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NOS 2014 Week 3, Bike Workouts (Steady goes it)

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  • Got the bike workout done, but modified it as I am participating in a half marathon in Philly this weekend (pssst - did not train for it - eeek), so I did the first 3 intervals at 112, 110, 101 and then the next 4 at 95% with the remainder of the ride at 82%.
  • I've also a half-marry upcoming this sunday but I'll not dial down ... I'll not step back ... I'll not give up ... I'll not stop when I'm tired... and I'll not surrender - This is how to win that cage-fight 

    Did 7x2' (2') as IFs: 1.29 / 1.29 / 1.31 / 1.29 / 1.27 / 1.31 / 1.28

    Total WKO NP 273W (IF 0.98)

    http://tpks.ws/PWdo

  • Hey John,  I've had a few problems sleeping lately too.  A co-worker of mine just recommended tart cherry juice. It's apparently a natural sleep aid that won't leave you groggy.  For what it's worth...   I plan to try it.

    Brenda, you could do a half mary in your sleep.    

    Good luck to you and Stefan this weekend with your races!


  • Posted By Leslie Schneider on 14 Nov 2013 01:48 PM

    Hey John,  I've had a few problems sleeping lately too.  A co-worker of mine just recommended tart cherry juice. It's apparently a natural sleep aid that won't leave you groggy.  For what it's worth...   I plan to try it.

    Brenda, you could do a half mary in your sleep.    

    Good luck to you and Stefan this weekend with your races!

    Huh?  Did a quick search and found lotsa documentation to support this.  May help with muscle pain as well?

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/amaz...erry-juice

    Thanks for the tip, Leslie.  Will get some later today and try tonight.

     

  • Another set of Bike intervals are in the book. These were harder than normal. I think I ran a little too hard on the first interval of yesterday's run. I really felt it as the ride went on. The first few went ok, but I really struggled with the last few. My cadence was awful. The Zone 1 run that followed was a nice cool down. Although, these were the first uphill strides I have done and they are definitely different. So, here are the numbers.  1.23, 1.27, 1.27, 1.24, 1.24, 1.23, 1.23 and finished the last 7 minutes at .838.

  • Another set done this AM. I was curious, for my official EN bike warmup, i'd been averaging 145-150BPM at the end of the sweet spot interval. At the end of my sweet spot interval today, my HR was 133 - substantially lower than all my previous efforts. Is this something I should be happy about, as it's a sign of improved cardio fitness, or is this a warning sign, and I should look out. (hit all my targets, did not seem to be any more or less challenging)
  • I'm noticing something weird with my normalized power numbers from today's VO2 session.

    Reviewing workout file on TrainerRoad website. In each 1:30 VO2 interval, I'm noticing my normalized power is lower than my average power. What's up with that? Pretty sure my power was pegged very close to 284 for the duration of each interval.

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/...-INT-THURS

  • I was pleased that I gave a good effort on all my 7x1.5' @ Zone 5's this morning.  I should have my new Quarq cranks soon, so I don't have power yet.  I go by my heart rate and also pay attention to my cadence.  I guess because I'm such an old timer my Zone 5 is only 130-133. My HR comes down fairly quickly after each hard interval, but if I try to get right back into my Zone 5, I'll go up to about 136-139.  So, I focus on cadence and end up in my proper Zone for at least the last minute.  Anyway, that's what going on in my Pain Cave.  

    BTW, after dinner my wife said she was going to go down to the "Pain Cave" and ride her trainer.  It used to be "The Bike Shop."  She's going to be a good "associate" on the EN team. 

  • Howdy all,
    Not sure why, but this week has been a rough one. I don't seem to have much energy and I have not been able to post very much. Work has been a killer which I am sure isn't helping. Anyway, I am here to update everyone and keep up the accountability/stop the lurking. I did the z4 work on Tuesday (2x12) with some z3 tacked on. I did the easy run beforehand. I just prefer to do that so that I don't have to go out in the cold all sweaty. Doesn't seem like that is a good formula. Anyway, I seemed to do well with the Z4 sets though I basically stare at my watch (910x) to make sure the power stays above where I want it to for the time. Not the best way to spend time, but it works.

