JOS Week 8 Bike
It's test week!
Get those legs ready to roll for Monday's set: (This is lifted...)
Power athletes: warm up then: ride 5' at the best (hardest) effort you can sustain for the full 5'. A good target is 120% of your estimated FTP. Recover 1: 10' easy spin, stretch, recovery.Test 2 -- Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Test: time trial for 20' at the best (hardest) effort you can sustain for the full 20'. FTP is 95% of the 20 min average.
HR athletes: take a 40' time trial after warmup, with the average HR being your new LTHR. If you have standard tire pressures and trainer tension, you can get a qualitative judgment of your improvement, but don't stress about whether the LTHR goes up or down...it's how fast you're going while doing that HR that matters!
Thursday's bike ride is the standard VO2 workout, but perhaps at the new nastier number. 
Saturday is 2 x 15' + 5' at the new FTP. Enjoy!
Comments
Well that was fun.
I wasn't expecting too much improvement given that I did an impromptu test a few weeks ago. So, I figured I would "reach" and see what happens. It would be binary --- either a spectacular failure, or significant improvement.
It was the latter.
- VO2 -- 318 vs 303
- FTP -- 268 vs 253
I am very happy with the results. I am only 2 watts away from last year's FTP high.WK #1 to Wk#8
V02: From 288 to 323
FTP: From 240 to 266
w/kg: 2.55 to 2.90
Additional Details:
V02: AP = 323 / CAD = 89 / AHR = 148 / MHR = 159
FTP: AP = 280 / CAD = 90 / AHR = 155 / MHR = 163
5 min AP = 286 / 280 / 273 / 275 (yikes = poor execution)
5 min HR = 148 / 155 / 158 / 160 (and it showed in the HR)
I think with this new test its harder to start out slow in the FTP Test after the 10 min break and after pumping your legs hard for 5 min. My V02 AP was higher than I expected and thus I started out to hard on the FTP test. Another learning experience. What I am most happy about though is my AHR. Usually once it gets to mid 150s its a sign I'm not gonna be able to hold this effort much longer. This definitely got pushed upwards.
Happy testing everyone!
week 1 ==> week 8
VO2: 260 to 297 (avg HR=155 / avg CAD=88)
FTP: 220 to 236 (avg HR=151 / avg CAD=83 / avg POWER=248)
Notes: My average HR's in for both tests are higher than last time. Also took Rich's advice on his video and started the FTP test with my old FTP #'s for first few minutes then increased. At minute 12 or so, I really thought I might puke, but luckily that did NOT occur!
Take away.....WORK WORKS!!!
VO2 estimate 269 --> Test 271 HR 157 Cadence 92
FTP estimate 224 --> Test 225 HR 159 Cadence 86
The post run felt like I was shot out of a cannon. Ran 23 minutes in the neighborhood hills. Supposed to be 8:27 out and 8:12 back. Not quite. 8:11 overall average. WOW.
The chocolate milk tasted real good.
Vo2- 162 (essentially no change)
FTP- 140 to 154
VO2 280 to 297
FTP 234 to 242
VO2 is about 22% higher than FTP, first test it was right on 20%. I think that delta still 20% as I probably could
have picked it up sooner than 5 min to go, but afraid of blowing up.
What made me happiest was Quarq puts me at 3.74 w/kg for VO2 and 3.2 w/kg for FTP. For me, the hardest
part was getting my legs going for the 25 min run afterwards.
WAhooooo that was some kind of fun ... at least afterwards
Can't wait for next FTP ride on the weekend ... will be pretty hard I believe
Just been thrown a curve and will have to test tomorrow night.
That said, for those of you who have tested, congrats. For those about to, rock on.
Week 1 test = LTHR = 176 (distance 14.13 miles/average 21.1 mph)
hmm... horrible, horrible test, almost gave up after 20 mins, legs felt weak, stopped a couple of times for drink/no particular reason just no mojo for testing, max HR this time round was 179. Should I stick with same zones as before?
Congrats to everyone who has seen an improvement!
FTP: 210 W -->235 W, LTHR: pretty much same at 174 bpm ...
(Can a brother get a B-O-O-M ?)
Thinking my End of Outseason goal of 250 W is now truly attainable. Work Works, but man the next 7 weeks are gonna hurt
@Helen - Yes, I think you should stick to the same zones as before. Remember, HR is affected by a multitude of things -- sleep, fatigue, hydration, nutrition, etc.
