DOS Week 1 - BIKE TEST WEEK!!!!
Welcome to week 1 of the December Out Season or DOS (not to be confused with disk operating system for some people of a certain age like me). Brenda just anointed me the bike captain so I'm here to be the cheerleader for you. This is the forth time I've done the EN OS so hopefully I can answer questions that you may have as well.
The main thing this week is the test on Monday. This test will set your FTP or heart rate that you will use in all subsequent workouts until you test again, so it's pretty important. If you're new to this Coach Patrick has a video that explains it here. Take a look and let me know if you have any questions. During my first OS a very smart former teammate took a look at my test file and gave me this advice for the 20 minute FTP test. He said to start at about 95% of what I thought my FTP was and hold that for the first couple of minutes and then ramp up to hit 100% by the 5 minute mark. Hold that until the 15 minute mark and then ramp up slowly from there (if you can) until 18 minutes and then go as hard as you can for the next 2 minutes. You should collapse on your handlebars at the end of 20 minutes and feel like you are going to throw up! OTOH, don't worry about it if you don't get it entirely right. It's a difficult test to pace correctly and I've blown it about as many times as I've gotten it right. Coach Rich says we can always substitute in a test for a bike workout.
Some questions that often come up about testing are road bike or tri-bike? Inside or outside? First inside or outside, that depends on where you live and if you can ride outside or not. If you're like most of us in the northern hemisphere you won't be able to ride outside much this OS so you'll be on a trainer so you should test on a trainer. If you're going to be riding outside most of the OS then test outside. The bike question is more of a matter of preference for you. The coaches say that you should do whatever you can to get the work done in the OS with the least mental stress as possible. So do your training on whatever bike that's more comfortable for you.
The other new thing that the coaches have thrown into the bike mix this year is drills including "Spinups" and "One Leg Drills". These are a part of the warm up and are a great addition. I've been doing these drills for many years and they're very helpful and will improve your bike over time. I've read in the NOS bike forum that some folks who use Trainer Road for the workouts are having a little trouble getting the resistance right for these. You want to have light resistance for the one leg drills especially since the goal is to teach your muscles how to pedal smoothly all the way around the stroke instead of working on strength. Similarly with the spinups the goal is a high cadence to learn how to spin instead of mash. You should be spinning so fast at the end that you're starting to bounce on your seat a little. Give it a try, you'll like it. Here's Coach Rich's take.
OK, let's get going. Don't forget to post your workouts and let everyone know how it's going. And now for the song of the week!
Comments
Great testing advice provided above Mark! My VO2 and FTP (338/281) are almost what it was last year for the NOS'15! The only change is that I am a bit lighter so my W/KG is 3.44, which is just marginally better! I'll take Good wherever I can find it!
Now, if I can find some time, I'll do some aqua-jogging for recovery so my run test on Wednesday goes well! Good luck everyone!
Way to go Joe. Any improvement is great.
I did my test today as well. Since I was in the run durability plan it called for a longish run today which I knew would not be a good thing to do the day before a bike test so I switched and did the test this afternoon. My Vo2 was 266 and my FTP was 220 which is right where I was at the beginning of the NOS last year. I'll take that and build off it. Here's the file if you want to take a look. http://tpks.ws/8evVG
Numbers are down from the last test (a full year ago) but I guess I expected that. VO2 @ 262 and 160 bpm. 20min test session @ 223 with avg HR of 158 and a max towards the end of 166. So 95% of that is 212. Nowhere to go but up!
I'm in. I tested last week and Can not believe how far i have fallen since IMMOO. I blame beer. FTP 235 so lilke the rest no where to go but up. @Scott good to see you in the group. Looking forward to great OS. We look to have a more intimate group then the Nov/Jan. Lets make this one count.
TG
Glad to be in the DOS with everyone. Let's agree to be healthy and consistent. I did my first Bike Test in several months. It tells me I had been using zones a bit too high. I did not rest for this test, but since I have transitioned into Aquabike, at least I did't have the running miles in my legs.
Vo2 was 267w with HR 137-150. FTP test was 246w with HR 146-159. My new FTP is 234w. I hope to substantially improve on that to set me up for some great races next summer and fall.
My 2017 "A" race is the USAT LC AG Aquabike Nationals at Miami Man in November. In that race, I hope to qualify for the 2018 ITU Aquabike World Championships in Denmark. I should make the US Team as they take the top 18 and there were only 17 in my AG (65-69) this year. I was 6th, so my other goal at the Miami Man Aquabike Half is to get on the podium (top5).
Considering I have been dreading the bike test for weeks it was all in all a well executed test! In previous tests I usually fade out at the end of the 20 min. Not today. It was a mental battle but I had a small bag of jelly beans sitting on the computer as motivation for when I got done. Every donkey needs a carrot!
NP 277/240. A bite of a slide but better than I expected! I am a happy girl to have it done and be starting the DOS with everyone.
Merry DOS everyone and good testing!
@Jimmy A - hard to believe we live almost in the same town and have yet to meet. Amazing!
Since 30"/30"s are hard to track on my garmin with power, I opted to do the ol' 1'/1' protocol for 2[5 X1'(1') +1' ] for an awesome VO2 workout!
@Joe. Maybe we'll meet up at a race!
I too got my 2x(10x30/30) done today. Good power output in Z5 finished with 10min steady Z3. Felt great.
Did my 5k run test on the TM today. It's done. That's all I have to say about that.
Did the first half of the bike this evening. Didn't have time to do it all and I had already run today. Goal was more to spin my legs out and get some of the work done. I will be missing next Tuesday and Saturday due to work. Didn't want to miss too much of the bike. Spin up were FUN!
Did Saturdays bike this am. 4x9" @ftp (228). Not bad. Heart rate 130's with a good b under the bike. Gave myself 5 jelly beans after each interval. I'm really liking this jelly bean reward thing. I don't eat candy otherwise. Ya know that body comp. thing.
Off to do the 30 minute run and wouldn't ya know it! It's POURing outside. Oh well. What's wrong with wet undies?
http://bit.ly/2hAj1Gk
It looks like we've got a small group here, but you know what they say, "Good things come in small packages." You all rocked those tests this week. It was great to see the reports rolling in. How did those new numbers feel on the Vo2 intervals? I like those shorter intervals much more than the longer FTP work.
I got the intervals done on Thursday as planned but I substituted XC Skiing yesterday for the bike. Here's the link http://tpks.ws/AaQwK. I normally do skate skiing but the snow was very soft yesterday and so I did classic skiing. My reason for doing triathlons is to stay in shape and stay fit and I like to enjoy my fitness by doing other fun things with it. XC skiing is one of those things.