JOS Week 5 - Test week
This is the time where all of that hard work starts to pay off.
If you haven't tested before or recently, it never hurts to review the testing info in the wiki. There is lots of good information in there and I learn something new every time I read through it.
Be sure and take your recovery days so that you can do your best effort on the test days.
I will be out of town away from the bike this weekend but I would again encourage those of you who have not tried it to sign up for the team hang on ride in Zwift on Sat AM and either the east coast or the west coast cruise & Crush rides. Lots of good team mojo and they will motivate you "so hard".
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Quick 30 min ride on Zwift to knock the cobwebs off and I rode new york with PR on the KOM and one of the sprints so I am going to take that as a sign that things are getting better.
Went into this morning thinking I was going to skip the test and just do last week's 2 x 15'. When I brought up Zwift I loaded the FTP test workout, so I was committed. January 2nd test for me was bad (204 FTP), but I've been training on a 229-231 FTP index, so I set my goal to come out with an NP of 242 and back up the 230 FTP I've been using.
Exactly 242. Pleased. Now to work a little harder to bring that up.
Did an easy ride on Monday to close out TdZ and bike issue came back. So no test for me, until bike is back from the shop.
Finished Stage 5 of the Tour of Sufferlandria tonight. I’ve been accumulating a lot of FTP and SS work, generally limiting the high power spikes that Sufferfest videos are famous for. Along the journey, I’ve bumped my FTP up 10w, and seem to be handling the new level. Stage 5, The Omnium is a Track race, and I threw-down 402w for the hardest 1min (Kilometer) in the past 2 years. That was uncomfortable. Over the rest of the week, I should accumulate another 350TSS of biking. Back to the standard JOS workouts next week with my new FTP. My work schedule relaxes markedly tomorrow.
I completed my test on Tuesday morning with lackluster results. To be honest, I think it was the best test I've ever completed from an execution standpoint but the result was a little disappointing. This is my 5th OS and for whatever reason I never seem to test well. Oh well, the struggle is real and I'll keep at it in hopes of a positive physiological response next time around.
Today's recovery ride was a pleasure and I think my body needed it. Keep up the solid work team!
So I did something dumb without totally realizing it... I did a test in late November because I was coming off of an injury where I could only do light cycling for 8 weeks and no running. Needless to say, that 5k test was abysmal and like any irritated and stubborn triathlete, I considered fudging my test numbers to put my training paces more in line with what I 'thought' they should be. Eye roll. But I didn't realize I had actually DONE that and saved the info in Final Surge. So my training paces that I have been hitting for the last 2 months were based on the pace I thought I could run, not what I actually ran that day. So when I tested this week, I took 3 minutes off my test time but was baffled when my training paces didn't change. Until I realized what I had done. So I guess I keep plugging along at my current zones since this recent test lined up more closely with those?
@PatKoss Nice, I count that as success.
@Patrick Hayden Get the steed going and then try again.
@John Culberson Strong Work on the TOS. Getting some nice TSS numbers there.
@Todd Bray Sounds like me and the SAT. Keep doing the workouts and with your new better execution, you will kill it next time.
@Nikki Pembrook You validated your recovery. Now that you are healthy, the next test will show your improvement.
I am out of town and was not able to test. I increased my FTP on Zwift at the Cruise and Crush ride last Sun and substituted that for a test this week so getting ready to work next week!
Remember to join the team rides this weekend if able. sign up in the Zwift companion app.
Completed the bike test on Tuesday...can't say I'm "jazzed" about the results!! But it is what it is and I'll get better from here. I guess I shouldn't be to hard on myself since I haven't really done much in the last 2 years cause of injury. FTP dropped by 14...
I'll work hard for the next week and 1/2 and then I have to have some dental work that will put me down for a bit!
Last stage of the Tour of Sufferlandria ended with a flat during the final 4 min of 4x10’ over/under FTP intervals. It was a great opportunity to verify a new bump in my FTP to from 220 to 230w. I had more than a few uncomfortable moments (The Kilometer TT on the track was the most painful min of 2019, and resulted in a power mark of 402w). I’m pretty comfortable with the overall result: Over 9 days, I accumulated 2 hours at upper Zn3 Sweet Spot, 1.5 hours at Zn4, and in true Sufferlandrian form, 30min in Zn5. I’ll rest tomorrow, and be ready for the VO2 intervals on Tuesday. With the addition of CnC on Sunday, its likely that my TSS will stay high.
Reporting an 0 fer… I was trying to get in some cycling this week but got derailed. Reset for next week.
Steed is back & appears to be working properly. Ride on Thursday night was smooth and uneventful. Then I was able to knock out an 1.5 hr C&C style ride ride followed 1.5 hr Fondo / steady state ride. Time to get ready for some VO2 max work and more time on saddle.