NOS GetFaster week X5 (Testweek??)
Next round here in the GetFaster camp 
For some of us this is already the last week of the GetFaster plan so it's time to test again!
For all the others being some weeks behind the hard work continues to build during all workouts EXCEPT the Saturday bike session which is getting less and less Z5 time being replaced by more Z3 time!
So get out and get it done like the big boys do and let us hear your results 
0
Comments
Plan called out for a Swim TT today followed by bike test on Wednesday then some fancy supersecret workouts until next week racing on Friday.
Well Monday was always the hardest day of swimming during the whole GetFaster plan but this time I had some beers with a buddy in the evening yesterday and a way too short night followed by a terrible day in the office. Felt fat, slow and ugly - not the best day for testing at all.
As of the latest progress I was feeling during my swim workouts I was expecting a new huge PR .... but in the end I PR'd by just 1 lousy second
Think I'll take it as it is and now just focus on the bike test
I swam yesterday. Sat on the edge of the pool and had to psych myself up to even get in, but once I got going, it was ok.
Today I did the 8 x 1.5' bike intervals plus some z3 work. Intervals were strong (1.20, 1.23, 1.21, 1.21, 1.24, 1.22, 1.24, 1.25) Z3 @ .88
1hr total - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/467468993
I think I will have to skip the run today due to time constraints and am worried about doing them this evening since I'm scheduled for a hard run tomorrow.
So today was my first day of full rest (doing really NOTHING) for almost exactly 7 weeks and I know it's normal to have a strange feeling about this ... reminds of tapering-weeks even it's just a single day
Today I was thinking of re-testing my swim later this week (Friday?) as I know from the past that I'm in a bad swim shape after those hard weekend stuff. What do you think - do or don't?
Those of you in week #7 just keep pushing on the important workouts (remember to set priorities right) -> you are almost there!!
So is everyone else in GF til the end? Are the other Quassy-ers swtiching to HIM plan next week?
Sat was Half Mary, Sun swim then yest off. Back on the bike today. Weird to not have done any bike WKOs fo week!! Hit my 10 x 1' Z5 no problemo. All done at 1.21-1.23IF except one at 1.17IF. (Shifted the wrong way. duh) No run as knees are still tender from some major hills on the Sat. half mary.
This is not a test week for me. It is just in the middle of the pain. Today was an hour bike with 2 X 20 intervals. I hit 261 NP @ .966 IF & 262 NP @ .970 IF. Followed that up with hill bounding. Everything worked well.
OMG this was really VERY HARD stuff and I was really worried for days as I totally blew up on my last test after the 12' mark.
I really felt good on the 5' VO2 All-Out segment and really gave it everything I had there --> 401W Avg BOOOM baby
I started the 20' segment pretty solid and also my legs felt pretty strong but as I had to notice later on it was again a little bit too much at the beginning. Reviewing the curves I can clearly see that my HR was too high in the beginning.
Well after about 13' I had to back off for some seconds to get my HR down ... not the best of all test I've executed but even though finished with a pretty solid 335W Avg on the FTP segment which is pretty much exactly the number I hit in December. Pretty sure this could be slightly higher with perfect pacing but I don't think much more than 5-7W.
So at the end of the day this is what I did:
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/G4V4KG6EKYNND2PJ7E3TWBOCMM
http://www.strava.com/activities/124134484/overview
FTP: 318 Watt
VO2: 401 Watt (exactly 120% of FTP)
W/kg: 4,28
@ Stefan, Great work! Those are awesome results. I really enjoyed your breakdown of the test.I am very impressed that you were able to drop your watts during the test and still came up with that result. I am here in the northeast of the US and winter is holding on for all it is worth. Today I was scheduled for 3 X 1 mile intervals. I really don't like the treadmill. Also, I don't have a "foot pod" to get my workout data. So, I am willing to tolerate a lot of crappy weather for my run workouts. Today, when I got home from work it was a steaming 23 degrees F and the wind was blowing at 23 MPH. So I chose a slightly uphill segment of road that was close to down wind. I wore two pair of running tights, three shirts, a cycling jacket, hat and gloves. I was heavy, stiff and still cold. I ran the three intervals and was 15 to 20 seconds slower than my average times for the same distance. So, not optimal, but that workout is in the books.
Today started with my yearly physical at the doc, which meant a 12 hour fast so they could draw blood. I had 2 takeaways from this: 1 - I confirmed my severe addiction to caffeine (coffee) in the morning by missing it, and 2 - not eating does not help the workout for me.
After the doc I lined up my swim / run workouts. Swim was ok 4 x 500 ms as I nursed a big bottle of gatoraide to get some carbs into me. Then onto the run for the 3 x 1mile @ 5k pace (OUCH!) Like Edwin, I had to contend with obscene wind gusts on my run today. @Edwin- all that gear is tough to run in, right?? Gusts that would outright stand me up as I was trying to run at z5...not fun. I overshot the first mile of the set and it went downhill from there. I'm usually pretty good with pacing, but not today. My intervals got progressively worse. Today led me to believe that I am unsure about matching my 5k test that dates back to the beginning of the OS...months ago. I was just coming off an unofficial run focus where I pr'd a HM by a lot. Maybe my run was at a high point then...who knows. In any case my splits today were 6:20, 6:38, 6:48. Granted the wind seemed to be in my face the whole time, but I would rather have seen the intervals go in reverse order. Glad it is done. I find it funny how in some parts of the season we favor one sport and then it just switches for us. Usually I love the run...but lately, I don't look forward to it. That'll probably change with the weather
@Brad, I would not put too much weight in one workout no matter where it was int he season. In the fall during the run durability program I was running on a track and hitting miles at 6:08. My mile interval routes around my house are less than flat. I am lucky to get a 6:30 in. When I add the extra clothing it is harder and forget about the wind. I live on Lake Ontario and have never seen a calm day. This winter has me so messed up, I was ready to enter Ironman St. George 70.3 May 3 and use it for my big bike week. But after listening to last weeks Coach's Chat, I realized the ROI would not be there. I would have tried too hard at the race to get any value out of the rest of the week. However, I may drive south for a long weekend. The Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia are only 10 hours away...
