2015 JOS Week 5 Bike Thread
Wow, Week 5 already! Seeing some great work here.... keep it up! I'm also seeing some "dead/tired/sore leg" comments so make sure your recovery is as quality as your work. Listen to your body, don't be a hero, all that good stuff. 
Int. plan calls for Tues. 2 x 12', Thurs. 8 x 1.5' and Sat. 2 x 12'. Funny how a mere 60 mins of "work" across a week can be so hard! But I know you all can get it done!
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Tuesday's FTP workout was laps around Zwift island. I warmed up and then spent some time chasing AI riders around, legs felt great and I was way outside of my assigned zones.
61 minutes with 2x12 @ 1.1 and 1.06 and 15 @ 0.96. Total ride was 61 minutes at 0.97 IF, NP watts for the ride were ten watts below my last tested FTP. I did have some big spikes during the 15 minute interval going for KOM placing, so that skewed the data a bit. The major objective difference in this ride was my cadence. I usually feel comfortable in the low 90's but couldn't find a sweet spot in gearing so I geared down this time. The interval averages were 85/87/89, a range in which I tend to feel like I'm grinding instead of spinning. The major subjective difference was that I felt I had a bit between my teeth using the Zwift game and riding with other real and AI riders. Where I previously spent the interval staring down at my Garmin, I was focused today on other 'riders' that seemed to be riding at close to my intensity.
All of this to say that one great workout does not a FTP bump make. I'll continue to see how this week goes, knowing that last Saturday's ride felt particularly hard. I'll make a final 're-test' decision after next Sunday's run and I've had a chance to do a comprehensive review of all the workouts of the week.
@ Roy - Some good strong results on that ride. I was like you a week or so ago. I posted a micro thread and Coach P said just keep bumping the FTP up, I did 5 watts. I also waited until I had three good rides to do this. I'll be retesting in wk 8 but may bump it up once more. I really like the test to earn my FTP but there are other ways.
2X12' for me today and the legs were tired. 1.0 &1.0 for both. This was a mental toughness ride as my HR was low so I just kept pushing the zones.
Sounds like I'm not alone in bumping up the FTP. I tested low, and just went with that number for the first three weeks. I was cruising through the workouts, so I started bumping my FTP last week. Hit the new paces/FTP and then some, without any noticeable effect on subsequent w/o's. I agree with Gordon on preferring to earn the FTP bump, but were here to work.
60 min
New goal FTP 220
2x10'@ 1.02 & 1.02
9' @ .91
Roy, Gordon & Phil and any other "bumpers" (Like that name?) At what point do you decide to bump? I've been hitting 1.00-1.02 IF on all my bike WKOs with a reasonable amount of pain, and some ease. I've refrained from "bumping" to avoid overachieving per our coaches' recos but do you think I should shoot for maybe 1.03+ and see how it goes? Don't want to dig a hole.....
Gonna go hit the treadmill for a bit.
@Kim - I have never bumped up my FTP previously. The reason I'm doing it is I came in to the OS out of shape with a 215 FTP. My high is 260 so there will be early gains. I'm in my 7th OS and can still do stupid stuff but so far I'm on track biking. Also remember I'm not really running with any intensity. So I have a lot of factors allowing me to work more and harder on the bike.
What type of shape did you come in to the OS in? If you are in the 1.0-1.02 and in a reasonable amount of pain just keep doing the workouts they will get harder as the FTP intervals lengthen out. The test will come soon enough
Take a read through this and then see what you think. http://members.endurancenation.us/R...+Intervals
After you read the article.... I think Roy had a break through ride 1.02 is a great session also not the kind of numbers Roy had. ^Edit^ Also note Roy's ride was .96 for 61' so very very strong for a 1 hour ride, take a look at this as well. Make sure your are getting in the optional .85 stuff and this will add in some training stress.
Phil on the other had testing issues so there is reason for him to work harder. Remember we are only in week 5 and there is still a long way to go. Believe me I do understand not wanting to leave watts on the table.
One final thing I just though of you are going away this weekend for extra riding time in a warm location. That will add in some fatigue. Wait until you come back and see how you respond to the extra time in the saddle.
