Combine that with my 5k yesterday, which went from 30:00 to 27:53 (vDot bump from 30 to 33), and the drop in my weight since week 1 from 260 to 247 and I feel good about this outseason to date! I think I've missed one full day workout and a few brick runs, but otherwise have stuck to the program, although I admit I've been pushing the pace faster on my runs. Work works!
Was watching the results poor in all day as I sat at work. Both eager and intimidated at the thought of putting down a zone 5 puddle of sweat and hurting myself as much as possible.
After some quick chores and a bottle of Infinite I got to work. First time using a Garmin workout on my 500 but still like having the Joule too. If I look up towards the TV there is the Joule staring back. And when I drop my head and look down, my 500 is right there on the left areobar grinning back..... there is no escaping the torture of the PM!
Spent about 10 on the warmup then triggered the Garmin to go > 5 on, 10 recover, 20 on.
The only sucky part is my weight which turned around and went back to my Wk 1 starting point of 161 so not much of a boost to the W/Kg going from 2.65 to 2.83
Still optimistic I can end the OS at or near 3.0 W/Kg but will really need to do a better job in the kitchen....
Great to read all the fun everyone was having today. Best of luck to those yet to suffer!
@ Gonzalo, excellent work man. That's a huge FTP bump. You said that you probably didn't go out on the Vo2 as hard as you could have to save some for the FTP test and if that's true I think that probably showed up in both. What I mean by that is the lower effort on the Vo2 portion made that too low and it also may have made the FTP a little too high since your legs weren't as fatigued as they would have been if you had gone all out. Maybe some of the WSMs could chime in on that since I'm just guessing here.
Given that, you could try to go with your new FTP numbers and then up the Vo2 to 1.2 of that and see how it feels.
There have been a lot of good posts today and a lot of good numbers. It's awesome to see another slew of e-mails when I pick up my phone or tablet, especially with all the good news.
@Mark , I think you are absolutely right. I'll make a small reduction on the FTP I got from 254 to 250 given I should have probably gone a little harder on the 5min part and will make the 287 VO2 a 300 (250x1.2) 250 and 300 also easier numbers to remember for the next few weeks ! : )
I did the test tonight and FTP went from 182 in week 1 to 199 this week (and I know I had that extra watt sitting in my back pocket when I was done, so I'm kinda mad about that).
VO2 is at 261 this week. It was at 243 in week 1. I'll take that improvement on both fronts. And I'm really excited to see how my run's coming along. Bring on the test on Wednesday!!
Just did my week#8 FTP test today and boy it was painful. Almost gave up mid way during the 20minute test but i got my self together and made it through. I was very happy with the outcome. I have to admit that I have never ever done such a hard interval on the trainer before. Even though i'm very happy with my new FTP, I'm also dreading the next few weeks since the intensity just went up by quite a bit.
It's pretty cool to see everyone's news today - we could have powered a small town with all these watts!
I may have started too hard on my 5 min VO2 and faded in the last 30 seconds and did not feel strong through the 20 minute Special, but am I really supposed to feel good after a 5 minute burn? I noticed my heart rate is definitely higher than doing the tests last year too - I thought it was supposed to go down as I age.
Results: Week 1: 5 min VO2 - 345 watts 20 min - 301 watts Week 8: 5 min VO2 - 362 watts 20 min - 316 watts Weight is still in the 183-185 lb range, but will drop now that I am feeling better.
Happy, considering some poor health and missed workouts - the run may not be so groovy....
on 10-Nov: (I entered the OS a bit late): HR Avg: 174 HR Max: 183 Distance: 9.24 Speed: 13.8 mph
Overall I'm disappointed. Seems pretty flat, was hoping for a bit of an improvement. I think my biggest issue is to push harder! I need to set myself a goal to shoot for in terms of speed and maybe HR for next time I guess. Any advice is more than welcome!
You all rock with your big improvements! I will aim to do likewise next test. I'm still hopeful for the run test tomorrow...
I don't know if everyone else felt the tremors, but the NOS bike captain just finished his Power Test. My lungs & legs hurt from just looking at the power profile!
I am really impressed with all the hard work going on. Congratulations to all who made improvements no matter how big or small.
I definitely felt a little pressure to perform as I headed to the pain cave this afternoon. After it was said and done I was able to crush myself and had a really good test. I do the 2 X 20 test method. I've tried the 5/20 a few times and that VO2 interval burns my legs to the point where I can't get anywhere near a true FTP. My goal for today was to come in at 310 watts. My first interval was 317 and 2nd interval was 334 for a new FTP of 323 or 3.98 W/Kg. This is a 15 - 20 Watt bump from where my fitness was at the beginning of the OS and my all time high by 7 watts.
