Rang in the new year this morning with the 4 x 5' @ z5 workout - only I somehow made an error programming my joule prior and set it for 3 x 5' (maybe a subconscious error!). In any event, I ended up doing the 3 intervals plus 18' @ high z3. Here were my intervals:
Happy New Year! Finished the bike 3 x 14 min. at IF's of all at 1.01. Felt good to survive it! Went out on the sleds for an ice fishing foray with the kids and even caught a fish. Pretty good day!
Yesterday was a bear, the three intervals felt HARD and for the first time this OS, I wasn't able to hit my (new) FTP target but I was steady at IF of .98, .97, .97. That last interval hurt so I must have gotten my FTP closer to the correct value with my most recent test.
On the down side, I bagged on the Holiday Run Challenge yesterday due to concerns about overdoing it and screwing up my OS as the workouts get harder. OK, I sussed out, it is as simple as that but my (self)coach told me to.
Thanks Mike. I found it right after I posted to you and deleted my post - or so I thought. Not sure if I should do this. I'm going to start a thread asking the team for thoughts on this.
Happy New Year everyone! It's great to see those posts. They are inspiring.
I did yesterday's bike today because I did today's run yesterday since the local track was going to be closed for the holiday. This was the first time I've been on a bike all year! Actually, it was the first bike ride in over a week and I wasn't looking forward to it for several reasons, first and foremost was the reports I've been seeing on this very thread about the difficulty. So my goal was to start out a little light and build through the three intervals if I could. I'm happy to say that I did that but it wasn't easy. My first interval was an IF of 0.97, the second was 0.99 and the last was 1.00! They were hard. I think that RnP are trying to kill us with these, but I guess that goes to prove the rule that if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. We'll see how the Vo2 intervals go tomorrow.
I did a little year end review earlier in the week and when I tested my FTP in January 2013 my FTP was 194. I'm at 228 as of the last test so things are starting out right in 2014.
Thurs Bike workout done this AM. IF 1.08, 1.08, 1.08, 1.09.
Wow, that last interval hurt. interesting to note that my variability increases dramatically with each interval. Many more ups and downs on the last interval compared to the first.
Back to work today meant a 5 am wake up call and 4x5' @ 100% waiting for me. Wow that was painful. Did 1.1, 1.09, 1.09 and 1.06 (ran out of gas a bit on that last one). Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.
As if the thursday VO2 sessions are not hard enough, i took my bike and trainer to the mountains in Colorado and did today's ride at 9000 ft. Finished at 1.05, 1.05, 1.03, and 1.01. Below target, but i'll take it given the altitude. Now off for some snowboarding at Breck with the family. Happy new year all!
New Year, new age (I'm a new year baby), and back in the saddle. Didn't quite hit the IF goal of .9, but came in pretty close with a .89. Happy with that! Moving on moving up!
I really can't believe anyone on earth is enjoying these 110% intervals ... holy cow ... brutal stuff here - BUT I'm 110% sure it will pay off after OS
Here are the interval #'s:
1 - IF 1.09 / NP 343 / VI 1.00
2 - IF 1.09 / NP 343 / VI 1.00
3 - IF 1.08 / NP 340 / VI 1.00
4 - IF 1.07 / NP 337 / VI 1.00
5 - IF 1.09 / NP 342 / VI 1.00
Entire workout 1:05 / NP 289 / IF 0.92 / 1033kJ of WORK
Just time for the mainset today. 4x5' @ 110%. All on target this week, whereas last week only #4 got to 110%, so I'd call that progress. Skipped the 25' run in favor of a 1 hour walk with my wife. Getting ready for the big storm now!
Man those were hard today. Went a bit hard on my first interval, but other than the fourth one kept it pretty close, 1.13, 1.10, 1.078, 1.02, 1.08 for me.
Still need to ride home tonight from work. Not sure if I'm going to get the run in or not. Will figure it out when I get home.
Can't wait to get home and download this morning's workout. When I wrote out the week's training on Sunday, I noticed that it was 5 X 5'(3') @ Z5 and thought, "I need to double check with someone on that since that is 25' @Z5 and I have never done that with EN before".
