Jan OS Week 18
Happy rest day! I can't believe it's week 18 already! Hope everyone is feeling good and looking forward to a strong OS finish followed by a well deserved transition!
My transition will be a bit delayed as I am now officially on my second week of HIM training. So far so good. I did my first RR this past weekend - it didn't go off without a hitch, but it went a lot better than I expected. I posted an RR report if anyone cares to check it out and offer some advice... It really is amazing to think that I can do nothing longer than a 90 minute trainer ride and go out and ride 56 without batting an eye. A few of my friends thought I was completely nutz when I told them I was heading out for my first real ride of the season and doing 56... but I did it... and my legs were okay. Woot.
It's hot and humid in DC. I mean yucky. It should not feel like August on May 3rd! My run today was hard - my legs were ready, willing, and able (after a few minutes to loosen up), but the air was so thick it was hard to breathe. I walked a few minutes during my recovery phases to get my HR down... and had a hard time staying in Z4 for my work segments... wow... not acclimated yet, that's for sure. I'll be heading to the pool soon for speedwork. I will definitely say the swim workouts are hard... but it's nice to have the sets to break up the monotony of just swimming to get the volume in.
I hope everyone is doing well - not sure what your week looks like... but kill it!
Comments
Becky,
Way to go on the RR. I'll try to head over but I am packing for a work trip.
As for the hot and humid enjoy unless you want to come up here to Canada. We are supposed to get some rain and temperatures below freezing over the next few days. I see we still have snow in the short term forecast.
Gordon
@Gordon - no thanks... the snow is all yours. Yikes! How is your achilles?
@Michele - sounds like a great weekend of riding! My schedule calls for rides both sat and sun... hopefully I'm ready for it!
I skipped my swim last night... decided the ROI wasn't that great (I'm pretty good as far as swimming goes... not to mention, the volume is pretty high for an HIM) - I wanted to prep for the brick this morning - getting my fluids ready, my tires pumped, my clothes our and ready... not to mention try to get to bed at a reasonable time. I did it! Was up and on my trainer at 5:10 - an hour ride followed by a 30 minute run. Woo hoo! I can't say I'm back, but hey, that's my first morning cardio session in a while... and I'm gonna try to do my long run early tomorrow too... which will involve me eating 2 hours in advance (ugh) and probably going back to bed - I may have a smoothie in the fridge waiting for me to gulp down a la RR style...
This is week 10 for me in my catch-up OS and the second week of 30/30’s. Last Saturday I got on the Chicago lakefront for a windy ride and crushed it! My FTP is supposedly around 218 but my 3 work sets were at 230 (10min), 244 (10min), and 255 (5min) with average speeds of 21, 21, and 24. Still managed to hit the brick run paces without issue.
Tuesday’s brick was a tough but good one. I’m hitting some pretty high numbers for my 30 seconds on and am still able to hit my run paces. Fortunately the brick run was only Z1 but I had a hard time not going faster. Today’s run was good and I’m going about 15 seconds faster than what my prescribed zones are. My legs feel cooked but in a good way. I’m rocking the compression socks all day and making sure to get 7:30 – 8hrs of sleep a night. That part is really helping.
@ jeff: haha! compression socks. i haven't gone that far yet
.
gh
@jeff: yeah, i am an M.D., so understand the the proposed theory. and you earn extra points for getting the normal ones vs the tri ones!
but just don't pose in front of the mirror with them or walk around the expo's with them, man!!!!!
i do basic yoga stretches each night after hard days and that works well too, without the risk of getting caught at the expo by rich!
G
Well the work travel schedule has not been kind to me. I did not get workout in yesterday, no bike here in the hotel and a rest day for my achillies. Today we had a late supper so I tried to get on the treadmill, as it was snowing and I did not bring outside running gear. The one treadmill was in use when I went down so off to supper I went. Upon returning at 10:30 I rushed down to the gym and I was in luck. Unfortunately the gym closes down at 11. I go in 20' on the treadmill z1 stuff as scheduled then shut it down.
Gordon
Hi OS peeps,
Been absent from the forum but still doing all the workouts. Just been busy not with work but fun house stuff. Anyway, wow, can you believe it..week 18 already !!! Amazing..
