@Coach Patrick i feel i did not answer your question... yes i think we could delay the ramp up and make it more gradual and at the same time strengthen my run and bike fitness. I'm still considering the idea to do two IMs, IMMT being the first one and either Louisville, Florida or one of the rescheduled one (Tulsa?) then. and from that perspective i could spend more time now building the engine instead of hurrying to ramp for the HIM that will not take place.
@Vincent Sivirine - fair enough, not everyone is super motivated to do a time trail work out. Again this is more a function of continuing the volume builds to reach the peak versus transitioning. The reason why you have options at this point time is because you're still finishing the Outseason which means that you haven't had a progression of volume already happening so we have options.
From what I'm hearing on your side, I think the next best way forward would be finishing the LCs in this week. Doing the two week swim camp replacement plan has recovery, because that's just an important part of your overall progression. After that we will have six weeks left to train before you get into the race prep window for Tremblant.
I would recommend using some thing like our bike focus plan, and I can layer in some specific run training for you relative to some speed and with an eye towards what you need in your fitness bank to be successful for the Full Plan training block.
What are you get too carried away looking at my runs, remember that I'm not specifically training for anything, this is just my baseline worth. My steady run pace is typically around seven minute miles so I'm not going that much faster when I run hard. Of course, I am running harder on those weekends runs as a progression, ramp in the Mile pace up towards the end.
Every once in a while I'll bust out a fast mile like I did yesterday. I'd like to do that once I'm warmed up just to stay sharp. But I do it in very small increments, I learned a long time ago that I can't just go out and run 10 miles out a half marathon pace because I want to. How about you start off by adding one or two fast miles per week and see how you feel?
"I would recommend using some thing like our bike focus plan, and I can layer in some specific run training for you relative to some speed and with an eye towards what you need in your fitness bank to be successful for the Full Plan training block". ==> yes, i like that, please tell me what i should load into FS.
What about the question re: tri bike on the trainer. When?
And what does LCs mean ("From what I'm hearing on your side, I think the next best way forward would be finishing the LCs in this week")
@Coach Patrick, i guess i should have listened to your podcast before :-) so i loaded the six week Specificity Bike Focus Plan for the next 6 weeks after the Swim Alternative Plan.
My FTP test was disappointing as it dropped by 9 watts ( 276w to 267w), but in reality i think i was overly fatigued. I will take the test again at some point when i feel refreshed. I think i started around 250w so it's still a great improvement.
I don't want to over do it but I'd like to also continue to work on my run until 6/1 when i will start the IM plan. I do like the 6 run a week frequency; i guess i can add short easy runs after the hard bike wkos during the specificity bike 6 week plan.
When do i swap my road bike for my tri bike on the trainer since i'm planning to do a lot of the longer rides indoors?
Great podcast with Peter Noyes by the way, was very insightful.
@Coach Patrick - first i apologize for the numerous posts but 2 things are happening that i wanted to share with you.
First, it's likely at this point that IMMT will be cancelled (see article in the GroupMe this week about Quebec wanting to cancel all cultural and sports events until 8/31). And if it's not cancelled, for now, i don't think i'll go. I love triathlon but not to the point of jeopardizing my health and my family's (wife and daughter are also going).
Second, i had a blast with JOS and finished the test run with a nice HM PR, 1:49:16, nearly a minute improvement without any specific HM training. I'm realizing I like running more and more, i like running 6 times a week but I'm slow.
So given the fact that i don't think i want to do a late season IM, I was looking at 70.3 North Carolina on 10/17 (shooting for 5:05 - 5:15, i did 5:33 last year with a bad bike split which should be improved with the new bike fit and bike fitness) and then Savannah Rock & Roll Half Marathon on 11/7 (three weeks later) with a goal of sub 1:45. This would mean starting the HM Plan by 7/26. I'm hoping that by October we'll have a vaccine in place (if not, i'll simply won't go).
It gives me 15 weeks to work with. Why not focus on getting stronger on the run while maintaining the bike fitness (i'd like to spend more time doing Zwift races). Another goal of mine is to get better on body comp, I'm ~ 182 lbs,my goal will also be to bring my weight around 175 lbs (and maybe lower if possible).
So the plan would be to turn this year focus into making me a faster runner without hurting the body with the prep for another IM (i've done 7 IMs over the past 7 years, maybe it's the year to give my body a break), and next year I'll resume the IM builds.
@Vincent Sivirine Holy posting! Your forum-fu is as strong as your OutSeasonFu right now! 🤣
I am excited to see that you have made progress and yes to your charted course. Let me know how the first week feels and if we need to I can make some adjustments!
@Vincent Sivirine I saw your post from the chat button. Its a longer answer so I thought I would post it here.
It's good to hear about your 400's pace!👊 190 running cadence is exactly where you want to be. Its actually pretty great. We want a quick turnover like that, especially when running fast 400s. A cadence around 180 is a accepted baseline for a 5'10" runner, 165 lbs. Shorter runners or lighter runners will be slightly faster. Taller and heavier runners will be slightly slower. Looking at your long run and strides workout data - you typically run around 174-176 and 183+ when you do strides or intervals. Those ranges seem to work well for you.
The most critical thing you can do to run faster is running consistency. The key to consistency is getting the balance of rest and stress correct. Its all about stacking weeks with quality hard days and long days along with really easy days. Most folks try to do too much on the easy day, which over weeks negativity impacts their hard days and leads to injury and time off, reduced training, and inconsistency.
We recommend on making sure you are taking the strides days as easy. Not trying to push on the easy days. Keep the balance of stress vs. rest right week, after week, after week. Stacking that consistent work is the key and I like a lot of the fundamentals if you are doing the stretching and foam rolling as part of your recovery routine to keep that consistency.
@matt limbert, thank you for the good advice. I feel i have made good progress over the past weeks when, to your point, i started running slower on slow days. I actually was following a discussion either on the forums or GroupMe about keeping your heart rate low when running slow. For me who's 52 that means running under 130 bpm and i am now able to run at TRP under 130 bpm, probably around 125-128. As for the cadence, i'm ~ 6 ft and 180 pounds so on the heavier side and although you're correct that i'm comfortable with this cadence i was thinking that maybe i had a higher cadence simply because i was not extending my legs enough, or said differently i had too short of a stride and thought that i needed to spend more time increasing my hamstring mobility. But i agree with what you indicated, consistency, sleep, good balance easy runs / strong runs are critical. I will definitively follow your advice.
