@Michael - not unheard of to see no improvement if you were already somewhat fit and especially if you saw improvement on the run test......very hard to raise both at the same time. Do you feel like you did all the work as written on the bike?
@ Sandro - Can I get a cold too? Fantastic test results....what is your current w/kg ratio and how does that compare to the last test?
@Shaughn Well thanks to the cold I had ample time to rest my legs...
last test (Week 1): FTP: 217 VO2: 263 weight: 83 kg >2.6 W/kg
this test (Week 8): FTP: 276 VO2: 312 weight: 82.6 kg >3.3 W/kg
To put this into relation: Test Week 1 >I did not cycle for 2 months ahead of test 1 and had a half marathon race the previous week. Test Week 2 >My muscles were fully recovered (no run or cycling for 5 days). Conclusion: I surely did improve, but I cannot say how much, since the preconditions of these two tests varied a lot. Anyway, aiming at a FTP of 300 now
Ok - I am just about recovered from whatever stomach bug knocked me down Wednesday after my run test. Wednesday night was bad and Thursday was a blur. Today I think I am just about right.
So - I have read all five pages in this thread to get pysched for tomorrow's test! I can only hope I test as well as everyone else here! But like Roy said - it is only a test and two months of hard work will pay off in the end!
Completed test 2 with slightly lower numbers. I paced it too conservatively, as I had way too much left in the tank when I was finished. No soreness later that day or the next either. This means I have made some good improvement over the past 8 weeks. I may test again to verify it. I missed only two w/o's, so the time was put in here.
Phil- retest if you must, but not that big o deal. if you'd rather stay with the scheduled workouts, just sway your FTP up a couple of watts and see how the workouts go for a week or two. No need to explain to ya how you'll know if the swag was appropriate or not....you'll just know.
did Saturday's wko this evening. main set only due to time constraints and was glad to hit the low end of the prescribed 0.95 - 1.0 IF range for each interval.
12' trainer road w/u 2x15' @ 0.95 and 0.96
was pushing hard throughout each interval and tried to ease the strain on my tired quad muscles by increasing cadence and HR. seemed to work ok. @ the end of the 2nd interval, I had to gear up and mash it out to get into the target zone
reminder to all with shiny new FTP numbers -- there's a reason RnP prescribe a range of 95-100% of FTP. it's totally OK to hit the low end of that range. I plan to hang out there for the next few wkos as my legs and lungs adapt to the new #s. hopefully, in a few weeks, I'll be able to approach the upper bounds of that range, and will have avoided digging myself into an overtraining hole in the meantime
First Saturday wko done with new FTP. Still trying to get used to the new power meter and crank arm, but I'm getting there. By the end of the z3 block my hip flexors were screaming.
so I tested Monday and was pretty happy that my trainer road FTP went up a little BUT...
Today is was sunny and in the 60s and I had to go outside and ride for my long ride. During my 15 min Z4 I noticed that my garmin went off before the end of the 15 minutes (I have it set to alarm for 5 mile splits). That hasn't happened to me before. A 5 mile stretch has usually taken me 16-18 min. Second 15 minute interval same thing. I negative split the intervals and ended up doing 33.43 miles in 1:50:48.
@Ralph - that's awesome and shows real progress. Nice work!
@Mike - I hear ya on staying in the range vs. hitting or exceeding the top end number. Great advice.
Did today's saturday bike wko and like others it was HARD with my new FTP numbers. I managed to stay in my zones and finish the entire workout, but those (2) 15min zones felt like 2 mini-FTP tests. Finished .97 and .98 and then .81 for the 30min ABP segment. Sure glad I don't have a run on the training plan for today as well!
Great week's worth of work, everyone. Way to go!!!!
Smoked myself pretty well on the Vo2 part! New FTP and Vo2 are both exactly 7% higher. There is no way I could've planned that! I expected a Vo2 of 360 and FTP of 300 but this actually makes more sense. So, time to reset the Garmin and move on to the second half of the OS!
After two years of trainer riding, this was my first trainer workout watching a TV show (Game of Thrones S1) instead of a Sufferfest video. Not bad, really.