@Becky: great job on your HIM training, you are almost there ! Great RR btw !
@Michele: sounds like you had a great weekend of riding!
@Jeff. You will definitly crush your next FTP test ! Great job ! Good for you too for getting the sleep you need. I need help in that area.
My DH got me a certificate for a new fitting for my bd. I was complaining about my fit. We went this week and he made quite a few changes. Spend 2hrs on me. I am much more aero now and surprisingly to me anyway , much more comfortable. Tried it out on both my rides the last two days and very pleased with the outcome. My speed is increased and so is my power. Also the wind is no longer as much a factor as it used to be. The best thing is that i'm comfortable in aero. I was ok before but now I feel no weight or pressure from my upper body. So happy. My runs have been going well too. Long run doesn't seem too bad, getting used to 1.5 h for it. It's nice to have intervals too, I find it breaks it up making it seem even less. I'm planning my run for test week , a 10k in a nice area of Rochester. It's the first race I've done here. Should be fun !
Nathalie
Entire workout (217 watts):
Duration: 58:45
Work: 763 kJ
TSS: 136.6 (intensity factor 1.184)
Norm Power: 221
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 18.59 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 16 362 217 watts
Cadence: 23 183 73 rpm
Speed: 0 27.8 19.0 mph
Pace 2:09 0:00 3:09 min/mi
Hub Torque: 15 233 76 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 996 277 lb-in
@Natalie- A great fit can make a huge difference. Happy B-day!
nice, Nathalie! nopressure in aero, cool... I noticed my shoulders getting stiff during my RR, I figured it's because I'm out of upper body shape (first my ACJ sprain... followed by my hand - has made it very hard to do any sort of lifting, push ups, etc)...
I've seen compression socks but never taken the plunge - although I should (since most of my marathons are destination and involve sitting on planes the next day). hmm... I know folks who run in them, I'd probably go the recovery route.
So I did the long run yesterday (but not at 6am as planned). I skipped this morning's run... will swim after work and make up the run Sunday after my shorter (only 2 hours, lol) ride... not sure how/where I'll do the 4 hour ride tomorrow but I'm praying for no rain... it will be my first attempt at an EN style bike workout off the drainer, so we'll see how it goes. I don't remember what it is, but I think it's long sets as opposed to 30/30s.
We are so close...
@ Nathalie - That's excellent news on dialing in the position and seeing benefits right away.
@ Michele - Rest day what's that's oh yes I took days off earlier in the week because I was travelling and they had to take me out for drinks and steak...I skipped the drinks on the second night and got that whole 20' of running in.
@Becky - I have a pair of compression socks from when I broke my leg. I use them when I fly, but not all the time. I'm not sure I could race in them but believe the recovery aspect, especially if you are flying the next day could be well worth it.
So because of my lack of training earlier in the week I decided to do a ride today. I have skipped to week 20 so I have a bike test on Thursday to make up. I have to relate my OS story so sorry for the longer post.
At the beginning of the Nov OS I missed week 1 with work travel and my powertap arrived on Friday of that week. I got everything set up and my first ride with power was a test that following Tuesday on a trainer, my FTP was 180. Fast forward to week 20 of Nov OS and I hit 220, the same number as week 16. I tried to overextend my self shooting for 230-235 knowing that I was going in to the Jan OS after a week of transition. I was fried and needed the time. I ended up taking two weeks off because I got sick.
In the last three weeks workouts have been not as consistent as the first 20, but decent. So today's FTT is the final test after 25 weeks of OS.
To keep with tradition, this was my first ride outside with power. Why not try something new on test day? I have heard about the difference in power outside vs inside but really had no reference for a target. I decided 230 would be a good number to shoot for. I finished today's test with a 234, that's a 30% increase over the 25 weeks in the OS. Just remember I am coming off the couch this past june/july with some mountain biking but not have done anything since I broke my leg 3 years ago. Needless to say there was lots of room for improvement and the OS program was great. RnP set up a great program and I am just another result of consistent training.
Here are my numbers:
Gordon