@Vincent Sivirine Its great to hear that you have such a good send of effort and correlation to you performance data. Its always a balance, right? I think your cadence is spot on. More hamstring mobility can be a bonus and give you some injury prevention and increased range of motion. You know yourself well enough that something is telling you to work on that mobility. It might know it intuitively and I would recommend you act on it with the goal of increasing the mobility for injury prevention as part of your consistency insurance effort. Also, good to hear you have seen a difference with the easy runs, they are so sneaky because we sometimes get caught up in all grading ourselves during and after each workout and run. We develop standard of what we think of as a "good" run. When an easy run is easy, regardless of the pace, that is a metric of a good easy run. You have a good sense of effort and it will be fun to see what you can do!
@Coach Patrick, hope you're doing well and excited to see the DIY triathlon taking shape end of August.
For six weeks that ended with the UltraMay week end i was on the 6 week Specificity Run Focus Plan. That worked quite well, i managed to PR on my 5k (sub 23 minutes on my TM) and overall i feel i'm running faster, more efficiently and with a much lower heart rate. All good.
Then i switched to the 6 weeks specificity Bike Focus plan (until end of July), i'm at the end of week 1. I'm going to go spend a week at the beach in Saint Georges Island (Florida) end of July so will have plenty of opportunity for swim bike and run (will be like a mini camp).
I'm signed up for 70.3 North Carolina mid October and my plan was to switch to the HIM plan early August for that race after i'm done with the Bike focus plan. To prep for the DIY race i was thinking i would replace the two epic 8 rides by faster 4 hours rides and for the run i would ensure that my two runs on Saturday and Sunday would grow to 1:45 mn combined or even 2 hours.
Also my pool is now open so i've started going back there twice already for 30' drill sessions. My plan was to continue for another 4 times of drills and then move to the more standard red mist workouts probably starting early July. I have access to a lake near by as well so i was thinking i would add few swim sessions a week in July.
My question is are you okay with this or should i switch to the HIM plan now for the DIY race and then kind of start again until mid October (assuming the Carolina race will take place which i think it will).
@Vincent Sivirine - thanks for reaching out and for the update. I am continually impressed with how you find ways to push yourself despite the changing conditions of our racing environment. I think your current approach is just right. You have good fitness and we want to get a little more specific for this race in August, but not too specific. I'm giving you have another race later in the season, it be nice to see with the proper plan for that race build up.
Follow the bike focus plan now, and then load the half Iron Man plan just as though you were training for North Carolina. We can modify the distances for the weekends, in particular, as we need to so you can be prepared for the DIY Triathlon.
Hi @Coach Patrick I scheduled a call with you and please find below the list of questions i wanted to discuss with you:
1 - races. For now it looks like IM Switzerland on 7/11/2021 (an hour away from where my sister lives to make it a family event) followed by IMMT on 8/21/2021. Yes i know not ideal but i have insurance on IMMT so if it's not reasonable, if i'm in a bad shape or even injured i won't race IMMT but if not, i think 6 weeks is ok for back to back races with two weeks in the Alps just after IM Switz. with lots of walking and fresh air.
2 - race profile for IM Switz. is 2000 meters of elevation over 180 km so it's not much. It looks very much like lots of low grade hills but nothing very steep. I think it is a profile that should fit me well (i bit like Louisville)
3 - with 1 and 2 above i'm looking at potentially upgrading my P3 to a Ventum One leveraging the EN partnership and discount. Todd H. gave me a fantastic fit on my P3 and i see a huge difference in comfort but if the Ventum is even more comfortable and more aero / fast i can see much faster time bikes especially on a course like IM Switz or IMMT. He would also do the fit on the Ventum. He's a magician.
4 - Difference between the Dura Ace plus OSPW system vs. Ultegra (both with Di2). Am i going to see a big difference with the OSPW system? i don't care that much about the weight difference which must be minimal between Dura Ace and Ultegra but i'm puzzled by the large pulleys...
My goal here is two fold: first get faster on the bike but also keep my legs fresher to be able to run a 4 hour (or even less, why not dream) marathon. From all the reviews and comments i got including those on the team i think the Ventum helps towards this goal.
This is what i would like your input on when we talk on Thursday.
@Vincent Sivirine - so good to talk with you today. Thanks so much for your time and sharing both your journey and your goals for the future. As I mentioned on the call, strength and smarts are both required to be your personal best. I can tell by the progress you've made it this far that you are well position to continue succeeding!
The Race Notes
Here is the bike course online (1 lap), see below. There are three distinct climbs...Second lap will be tough, but really the third hill here is the sneaky one with a kicker right after the descent, and then a continual build for 2.5 miles. Ugh that will suck the life out of some folks. 😱
Here is the Run Course... It is 3 laps, but the shape is a bow tie so you go by the finish 6 total times, I believe. It is flat and very fast (likely minimal shade): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33185510
In terms of both races, you would have a full season through to IM Switzerland. Then the 6 weeks are typically Something like this so you get a sense of it.
1 week hard rest, 1.5h bike on that first Saturday, 3h bike on Sunday. These are tough.
3 weeks of moderate Training, focus on bike and swim with run durability.
2 weeks to taper (after a race simulation).
Remainder of this year....you planned on IMNC 70.3 in October After the no-way-Jose IMMT race. We don't have to chose just yet...you could finish the bike build, and then we focus on August-Oct half (run focused plan)...this would that was to build up your run and adjust the bike is needed to give that room to grow. If/when the race is called off then we just drop the bikes and go for a run focus until November RNR event In Savannah. We will need to be flexible here.
During this time we talked about doing a body composition focus to get down to Raceway. This is a good exercise to complete annually, if only for the lessons learned. As I mentioned, there will be some things that work for you and other things that don't. Better that we find them out now then we struggle through us next season.
Until that time we can be intentional about your calories right now. If you want to, take a moment to write down where you normally struggle with your calories/invoices in a given day. I will be happy to give you some advice to pick one thing and try and Improve it.
Thanks @Coach Patrick, really enjoyed discussion this morning. I've registered for IM Thun soon after we hung up and told my sister to get moving and find us an apartment to rent for the race :-)
I like the rest of year plan with the focus on run and improvement on body comp. To answer your question here's how i assess my eating habits and areas of struggle.