No week 1 test, so started with end-of-season FTP (started in week 3)
VO2 (5') = 241 W
FTP (20') = 206 * .95 = 196 W
A bump of 1-2 W only (based on whether I believe TR or TP...), but I'd already said I wasn't feeling a bump yet on the bike. The run on Thursday, OTOH, will hopefully show me something!
Next time ... plan hydration and nutrition better during the day = felt flat for testing, also eating about 2 hours before was not a good idea since I felt sick about 15 minutes into the 20' test but still finished it.
Man, that was HARD and was by far the worst paced FTP test I have done. I went out too hard and was in the middle of nightmare from 10minutes on. I was able to finish, but my power took a dip during the the 3rd 5minute segment. The good news is that i now have a new alll time FTP, even though i missed my target by 1 watt. The bad news is, i need to hit these these new numbers for the next 7 weeks Here are the deets:
Great work on the bike tests. I'm still out here lurking in the wings doing some rides. I may or may not do a test in the next 6 days then transition to 2 weeks in Hawaii. I'll then be defecting to the JOS.
All I can say is I'm getting back in shape and finally learning how to test! Today was awesome; first time I feel like I started with a good frame of mind, well rested, well hydrated, and with a good pacing plan that I executed. I am definitely going in the right direction!
55' on the trainer early this morning (about 6 hours after my 5k test last night). Standard EN w/up with 26' at 80-85%. Shut it down early due to time constraints
Did my Thursday bike session today, 40' @ 0.86. It felt great. No stress, nice and steady, clock was never going backwards, felt like I could have gone on a lot longer.
Comments
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/651707674
20 minute segment was 269 W. 0.95 x 269 = 255.6..call it 256.
Started at 238, so that's up 7.4%, which I will definitely take.
I was feeling good and looking forward to this FTP test (as sick as that may sound). I jumped from 233 in Wk.1 to 282 in Wk.8! Here is the data:
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/651697566
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/1352835-20-Minute-Test
Combine that with my 5k yesterday, which went from 30:00 to 27:53 (vDot bump from 30 to 33), and the drop in my weight since week 1 from 260 to 247 and I feel good about this outseason to date! I think I've missed one full day workout and a few brick runs, but otherwise have stuck to the program, although I admit I've been pushing the pace faster on my runs. Work works!After some quick chores and a bottle of Infinite I got to work. First time using a Garmin workout on my 500 but still like having the Joule too. If I look up towards the TV there is the Joule staring back. And when I drop my head and look down, my 500 is right there on the left areobar grinning back..... there is no escaping the torture of the PM!
Spent about 10 on the warmup then triggered the Garmin to go > 5 on, 10 recover, 20 on.
Wk 1 FTP @ 194
Wk 8 FTP @ 207 ~ 6.7% bump Yes! (218 NP x 0.95 = 207.1)
Wk 1 VO2 @ 232
Wk 8 VO2 @ 241 ~ 3.9% bump, that's good too.
The only sucky part is my weight which turned around and went back to my Wk 1 starting point of 161 so not much of a boost to the W/Kg going from 2.65 to 2.83
Still optimistic I can end the OS at or near 3.0 W/Kg but will really need to do a better job in the kitchen....
Great to read all the fun everyone was having today. Best of luck to those yet to suffer!
Great job!
@ Gonzalo, excellent work man. That's a huge FTP bump. You said that you probably didn't go out on the Vo2 as hard as you could have to save some for the FTP test and if that's true I think that probably showed up in both. What I mean by that is the lower effort on the Vo2 portion made that too low and it also may have made the FTP a little too high since your legs weren't as fatigued as they would have been if you had gone all out. Maybe some of the WSMs could chime in on that since I'm just guessing here.
Given that, you could try to go with your new FTP numbers and then up the Vo2 to 1.2 of that and see how it feels.
There have been a lot of good posts today and a lot of good numbers. It's awesome to see another slew of e-mails when I pick up my phone or tablet, especially with all the good news.
250 and 300 also easier numbers to remember for the next few weeks ! : )
I did the test tonight and FTP went from 182 in week 1 to 199 this week (and I know I had that extra watt sitting in my back pocket when I was done, so I'm kinda mad about that).
VO2 is at 261 this week. It was at 243 in week 1. I'll take that improvement on both fronts. And I'm really excited to see how my run's coming along. Bring on the test on Wednesday!!
Week#1 Test
Vo2=243
FTP=169
w/kg=2.39 (156 LBS)
Week#8 Test
Vo2=259
FTP=207
w/kg=3.08 (148 LBS)
I may have started too hard on my 5 min VO2 and faded in the last 30 seconds and did not feel strong through the 20 minute Special, but am I really supposed to feel good after a 5 minute burn? I noticed my heart rate is definitely higher than doing the tests last year too - I thought it was supposed to go down as I age.
