Rossta Macro Thread
Hi Coach Rich, this is my first macro post!
Question on my mind right now is "how to get my bike training done this season?". My challenges include: I've moved to a new area (Northern VA from New York City) and I've got a 2-month old at home. In NYC, I had some good people and accessible places to ride. I don't have either (yet) in VA. Finding training partners and good, nearby spots to ride may take time. I want to limit commute time to avoid spending too much time away from the little guy.
So... I'm thinking of getting most of my bike training done indoors (80-90%) this season, perhaps until I get within a few months of the A race date.
Generally, do you have thoughts or concerns about athletes opting to move most of their bike training indoors? What questions should I be answering to make sure I'm maximizing my training inputs?
Thanks!
Comments
Living in SoCal I have little (zero, happily) experience with riding indoors
. But my thoughts are:
If you have more specific questions, highly recommend you start a thread in the General Discussion Forum. Many, many athletes with thousands of hours on the trainer and I'm sure they could give you more insights.
Good luck!
Winter has arrived and I've finally committed to a smart trainer to bring my training indoors: Wahoo Kickr + Zwift. It's actually kind of fun.
I performed this week's bike test for the first time: https://www.strava.com/activities/807135838. Since Wahoo + Zwift give me power numbers, this will be the first time I'll have power data while I train. Where do you recommend I start to learn more about understanding training with power?
Welcome to training with power! You can begin with the power section in the wiki but I also recommend you pick up Training and Racing with a Powermeter here. Finally, recommend you post in the Power Forum to see of others have resources for you.
Bottomline is there's a bit of a learning curve with regards to terms, terminology, etc so you'll need to do some homework to get the most out of it. But you're in the right place to learn, TONS of experience on the team. Good luck!
Just checking in - training so far has gone really well. I'm proud how what I've been able to accomplish so far and really looking forward to this year's races.
Question for you: I'll be switching jobs soon and may have a few weeks off in the interim during the latter part of January. What are your thoughts on scheduling extra workouts/increasing volume and/or intensity to take advantage of the extra time?
Thanks,
Ross
Congrats on the job change! Recommend you enjoy the temporary opportunity to not really have a schedule and then do whatever you feel like doing more of...if that makes sense. Can you ride outside in your bike? Do that. Want to enjoy a couple more runs per week? Do that. In other words, adding stuff now in January won't really have a significant impact on your races later in the year so it's really more about using this opportunity to do what you want to do more of and have fun with it.
Good luck!
I've had what I consider a really solid OS so far and I've been starting to look ahead at my plan in more detail. I'm entered in Quassy in early June, NYC Tri in July, with my A race Wisconsin in early September. I like Quassy and NYC Tri mostly for sentimental reasons - I've done those races almost every year I've been a triathlete - without thinking too much about how well they set me up for my IM in September.
I'm starting to wonder whether I'd benefit from a HIM in July or August instead... Should I consider a more-strategically placed HIM leading up to Wisconsin? What's the typical recommendation for prep races and how well does my current schedule fit into that?
Thanks,
Ross
I also wanted to ask you about the cycling camps since I've never done something like that before. I'm thinking about the Berkshire camp hoping that will set me up well for IM Wisconsin - assuming that's a good time of the season relative to my race. What are some benefits I can expect from the camp over, say, just doing a big volume weekend on my own? Also, if I have the option for between the tri-bike or a road bike for all those miles, which would you recommend?
You certainly could do a big volume camp on your own. I think it's more a matter of budget, whatever time/travel constraints you have, and do you want to ride in a new area with new people?
I'm now wrapping up Swim Camp after a successful NOS which I capped off with a 2nd best HM https://www.strava.com/activities/856870493 (and on a really tough course!)
I'm now looking ahead to the first four weeks of the Get Faster Plan before switching to the HIM plan.
Could you help me understand the goals of the "Get Faster" plan (i.e., beyond the "Get Faster" part) to help me frame approach over the next month?
Also, I notice the bike includes a lot of Zone 3 on the weekend rides. Elsewhere, I've heard this called "No Man's Land" before concerning the cost/benefit of too much time spent there. What's the EN philosophy on that?
Thanks!
Ross
Z3: we call Zone 3 ABP (Always Be Pushing) and we've found it to be very valuable over the years, as a time efficient way to really pile on the training stress for these rides. If you look at the EN*Half and EN*Full plans you'll see ABP rides every Sunday.
Thanks for sharing the Get Faster video . Couple more questions for you:
What are your thoughts on using a for race as a race-rehearsal in the HIM plan? I was looking ahead on my schedule and found a local half that would coincide with one of the race rehearsal weekends leading up to Quassy.
As a newer team member, I'm interested in purchasing a tri-kit this year. Are the sleeved LG one piece tri suits going to be offered for 2017?
Thanks!
Ross