Well - I got caught up with whatever and never did. So, this morning I resigned myself to doing it. I'm glad Stefan confirmed that I did the right workout. This is right up there with the 10 X 2'(2') @Z5 we did a couple of weeks ago!
Good work everyone - these are some really hard workouts!
I'm with the rest of you..that was hard today. I use the TR workout and I think I will have to start stretching the warm up longer - that first 5' interval hit me hard and I didn't feel I had any control over breathing until the second inteval.
MS Int IF 1.09 / 1.09 / 1.10 / 1.08
SS 0.88
Workout IF 0.91
It was only 6F this afternoon and snowing in NH (and on the way down in temp )..so glad there is no run today
Thanks Elizabeth. I'm definitely enjoying the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, it's too much of a good thing. No rain in the bay area means no snow in the Sierras. So not only am I not getting to go skiing, but if we don't get some rain/snow soon, we're going to be having water issues in CA. We've had quite a few dry years now .
So, send some of that snow our way , and stay warm!
It was hard today though I felt last Thursday was harder. It must be due to working today and not skiing. I would rather be on the slopes. 1.1, 1.09, 1.1, 1.09 and .87 to finish things up. Workout was .91 with goal power of 180 and actual power of 180. Normalized 197. http://tpks.ws/ubqO
For those in the Northeast be safe. It is 3 degrees and snowing hard at my house.
OK, am I the only one finding these frickin' 1.10IF intervals near impossible? OMG, they were worse than last week. I tried a few different strategies but they just didn't work.
#1 - 1.09IF #2- 1.076IF #3- 1.03IF #4- 1.02IF
At one point during the last interval. my avg. power dipped below 1.00IF so it was really rough. I almost pulled the plug but I figured even if at FTP, 5' of work was still something.
I don't know if it is mental or what but these are really hard for me. I did these as a hack last OS and I remember having a hard time there too. I guess I'll just keep trying and hopefully they will seem easier as my fitness improves.
I am so glad to hear that many of you are suffering with me... is that bad? :-). It is unseasonably cold in the Dallas area. It was 36 degrees but I had to get out!!! I froze my fingers but it was worth the sunshine.
Well - now that I have downloaded my Garmin, I really did push it! I have on my Garmin display the "lap NP" and the AVPWR is something I get when I upload my workout to the Garmin web-site. The power #s below are the AVPWR that vary slightly from the NP -guess I need to work on that so I can get the VI of 1.0 like Stefan.
Work today was pretty much a blur. Instead of today's run for 25', I did an aqua-jog after work for 40'; more for the active recovery from this workout. Thanks goodness tomorrow is a rest day!
Comments
5' @ 249w (1.11 IF)
5' @ 247w (1.10 IF)
5' @ 255w (1.13 IF)
Total time 60min
I'm a day ahead this week, so the legs are looking forward to a rest day tomorrow (although it looks like I'll be busy digging out the snow!)
Happy New Year Everyone!
After the first set I was feeling all that and clearly I blew it by the 3rd.
1st 12' set 3.22 miles
2nd 12' set 3.09 miles
3rd 12' set 3.14 miles
Run was 2.25miles in 21.25. I hit the 30 steps in Z4.
Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That last interval hurt so I must have gotten my FTP closer to the correct value with my most recent test.
On the down side, I bagged on the Holiday Run Challenge yesterday due to concerns about overdoing it and screwing up my OS as the workouts get harder. OK, I sussed out, it is as simple as that but my (self)coach told me to.
Don't ignore your coach! I didn't do much in the way of extra running either, my legs are just feeling toasted!
Happy New Year everyone! It's great to see those posts. They are inspiring.
I did yesterday's bike today because I did today's run yesterday since the local track was going to be closed for the holiday. This was the first time I've been on a bike all year! Actually, it was the first bike ride in over a week and I wasn't looking forward to it for several reasons, first and foremost was the reports I've been seeing on this very thread about the difficulty. So my goal was to start out a little light and build through the three intervals if I could. I'm happy to say that I did that but it wasn't easy. My first interval was an IF of 0.97, the second was 0.99 and the last was 1.00! They were hard. I think that RnP are trying to kill us with these, but I guess that goes to prove the rule that if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. We'll see how the Vo2 intervals go tomorrow.