Overall i try to eat good breakfast (greek yogurt, blueberries, banana) after wko (coffee before wko, gel before wko if i run or i bottle Tailwind drink if i'm on the bike) , solid lunch (lean meat / fish, veggies and brown rice / quinoa ) and lighter dinner (Turkey + spinach salad or vegetables puree + fish / turkey / chicken but no carbs such as rice - i never really eat pasta). I don't eat fast food but i have a wife who's a great cook (and Mexican American) so i will occasionally succumb to albondigas, shredded pork + cabbage or even tacos. I really try to stay good with food (which drives the wife crazy as she has to cook differently for me than for her and the kids (although i tell her that what i eat is better :-)
What i struggle with is 1/ giving up on yogurts. As a Frenchman I love dairy products and i've given up milk (i drink almond milk) and don't eat French cheeses but i can't let go of my greek yogurts (part of my breakfast and then one or two fruit yogurts during the day, i know it's probably not very good...). Then 2/ being hungry at night so i'm trying to eat brown rice or quinoa or equivalent for lunch to keep me fuller rest of the day. At night i try to eat early (6ish) but i have a sweet tooth and it's hard not to have a cookie or two pieces of chocolate with my coffee (which i drink a lot of during the day by the way). So the two areas of issues are yogurts and sweets at nigh. I don't drink any alcohol, don't really eat junk food (although i can pig out on any bad food if i don't control myself...). Also i think i also sometimes eat too much (too large portions) when i see i can eat a full bag of salad + turkey + avocado + blue cheese dressing + croutons etc...
And i really don't like the feeling of being hungry, especially when going to bed...
After hard workouts i try to have a protein shake.
If i'm very disciplined and cut yogurts, chocolate and think about staying on point all the time i will drop few pounds but structurally that's not enough to bring me to 5 kgs less.. any help you can provide will be appreciated :-)
@Vincent Sivirine You are lucky to have such a supportive set of amazing women who will accomodate your endurance training! 🤣 Move her house...still laughing.
Ok, so better food isn't all that bad.
Overall I had some thoughts that could be helpful:
You can't go more than 4h during the day without food given your training load. So the "eat a bigger lunch" won't be Effective.
We need some snacks during the day...fruit...or a handful of cashews/almonds. Some kind of fiber / protein.
Make sure you are drinking water, 1 full glass AM, afternoon and PM.
Add post dinner protein to the mix. We eat between 6-7, so I have mine about 9pm. It's a scoop of protein powder in either a glass of milk or water+ice to blend a shake. That gets you protein you need, helps you stay full, and fills that chocolate / sweet craving.
My suggestions, and my only rule is that we can't do all of them Pick one and try for two weeks.
Breakfast plan is good. So focus on timing. You can eat it, but within 20' of your morning WKO. If you don't morning WKO, then you go half the normal portion.
Replace daily yogurt Snacks with other proteins / food sources.
Bring back the yummy cheeses but only on the weekends after a long ride...
You can't have blue cheese AND croutons unless you worked out prior. So if you biked SAT AM...then ran your 45' at 5pm before a 6:30 dinner...normal salad is good. If you do your WKO in the AM and nothing all day, then you have to choose one or other (a better dressing might suit you if possible that's lower calorie)?
Hey @Coach Patrick, thank you again for the advice. I've applied your recommendations (don't go more than 4 hours without food, replace snack yogurts by fruits, crouton and cheese only if workout before, protein shake before going to bed if hungry etc.). I did not do the cheese after the long ride because i'm not really a cheese person, more of a yogurt guy (but now i only have one in the morning with my steel cuts oatmeal plus berries, kiwis, and a banana if i'm worked out before and no more fruit yogurts full of sugar during the day). I allowed my self to have 2 times 1 square of dark chocolate a day with my post lunch and post dinner espresso.
It's weird how these things go, I've always known that i would run better if i were lighter but the fact it came from you during our discussion makes it much stronger to follow, a bit like it's the part of the training plan. So without doing anything stupid (i'm not dieting, just trying to be more disciplined) i went from 82.7kg last week to 81.5kg this week on a 7 day rolling average. And this morning body fat was at 11.4%. More importantly i feel good.
I'll continue and share my progress in two weeks which will also mark the end of the bike 6 weeks block. Then we can decide which plan to focus on for rest of year. Maybe as i have more time i could even focus on trying to run an open marathon instead of the half i had in mind before (or maybe do both).
Nice!! I like how you made the changes both small and simple to execute. I’m excited to see how this works out for you over the next few weeks. Please keep me posted!
As promised i'm checking in after two weeks since our last chat. So far so good. On Friday my weight was down to 79.4kg / 175.1 pounds. It went up yesterday morning and this morning but i think it is the result of long bike workouts as i'm still eating the same way as last week (grilled chicken, grilled veggies, little brown rice, protein shake at night if i'm hungry etc..). I was in the 82/84 kg range for most of the past year so it's good to break the 80 kg barrier. Now trying to stabilize around 79 kg for a while and then will shoot for 77 kg.
I'm done with my 6 week bike focus plan, really enjoyed it. I'm stronger at the short Zwift B races (won 1, came 3rd in the last week) and feeling strong overall on the bike (with approximately 10 hours per week lately) but looking at the next 4-5 months, i would like to not lose my bike fitness while i would like to now focus more on the run. What do you think of a open marathon (even if i've to do it as a time trial) in November (Savannah if it still holds? or is it too heavy in terms of training / risk of injury and should i focus on a strong half (shooting for sub 1:45. If i do a marathon i would want to shoot for sub 3:50?)
And if possible i'd like to keep racing Zwift, maybe one race (alternating a short one and a longer (~ 50mns) one per week? What plan should i load? i don't think i'll swim much, possibly not at all. I'm signed up for 70.3 NC but it's likely this one will also fall...
Update: 1 I loaded the 16 week marathon plan to see what it is and it basically has me starting this week until November 8 (Savannah marathon). I would like to add a Thursday 30' Zwift Crit race (since Friday is an easy run) and maybe occasionally swap the Tuesday bike workout by either the ODZ Cofeve or a 60 minute 3R Zwift race. Would you be okay with this? If i did this do you think i would lose a lot of bike fitness? (and if i did is it a big issue or will it come back quick during next January Outseason?)
Update 2: on 7/22 my weight is 174.5 pounds (79.1 kg). The thing that is helping me the most is a light / medium workout before dinner with a protein shake before going to bed if i'm hungry. So far so good..
@Vincent Sivirine - I have to say, I'm super impressed with your nutritional focus. You have been a total boss! I went ahead and made an adjustment into next week to swap the races when you wanted. Check it out and let me know if that layout looks good to you.
The only warning I have is that it's quite possible every once in a while you'll need a Monday off. There's nothing wrong with that. If you took it off, you could divide that run into two and make it a brick run off of the other two bikes during the week and You would be all set. What do you think?
