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2016 JOS Wk 8 Bike Thread - Like you have a gun to your head Pt Deux

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  • I rode today, after having done my 5K test on Tuesday...as I said my week is going to be screwed up. Didn't seem like it would make any sense to do my bike test today. I got in 2 x 15 and 1 x 5 in an hour at 1.02-1.03. Good workout overall. After today, it's going to be hit and miss this week...hopefully more hits than misses. Good luck everyone!
  • Kudos to all of you peeps that completed that stressful FTP test!  I have a love/hate relationship with the test itself.  I normally don't sleep well the night before - over thinking the pain I will embrace the next morning and I hate the last 10 minutes of the test, but I love it when I am done and have accomplished holding the line to the end.  My Week 8 test was a good improvement over Week 1 like many of you saw but it was no where near some of the 10% + improvements you guys are throwing down here!

    Made it through a V02 session this morning: https://www.strava.com/activities/501924437 

    Felt more like a bad dream taking place early.

    Happy Thursday all !

    SS

  • I was pretty psyched to attack my VO2s this morning.  With a short-term goal of getting to 270 FTP (SS' warm-up, easy spin power), I know I've got to get my VO2s into the 290s.  Historically, my VO2 efforts tend to fall exactly at 110% of FTP, so I can usually use VO2 as a different tool to gauge the same thing. 110% of 268 = 295, 110% of 270 = 297.  Simple - just ride the 4x4's in the mid-290s. And, really, if a skinny guy like Luke McKenzie can ride 295NP for 4.5 hours ( http://home.trainingpeaks.com/public/workout/Z53NBFPCHPLWHOFZWQD2KDG65E ), surely I can hold that power for 4 measly minutes.  Well . . . this is where planning and reality separated and went their own directions. I worked very hard to get 292 on the first and needed those 6 min of rest between efforts. #2 looked and felt like #1 - also 292.  The third and fourth were twins of each other: started well, faded into the mid-280s during Minute 3, went dark to rally and finish at 291. Pretty much confirms that 265 is the number.  For now.  Next week, 295 falls.     

  • Hello All, Wanted to check in with you.  I had a good test on Tuesday, bumping my numbers from 263 to 278.  Was definitely happy with that.   I did my run test last Saturday, so, just did 40 TRP at lunch today and will do the v02 workouts tonight.  Been binge watching The Killing lately on Netflix.  Pretty soon, I can ride outside again here in Wisconsin.   Good work everyone. 

  • Lesson learned... day after run test beware of a hard bike workout. Needed to change my Saturday workout to today since traveling early Saturday morning and won't have the time (Or don't want to get up that early). Didn't really think the run test day would effect me like it did but I was struggling to hold 1.00 at the new FTP in the first interval. When the second started it didn't feel much better and about 8 minutes in I noticed the power going in and out (down to 0 and 0 cadence). Garmin Vector pedal batteries must be going I thought but didn't feel like quitting and looking for new batteries so just watched power as it was in to make sure it was about same and HR was where it had been. It was kinda mental though because on Zwift with the in and out it was only showing 220's and 230's for power so in my head I thought i was under achieving and falling short. Don't really know for sure where power probably was but I got to the point in the 2nd interval at 18' in and had enough. Finished out the last 25 min. around 85% but felt like I had been beat up
  • Hello everyone, I am back from my mid-JOS break. My wife and I traveled to Israel for a week vacation. Although there was no chance for me to get in any structured workouts, we walked everywhere. we tallied over 50 miles of walking. I did run Sunday 10K morning to try and start my week. The run went well, but the travel week was not being friendly to me. By the afternoon, I was wiped out. Monday I went to the pool and had a very good swim. I was excited for the Tuesday OS-bike workout. Tuesday came and I am pretty sure the gorilla spent most of the night and all day beating me up. When I got home from work, it was clear I had nothing to give for a workout. Wednesday was not much better. Thursday came and it was time to suck it up. I went to my bike and got going. During the warm-up, things felt good. I was pushing good watts but I noticed my heart rate was a bit high. My warm-up always includes three 1 minute intervals where I push the power above the goal watts for the main set. These went very good. Interval # 1 started the same and I was pushing too many watts. Halfway through I was about 10 watts over my goal for that interval. I backed off and tried to settle down.My heart rate was pretty high and even after backing off, it did not come down. The second interval was not a mirror of the first. Clearly I had woken the gorilla during the first and he was not going to be friendly. Five minutes in and I was a few watts low. Recording progressively increasing intervals was fading. I made it through this interval only 2 watts lower than # 1 but I was hurting. I spent 13 minutes with my heart rate above 167 bpm and 11 minutes with it above 169 bpm. I took an extra minute during the rest interval before I started # 3. When I did start, not even 2 minutes in and I was 20 watts low. Normally, I am a bunch of watts above my interval goal at that point. I felt like I couldn't even turn the crank. I actually stopped pedaling and stopped my computer. I was set to end the workout. Rule # 10 is posted on the wall right in front of my bike. So, obeying the rules I started the clock and got back at it. During the first 2 minutes I had averaged 239 watts. Over the next 13 minutes I pulled it together and averaged 253 watts. On a RPE level, this was one of the hardest workouts I have done. After 14 days off the bike, I was in suffer mode at halfway through the second interval. I spent 37 minutes with my heart rate above 167 bpm. I can't wait for Saturday!!!

