for a long-weekend vacation with the family. So I will be pushing the bike test to Tuesday and the run test to Thursday. Hence the reason I wanted to run long today since I would have been off 3 out of 4 days prior to the testing. But I'm not going to sweat not getting it in, especially since the plan says it's ok. Looking forward to a complete rest day Sunday relaxing with the family and then just a short master's swim clinic Monday night before crushing the bike test. I'm going to try really hard not to bring anything workout-related on the mini-vacation. I will have a chance for a quick run, but I think the full rest would be a better idea. Re-set the head, too. But first, tomorrow's aforementioned brick - should be fun!
Jess, I'm new to this and I'm training on a stationary Cybex bike, so I can set the power as I go and just vary my cadence faster to make it seem easier, but there is a range of about 85-90 where my HR stays a little lower. I do something similar to what Carl does. I start at a power I know I can hold for 20' and about every 2-4' I increase my power by 5. If I'm feeling real good I increase every 2', and by 4' if I'm struggling a bit. My goal is to always keep increasing the power no matter what. I count my cadence to replace the pain. I make sure I'm working hard and getting my HR up where it should be so I know I'm doing the work. Just mind games because it hurts. I looked at my training to see the numbers I've been reaching to get an idea the proper power to start at and where I might be able to get to. In the last 5' if I can increase it more I will. I just have to add up my power for each segment to calculate my NP since nothing is recording it for me.
Tough bike WKO today followed with a 20 minute brick in 26 degree weather. Man, am I crazy or just loving the Jan OS! Rest on Sunday, then bike FTP test on Monday.
Early start for a Saturdya OS workout but it ended up as a very strong workout power-wise for me, and back to the trend of increasing numbers in successive intervals.
Bike – overall 1:30:10, NP 227, IF 0.895. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
The brick featured sloppy road conditions (should have worn some crappier shoes) but I was able to maintain a nice pace regardless. I do love these winter OS brick runs!!
I am getting another @#$@%#&% cold (or something). Driving me crazy. I'm not THAT sick. But I've been sick at some level for what feels like a month. Never been like this before.
Today's 14/14/7 wasn't pretty. Pretty much a gut check, but I'll report that I did ok. As relatively "easy" as the Tue/Wed/Thu workouts were, I paid for it today. :-) very short break in the middle of 14#2 to move from one episode of Star Trek to the next on Netflix. :-) Cold is reflected probably more in the low rest intensities than in terrible work intensities, but something had to give.
Brick run was fine/unremarkble once I got over the coughing fit and onto the treadmill. :-)
NP 216 for 90 min (IF 0.87) with 16 minute gradually increasing speed run. I'm getting to the point that I don't mind sub-hour runs on the treadmill so much as I used to.
Have a good rest day! I know I'll be rolling and massaging my legs hoping they come back to me by Monday!
Tough wko today I think as a result of pushing thurs to my tested VO2 number vs 120% FTP. Contemplated bailing but I remembered 90% is better than 0%! Managed 92-95% so not horrible. Got 1.3mi done on the 'mill, didn't hit targeted paces but again, 5.3mph is faster than 0mph. Got a nice massage in the afternoon so hopefully legs will be ready to rumble on Monday! Enjoy the rest on Sunday and get those SAUs!
Comments
Yeah, I am a little peep
I started the OS with an all-time low FTP of 140 - but then, this is the earliest in a season I've ever tested (not sure why - previous coach didn't have me testing until MAY!?!?), so it's possible that I've always been this low this time of year and just didn't know it.
2x20 was great... I will admit to mashing (ave cadence was 78RPM's - YIKES!), but... I felt I had to hold back (I'm a big-time rule follower and feel the need to earn my numbers before I over-shoot!). So...
1st 20' - NP 150; IF 1.071; VI 1.000
2nd 20' - NP 151; IF 1.078; VI 1.006
Vo2 started at 186 (yep... high threshold, no diesel engine), so 3x (5 x 45/45) today was great.