    Today I did the 7x2 min. It took me a couple of them to get into it and while it never felt good, I was able to deal with the pain of it better in the last 5. I was really tired today (worked over 14 hours yesterday caught up) so I only did an additional 16 min in z3 which got me to 55 min total. I got the main set done and felt good about it and will hit the sack early tonight. I am struggling with sleep as well, not that it makes me happy, but I see others are dealing with that as well. Makes this type of work that much more difficult.

    Good luck all with your cage fight! Mine is done until tomorrow.
  • Bike 7x1.5' VO2 max done. Last interval was tough but hit my numbers consistently for each interval. I found the 18' sweet spot interval to be really tough due to fatigue, but also hit my goal power. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!



    John

  • Posted By Brent Eritou on 14 Nov 2013 03:15 PM

    I'm noticing something weird with my normalized power numbers from today's VO2 session.

    Reviewing workout file on TrainerRoad website. In each 1:30 VO2 interval, I'm noticing my normalized power is lower than my average power. What's up with that? Pretty sure my power was pegged very close to 284 for the duration of each interval.

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/...-INT-THURS

    @ Brent-  It definitely looks weird, but it's probably correct.  The issue has to deal with the fact that NP does take into account a little bit of the time before the start of the interval and after the interval ends.  I was taught this recently in another post where J. Withrow explained the mathematical formula.  For these short intervals, your better off looking at ave power.

  • Done. Intervals right at 120% and the legs were good with it. Finished off with 15 minutes of 85% focusing on a higher cadence. Just realized there is a run for me today, but my stomach is full from dinner. It may have to wait until tomorrow.
  • @John Stark - sleep aid? My wife recommends melatonin, but I've never tried it. I'm good now, but in case I need it, what did you use?

    @Chris - right on about the FTP. I recently upped mine by 10 so it makes sense now in comparison to my RPE.

    @ Steve - my HR gets up there pretty good in my 15' warmup. But for these short 2' VO2Max efforts, it barely gets into the Z3. So, if you are using HR I would also use the speed from your back wheel sensor to gauge your effort. This would be the LTHR speed you recorded on your FTP test, plus about 10%. So, if your avspd was 20mph for the 40', then you would try for 22mph. That is almost the exact correlation I am seeing now using power for my Z4 vs. Z5 power.

    @Brent - Keith got it right. John Withrow explained that to me on the Power and Pace Forum, under the Garmin 500 thread.
  • Still getting this power thing under control! Today I used my adjusted FTP of 280 and based on my RPE it is right on:

    7 X 2'(2')@Z5 = (IF/Pwr) 1.13/315, 1.16/325, 1.21/339, 1.17/328, 1.20/335, 1.17/328, 1.22/341 and then 2 X 8'(2') at .96/270 and .97/271.

    Overall - felt strong and did some aqua-jogging at lunch for active recovery. Now to do some of my new "core exercises" and set up for my Friday run.

  • Mine was a bust tonight.



    came up short on all of the 90'' work intervals, got halfway thru #5 and just pulled the plug. Dropped down into 5' @ 85%, 3' recover z1, 18' @ 85%, no prob with these.



    but, didn't have the kick for the VO2 stuff. Will carry on, tho, no drastic changes from one sub par performance.

     

    and, my personal experience with the cherry juice is a that it really did help me get back into a regular sleep pattern and they were really good sleeps.

     

    @Joe H- I'm callin' you out on those FTP intervals at the end of the VO2 work!  thought you'd get away with nobody looking, didn't ya?!?!

  • Last week felt pretty good, but I am getting more "feel" to the legs.  First one was tough, then I just got numb. IF @ 1.17, 1.18, 1.16,1.16, 1.16, 1.16, 1.16.  Rest day will be just fine!
  • That burned. 1.13, 1.16, 1.15, 1.15, 1.17, 1.17, 1.15 then 20 minutes at .88.

    Have to stack 2 cords of wood tomorrow. I suspect that will hurt worse.