@Coach Patrick, perfect. I will try this next week and if it works i will swap the other workouts for the future weeks.
Today was my first longer run workout (1 m warm up, 5 miles at MP, 1m cool down) and man i loved it: i ran the 5 miles at 8:24 min per mile pace (5:13 min / km), power of 268w (89% of CP) and much more important, 137 bpm average HR (from 130 to mid 145 which is top of my zone 2) despite increasing speed every 2k (today was easy, 5 miles = 8k). it did not feel difficult and i was really happy to see HR stay in my zone 2. I ran on the treadmill, all other runs i will do outside with the heat and humidity but for this one i want to avoid the hard pounding on the asphalt / cement (no trails or soft surfaces near my house sadly).
I actually like running more than biking (or maybe i've been biking quite a lot over the past weeks so my body is happy to see a shift in focus). In short running is easier than before and i really love it.
@Vincent Sivirine - let me know when you've bottled up that positive energy and it's for sale, because I want some. 👍
I'm glad you like the work out. The program adds more training each week with intermittent rest to make sure you're progressing towards that goal. I have a good feeling about what you're going to be able to do this fall. You have been so diligent this year!
@Coach Patrick - weekly update - weight is down to 172 pounds (78 kgs) without doing anything stupid, just eating healthy. My workouts end of last week were not great so i'm making sure now that i'm eating enough good carbs (brown rice, quinoa etc..) and have steel oats as part of my breakfast. Today's 5 miles run at MP went very well (avge HR 140, 0.9 IF and 8:18 minute per mile pace. So far so good. Now onto breaking the 170 pounds barrier.
@Vincent Sivirine - nicely done! I like how you are modifying calories to support the workouts. that is EXACTLY what we want to be doing. Micro adjustments to keep you on track. Staying on track is what keeps us happy!
Quick question for you @Coach Patrick regarding BestBikeCamp. I obviously am interested but the question is about timing. With my focus being more on the run and the November marathon should i do the Bike camp in August or in the fall or after my marathon (like December as a pre Outseason) assuming you will continue offering the class later this year? I was concerned that if i do the camp now my bike fitness may decline before January OS and August bike metrics would not be as relevant next year so maybe a December camp, closer to OS could make sense? if you think August works, then i'll sign up in August if you still have capacity.
@Vincent Sivirine - thanks for reaching out. It's not so much about having Peak fitness and building from there. It's much more about understanding your baseline level and then determining what type of training you should start to create long-term change.
As the folks in the Camp will tell you, the timeline for creating change is typically three months at a minimum....The sooner you start getting focused (even while running), the better. That said, there's a group of folks who don't want you to get any stronger on the bike! 🤣
@Coach Patrick, there's no way that Brian H is going to beat me at Crit City race. So i signed up (at least i tried, i had some issues with the paypal page. Pls tell me if the payment did not go through and i will do it again or you can charge my credit card on file).
At the same time it's fun to race 30 mns race but i need to be able to translate this short races strength into a 5h30 min IM bike race and for now i've not been able to do it..
So today 171 pounds and the 6 mile run at MP went ok, i went a bit harder (8:15 min per mile) and for the 6 miles my hr averaged 146 which is top of zone 2 so i think it's ok.
@matt limbert , @Coach Patrick I tried to ask this question in the GroupMe but it's probably too long and GM gave me an error message. The questions was:
Question for the July class as you probably had this questions asked before: i did the first wko this morning (ouch) recording power from both my Kickr (via Zwift) and my Assioma pedals (via Garmn 530). I typically use the Assioma pedals PM on my tri bike and all my indoor rides are recorded on my road bike with the Kickr PM. I loaded both files to TrainingPeaks and compared. On the 3 min interval there was a 10w difference (396w vs. 406w with Kickr higher). Since all my indoor rides are based on the kickr, if i know that riding outside i should factor in a 10w variance (assuming that it is the same 10w variance at 200w as at 400w), which file should it use for Camp? the Assioma based power files or the Kickr? my view is that i'd rather use the Kickr since i can compare with history and i don't really want to start riding indoors with the Assioma pm going forward. And when i will ride outside (with the Assioma pedals) i will know that my power measured with the pedals is 10-15w lower than indoors. So said differently a 200w indoor target will compare to a 185-190w outdoor target. Am i looking at it right?
@Vincent Sivirine I hear you... GM has a text limit (need to almost make it a thread). You can have Zwift read your Assioma as the power source but use the kickr to set resistance. I do that so that my quarq drives the power, and quarq is the same inside and out.
Here's how I do that:
Make sure your power meter has fresh batteries.
Open up Zwift on your device and log in.
At the pairing screen, click “Search” under “Power Source.” If your power meter doesn’t appear, try turning the cranks a few times.
Select your power meter, then hit “OK.”
If you’re using a smart trainer, pair it under “Controllable Trainer” so that Zwift can tell it to change resistance. Note: It’s a good idea to pair your power meter first, so that Zwift doesn’t pair with your trainer as the Power Source.
Do not pair a speed sensor while using a power meter, even when you’re on a classic trainer. Once you pair one of these, the other option will be disabled.
Bad News: The test files you sent Coach Patrick will not work. The files only have elevation and speed. Maybe when you used the .gpx converter you lost all the heart rate and power data.
Good News: Since you did the test indoors, Zwift will have captured a .fit file for you. Let's try that file. You will need to go to your Documents folder -> Zwift -> Activities
Once you are in that folder. All the files are labeled by date and time. Look for the data and time when you did Test 1 and Test 2. Send me (matthew.e.limbert@gmail.com) and Coach Patrick those files and we'll see what we can do.
Please excuse my poor highlighting, but I think you get the idea.
Talk about crushing it! Nice work. We will have a longer form report for you tomorrow, we are just excited to get you an initial look at your numbers. We just had to get them too you early.👊
VO2Max 55.4
FTP: 265 W, which is 77.7 % of your VO2max
W/kg: 3.4
VLaMax 0.46 (scale of 0-1)
First off, your execution was good. Thanks for those comments about the intervals that "story" helps put the numbers in perspective. Your heart rate really shows how much you were pushing it. Nice work. You are right, a little better pacing on the 10' effort. You'll get a few more opportunities at that, don't worry 🤣!
You are probably saying, "What is this VLaMax that you speak of?" Well, VLaMax is one of the new metrics that we will talk about with the INSCYD testing. That what this week is all about. VLamax → V = flow rate. La = Lactate. Max = Maximum. For now, think about it the brother to VO2Max. Where VO2Max is measure of the your maximal oxygen consumption for aerobic power. VLaMax is your maximium rate of lactate generation for anaerobic power. Endurance athletes want a low number, Sprinters want a high number. It is totally trainable, just like VO2Max.