I don't know if I would classify this test as "horrible, horrible". First off, you got it done. Do not underestimate that achievement. Especially since you had to dig deep to finish. If anything, I would suspect that you went out just a bit too 'hot' to start the test.
Don't sweat it (pun intended...). Let it go and get on with the training.
Week 1
Vo2 - 190
FTP - 163 - 5% = 155
Week 8
Vo2 - 212
FTP - 165 - 5% = 157
I was going to think about only doing FTP work for the next 6 weeks, but someone reminded me that I had been on the wrong plan for the first 4 weeks, so stick to the plan and see what comes of it.
Some also suggest I might of went out to hard on the VO2, but I do not feel that way. The effort felt the same as the first test. I really just think that my anaerobic engine developed more than my aerobic engine.
Run test tomorrow.
Got some gains on both ends. I will see where this takes me.
FTP January 7: 183
FTP February 25:214
VO2 Max January 7: 248
VO2 Max February 25: 267
Great seeing the bumps that others have been having.
Pushed myself harder than previous tests which was great, although I felt like I was going to lose it at about 17 minutes. Just not interested in doing it again.....for now!
Underwear? Underneath bike shorts? Ouch.
You're welcome. This too shall pass and you will amaze yourself when you get back outside post-OS!
New numbers:
V02 258 25% increase from Start of OS
FTP 210 10% increase from start of OS
Looks like I got plenty of roof, just need to get consistent and put in the work!
Finally feel like I'm getting back on track and on the road to where I was in 2011
Now to crawl downstairs and find some dinner!
week 1 test = LTHR 166 / 11.74 mi / 17.6 mph
So about the same numbers but much more windy this time around... so not super thrilled about the status quo but it's okay I guess considering my lack of mojo last week.
VO2: 196 --->206 (+5%)
FTP: 152--->163 (+7%)
I think I may have had a little more on the VO2 but for some reason I thought my previous test was 192 but it was 196. Def. not another watt on FTP thought.
Very modest increases. I know everyone is different but compared to some of the results here, it is sub-par. The gap is closing a bit on the VO2 to FTP ratio so I am happy about that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/277747293
I am going to think about what to do going forward, but it is clear that even under ideal circumstances, I wouldn't have been 30 W higher. :-)
Test went well!
FTP 214 -> 235 (+10%)
already at 93% of where I peaked last year!
which is why I'm shocked that I got any bump at all from today's test.
I even considered not doing it and just going with a strong bike wko, felt that there was no big bump coming around so just tick the FTP up a notch and keep moving forward.
But, one of my preseason goals was to train in the right zones based on real tests, not 'coulda/shoulda's'.
So, I threw down a double espresso, washed that down with a Red Bull, found some good tunes, and said a little prayer.
As I mentioned on the Dash, I wanted to quit at the 8' mark. Felt like I had overshot it. For some reason, I didn't, just put my head down and 'detached'. When I looked up, I was at the 14' mark and liking the NP that I saw. Once I hit the 16' mark, I threw all form out the window and just tried to stay above that NP. I can't believe my bike stayed on the trainer with the amount of twisting and turning I was doing.
Anyhow, hung on for a respectable bump, about 5%, on a day when i thought that I had no Go in the legs.
Ironically, it's right where I would've guesstimated but I don't want to fall into that habit again.
You guys & gals keep up the great work!
Here is my test results comparing week 1 to week 8:
V02 329 to 365 (11% gain)
FTP 257 to 280 (9% gain)
So my V02 has gone from 128% of FTP to 130% of FTP, maybe need to swap the off V02 workout for another FTP now and again coming up?
Anyway happy for numbers to have gone up given wasn't feeling the greatest on test day.
Now the run...
Comparing week 1 to week 8:
V02 234 to 253 (8% gain)
FTP 199 to 211 (6% gain)
Solid if unspectacular! Still a gain is a gain.
I felt sick at the end of both tests. is that good? ;-)
Vo2 from 249 to 255
FTP from 210 to 238
Already back to where I was last June, crazy. Puts my slower 5k time in perspective
I'vealways thought diesel = FTP and vo2 are pretty similiar = no real change as you rev it out.