  • @Edwin, hmm, 2 weeks off for sun and fun halfway across the earth. Yah I'd be a little spent to, did you ever think of just easing back into it ?? The gorilla in you will be unleashed again for the second half , look out peeps Edwin's back!
  • Mr. Ross gives some good wisdom here. 

    @Ed C.  - I think your are very hard on yourself and that you always get the job done.  You set your priorities right and led from the front reminding all of us how to balance and take care of the most important things in life which will allow everything else overtime to fall into place as it should.  Consider doing an FTP test this weekend like all others did earlier in the week.  It will take all of the guess work out and ensure you're not unnecessarily overcooking yourself in the second half of this craziness.

    Keep leading....

     

    SS

  • I'm a little late to the FTP testing party having arrived home from sunny and warm Naples last night to about a foot of snow and 26 degrees! RUDE!

    I have been sick (still am darn it!) and after having a great Saturday ride 2/13 had hoped to test last week before traveling south last Sunday. Nope. Full blown icky sicky. Got 2 rides in and maybe 3 miles running. In Naples with my family, none of whom participate in my silliness I managed an 8 miler, a 3 miler and a 3.5 miler. It was fab. We left Wednesday am to drive home and arrived last night after a pit stop in Choo. I've been reading all your posts...my workout hubbies kept me in the loop on their tests. Still, this am, I was thinking of just swagging it for a while, but decided to do the EN wu and see how it felt. It went well.

    So, I loaded up the test, cut the wu to 5' since I'd already done 25' with 12' at my old sweet spot. I looked at my original test data and guesstimated where I could land. I typically underperform in the vo2 portion (never really hit that 120%) so when I had a really good avg I figured, lets just see whats what. I estimated I could hold 210 for the 20' netting me a 200ftp. So thats where I started. I bumped every 5' and was surprised at how "comfy" the 210 felt, then the 215, then by the 3rd 5' 220 was work but doable, and I threw it against the wall in the last 5'. Net result was a big bump.  I think I really paced this well.  Especially for me. 

    Test 1: 5' 209, 20' 199, FTP 189

    Today: 5' 250, 20' 223, FTP 212



    There is an asterisk since I was off the bike basically for almost 2 weeks, so had very rested legs. But I'm gonna work those numbers since I was feeling really good prior to getting this stupid cold that apparently wants to be in a long term relationship with me.



    Thanks to all who posted this week, keeping me motivated to try my best today. Mojo is very much appreciated!



    Now if I can just manage to get the darn scale to move in the proper direction I'll be set!