For the record, the last class nicknamed it "Vlama." Feel free to jump into the GroupMe, ask questions (or boast about) those numbers.
We will have a longer report for you tomorrow with some more details about VLaMax, how to change it, where you fit on the scale, etc and we will talk more during our video call Wed.
Comments
@Coach Patrick i feel i did not answer your question... yes i think we could delay the ramp up and make it more gradual and at the same time strengthen my run and bike fitness. I'm still considering the idea to do two IMs, IMMT being the first one and either Louisville, Florida or one of the rescheduled one (Tulsa?) then. and from that perspective i could spend more time now building the engine instead of hurrying to ramp for the HIM that will not take place.
@Vincent Sivirine - fair enough, not everyone is super motivated to do a time trail work out. Again this is more a function of continuing the volume builds to reach the peak versus transitioning. The reason why you have options at this point time is because you're still finishing the Outseason which means that you haven't had a progression of volume already happening so we have options.
From what I'm hearing on your side, I think the next best way forward would be finishing the LCs in this week. Doing the two week swim camp replacement plan has recovery, because that's just an important part of your overall progression. After that we will have six weeks left to train before you get into the race prep window for Tremblant.
I would recommend using some thing like our bike focus plan, and I can layer in some specific run training for you relative to some speed and with an eye towards what you need in your fitness bank to be successful for the Full Plan training block.
What are you get too carried away looking at my runs, remember that I'm not specifically training for anything, this is just my baseline worth. My steady run pace is typically around seven minute miles so I'm not going that much faster when I run hard. Of course, I am running harder on those weekends runs as a progression, ramp in the Mile pace up towards the end.
Every once in a while I'll bust out a fast mile like I did yesterday. I'd like to do that once I'm warmed up just to stay sharp. But I do it in very small increments, I learned a long time ago that I can't just go out and run 10 miles out a half marathon pace because I want to. How about you start off by adding one or two fast miles per week and see how you feel?
@Coach Patrick, agreed.
"I would recommend using some thing like our bike focus plan, and I can layer in some specific run training for you relative to some speed and with an eye towards what you need in your fitness bank to be successful for the Full Plan training block". ==> yes, i like that, please tell me what i should load into FS.
What about the question re: tri bike on the trainer. When?
And what does LCs mean ("From what I'm hearing on your side, I think the next best way forward would be finishing the LCs in this week")
@Coach Patrick, i guess i should have listened to your podcast before :-) so i loaded the six week Specificity Bike Focus Plan for the next 6 weeks after the Swim Alternative Plan.
My FTP test was disappointing as it dropped by 9 watts ( 276w to 267w), but in reality i think i was overly fatigued. I will take the test again at some point when i feel refreshed. I think i started around 250w so it's still a great improvement.
I don't want to over do it but I'd like to also continue to work on my run until 6/1 when i will start the IM plan. I do like the 6 run a week frequency; i guess i can add short easy runs after the hard bike wkos during the specificity bike 6 week plan.
When do i swap my road bike for my tri bike on the trainer since i'm planning to do a lot of the longer rides indoors?
Great podcast with Peter Noyes by the way, was very insightful.
Thanks
Vincent
@Coach Patrick - first i apologize for the numerous posts but 2 things are happening that i wanted to share with you.
First, it's likely at this point that IMMT will be cancelled (see article in the GroupMe this week about Quebec wanting to cancel all cultural and sports events until 8/31). And if it's not cancelled, for now, i don't think i'll go. I love triathlon but not to the point of jeopardizing my health and my family's (wife and daughter are also going).
Second, i had a blast with JOS and finished the test run with a nice HM PR, 1:49:16, nearly a minute improvement without any specific HM training. I'm realizing I like running more and more, i like running 6 times a week but I'm slow.
So given the fact that i don't think i want to do a late season IM, I was looking at 70.3 North Carolina on 10/17 (shooting for 5:05 - 5:15, i did 5:33 last year with a bad bike split which should be improved with the new bike fit and bike fitness) and then Savannah Rock & Roll Half Marathon on 11/7 (three weeks later) with a goal of sub 1:45. This would mean starting the HM Plan by 7/26. I'm hoping that by October we'll have a vaccine in place (if not, i'll simply won't go).
It gives me 15 weeks to work with. Why not focus on getting stronger on the run while maintaining the bike fitness (i'd like to spend more time doing Zwift races). Another goal of mine is to get better on body comp, I'm ~ 182 lbs,my goal will also be to bring my weight around 175 lbs (and maybe lower if possible).
So the plan would be to turn this year focus into making me a faster runner without hurting the body with the prep for another IM (i've done 7 IMs over the past 7 years, maybe it's the year to give my body a break), and next year I'll resume the IM builds.
This week and next is the Swim Alternative Plan (to take a break after JOS). Then I loaded the [Specificity] Run Focus Plan, All Abilities (6wks), i thought i would follow with the [Specificity] Bike Focus Plan, All Abilities (6wks) and then load the 2020 Half Run Focused Plan (All Levels), 12 weeks.
What do you think?
Thanks
Vincent
@Vincent Sivirine Holy posting! Your forum-fu is as strong as your OutSeasonFu right now! 🤣
I am excited to see that you have made progress and yes to your charted course. Let me know how the first week feels and if we need to I can make some adjustments!
~ Coach P
@Vincent Sivirine I saw your post from the chat button. Its a longer answer so I thought I would post it here.
It's good to hear about your 400's pace!👊 190 running cadence is exactly where you want to be. Its actually pretty great. We want a quick turnover like that, especially when running fast 400s. A cadence around 180 is a accepted baseline for a 5'10" runner, 165 lbs. Shorter runners or lighter runners will be slightly faster. Taller and heavier runners will be slightly slower. Looking at your long run and strides workout data - you typically run around 174-176 and 183+ when you do strides or intervals. Those ranges seem to work well for you.
The most critical thing you can do to run faster is running consistency. The key to consistency is getting the balance of rest and stress correct. Its all about stacking weeks with quality hard days and long days along with really easy days. Most folks try to do too much on the easy day, which over weeks negativity impacts their hard days and leads to injury and time off, reduced training, and inconsistency.
We recommend on making sure you are taking the strides days as easy. Not trying to push on the easy days. Keep the balance of stress vs. rest right week, after week, after week. Stacking that consistent work is the key and I like a lot of the fundamentals if you are doing the stretching and foam rolling as part of your recovery routine to keep that consistency.