  • I usually love VO2 wkos but it was tough tonight. Got it done at 1.20IF except one was like 1.17if. Then I did 15' @.80if and legs didn't feel great then either. I've switched to the run focus OS as of this week and I'm really interested to see how tomorrows run is going to go.... Hopefully my legs show up.
  • @Brett

    I had the same issue in TR - all my avg W were above my VO2 max ( 1.2xFTP), but my NP was below, so my IF were slightly lower than 1.2.  I'm wondering if it has to do with the variability of the power.

  • Squeezed in 37 mins of fun in between work and a parent-teacher conference (working on my my SAUs ) - got the WU and MS in.

    1.2 / 1.18 / 1.18 / 1.17 / 1.18 / 1.17 / 1.17

    Workout IF of 0.98

    Noticed same thing as Brett - all avg P above VO2 max but NP lower

    Feeling more consistent and stronger - but we all know how long that lasts

    Enjoy your day off everyone.

     

    Mike

  • I swear those 7 x 1.5 min VO2 intervals make up the hardest workout of my entire week.  The last 30 seconds of each interval are really, really hard.  Never the less, i hit my numbers and got'er done.  We're only in week 3…I can't imagine what the thursday VO2 bike workout will look like in week 12.  I'm afraid to look

  • Got all my Z5 intervals done. Had to cut the sweet spot interval short so I could eat and take my daughter to the Beavers v Bears volleyball game tonight.

    This week has gone well so far. Beginning to feel a bit stronger on both bike and run. It helps that I am recovering from a throat infection I was dealing with last week.

    Enjoy hearing everyone else's updates. I have noticed how much more motivated I am now that I am part of a group. Thanks everyone, keep up the great work.
  • Had trouble getting started then stopped to tuck my wife in then went back for a revenge cage match and I won!  

    Wasn't pretty and just the MS but I got thru it. Did have a false start on Int 7, some how when I hit the lap button it didn't reset so I re-did the last interval and called it a day.

  • Great chart Steve. This was a tough workout. My chart shows my cadence dropping a lot during 4 thru 7



  • Workout done, hit all intervals well

    Tough, now I am ready for the rest day !
  • Thursday bike done.

    Hit all the intervals at between 1.12 to 1.23, with gas still left in the tank. Felt the same for the Tuesday bike. So either I am getting in shape really quick (NOT), or my FTP test result was too low. Any suggestions?

    Thanks in advance.

  • Hi Steve,

     You count be getting into better shape or it could be your heart rate monitor sighing out on you (or it could be overtraining but not likely this early in the game). My heart rate monitor often has erroneous readings until I get really warmed up and sweaty even though I use saline solution to wet the electrodes. I wouldn't worry about one instance, but if it happens again do post it and let us know.

  • Hit the gym yesterday to use the spin bike ~ I've been feeling guilty not taking advantage of my membership. Did my main set and settled into remaining time - a spin class kicked off about 30 min into workout. I only planned on doing 45 min, but the music was so awesome I did 60min! The instructor used music videos in her class, which was fun. the best was the muppets singing "Jump." LOVED that.

    I followed with the pushup challenged, some core and then light weights. Thank you Brenda for your post on that.

    Hope everyone has a great day off. I am going to hit the yoga mat.
  • Thanks all for the feedback on power vs. NP. I will poke around for the Garmin 500 thread where the explanation is and post the link here if I find it.
  • Found it.

    http://members.endurancenation.us/D...;aft=10557


    Posted By Al Truscott on 05 Jan 2013 01:16 PM

    @ john ... I f you have the 2nd edition of Allen & Coggin's Power Meter book, go to page 120, where the formula for NP is explained. Basically, it uses a 30 second rolling average for the power. Meaning that the first 30 seconds of any interval will include data from the previous interaval, which, if it was @ lower power, will lower the NP. The AP, of course, is much more instantaneous, and so for short intervals, you *can* get an NP below the AP if you have been pedaling (as you do on a trainer) at a constant effort level.

    I'm guessing this is the reason Training peaks software doesn't even calculate an NP for intervals less than 5 minutes. PowerAgent (PowerTap) doesn't show it for less than 60s, and the Joule doesn't show the NP/IF for the first 30 seconds of any interval.


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