     

  • oh YEA!!!! FTP test complete! new shiny (soon to be painful) FTP of 261. +11 watts!
  •      Sat. bike done with new FTP.   25' WU+ 15'@ 241w (1.0), 5' easy, 15' @202w (.84).

         Run done as a brick.

  • Good Saturday to everyone! I had a good day yesterday and just ran 10K. I held the pace down since I had planned to ride 3 X 15' intervals today. Not only did it feel good, it was definitely the right thing to set up this morning's ride. I was excited for the ride and encouraged during the warm-up. My heart rate did not jump to super high bpm during the warm-up. Once the intervals began I felt in control. The first and second went well, but I was nervous about the 3rd. The second interval was work. I started the 3rd thinking about cutting it to a 10' interval. @ 5 minutes in, I dropped to a harder gear and slowed my cadence. As each minute went by, I gained more confidence and just kept going. After all, "It never gets easier, you just get faster." I finished the set with 263W, 261W, 260W & feel like I took one from the gorilla. https://www.strava.com/activities/503613980

  • @ Chris - fantastic work on the FTP bump!  Those do not come easy!

    @ Mark L. - moving forward with new zones and no excuses!  BAM!

    @Ed C. - After looking at your file, I can easily understand why the Gorilla is on his back!  No way I could come back from a trip and lay down that kind of intensity back to back in the week!  You and Trent must have the same genes!

    SS

  • @Trish - HUGE progress in my opinion with that FTP bump into the 200s!  Hard to complain when we have chickas throwing down those kind of improvements!

    SS

  • I havent been posting much via JOS bike , since I am not running I am doing more biking than the plan but I started the same week... 4-6 rides a week, 1 @ just over FTP, 1 much higher than FTP, 1 just below FTP, and the remainder of the weekly rides are recovery or endurance....

    My FTP test - The goal was to gather all the mojo from this weeks testing and do a full 1hr real FTP test.... That was the goal and while all goals are not meant to be met but used as something to aim for... Yes I have lots of excuses , I was getting some skipping in my shifting on my prime needed gear, had trouble breathing as the air got thinner , it was warm, etc... But in the end I was just weak and need to get stronger, that is what it was today...On top of that I weighed in at 127 (gotta stop going to the gym or eating) this am giving me a w/kg for the ride of 3.7.... Made it for a 1 x 42' no rest interval , AP214 and NP216.... Pre-test I had FTP set at 214 , since I like to take 99% of a 2 x 20 my 216NP give me ..... yep 214FTP again... FWIW strava has me at 216 now for the estimate... I'll put the files below to show the upper left to lower right trend of how not to pace the power... Still great training day and happy with results... Very Happy with screaming high HR work for an almost 54yr old, and scored another new high V02 via Garmin 520 of 61....
    https://connect.garmin.com/activity/1065811033
    http://www.strava.com/activities/503741299/overview
    Next week I get a chance to do another non-traditional FTP test in the form of 2 bike races on friday with the first being 4 miles (over 10min) and the 2nd will be an hour after that of 12 miles (over 30 min)... I hope my lungs have recovered from todays searing...

    Carry on with all those new huge numbers I saw all week :-)
  • Today was my first 2 hour trainer ride as 4x15'(10') with 3 over/unders in each interval. It was a Trainer Road workout with 118 TSS and .77 IF. Followed it with a great 6 mile run.
  • This was my first week back riding after having both the road bike and the tri bike in the shop for 2 weeks.

    I didn't test like you guys. Going to ride for about 2 weeks to get back into it and then test if I feel it's needed.

    I am starting to switch a few things that will cost me watts. Felt really good about where my watts were on the road bike before the stoppage. Now, I'm starting to work on some intervals on the tri bike and with a different power meter (Stages) that runs about 10 w lower than what I was using (Quarq). Also, I'm going to kick around some focus on higher cadence intervals. Been doing that this week on the trainer/aero and it seems to be harder than I expected. HR higher.