Let me know what you think.
@matt limbert, thank you for the good advice. I feel i have made good progress over the past weeks when, to your point, i started running slower on slow days. I actually was following a discussion either on the forums or GroupMe about keeping your heart rate low when running slow. For me who's 52 that means running under 130 bpm and i am now able to run at TRP under 130 bpm, probably around 125-128. As for the cadence, i'm ~ 6 ft and 180 pounds so on the heavier side and although you're correct that i'm comfortable with this cadence i was thinking that maybe i had a higher cadence simply because i was not extending my legs enough, or said differently i had too short of a stride and thought that i needed to spend more time increasing my hamstring mobility. But i agree with what you indicated, consistency, sleep, good balance easy runs / strong runs are critical. I will definitively follow your advice.
Thanks again
@Vincent Sivirine Its great to hear that you have such a good send of effort and correlation to you performance data. Its always a balance, right? I think your cadence is spot on. More hamstring mobility can be a bonus and give you some injury prevention and increased range of motion. You know yourself well enough that something is telling you to work on that mobility. It might know it intuitively and I would recommend you act on it with the goal of increasing the mobility for injury prevention as part of your consistency insurance effort. Also, good to hear you have seen a difference with the easy runs, they are so sneaky because we sometimes get caught up in all grading ourselves during and after each workout and run. We develop standard of what we think of as a "good" run. When an easy run is easy, regardless of the pace, that is a metric of a good easy run. You have a good sense of effort and it will be fun to see what you can do!
@Coach Patrick, hope you're doing well and excited to see the DIY triathlon taking shape end of August.
For six weeks that ended with the UltraMay week end i was on the 6 week Specificity Run Focus Plan. That worked quite well, i managed to PR on my 5k (sub 23 minutes on my TM) and overall i feel i'm running faster, more efficiently and with a much lower heart rate. All good.
Then i switched to the 6 weeks specificity Bike Focus plan (until end of July), i'm at the end of week 1. I'm going to go spend a week at the beach in Saint Georges Island (Florida) end of July so will have plenty of opportunity for swim bike and run (will be like a mini camp).
I'm signed up for 70.3 North Carolina mid October and my plan was to switch to the HIM plan early August for that race after i'm done with the Bike focus plan. To prep for the DIY race i was thinking i would replace the two epic 8 rides by faster 4 hours rides and for the run i would ensure that my two runs on Saturday and Sunday would grow to 1:45 mn combined or even 2 hours.
Also my pool is now open so i've started going back there twice already for 30' drill sessions. My plan was to continue for another 4 times of drills and then move to the more standard red mist workouts probably starting early July. I have access to a lake near by as well so i was thinking i would add few swim sessions a week in July.
My question is are you okay with this or should i switch to the HIM plan now for the DIY race and then kind of start again until mid October (assuming the Carolina race will take place which i think it will).
Thanks
@Vincent Sivirine - thanks for reaching out and for the update. I am continually impressed with how you find ways to push yourself despite the changing conditions of our racing environment. I think your current approach is just right. You have good fitness and we want to get a little more specific for this race in August, but not too specific. I'm giving you have another race later in the season, it be nice to see with the proper plan for that race build up.
Follow the bike focus plan now, and then load the half Iron Man plan just as though you were training for North Carolina. We can modify the distances for the weekends, in particular, as we need to so you can be prepared for the DIY Triathlon.
So jealous of your trip!!!
~ Coach P
Hi @Coach Patrick I scheduled a call with you and please find below the list of questions i wanted to discuss with you:
1 - races. For now it looks like IM Switzerland on 7/11/2021 (an hour away from where my sister lives to make it a family event) followed by IMMT on 8/21/2021. Yes i know not ideal but i have insurance on IMMT so if it's not reasonable, if i'm in a bad shape or even injured i won't race IMMT but if not, i think 6 weeks is ok for back to back races with two weeks in the Alps just after IM Switz. with lots of walking and fresh air.
2 - race profile for IM Switz. is 2000 meters of elevation over 180 km so it's not much. It looks very much like lots of low grade hills but nothing very steep. I think it is a profile that should fit me well (i bit like Louisville)
3 - with 1 and 2 above i'm looking at potentially upgrading my P3 to a Ventum One leveraging the EN partnership and discount. Todd H. gave me a fantastic fit on my P3 and i see a huge difference in comfort but if the Ventum is even more comfortable and more aero / fast i can see much faster time bikes especially on a course like IM Switz or IMMT. He would also do the fit on the Ventum. He's a magician.
4 - Difference between the Dura Ace plus OSPW system vs. Ultegra (both with Di2). Am i going to see a big difference with the OSPW system? i don't care that much about the weight difference which must be minimal between Dura Ace and Ultegra but i'm puzzled by the large pulleys...
My goal here is two fold: first get faster on the bike but also keep my legs fresher to be able to run a 4 hour (or even less, why not dream) marathon. From all the reviews and comments i got including those on the team i think the Ventum helps towards this goal.
This is what i would like your input on when we talk on Thursday.
Thanks
Vincent
@Vincent Sivirine - so good to talk with you today. Thanks so much for your time and sharing both your journey and your goals for the future. As I mentioned on the call, strength and smarts are both required to be your personal best. I can tell by the progress you've made it this far that you are well position to continue succeeding!
The Race Notes
Here is the bike course online (1 lap), see below. There are three distinct climbs...Second lap will be tough, but really the third hill here is the sneaky one with a kicker right after the descent, and then a continual build for 2.5 miles. Ugh that will suck the life out of some folks. 😱
Here is the Run Course... It is 3 laps, but the shape is a bow tie so you go by the finish 6 total times, I believe. It is flat and very fast (likely minimal shade): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33185510
In terms of both races, you would have a full season through to IM Switzerland. Then the 6 weeks are typically Something like this so you get a sense of it.
Remainder of this year....you planned on IMNC 70.3 in October After the no-way-Jose IMMT race. We don't have to chose just yet...you could finish the bike build, and then we focus on August-Oct half (run focused plan)...this would that was to build up your run and adjust the bike is needed to give that room to grow. If/when the race is called off then we just drop the bikes and go for a run focus until November RNR event In Savannah. We will need to be flexible here.
During this time we talked about doing a body composition focus to get down to Raceway. This is a good exercise to complete annually, if only for the lessons learned. As I mentioned, there will be some things that work for you and other things that don't. Better that we find them out now then we struggle through us next season.
Until that time we can be intentional about your calories right now. If you want to, take a moment to write down where you normally struggle with your calories/invoices in a given day. I will be happy to give you some advice to pick one thing and try and Improve it.