I had a dream last night that I was out riding my bike in my neighborhood and was finishing up my warmup and about to start the main set of 8 X 5' in Z5. I was wondering where I was going to be able to do that and not get stopped by traffic or traffic control devices and why I wasn't doing it on my trainer. When I got up this morning I was relieved to find that I only had to do 2 X 15' @ Z4. Hah! My new Z4 pacer was a lot harder to keep up with today than last week, but I did it. My two intervals were at IF 0.97 with a VI of 1.00.
That was the second ride with my new zones and I already love them During 2 episodes of Breaking Bad I did a 1:25 workout with 2x15' + 1x5' plus a little bit of extra Z3 work.
Entire workout: 1:25 / NP 276 / IF 0.88 1st interval 15' @ NP 308 / IF 0.98 2nd interval 15' @ NP 306 / IF 0.97 3rd interval 5' @ NP 306 / IF 0.97
it was a bad training week for me (apart from testing REALLY well). Ftp went from 165->197 which made todays workout a real beast. Got the whole thing done, and hit all my targets.
Just a great week; and a cutback week at that...and a great OS so far...long way to go but Work Works...Today; I was hesitant to take a first swipe at this workout with my new FTP...but decided I was going to do it anyway..and glad I did..mental and physical gains...1:45 being wrung through the Sufferfest Blender....
LOL...Mark thats funny....I started looking at the plans to see which one you were on that called for an 8x5" @ Z5 workout?!...Guess thats the 2014 OS Dream version....
I was bad. I was doing my bike workout and my wife came downstairs with my sister who shocked me and drove in from Chicago for Christmas. I had a tough time getting through the second interval while everyone was hugging so I bagged the rest. I LOVE this time of year.
Comments
Finally I came to do my bike test. After a week of travelling for work and fighting a terrible cold I am back on my bike
Got an FTP of 276 and am quite happy about it.
Now, let's see what the second half of our OS will bring...
@Michael - not unheard of to see no improvement if you were already somewhat fit and especially if you saw improvement on the run test......very hard to raise both at the same time. Do you feel like you did all the work as written on the bike?
@ Sandro - Can I get a cold too? Fantastic test results....what is your current w/kg ratio and how does that compare to the last test?
Well thanks to the cold I had ample time to rest my legs...
last test (Week 1):
FTP: 217
VO2: 263
weight: 83 kg
>2.6 W/kg
this test (Week 8):
FTP: 276
VO2: 312
weight: 82.6 kg
>3.3 W/kg
To put this into relation:
Test Week 1 >I did not cycle for 2 months ahead of test 1 and had a half marathon race the previous week.
Test Week 2 >My muscles were fully recovered (no run or cycling for 5 days).
Conclusion: I surely did improve, but I cannot say how much, since the preconditions of these two tests varied a lot.
Anyway, aiming at a FTP of 300 now
So - I have read all five pages in this thread to get pysched for tomorrow's test! I can only hope I test as well as everyone else here! But like Roy said - it is only a test and two months of hard work will pay off in the end!
@ Joe, welcome back from Bug recovery!
@ Phil - it takes a few cycles to really figure out the pacing on the FTP test.........frankly, I still mis-judge it every now an then. Strong work!
Did tomorrows ride today so I can ski in the morning. Wow. Going to have some tired legs. http://tpks.ws/flLZ
1.01 and 1.0 for each 15' segment. .86 for the 30' minute segment. .87 overall. http://tpks.ws/flLZ
12' trainer road w/u
2x15' @ 0.95 and 0.96
was pushing hard throughout each interval and tried to ease the strain on my tired quad muscles by increasing cadence and HR. seemed to work ok. @ the end of the 2nd interval, I had to gear up and mash it out to get into the target zone
reminder to all with shiny new FTP numbers -- there's a reason RnP prescribe a range of 95-100% of FTP. it's totally OK to hit the low end of that range. I plan to hang out there for the next few wkos as my legs and lungs adapt to the new #s. hopefully, in a few weeks, I'll be able to approach the upper bounds of that range, and will have avoided digging myself into an overtraining hole in the meantime
still trying to get that run test in...
.99 and 1.0 for the 2x12'
1.02 for the 1X7'
Overall 0.88 (goal was 0.87)
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/560634
Today is was sunny and in the 60s and I had to go outside and ride for my long ride. During my 15 min Z4 I noticed that my garmin went off before the end of the 15 minutes (I have it set to alarm for 5 mile splits). That hasn't happened to me before. A 5 mile stretch has usually taken me 16-18 min. Second 15 minute interval same thing. I negative split the intervals and ended up doing 33.43 miles in 1:50:48.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/417952269 (ignore the HR, my monitor is going bad and a new one is on the way.)
