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Karla's questions

I am new to the group and not sure where to begin. What are the test distances I should run and bike to establish my zones? Thanks, Karla

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  • Karla, no worries!!! Here's a screencast you can watch of me walking you through the site:

    http://www.screencast.com/t/RerHQAqTvBY

    But your starting pages are Resources > New Member Central.....and Resources > Wiki > Bike and Resources > Wiki > Run

    Hope that helps!

    ~ Patrick
  • Thanks for that link. I will watch it.

    Another question- this morning's bike workout said MS: 2 x 10 (4') @ 95-100%/Zone 4/Hard which I interpret to be two intervals of 10 minutes each separated by 4 minutes for a total of 24 minutes plus warm up and cool down. However at the top bar it says Tuesday 60 min. I am missing something?

     Also, when I am on the bike trainer I try to keep my cadence above 90rpm. If I went slower, I could pedal with more power, but my understanding is that it is important to keep my legs quick too. What do you think?

     Thanks!

    Karla

  • @Karla, with a 15' warm up, a 10' warm down, plus 28 minutes ( 2 x 10(4)) you are at 53 minutes....or close to it. The "remainder" of your time can be at Zone 3 / 80 to 85%.

    So for me, I would warm up, ride, then do the 4' cool down after interval #2...that puts me at 43 minutes...i'd do 12' around Zone 3, then 5' to cool down. But if I was in a rush, or slept in (yikes!) i'd stop it at 45'....

    Does that make sense???
  • Thanks. That made sense.
    And I found the links to the run test and bike test.
    I got my run test done today and will get my bike test done this week.

    I was reading more of the Bike info on the Wiki, looking for the EN approach to cadence. Is there one? I mainly see a focus on power. So, does it not matter what cadence? Use the cadence that feels most comfortable/allows me to achieve the most power?

    Karla
  • Karla, love you are digging around!!! You are right, we are certainly biased towards power, but only in that cadence is a mechanism to achieve power. While folks can fudge cadence, say super low to spike the torque and raise the watts, it won't last.

    So stick with your "comfortably sustainable" cadence....so if you ride 90 rpms outside, you'll probably see 85s indoors...or 85 to 90.

    Now saying ^that^ there is nothing wrong with varying your cadence to make the intervals more challenging. You could take a 12' interval..and manipulate the cadence in 3' segments....say 12' as 3' @ 90rpms, 3' @ 85rpms, 3' @ 80rpms, 3' @ 90rpms....it's much harder than you might think!!!
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