SO... any advice on how to approach next week's test? My FTP is typically in the 170's in the spring, but I doubt I'm there quite yet. Max HR for FTP work has dropped by 10 BPM since testing if that's helpful.
I'm lurking a lot - love seeing how great everyone is doing!
I'd also say that's how WORK WORKS
Check out the logs if you like -> http://tpks.ws/vDps
Jess-
Everyone is so different but here is how I approach my test:
The 20 minutes segments I have to break them into 5 min segments and each segment do something a little different.
The first 5 min I spin at 70
Next 80
The third segment of both is the worse for me so I try and spin at 80 then 90.
Last 5 min I just drop the hammer trying to increase my power each min
I then savor the 2 min rest and go at .75-.85
Second 20 min I repeat but go just a little harder until again the last 5 then give it every ounce of energy!!
First @Carrie 4.0 WKG is awesome :-)
Well my 45/45 were great today. Felt very strong through the sets and even tried some higher numbers at the end to feel those out in prep for the tests next week. Now to rest up for the weekend. Managed to get my first massage of 2013 as well. Good use of a Valentine's gift from Linda
Good luck everyone!
1) Never eat a big jar of Kimchee prior to doing a VO2 ride.
2) I realized today that I have made a huge mistake this entire OS. I have been using the workouts on Trainer Road and just followed them without thinking about it at all. I realized today when I was reviewing my stats that I had not been riding Z3 after the main sets. The workouts are set to go back to Z1 after the main set. Now that I caught the error I will be spending a lot more time in Z3. Started tonight.
I felt great though.
Target Power: 140
Actual Power:163
Normalized Power: 174
TSS: 87.6
IF: .94
VI: 1.07
Cadence: 88
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/225206
Jess- I feel te same way! Ready to test and love the VO2!
Larry-Yeah, I wish the TR was set up for Z3 after the main set. I hate having to think at that point!
Wicked hungry pre-WKO so I woofed down a banana before hitting the VO2 WKO. Not just a little hungry, but stomach rumbling kinda hungry. Afterwards too. Maybe cuz I had a bagel today? Anyway felt pretty easy so looking forward to test Monday! Hit all intervals at IF ranging from 1.22-1.29.
Nice work everybody!! I think many people are ready for a good test next week.
I did the 4x (5x 45/45) @ 325W during my computrainer class tonight. I surprised myself as I was able to hit the target or more on every intervals. Finished with 20' @ 225W. Total ride: 80' @ 240 avg watts. Some days you just feel better than other days...this was one of those better days for me. Looking forward to resting tomorrow, but I think I'm gonna have shovel snow as we're expecting 5 inches tonight in the Windy City.
But I got them done and exceeded the minimum z5 power on all of the intervals. My attempt to keep z1 power for all the recoveries was wholly unsuccessful…I came pretty darn close on all the intervals but didn't quite make it to z1 on any!! (it's the new FTP…I would have made it with my old FTP!!).
Overall 60' @ 238 watts, IF 0.936. Full warm-up of 10' easy then 3x3'(1') @ z3. Then 15' of z5 time, structured as 10x 90"(90"):
Target z5 at 305 watts, z1 recoveries at 165-178 watts
AP: 312, 312, 314, 312, 318, 313, 312, 309, 312, 313
Recoveries: 158, 157, 154, 153, 153, 161, 159, 156, 163, 152
HR avg / HR max: 150/160, 156/163, 158/166, 160/168, 162/172, 164/172, 165/174, 166/175, 168/177, 170/179
Cadence was 90-91 for all intervals…used the same gear for all of them.
Remainder time of 8' @ NP 225 (IF 0.887), HR 159/164, cad 90
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/276133162
I just finished my VO2 bike workout. Those are my Kryptonite. They kill me and make me dig mentally. If the FT is the ceiling and The VO2 the roof- then my attic was only a few inches high today
Perhaps because of that, I had something of a major mojo minimum as I was getting started...though once I got into it, I was ok. I had resolved just to go through the motions because that's all I felt like from a mojo and quads perspective, but the last 20 min or so, I felt better. Finally, I just ended up not sweating the recovery power as long as I was spinning. This felt like a reasonable compromising. I've been swimming on Fridays, but I'm taking the whole day completely off today. Feeling rather guilty about it... but I think this was a warning sign and getting good sleep this weekend plus the rest day on Sunday should kick me back up.