Results: Week 1: 5 min VO2 - 345 watts 20 min - 301 watts
Week 8: 5 min VO2 - 362 watts 20 min - 316 watts
Weight is still in the 183-185 lb range, but will drop now that I am feeling better.
Happy, considering some poor health and missed workouts - the run may not be so groovy....
I had some improvement too on the HR rate test.
10-29-14 First bike test
40:00 12.6 miles 18.9 mph 146 ave HR
12-15-14 Second bike test
40:00 13.1 miles 19.7 mph 139 ave HR
This test was easier than the first one, although my lower average HR seems to say that I could have gone harder.
HR Avg: 171
HR Max: 180
Distance: 9.27 miles
Speed: 13.9 mph
on 10-Nov: (I entered the OS a bit late):
HR Avg: 174
HR Max: 183
Distance: 9.24
Speed: 13.8 mph
Overall I'm disappointed. Seems pretty flat, was hoping for a bit of an improvement. I think my biggest issue is to push harder! I need to set myself a goal to shoot for in terms of speed and maybe HR for next time I guess. Any advice is more than welcome!
You all rock with your big improvements! I will aim to do likewise next test. I'm still hopeful for the run test tomorrow...
Thanks,
Erik
I don't know if everyone else felt the tremors, but the NOS bike captain just finished his Power Test. My lungs & legs hurt from just looking at the power profile!
I am really impressed with all the hard work going on. Congratulations to all who made improvements no matter how big or small.
I definitely felt a little pressure to perform as I headed to the pain cave this afternoon. After it was said and done I was able to crush myself and had a really good test. I do the 2 X 20 test method. I've tried the 5/20 a few times and that VO2 interval burns my legs to the point where I can't get anywhere near a true FTP. My goal for today was to come in at 310 watts. My first interval was 317 and 2nd interval was 334 for a new FTP of 323 or 3.98 W/Kg. This is a 15 - 20 Watt bump from where my fitness was at the beginning of the OS and my all time high by 7 watts.
Duration: 42:00
Norm Power: 323
VI: 1.01
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 470 320 watts
Heart Rate: 128 184 169 bpm
Cadence: 46 99 85 rpm
http://www.strava.com/activities/230047159
Tested yesterday. Some impressive improvements out there!
week 1: 5' VO2 331, 20' FTP NP 291
week 8: 5' VO2 342, 20' FTP NP 317 - 5%=301 watts/kg=3.99 so close!
Surprised by the results given how hard it has been to hit numbers so far in the workouts.
Exciting week with lots of great progress across the board!
Week 1 5' power = 189 watts; 20' power = 167 watts = 160 FTP
Week 8 5 power =214 watts; 20' power = 189 watts = 180 FTP
20 watt improvement in FTP
VO2 (5') = 241 W
FTP (20') = 206 * .95 = 196 W
A bump of 1-2 W only (based on whether I believe TR or TP...), but I'd already said I wasn't feeling a bump yet on the bike. The run on Thursday, OTOH, will hopefully show me something!
Lots of great work all around, everyone!
FTP up 7%
Next time ... plan hydration and nutrition better during the day = felt flat for testing, also eating about 2 hours before was not a good idea since I felt sick about 15 minutes into the 20' test but still finished it.
Man, that was HARD and was by far the worst paced FTP test I have done. I went out too hard and was in the middle of nightmare from 10minutes on. I was able to finish, but my power took a dip during the the 3rd 5minute segment. The good news is that i now have a new alll time FTP, even though i missed my target by 1 watt. The bad news is, i need to hit these these new numbers for the next 7 weeks
Here are the deets:
VO2 Week1: 270 VO2 Week 7: 283
FTP Week1: 247 FTP Week7: 259
Current watts/kg: 3.77
Great work on the bike tests. I'm still out here lurking in the wings doing some rides. I may or may not do a test in the next 6 days then transition to 2 weeks in Hawaii. I'll then be defecting to the JOS.
Week 1 VO2 - 177
Week 8 VO2 - 179
Week 1 FTP - 130
Week 8 FTP - 148
http://tpks.ws/3oDQ
Did my Thursday bike session today, 40' @ 0.86. It felt great. No stress, nice and steady, clock was never going backwards, felt like I could have gone on a lot longer.
Standard EN w/u, including 12' @ .80
2x20' @ 0.95, 0.97
5' @ 1.01
10' @ 0.90
Felt good to get stronger as the ride went along. Also made some progress on the mental side in ignoring fatigued legs and focusing the mind
Good luck to those last minute shoppers!