Man down! I got hit with a wicked GI bug that has had me asleep for the last 48 hours and unable to stand much less VO2. Much fomo this week from everyone's great workouts being posted here, but I may try to get back on for a Z1/Z2 recovery ride just to get the blood flowing again. Everyone on here is killin' it, keep it up!
Great questions @Jeff Horn -- the value in VO2 workouts comes from pushing a steady-but-intense power. So a steady and flat-top line is best IMO; it takes me 3-5 seconds to get into that power effort, I start counting the 30 seconds once I've reached the target zone
Don't worry about numbers for the overall workout; they'll fall out wherever; average power for these workouts is typically the lowest of any WKO in the week. I don't even look at overall IF or HR. It's all about the interval and keeping steady across each one
@Carole Harbison - no man left behind is the OS mantra - makes us all stronger.
If I have a head cold and no fever - I do the volume with no intensity. If/when that moves to my throat/chest and/or a fever comes into play, I stand down completely - no exercise and I let my body use its full resources to fight.
Yesterday's 30/30's restored my faith in my body! I changed the settings on my trainer back to where they were and wouldn't you know it I hit my numbers with no issues and an improved cardio level as well. I NAILED the "on" portions, could not get down low enough on the recoveries without not peddling so I "failed" the intervals in Zwift but ended up feeling super strong and even was granted a significant FTP bump. I cannot wait for test week!
@Carole Harbison Get well soon! There is some nastiness going around, it is always best to have to stand down NOW during the OS for a few days than weeks later. Sending you lots of mojo!
I caution all about overshooting the 1.2. I recommend you extending the interval time if you feel strong. Do 40/20s vs. 30/30s at 1.2 for example or 60/60, etc.
I was thinking along the same lines last night. I really don't care for the 30/30 intervals. I spend 5" ramping up and down for each interval x32. To me, that involves a lot of overhead processing: lapping Garmin head unit, adjusting trainer wattage & counting intervals. Maybe I'm just over complicating things. Last OS I substituted 60/60s or 120/120s @ 1.2.
I have no empirical data here, but to me it seem that targeting VO2 set intensity above 1.2, and especially up to 1.5 is going to magnify the fatigue that we are already accumulating in the OS. If my memory serves me correctly, week 9-10 is a fog of fatigue and the last four weeks feel like we're zombies in search of more brains. Pointer enders can handle this, but I'm not one of them.
Last summer I tried something different and focused mainly on VO2 work, in the form of hill climbing. 4x per week of back to back hill repeats on 10%-17% grades; 40'-60' of 2'/2' @ 1.3-1.5. The accumulated fatigue was definitely wearing. I also wasn't running or swimming.
Events this week made me move Thursday's bike to Friday. I did the VO2 intervals after going to the pool. That definitely made those intervals a bunch more challenging. I did get through them and I was not far below last week where the Bike ride did not follow a swim. https://www.strava.com/activities/1372276760
With the 30/20's. I don't shift. I just speed up and slow down. I also start ramping up at 17 sec verces waiting until it's "ON". I find that it's working very well. I too would like 1 minute intervals better but I don't mind this either. Yesterdays early am ride "thrashed" my legs. I had great intentions of going for a short run int he afternoon. I was happy to make it up the stairs. So I changed plans and did yoga instead. That went well and I was game on for a wonderful long run today.
Ok, so the chest cold I thought I had.... well it got worse and the doctor said I’ve got the flu. So a week off for me and let’s home I can get some type of workout in on Tuesday.
While led I have the down time, I’m watching videos about zwift and learning how to get new Jersey’s and stuff
One hour and forty two minutes of work time, 22,500 feet of elevation gain/loss for @Scott Dinhofer and I skiing in 4-8" off new snow all over Vail Mtn - 10-20F, snowing most of the day:
Some solid work with the team on zwift this morning. I was kind of in no man's land for most of the ride but still good to push it with other.
Just over 120' of riding with 2X12 @.91 and then 60' at .86. I'm liking the way I'm feeling on the rides and know there is improvement in the FTP already. Need to keep focused on next week as I'm already looking forward to the testing in week 5.
Thanks also to all for the good discussions on VO2 intervals here and on other forums, definitely appreciating all the nerding out that's happening about the science behind the work. Great stuff.
Meanwhile, back in the pain cave, I was able to do a truncated VO2 set and hit 3x thru 8x 40/20 with a Zwift group ride yesterday and was surprised I had the legs to do it relatively "easily". Today, not so much. I did the first hour of the prescribed saturday wko and then tried to hop on a 2-2.5 w/kg Zwift group ride-- once again got quickly dropped despite trying to hold 2.7w/kg as that was definitely not in me today. It did prompt me to do some reading in the Zwift forums about why riders can get dropped despite putting out slightly higher numbers than most of the group, and came across their explanation: https://zwiftinsider.com/getting-beat-people-lower-wkg/. Relatively lighter weight rider on the flats= have to work harder. Bring on the hills!