Roll....scrape...roll...scrape...roll...scrape....Can you tell I watched Coach R's bike chat last night?? The entire ride on the trainer today I focused on rolling the barrel and scraping mud off my shoe. And it worked like a charm - my power was up with a lower RPE. Unfortunately I forgot to put my heart strap on so I don't have the hard data to support that the power was achieved without a significant uptick in effort.
Bottom line: using the roll/scrape method I was able to pedal at a higher cadence with more power. I know its not for free, but it felt good.
I will take the next 3 rides to determine if this was just a good day or if indeed the technique plus fitness improved FTP.
I could sustain 1.09 on the Z4 & Z5 intervals. The w/o's were physically and mentally challenging, but not exhausting. I am not experiencing carryover fatigue or muscle soreness on following day's w/o and I am meeting/exceeding all of my run interval paces. Other factors to consider are that I am down 7 pounds from the start of the JOS and my back injury has healed quite a bit in the past 4 weeks. So, while I too want to squeeze every potential watt out of the OS, I also remember the cumulative fatigue that set in during week 8-9 of last year's NOS.
@Gordon - Thanks for that link. It was a more detailed review of what coach RnP discussed in week 2's podcast on pacing.
@Matt, I haven't manipulated or bumped my FTP zones . [I'm not judging, what people do in the privacy of their own pain caves is totally up to them
] As I stated in my post, I'm watching how this week goes and then will make a decision on an early FTP re-test. I don't want to get too froggy just yet as it was a single, isolated good workout. However, like others, I have significant room between my last tested result and some of my previous OS FTP tests. If the next few workouts go well, I'll substitute a FTP test in for next Tuesday's session.
Solid work everyone. Keep up the posts and dialogue. Thanks for the link/context Gordon. This is how we all get smarter.
Pretty much done as advertised. I mentally "broke up" the sets to 2 sets of 7.5min for the first block and then 3 sets of 5min for the 2nd. Stupid mental tricks to help pass the time...along with trying to figure out the percentages of time completed. ("15min, half of that is 7:30, half of that is 3:45...ok 25% complete at 3:45...so how much time is 1%....let's see, 15min x60sec.....)
And getting past the 1/2-way point of the set is a Major Milestone.
I'm trying something a little different and it seems to be working pretty well. I'm shooting for high precision on the intervals. Doing that for several weeks. Once I started feeling like I could bust through, I started working in small intervals within the interval. Always on the last interval. No hero early & zero late. The opposite. I stretch those little intervals within the interval out over a couple of weeks. For example, the 12' intervals would go 3or4' to start at 1.1ish, then settle down to 1.0 for the middle of the interval, and then back up to 1.1ish for the last 3or4'. Now, at the 15' intervals we're at, the last 15' interval goes 5' @1.1ish / 5' @ 1.0 / 1.1ish. I feel like it's helping me push it up to the next level, but I'm still keeping zones the same until we test in week 8.
Just my angle this OS. Thought I'd share an alternative to bumping or testing every time we string a few good workouts together.
As for my bike today,
MS: 2x 15' (4') @ 1.0 and 1.02
and 22' @ .87
purring today, felt good, today's magic cadence was 83,84.
got the run in within the hour.
Glad I'm not the only math weirdo.
I too tested poorly as I was not fully recovered from the flu. I have consistently been riding at 1.05 or better so I know my FTP is at least 6 points higher (the 1.05) than I tested.
This am: 45' ride: 2x 12' @ (you guessed it): 1.05
no time for the run which I did this evening after work
Intervals were @ 1.01 and 1.00 felt pretty good. Thought the second one would have been better, but alas a little under.
2x12' at 1.05, 1.03 done, followed by 12' 0.86. No major problems. Second interval a little harder than first, as expected.
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/athlete/workout/CZFALXZJV6FG5TEI3QBO4M7EXE
Good luck either way.
So now I appreciate the "don't worry, make the numbers because it will catch up with you" logic. First 15 min interval was ok. Suffered through the second. I must admit that I have overshot a little, but not a lot and am happier for it. Work got in the way of the run. Oh, well.
Good luck everyone and keep those posts coming.