Let me know what you think!
~ Patrick
Thanks @Coach Patrick, really enjoyed discussion this morning. I've registered for IM Thun soon after we hung up and told my sister to get moving and find us an apartment to rent for the race :-)
I like the rest of year plan with the focus on run and improvement on body comp. To answer your question here's how i assess my eating habits and areas of struggle.
Overall i try to eat good breakfast (greek yogurt, blueberries, banana) after wko (coffee before wko, gel before wko if i run or i bottle Tailwind drink if i'm on the bike) , solid lunch (lean meat / fish, veggies and brown rice / quinoa ) and lighter dinner (Turkey + spinach salad or vegetables puree + fish / turkey / chicken but no carbs such as rice - i never really eat pasta). I don't eat fast food but i have a wife who's a great cook (and Mexican American) so i will occasionally succumb to albondigas, shredded pork + cabbage or even tacos. I really try to stay good with food (which drives the wife crazy as she has to cook differently for me than for her and the kids (although i tell her that what i eat is better :-)
What i struggle with is 1/ giving up on yogurts. As a Frenchman I love dairy products and i've given up milk (i drink almond milk) and don't eat French cheeses but i can't let go of my greek yogurts (part of my breakfast and then one or two fruit yogurts during the day, i know it's probably not very good...). Then 2/ being hungry at night so i'm trying to eat brown rice or quinoa or equivalent for lunch to keep me fuller rest of the day. At night i try to eat early (6ish) but i have a sweet tooth and it's hard not to have a cookie or two pieces of chocolate with my coffee (which i drink a lot of during the day by the way). So the two areas of issues are yogurts and sweets at nigh. I don't drink any alcohol, don't really eat junk food (although i can pig out on any bad food if i don't control myself...). Also i think i also sometimes eat too much (too large portions) when i see i can eat a full bag of salad + turkey + avocado + blue cheese dressing + croutons etc...
And i really don't like the feeling of being hungry, especially when going to bed...
After hard workouts i try to have a protein shake.
If i'm very disciplined and cut yogurts, chocolate and think about staying on point all the time i will drop few pounds but structurally that's not enough to bring me to 5 kgs less.. any help you can provide will be appreciated :-)
Thanks again,
Vincent
@Vincent Sivirine You are lucky to have such a supportive set of amazing women who will accomodate your endurance training! 🤣 Move her house...still laughing.
Ok, so better food isn't all that bad.
Overall I had some thoughts that could be helpful:
My suggestions, and my only rule is that we can't do all of them Pick one and try for two weeks.
Thoughts?
~ Coach P
Hey @Coach Patrick, thank you again for the advice. I've applied your recommendations (don't go more than 4 hours without food, replace snack yogurts by fruits, crouton and cheese only if workout before, protein shake before going to bed if hungry etc.). I did not do the cheese after the long ride because i'm not really a cheese person, more of a yogurt guy (but now i only have one in the morning with my steel cuts oatmeal plus berries, kiwis, and a banana if i'm worked out before and no more fruit yogurts full of sugar during the day). I allowed my self to have 2 times 1 square of dark chocolate a day with my post lunch and post dinner espresso.
It's weird how these things go, I've always known that i would run better if i were lighter but the fact it came from you during our discussion makes it much stronger to follow, a bit like it's the part of the training plan. So without doing anything stupid (i'm not dieting, just trying to be more disciplined) i went from 82.7kg last week to 81.5kg this week on a 7 day rolling average. And this morning body fat was at 11.4%. More importantly i feel good.
I'll continue and share my progress in two weeks which will also mark the end of the bike 6 weeks block. Then we can decide which plan to focus on for rest of year. Maybe as i have more time i could even focus on trying to run an open marathon instead of the half i had in mind before (or maybe do both).
Be safe and let's touch base in two weeks
Nice!! I like how you made the changes both small and simple to execute. I’m excited to see how this works out for you over the next few weeks. Please keep me posted!
Hi @Coach Patrick,
As promised i'm checking in after two weeks since our last chat. So far so good. On Friday my weight was down to 79.4kg / 175.1 pounds. It went up yesterday morning and this morning but i think it is the result of long bike workouts as i'm still eating the same way as last week (grilled chicken, grilled veggies, little brown rice, protein shake at night if i'm hungry etc..). I was in the 82/84 kg range for most of the past year so it's good to break the 80 kg barrier. Now trying to stabilize around 79 kg for a while and then will shoot for 77 kg.
I'm done with my 6 week bike focus plan, really enjoyed it. I'm stronger at the short Zwift B races (won 1, came 3rd in the last week) and feeling strong overall on the bike (with approximately 10 hours per week lately) but looking at the next 4-5 months, i would like to not lose my bike fitness while i would like to now focus more on the run. What do you think of a open marathon (even if i've to do it as a time trial) in November (Savannah if it still holds? or is it too heavy in terms of training / risk of injury and should i focus on a strong half (shooting for sub 1:45. If i do a marathon i would want to shoot for sub 3:50?)
And if possible i'd like to keep racing Zwift, maybe one race (alternating a short one and a longer (~ 50mns) one per week? What plan should i load? i don't think i'll swim much, possibly not at all. I'm signed up for 70.3 NC but it's likely this one will also fall...
Update: 1 I loaded the 16 week marathon plan to see what it is and it basically has me starting this week until November 8 (Savannah marathon). I would like to add a Thursday 30' Zwift Crit race (since Friday is an easy run) and maybe occasionally swap the Tuesday bike workout by either the ODZ Cofeve or a 60 minute 3R Zwift race. Would you be okay with this? If i did this do you think i would lose a lot of bike fitness? (and if i did is it a big issue or will it come back quick during next January Outseason?)
Update 2: on 7/22 my weight is 174.5 pounds (79.1 kg). The thing that is helping me the most is a light / medium workout before dinner with a protein shake before going to bed if i'm hungry. So far so good..
@Vincent Sivirine - I have to say, I'm super impressed with your nutritional focus. You have been a total boss! I went ahead and made an adjustment into next week to swap the races when you wanted. Check it out and let me know if that layout looks good to you.
The only warning I have is that it's quite possible every once in a while you'll need a Monday off. There's nothing wrong with that. If you took it off, you could divide that run into two and make it a brick run off of the other two bikes during the week and You would be all set. What do you think?
@Coach Patrick, perfect. I will try this next week and if it works i will swap the other workouts for the future weeks.