Apologies to all for my lack of leadership and posting this week. While I have been skiing hard in Aspen & Vail, I've also been working 7-9 hours a day, emails, phone calls, etc... plan on reading every post on this thread today and chiming in on what may have been unanswered.. back to the OS grind tomorrow.. meantime, here's a pic of the miserable weather we had to endure on this trip, that's @Stephanie Stevens me & @Al Truscott
Was on the road all week so I only was able to ride yesterday and today. That being said, both rides just over 2 hours and felt strong on both. The consistency I have had on the bike the last few months has put me way ahead of where I was last year at this time. Consistency is KEY!
Holy moly - today felt great on the legs... not so wonderful on the undercarriage! But I made it! I did a level 2 ride today because I felt good and had the time to go a little longer than the level 1 rx. I got another FTP bump, 3 watts this time so I am really interested for the test in a few weeks. Week 3 is coming to a close after my run today and I am starting to now feel the fatigue in the legs. Focus this next week will be on recovery and allowing 24 hours between workouts to get the most out of them.
Felt good closing out the week today with most of the ride at Z3+. Driver overtook me at a narrow 2 lane bridge with limited visibility as another car was approaching in the other direction - causing a near miss. Police man on motorcycle saw it and pulled over the driver...stay safe out there!
Barely got that ride done this morning. I only have 90 minutes - so did the ride for 76 min and the run for 19 (my kids let me get in a few extra minutes because i was crushing the quick 2.1 miles.
BUT! I just put some P1 PowerTap pedals on my bike. I have never riden with power. Last week, I finally got my duo tap to work, and having a speed to chase was so much better than my HR - so I was looking for as much excitement when I had power.....but it was so crazy and all over the place - I felt like I was riding with big chunks of gum on my tires. AND my power seemed SO low compared to what other people post......help me understand how I might be 'doing it wrong'?
Great to see big work getting done in week 3 and glad to see folks managing/adjusting their workouts around sickness, fatigue and when life throws in obstacles. I had a very good ABP ride today with the 8 AM EN Zwift ride crew. https://www.strava.com/activities/1379931344 Followed it up a couple hours later with a 5.5 mile run. Nice strong finish for week 3.
Great to see everyone throwing down some great work! I’ve been reticent about posting, but got a recovery ride in on Monday, a good FTP session Tuesday, delayed the VO2 ride until Friday due to work on Thursday, and a good ABP 2:15 today. All with the bike going as expected, including the increasing fatigue. Using the Normatec right now to try to get ready for the next week.
Pushed ride to today as the temp was breaking 40 degrees after some snow yesterday. Took the sled and did some Central Oregon cross country riding with the wife on the hero dirt. Got my WORK in.
Heading out again tomorrow. June-uary here and gonna take advantage of it.
Got in a good bike Saturday and managed 4 X 12'(3') @ IF .89, .92, .92, and .84. AVHR was in the Z4 range, but the IF is still in the high Z3. Still working a comeback from that cold/flu whatever the heck took me down last week!
@Leslie Sedlak - erratic is pretty standard when you start, or are coming back from being off the bike for a spell. The more you use power and get used to the effort vs power feedback, you'll start to see the numbers even out. When I venture out on the roads, the first couple of rides are erratic and it takes a while to "normalize". Botom Line: this is normal!
@Leslie Sedlak One thing that might help is to set your head unit to read 3 second averaging. @Joe Hallatschek is right on, it takes some time to get a feel for what you are seeing. Also, your numbers are your numbers. The important part is to see how those numbers change based on the work you are doing.
Total tech FAIL today. I am planning to do the Tour of Sufferlandia next week and I have not tested in a while so I was going to try out their new test video today even though my legs felt a bit tired. First the big screen in the pain cave died so I had to use my laptop, then I couldn't get the powermeter to pair properly with the sufferfest app on my mac (it wouldn't go over 70 watts no matter what). I changed the batteries in my P1 Pedals with no improvement. Zwift seemed to be working fine so I did the FTP test on there and got 15 min into my FTP interval when the power dropped to 0 suddenly. I kept pedaling and it came back up but was fluky and needless to say, it screwed my mental game for the test so i just gave up.
Had a great vo2 ride on Thursday, then hit the road to see my hubby in FL. Was able to connect with an old training buddy and her group she trains for a nice 40 miler that ended up being a 50 miler Saturday am. I was nervous about 40 miles since I've basically just started riding again after a run focused fall that lead to a foot injury and time off for 2 months.
It was AWESOME to be out on the bike. I brought my Felt b10 to our little condo to retire her after years of service and really enjoyed riding it again.
I've no idea np or if, my tech was challenged after being synced to my PT1 pedals and needing to switch back to the pt hub. Don't care either. I rode OUTSIDE for 50 miles and had a blast!
Looking forward to more winter riding here in FL on the many trails available!
Finally got my tech issues worked out (for today lol) and managed 2.5hr on three sisters in Le Zwift. Didn't really mind seeing epic KOM second time around but was glad to be done. Black Mirror on Netflix got me through it.