Good bike tonight... 10 x 1' Z5 @ 1.22-1.25IF with last one @ 1.34IF for fun. Done!
Tonight I did my bike test out, and my FTP is stuck at 128. I'm not surprised, since I haven't been as focused on the bike as much as I have the run and swim. But Sunday the weather is predicted to be hit 60F (!), so I'll haul out my road bike, and hit some hills.
Going to test out the run on Saturday, if the weather cooperates. Otherwise, I'll be back on the indoor track.
Great work everyone!
Tues 8xVO2 @ 1.19IF
Weds 3xmile 5km race practice was horrible
Thurs 8xVO2 @ 1.19IF
All in the bank ready for test next week. Expecting a slight increase in FTP and run speed.
For those dropping out of the NOS GF is there a HIM forum? You've all been keeping me accountable on doing my WKOs even when things got tough - thank you
Did them as (1.19, 1.22, 1.23, 1.21, 1.22, 1.21, 1.23, 1.23)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/468452591
Looking at this weekends weather...rain fri, sat, sun, mon....not sure how to naiviagte a long run in there....ugh!
Great work for those testing....this is the home stretch!
Although I had a "day off" scheduled for today I headed to the pool for a little swim workout. Did some WU + a bunch of drills then did some 100 repeats most of the progressive and was able to get below 1:40 for 100m for the very first time in my entire life ... and this wasn't even All-OUT - just a fast set at 90-95%
Looks like I'm getting faster in the water this year
I am water logged. I did the 2 X 20' ride yesterday and then headed to the pool. Pool work went well and the bike was very good. Today, I hit the pool again for the prescribed wko and then did a 5 mile Z1 run with Strides. I feel like I am growing gills.
My legs are toast, so I think I did some work. Tomorrow's run should be interesting. I've def. been slacking this week, esp on the run but I gave myself permission since I did hilly half mar. last weekend. Next week things start gettin' real for Quassy!
Don't nuke yourself on the very first outdoor ride with power!
Well legs are feeling stoked after this 2:25 ride covering 86km and NP of 273 (IF 0.86) ...
http://tpks.ws/tQcA
http://www.strava.com/activities/124915027
Tomorrow run and bike will be fun I think :-/
No outdoor rides for me. It is still too cold. I know it will feel good to ride outside, but when it is in the low 30 my muscles never warm up and I never get the workout quality I am looking for. Today was a long ride including 2 X 20 & VO2 intervals. I started and could feel that my legs were not going to cooperate fully. I extended the warm-up to 25 minutes and got into the first 20 minute interval. That went OK, but I didn't try and push much above 95%. The 2nd 20 minute interval was definitely a battle and when it was over, I was just under the 95%. Heading into the 2 minute VO2 intervals, I was not optimistic. I was in the range for #1 & #2, but quickly fell off after that. Had to bail on those intervals when # 4 was 10% lower than # 1. Rode the next 1/2 hour at .796 IF. Left the cage match bloody.
I only gave the 2' Z5 in these long rides one single try to find out I can't do this. After that point I did all my Z5 time as 1'/1' which is WAY easier to handle than 2'!!
You set your legs a huge stimulus today so stay calm and relax as you will very soon be stronger than you were today!
@Stefan, Thanks. I am in a bit of a hole right now. My TSB is sitting at -23. When I finish tomorrow's WKO, that will bring me over 10 hours of EN training this week. Fortunately, Monday is a scheduled rest day!
Yesterday - swim and partial run since I planned my long run for today and didn't want to cook my legs.
Today - I ran and somehow squeezed it in before the torrential rain began. 3 x 1mile and 2 x .5mile. At or near all targets
total 1hr 30. 11.28 miles.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/469829055
Long bike tomorrow
Brad, this is my performance manager chart from my Training Peaks WKO+. I love the program. There is so much information and you can easily compare time periods or individual WKO's. You need GPS & HR info to get the most out of it.
Stefan, I started the GF plan on 3/17 and my CTL has bumped almost 10 points since then. The workouts have been difficult to say the least. I sometimes think that RnP had to choose between coaching or dentistry. But seriously, this plan has caused some excellent adaptations. My only issue is enough time? I need a vacation so I can add a big bike week.
Test week next week... Yikes!
Only ended up doing 2 hours total. We adopted a 3 mo old puppy yesterday, and I forgot how tiring the whole thing is so I'm feeling a bit tired! Really looking forward to a rest day tomorrow before testing this week!
You got it Kim! - I volunteer at a local animal shelter and found this little girl. We think part Lab, part Boxer, and a whole lot of trouble!,