IMLP camp de brief & help request with target power
In Lake Placid this past weekend I rode the Friday June 12, 2015 ride as:
Goal For this ride P normal = 90 minutes@<152 (Current Z1), then 152-162 (Current Z2).</p>
Looking at the IF of for this on Strava 75% (garmin=0.763), it seems very high right? I only spent about 35% of the time <160 watts, which is above what the goal zone was supposed to be which is a poor job on my part.<img alt="" src="http://members.endurancenation.us/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/confused.gif" /> However, I felt pretty good.
However, (and this is also my bad) my current FTP is based on a test done near the end of the OS back in January, and I have not "successfully" tested since. Something has either gotten in the way, or I exploded during testing.
To make sure I am going in the right direction, and based on the advice from Shaughn at the camp, I am posting this here to get input on what a realistic goal power number should be. With about 6 weeks until the race and based on my current fitness would using the 5 hour or 6 hour power number from this past weekend’s ride on the course be the appropriate goal.? We have one more test in week 17 of the training plan, should I wait until then and compare those numbers again? I think that my 20 minute strength on the bike is a bit off from my longer ride fitness? Also looking through the wiki I am trying to find the spreadsheet that helps come up with the appropriate goal power numbers for short and longer hills, can anyone help me find?
Current FTP=213; Existing Zones Z1=0-152, Z2=152-162, Z3=173-184, Z4=206-217, Z5=238-260
Goal For this ride P normal = 90 minutes@<152, then 152-162</p>
https://www.strava.com/activities/324097686
(From Garmin Connect) Actual P normal=151; Actual P avg=163; Actual VI=1.08
At the end of the ride I felt good, other than slight saddle issues, and felt fine running. The lap time of one of the miles seems long, I had come to a stop and then ran with Edwin for last couple of miles. But running 6 miles is not 26 miles….the goal of not totally exploding is at the TOP OF MY LIST THIS YEAR.
Run = https://www.strava.com/activities/324096028
Take away from the camp this year, and moving forward for the next few weeks.
- Regardless if I am feeling good, just need to calm down on first lap. RR#1 ride, power drifted up from Mile 30 to 40. Still felt ok, but need to set an appropriate maximum (see above) on flats & smaller inclines.
- Need to even out the effort over the day with goal of being more consistent.
- At the start of the run, I should try to keep my HR for 6 miles at the HR for last segment of the bike leg.
- Go online and purchase some of the Gatorade endurance Orange flavor and train on the bike with it, since that is what is in the Athlete’s Guide for the event. (Already purchased online last night from Vitacost.com).
- Fit and position on the bike seems good….just might need to go back to old tri shorts since they did not cause the issues I am currently having with the newer ones on these long rides.
- Lost more weight and my existing long sleeve wetsuit made me feel like I was hauling a huge bag of wet laundry through the lake.....checked the size chart and oops, I bought it 3 years ago when and I am currently 20 pounds less than I bought it and the sizing on the chart. Might need a new one, if I am having the same issues with the sleeveless wetsuit. Will try that one out this week to check to see if it still fits.
- Pollen this year is making me nuts. Started to get me Saturday about an hour into the bike possible from after heavy overnight rains…and killed my running on the Sunday long run. I get short of breath and start coughing up a real mess. By end of July it “should be” ok in the LP area, but check forecast and be ready with a plan just in case.
If anyone can help me add to my moving forward to do list for the next several weeks that would be great.
Thank you for your help,
John
Comments
Looking at your file, actual 5 hour power curve is 151 watts.
That's a good place to benchmark given it looks like your HR was steady and slightly rising near the second half with a VI at 1.08 for the total ride.
My guess is that your IF of .76% is overstated given your FTP is likely a little higher than the last test several months ago and you are probably somewhere closer to .72 - .74ish.
If this were my data, I would target 155ish as my goal watts, look to ride as steady as possible, meeting or beating the 1.08 VI above.
Feeling good off the bike is a good sign of staying in your box, hydrating correctly and doing a lot of other things right. When combined with looking at a VI less that 1.1 and a consistent but slight rising HR over that long of a duration, that 5 hour power number looks relevant.
Be interested to also take in what others have to offer.
SS
Five hour power.
Here's the reasoning. The FTP is merely a tool to help guide your workouts. It can be used to plan for race day, but the longer the race, the lower the value. IM is best ridden at a steady pace for 5-7 hours. Based on your camp performance, you can probably anticipate a 6:05-10 bike ride on race day. With rest/taper, closed roads, legal drafting, etc, you should be able to hold that five hour power for the last 5 hrs of the bike, after JRA for the first hour or so.
Tests done in week 17 are notoriously unreliable, given our state of fatigue at that point in the training cycle. I don;t bother doing them; I either get depressed or confused with the result. When deciding what power I should ride at on race day, I go with my 5 hour power on Training Peaks Performance Management Chart, as confirmed by my performances on the two race rehearsals.
I like what you said here, "•Regardless if I am feeling good, just need to calm down on first lap."
on that course you really need to respect the first lap.
what I have noticed between RR1 and RR2 is that my numbers are about the same but I feel much more capable of handling the effort for RR2 and ultimately the race. And I'm also one of those guys who has a hard time proving my FTP during an IM build but keep myself honest with doing good power analysis after long rides like RR1.
good luck