I downloaded and compared to a previous ride of the same course in October and I was about 10 min faster today over the 33 miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/385900745
Woo HOO!
@Ralph - that's awesome and shows real progress. Nice work!
@Mike - I hear ya on staying in the range vs. hitting or exceeding the top end number. Great advice.
Did today's saturday bike wko and like others it was HARD with my new FTP numbers. I managed to stay in my zones and finish the entire workout, but those (2) 15min zones felt like 2 mini-FTP tests. Finished .97 and .98 and then .81 for the 30min ABP segment. Sure glad I don't have a run on the training plan for today as well!
Great week's worth of work, everyone. Way to go!!!!
Week #1 - Vo2 = 340, FTP = 270
Week #8 - Vo2 = 364, FTP = 289
Smoked myself pretty well on the Vo2 part! New FTP and Vo2 are both exactly 7% higher. There is no way I could've planned that! I expected a Vo2 of 360 and FTP of 300 but this actually makes more sense. So, time to reset the Garmin and move on to the second half of the OS!
Saturday work done. 2 x 15 @ 250W, 20 minutes of sweet spot work. 70 min total.
http://www.strava.com/activities/101240646/overview
After two years of trainer riding, this was my first trainer workout watching a TV show (Game of Thrones S1) instead of a Sufferfest video. Not bad, really.
@Ralph: 10 minutes faster on your regular loop is awesome!
Sat bike work done.....not fun:
Entire workout (228 watts):
Duration: 2:07:12
Work: 1735 kJ
TSS: 155.7 (intensity factor 0.859)
Norm Power: 242
http://www.strava.com/activities/101256068
During 2 episodes of Breaking Bad I did a 1:25 workout with 2x15' + 1x5' plus a little bit of extra Z3 work.
Entire workout: 1:25 / NP 276 / IF 0.88
1st interval 15' @ NP 308 / IF 0.98
2nd interval 15' @ NP 306 / IF 0.97
3rd interval 5' @ NP 306 / IF 0.97
http://tpks.ws/o3wZ
Still afraid of the upcoming 5x5' @110% :-/
Did Sat FTP ride and felt it but achieved the goal. 2x15' (4') + 5' and then added 25' more at Z3 or so. Breakdown below
1 - 15' @ 229W/0.99
2 - 15' @ 226W/0.98
3 - 5' @ 231W/1.00
4 - 25' @ 195W/0.84
Total time , 90 min
Raining a lot here in Ohio !
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/418034867
it was a bad training week for me (apart from testing REALLY well). Ftp went from 165->197 which made todays workout a real beast. Got the whole thing done, and hit all my targets.
Just a great week; and a cutback week at that...and a great OS so far...long way to go but Work Works...Today; I was hesitant to take a first swipe at this workout with my new FTP...but decided I was going to do it anyway..and glad I did..mental and physical gains...1:45 being wrung through the Sufferfest Blender....
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/...st-Blender
LOL...Mark thats funny....I started looking at the plans to see which one you were on that called for an 8x5" @ Z5 workout?!...Guess thats the 2014 OS Dream version....
I was bad. I was doing my bike workout and my wife came downstairs with my sister who shocked me and drove in from Chicago for Christmas. I had a tough time getting through the second interval while everyone was hugging so I bagged the rest. I LOVE this time of year.
Split
Time
Avg HR
Max HR
Cad
(NP)
AP
IF
1
0:12:00
140
146
91
202
202
0.67
2
0:15:00
162
170
86
289
290
0.95
3
0:04:00
138
170
90
178
164
0.59
4
0:15:00
163
169
83
273
274
0.90
Summary
0:46:18
155
170
87
261
249
0.86
Glad to see you're priorities are in order Ray!...agreed...holidays can be special....
@JL - I'm not sure if it's a dream or a nightmare.
@Ray - I think a few workouts this next week are going to get blown by the holidays and family. In fact I'm planning on it.
OK...Moment of truth. I was finally able to do my Bike test today.
V02 test went from NP of 267 to 280
20 min test went from NP of 218 to 243
Bumps up my FTP from 207 to 231.
I'll take it!!!
I