Again, as 3 sets of 5 1'/1'
FTP = 248"
298, 294, 297, 296, 302
300, 303, 302, 300 , 307
303, 305, 306, 311, 319
Used a different trainer, so at least I was going a lot faster. :-)
connect.garmin.com/activity/27695506
140-210 (5')
240 x (3 1/2')min standing/low cadence
160-180 (2')
200-225 (12')
160-180 (3')
1 x 14' @ 235/240/245/250/255/260/265 = 250 NP
1 x 16' @ 235/240/245/250 = 242.5 NP
1 x 5' @ 235/240/245/250/255 = 245 NP
finished 160-190 for couple miles
27.5 miles in 1:15:00 Avg 22 mph
Have a great test week!
Tough bike WKO today followed with a 20 minute brick in 26 degree weather. Man, am I crazy or just loving the Jan OS! Rest on Sunday, then bike FTP test on Monday.
Happy rest of the weekend!
Tony
Bike – overall 1:30:10, NP 227, IF 0.895. Full warmup of 10' easy/z1 then 3x3'(1')@z3. Then the main set:
14'(4') @z4 – NP: 255 (IF 1.003), VI 1.00, HR 161/169, cad 89
14'(4') @z4 – NP: 258 (IF 1.015), VI 1.00, HR 165/171, cad 90
7'(5') @z4 – NP: 266 (IF 1.046), VI 1.00, HR 166/172, cad 92
-------
10'(2') @z3 – NP: 226 (IF 0.890), VI 1.00, HR 153/157, cad 90
10' @z3 – NP: 232 (IF 0.914), VI 1.00, HR 152/157, cad 91
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/276653499
The brick featured sloppy road conditions (should have worn some crappier shoes) but I was able to maintain a nice pace regardless. I do love these winter OS brick runs!!
Run – overall 4.39 miles in 30:02, avg pace 6:50.
Split........Time........Distance........Avg Pace
1........3:30.3 ........0.51 ........6:55
2........3:18.8 ........0.49 ........6:43
3........3:38.4 ........0.53 ........6:51
4........5:00.2 ........0.74 ........6:45
5........5:07.5 ........0.74 ........6:55
6........3:45.3 ........0.55 ........6:49
7........3:18.4 ........0.49 ........6:46
8........2:22.9 ........0.34 ........7:06
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/276650884
Bring on test week I am ready.
14'z4 if=1.005
14'z4 if= 1.014
7'z4 if=1.019
15'z3 if=1.017
15'z3 if=1.050
So I'm also right back out of my pain cave after watching "The Last Stand" during my 1:40 ride (actually a pretty nice movie for that kind of workout)
I not feeling so crushed as I used to feel saturday evenings in the last weeks so I assume it's really time to test again
Numbers were also pretty impressive for me so here we go metric-mania:
Total
0:00:00 - 1:41:59
http://tpks.ws/aO9Y
Today's 14/14/7 wasn't pretty. Pretty much a gut check, but I'll report that I did ok. As relatively "easy" as the Tue/Wed/Thu workouts were, I paid for it today. :-) very short break in the middle of 14#2 to move from one episode of Star Trek to the next on Netflix. :-) Cold is reflected probably more in the low rest intensities than in terrible work intensities, but something had to give.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/276744768
Brick run was fine/unremarkble once I got over the coughing fit and onto the treadmill. :-)
NP 216 for 90 min (IF 0.87) with 16 minute gradually increasing speed run. I'm getting to the point that I don't mind sub-hour runs on the treadmill so much as I used to.
Have a good rest day! I know I'll be rolling and massaging my legs hoping they come back to me by Monday!