Today was my first longer run workout (1 m warm up, 5 miles at MP, 1m cool down) and man i loved it: i ran the 5 miles at 8:24 min per mile pace (5:13 min / km), power of 268w (89% of CP) and much more important, 137 bpm average HR (from 130 to mid 145 which is top of my zone 2) despite increasing speed every 2k (today was easy, 5 miles = 8k). it did not feel difficult and i was really happy to see HR stay in my zone 2. I ran on the treadmill, all other runs i will do outside with the heat and humidity but for this one i want to avoid the hard pounding on the asphalt / cement (no trails or soft surfaces near my house sadly).
I actually like running more than biking (or maybe i've been biking quite a lot over the past weeks so my body is happy to see a shift in focus). In short running is easier than before and i really love it.
15 weeks to go!
@Vincent Sivirine - let me know when you've bottled up that positive energy and it's for sale, because I want some. 👍
I'm glad you like the work out. The program adds more training each week with intermittent rest to make sure you're progressing towards that goal. I have a good feeling about what you're going to be able to do this fall. You have been so diligent this year!
~ Coach P
@Coach Patrick - weekly update - weight is down to 172 pounds (78 kgs) without doing anything stupid, just eating healthy. My workouts end of last week were not great so i'm making sure now that i'm eating enough good carbs (brown rice, quinoa etc..) and have steel oats as part of my breakfast. Today's 5 miles run at MP went very well (avge HR 140, 0.9 IF and 8:18 minute per mile pace. So far so good. Now onto breaking the 170 pounds barrier.
Enjoy your time off in Vermont
Vincent
@Vincent Sivirine - nicely done! I like how you are modifying calories to support the workouts. that is EXACTLY what we want to be doing. Micro adjustments to keep you on track. Staying on track is what keeps us happy!
~ Patrick
Quick question for you @Coach Patrick regarding BestBikeCamp. I obviously am interested but the question is about timing. With my focus being more on the run and the November marathon should i do the Bike camp in August or in the fall or after my marathon (like December as a pre Outseason) assuming you will continue offering the class later this year? I was concerned that if i do the camp now my bike fitness may decline before January OS and August bike metrics would not be as relevant next year so maybe a December camp, closer to OS could make sense? if you think August works, then i'll sign up in August if you still have capacity.
Thanks
@Vincent Sivirine - thanks for reaching out. It's not so much about having Peak fitness and building from there. It's much more about understanding your baseline level and then determining what type of training you should start to create long-term change.
As the folks in the Camp will tell you, the timeline for creating change is typically three months at a minimum....The sooner you start getting focused (even while running), the better. That said, there's a group of folks who don't want you to get any stronger on the bike! 🤣
www.endurancenation.us/bestbikecamp
@Coach Patrick, there's no way that Brian H is going to beat me at Crit City race. So i signed up (at least i tried, i had some issues with the paypal page. Pls tell me if the payment did not go through and i will do it again or you can charge my credit card on file).
At the same time it's fun to race 30 mns race but i need to be able to translate this short races strength into a 5h30 min IM bike race and for now i've not been able to do it..
So today 171 pounds and the 6 mile run at MP went ok, i went a bit harder (8:15 min per mile) and for the 6 miles my hr averaged 146 which is top of zone 2 so i think it's ok.
@matt limbert , @Coach Patrick I tried to ask this question in the GroupMe but it's probably too long and GM gave me an error message. The questions was:
Question for the July class as you probably had this questions asked before: i did the first wko this morning (ouch) recording power from both my Kickr (via Zwift) and my Assioma pedals (via Garmn 530). I typically use the Assioma pedals PM on my tri bike and all my indoor rides are recorded on my road bike with the Kickr PM. I loaded both files to TrainingPeaks and compared. On the 3 min interval there was a 10w difference (396w vs. 406w with Kickr higher). Since all my indoor rides are based on the kickr, if i know that riding outside i should factor in a 10w variance (assuming that it is the same 10w variance at 200w as at 400w), which file should it use for Camp? the Assioma based power files or the Kickr? my view is that i'd rather use the Kickr since i can compare with history and i don't really want to start riding indoors with the Assioma pm going forward. And when i will ride outside (with the Assioma pedals) i will know that my power measured with the pedals is 10-15w lower than indoors. So said differently a 200w indoor target will compare to a 185-190w outdoor target. Am i looking at it right?
@Vincent Sivirine I hear you... GM has a text limit (need to almost make it a thread). You can have Zwift read your Assioma as the power source but use the kickr to set resistance. I do that so that my quarq drives the power, and quarq is the same inside and out.
Here's how I do that:
@Vincent Sivirine
Bad News: The test files you sent Coach Patrick will not work. The files only have elevation and speed. Maybe when you used the .gpx converter you lost all the heart rate and power data.
Good News: Since you did the test indoors, Zwift will have captured a .fit file for you. Let's try that file. You will need to go to your Documents folder -> Zwift -> Activities
Once you are in that folder. All the files are labeled by date and time. Look for the data and time when you did Test 1 and Test 2. Send me (matthew.e.limbert@gmail.com) and Coach Patrick those files and we'll see what we can do.
Please excuse my poor highlighting, but I think you get the idea.
@Vincent Sivirine The Test Results are IN!
Talk about crushing it! Nice work. We will have a longer form report for you tomorrow, we are just excited to get you an initial look at your numbers. We just had to get them too you early.👊
VO2Max 55.4
FTP: 265 W, which is 77.7 % of your VO2max
W/kg: 3.4
VLaMax 0.46 (scale of 0-1)
First off, your execution was good. Thanks for those comments about the intervals that "story" helps put the numbers in perspective. Your heart rate really shows how much you were pushing it. Nice work. You are right, a little better pacing on the 10' effort. You'll get a few more opportunities at that, don't worry 🤣!
You are probably saying, "What is this VLaMax that you speak of?" Well, VLaMax is one of the new metrics that we will talk about with the INSCYD testing. That what this week is all about. VLamax → V = flow rate. La = Lactate. Max = Maximum. For now, think about it the brother to VO2Max. Where VO2Max is measure of the your maximal oxygen consumption for aerobic power. VLaMax is your maximium rate of lactate generation for anaerobic power. Endurance athletes want a low number, Sprinters want a high number. It is totally trainable, just like VO2Max.
For the record, the last class nicknamed it "Vlama." Feel free to jump into the GroupMe, ask questions (or boast about) those numbers.
We will have a longer report for you tomorrow with some more details about VLaMax, how to change it, where you fit on the scale, etc and we will talk more during our video call Wed.
Let us know what you think.
Talk to you soon, Matt