JOS Bike Week 13 - The light at the end of the Tunnel
We are closing in on the end of the JOS.
I think it was mentioned in last week's thread on on GroupMe that there seems to be less emphasis on good "old fashioned" triathlon as opposed to Ultra running and Zwift Racing. While it may appear that way to folks who are newer to the team, I think you will find that most of the folks here are still signed up for at least one triathlon this season. Sometimes, after a few OS with the team, there is a desire to spice things up to keep the motivation going. While the OS workouts, as they are written, are great and have a proven benefit, sometimes folks tend to change it up a bit by, for instance, by doing a Sufferfest workout with hard intervals instead of the exact intervals in the plan or doing a Zwift race with a prolonged effort instead of just riding at 90% FTP for the prescribed time. Also, some of these bring the opportunity for socialization with the team which is motivating in it's own way.
Basically, it is your journey to your fitness goals. Take the path that works for you. I found that before my first Ironman race, I followed the training plan to the letter because I figured if I did that, I would be able to finish for sure. While that was a naive viewpoint, it worked. Enjoy the last 2 weeks before your season starts and don't forget to listen to your body. It will tell you if you need to rest or take a recovery day.
I should be on the bike all week this week so look for some results to be forthcoming. I will show you mine if you show me yours (that #wrongchat was for you @Francis Picard).
Comments
I had my first 'fail' of the OS during today's 3x15' FTP sets. I was a little intimidated going into the workout with my memory of last week's 3x12 min. I got the first interval done and felt okay. My HR wasn't as low as I was hoping at the start of the second interval, but I felt better as time passed. I had to drop the intensity a bit with three minutes remaining in second interval -- HR was high, yet sustainable, but my legs were toast. No strength to push the pedals. I took the 3 min prescribed rest and started the third interval at 100% intensity and only made it 5 min before dropping it down 10-12 watts under target -- I was then able to complete the set.
Not sure if the'fail' today is because I psyched myself out on this workout walking into it, or if my nutrition/ sleep were off yesterday, or if it's just the compounding affect of 13 weeks of OS. Nonetheless, it's all time PRs for power on my TT bike so while I may have lost the battle today, I'm winning the war!
@Jeff Phillips Sounds like a tough ride. Kudos for pushing on till the end regardless. Rest up before Thursday.
My wife is sick so I took a pass on the AM ride and I raced the short Kiss race tonight. I found that if you pick a small enough race, you can win your division. Who knew. More of an interval than a FTP workout but I averaged Zone 4 for the entire 45 min so that will have to do.
The last thursday KISS race for the season.
So much orange!
Today's bike session went much better than Tuesday's. I made it through all the intervals and was able to hit the 1 min power spikes. Legs felt fresh. I haven't jumped on the Zwift racing bandwagon yet. A large part of me still likes to know the target TSS and IF for a ride as I look at my total week. The OCD side of me is not yet comfortable with the "unknown" of a Zwift race, though I recognize others are using to great success.
One last big Saturday ride OS left!
@Jeff Phillips I completely understand. When building for a race, I felt the same but as I get farther away from the structured, individual nature of race prep, the company is nice and it can be very motivating! lots of the guys do a short race instead of an FTP test because it will wring whatever you have out of you pretty well. Maybe next OS...
If you really think about it, though, you would be pretty hard pressed to get more than a TSS of 100 in an hour (without an FTP bump).