    So, questions for you guys....When we talk higher cadence, I understand the benefits, do you try to spin as high as your roadie position or does the aero tuck hinder that high cadence a little bit? And, do you have any thoughts on why HR is def higher with aero intervals as opposed to sitting up?

    Thanks, feedback welcomed.

    Sincerely,
    That guy who seems to have gone rogue b/c his silly little sessions don't look like the rest of JOS playpen.

    Thanks for letting me hang around and mooch the mojo. You guys are rolling strong!
  • @ Chris - welcome back.

    @Derrek - perfect timing for a 2 hour ride coming into the spring and WORK showing with 118 TSS!

    @Tim - I looked at your Garmin file.  42 minutes of redlining that HR and holding the line just spelled pain and mental toughness to me.  2,000 ft of elevation and warm temps - that kind of intensity is high quality and has  BIG paybacks as you know.  I really am not sure I could pull that off but kudos to you for a quality test man, putting it all out there, holding yourself accountable and moving forward!

    I had a shootout yesterday for my Saturday bike: https://www.strava.com/activities/503695839  Just over 2 hours with a 2 X 25'.....

    Wrapping up week 12 here, feeling worn down and holding on.

    Finish the week strong all!

    SS 

  • Saturday 90 min bike done on Sunday Morning. It was hard given the new FTP but nailed it

    Goal of 20'@1.0 (new FTP of 232W) and then 12+14+12 min all @0.85

    Delivered: 1.01(234W) and then 0.86/0.86/0.85

    link--> https://connect.garmin.com/activity/1067409539

    Felt like punching the gorilla in the face at the end

     

  • nice touch, GCP!
    image
  • Saturday ride completed yesterday before I had to get on with the day, no time for run until later.  New FTP doable:

    1x20" @1.01; 2 x15' @ .86  20' bric completed before dinner.

  • Awesome bike yesterday!  Did 45 min on tri bike on the trainer- with my new low zones based on my test, it says I was in Z3.  Sure didn't feel like Z3!  Cranked up to Z4 and still felt really great.  I'm thinking my zones are a bit low.  I'll do the zones as prescribed on Tuesday and see what happens- may adjust FTP upward a bit.  Then did 45 easy minutes with the hubs- me on my gravel bike and him on his mountain bike.  Then a fast 3 mile brick.  Then we went and I got my son his first tattoo, which I may incorporate into my M-Dot, which I have been trying to design for 2 years.  He and his sister both have "Pain is Temporary".  I think that totally embodies the Ironman ethos.  After that, we test drove some SUVs, and then hubs and I went to a nice french restaurant for dinner.  A perfect Saturday!

  • Busy weekend....sat ride = 2 x 15 (1.03, 1.05) + 3 x 15 (.83) + 4 @ TRP.....sun was 8 mi @ TRP + a nice ez 1hr ride outside
  • @ Gonzalo - nice image!!!
    Got the Saturday wko done on Saturday, just forgot to post!!
    Trying to build volume a bit as I have a 100k MTB race in Early April
    2x15' @ 1.0
    8' - 10' - 8' all at .85
    25' @ .73 (APB)

    ALL intervals completed at target zones with new FTP (247) while I did not do a valid test, I think this validates it! I think I needed to do these at .95-.98 so as to be able to do another 25' APB interval or two... next week, i am going to lay it down by trying to do 4hrs on the drainer on friday! (tough after the thursday wko!)



  • well set out for my ride on Sunday but things didnt end well.  after about 20 miles i was going through an intersection and an SUV didnt see me and just plowed right on through.  I was going 22 when i hit - t boned it on the side.  i think the aero bars helped it from being worse but separated shoulder, broken nose, banged up hip.  scary as hell. 
  • @Patrick...oh no! these things are really scary, good that it seems you are banged up bot not something really serious. Get well soon!
  • @Patrick glad you survived an untimely bike/car accident. It is scary for sure glad you are safe and have been taken care of. Time to assess, heal, and rehab as you see fit. Keep us posted and again glad you are okay ! (as ok can be)

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