Comments
Don't worry about numbers for the overall workout; they'll fall out wherever; average power for these workouts is typically the lowest of any WKO in the week. I don't even look at overall IF or HR. It's all about the interval and keeping steady across each one
If I have a head cold and no fever - I do the volume with no intensity. If/when that moves to my throat/chest and/or a fever comes into play, I stand down completely - no exercise and I let my body use its full resources to fight.
Get well.
SS
Yesterday's 30/30's restored my faith in my body! I changed the settings on my trainer back to where they were and wouldn't you know it I hit my numbers with no issues and an improved cardio level as well. I NAILED the "on" portions, could not get down low enough on the recoveries without not peddling so I "failed" the intervals in Zwift but ended up feeling super strong and even was granted a significant FTP bump. I cannot wait for test week!
Last night's ride Summary: TSS 119, IF 1.09
https://www.strava.com/activities/1375077059
Tuesday's ride on wonky trainer settings: TSS 53, IF of .7 - yeah, things were NOT right!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1371340239
Shaughn Simmons said:I was thinking along the same lines last night. I really don't care for the 30/30 intervals. I spend 5" ramping up and down for each interval x32. To me, that involves a lot of overhead processing: lapping Garmin head unit, adjusting trainer wattage & counting intervals. Maybe I'm just over complicating things. Last OS I substituted 60/60s or 120/120s @ 1.2.
I have no empirical data here, but to me it seem that targeting VO2 set intensity above 1.2, and especially up to 1.5 is going to magnify the fatigue that we are already accumulating in the OS. If my memory serves me correctly, week 9-10 is a fog of fatigue and the last four weeks feel like we're zombies in search of more brains. Pointer enders can handle this, but I'm not one of them.
Last summer I tried something different and focused mainly on VO2 work, in the form of hill climbing. 4x per week of back to back hill repeats on 10%-17% grades; 40'-60' of 2'/2' @ 1.3-1.5. The accumulated fatigue was definitely wearing. I also wasn't running or swimming.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1372276760
#CPR#JOY#WORKWORKS
While led I have the down time, I’m watching videos about zwift and learning how to get new Jersey’s and stuff
https://www.relive.cc/view/1376796261
Just over 120' of riding with 2X12 @.91 and then 60' at .86. I'm liking the way I'm feeling on the rides and know there is improvement in the FTP already. Need to keep focused on next week as I'm already looking forward to the testing in week 5.
Thanks also to all for the good discussions on VO2 intervals here and on other forums, definitely appreciating all the nerding out that's happening about the science behind the work. Great stuff.
Meanwhile, back in the pain cave, I was able to do a truncated VO2 set and hit 3x thru 8x 40/20 with a Zwift group ride yesterday and was surprised I had the legs to do it relatively "easily". Today, not so much. I did the first hour of the prescribed saturday wko and then tried to hop on a 2-2.5 w/kg Zwift group ride-- once again got quickly dropped despite trying to hold 2.7w/kg as that was definitely not in me today. It did prompt me to do some reading in the Zwift forums about why riders can get dropped despite putting out slightly higher numbers than most of the group, and came across their explanation: https://zwiftinsider.com/getting-beat-people-lower-wkg/. Relatively lighter weight rider on the flats= have to work harder. Bring on the hills!
meantime, here's a pic of the miserable weather we had to endure on this trip, that's @Stephanie Stevens me & @Al Truscott
IF 1.08 TSS 223
https://www.strava.com/activities/1380245315
https://www.strava.com/activities/1379265586
Followed up with a decent 3 mile brick.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1379428259
BUT! I just put some P1 PowerTap pedals on my bike. I have never riden with power. Last week, I finally got my duo tap to work, and having a speed to chase was so much better than my HR - so I was looking for as much excitement when I had power.....but it was so crazy and all over the place - I felt like I was riding with big chunks of gum on my tires. AND my power seemed SO low compared to what other people post......help me understand how I might be 'doing it wrong'?
Heading out again tomorrow. June-uary here and gonna take advantage of it.
Great views of the Cascades.
@Leslie Sedlak - erratic is pretty standard when you start, or are coming back from being off the bike for a spell. The more you use power and get used to the effort vs power feedback, you'll start to see the numbers even out. When I venture out on the roads, the first couple of rides are erratic and it takes a while to "normalize". Botom Line: this is normal!
Tomorrow is another day
It was AWESOME to be out on the bike. I brought my Felt b10 to our little condo to retire her after years of service and really enjoyed riding it again.
I've no idea np or if, my tech was challenged after being synced to my PT1 pedals and needing to switch back to the pt hub. Don't care either. I rode OUTSIDE for 50 miles and had a blast!
Looking forward to more winter riding here in FL on the many trails available!
30'@ Z3
2x10'@ Z3/Z4
Pretty much rode the 30'@Z3 and the two intervals back to back for a longer sustained effort.