I did a little year end review earlier in the week and when I tested my FTP in January 2013 my FTP was 194. I'm at 228 as of the last test so things are starting out right in 2014.
Wow, that last interval hurt. interesting to note that my variability increases dramatically with each interval. Many more ups and downs on the last interval compared to the first.
glad for a day off tomorrow.
@ Larry & Ralph - Strong work!
http://www.strava.com/activities/103459949
Entire workout (229 watts): Duration: 1:15:54 Work: 1042 kJ TSS: 102.5 (intensity factor 0.902) Norm Power: 265
Targets hit for the day.......time to work....!
As if the thursday VO2 sessions are not hard enough, i took my bike and trainer to the mountains in Colorado and did today's ride at 9000 ft. Finished at 1.05, 1.05, 1.03, and 1.01. Below target, but i'll take it given the altitude. Now off for some snowboarding at Breck with the family. Happy new year all!
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/586653
Thusday bike done...felt nice after having an involuntary rest day yesterday. Too much fun on New Years!
http://app.strava.com/activities/103476821/laps
I really can't believe anyone on earth is enjoying these 110% intervals ... holy cow ... brutal stuff here - BUT I'm 110% sure it will pay off after OS
Here are the interval #'s:
1 - IF 1.09 / NP 343 / VI 1.00
2 - IF 1.09 / NP 343 / VI 1.00
3 - IF 1.08 / NP 340 / VI 1.00
4 - IF 1.07 / NP 337 / VI 1.00
5 - IF 1.09 / NP 342 / VI 1.00
Entire workout 1:05 / NP 289 / IF 0.92 / 1033kJ of WORK
http://tpks.ws/tnmh
http://www.strava.com/activities/103488887/overview
Still need to ride home tonight from work. Not sure if I'm going to get the run in or not. Will figure it out when I get home.
@Bryan, enjoy those warm CA temps - we are getting hammered with cold and snow here in the northeast!
Have a great rest of the day!
Well - I got caught up with whatever and never did. So, this morning I resigned myself to doing it. I'm glad Stefan confirmed that I did the right workout. This is right up there with the 10 X 2'(2') @Z5 we did a couple of weeks ago!
Good work everyone - these are some really hard workouts!
I'm with the rest of you..that was hard today. I use the TR workout and I think I will have to start stretching the warm up longer - that first 5' interval hit me hard and I didn't feel I had any control over breathing until the second inteval.
MS Int IF 1.09 / 1.09 / 1.10 / 1.08
SS 0.88
Workout IF 0.91
It was only 6F this afternoon and snowing in NH (and on the way down in temp )..so glad there is no run today
Mike
So, send some of that snow our way
For those in the Northeast be safe. It is 3 degrees and snowing hard at my house.
#1 - 1.09IF
#2- 1.076IF
#3- 1.03IF
#4- 1.02IF
At one point during the last interval. my avg. power dipped below 1.00IF so it was really rough. I almost pulled the plug but I figured even if at FTP, 5' of work was still something.
I don't know if it is mental or what but these are really hard for me. I did these as a hack last OS and I remember having a hard time there too. I guess I'll just keep trying and hopefully they will seem easier as my fitness improves.
5min @ 281W
4min @ 275W
5min @ 279W
3min @ 247W - I just couldn't keep going
5min @ 274
Have a great week everyone!
I was just so dang happy to be back on the bike today! Why didn't I ride like this during my 20 minute test?
0.98/0.99/0.98/0.99 with the SS at 0.99. I'm this close, I can taste it!
#1 - 1.14IF/331 Watt
#2 - 1.18/342
#3 - 1.18/343
#4 - 1.12/326
#5 - 1.20/348
Work today was pretty much a blur. Instead of today's run for 25', I did an aqua-jog after work for 40'; more for the active recovery from this workout. Thanks goodness tomorrow is a rest day!