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OS training questions

mcohenmcohen
in General Training Discussions

Posted lat night on the dashboard before I could figured out how to get into this forum so am reposting here looking for some ideas/info/knowledge from the more experienced members of the EN world. Did my first official bike test yesterday on my trainer, but my second total. I know that speed is not accurate versus outdoors so didn't watch that but for consistency over the test. Avg. was around 19.5-20.5 mph. Did my first one for fun as a trial member. This one was not as good. First twenty minutes were dead on but then I lost it in the last 10 minutes so my second 20 was not slow. Should it matter that I ran hard the day before and did my swim lesson? Seems that it really shouldn't matter much since I have been training all along. Thoughts on whether I should rest the day before a test? Also, what can anyone tell me about HR on the bike v. the run. Have heard that run HR will be higher. Also, is not the goal to be able to go hard with a reduced HR? My max HR on the run is about mid 160's and maybe mid 150's on the bike, at least on my trainer. It takes alot to get my HR up the bike. Should it not be more about being able to go fast and long with as low a heart rate as possible? Any thoughts about what I may be doing right/wrong? Sorry about the long post but any thoughts appreciated.

 

Comments

  • jburbattjburbatt
    Generally you'll want to test fresh. So doing a hard run and a swim the day before probably affected your test, especially since it sounds like you are a HR athlete. Re: HR, remember everyone is different, so it's hard to look for a baseline to compare to aside from yourself (for example, on the bike my heart rate sat at 167 pretty consistently, on the run I can comfortably run hard at 203- a much different jump than you see). You'll be testing and creating your zones based on HR, I wouldn't even be considering "speed." As your body adapts to the work you're heart rate will acclimate and you'll have to go harder. And trust me, the OS is HARD, you'll be getting that HR up. Personally, it takes me a while to get my HR up, so I have to make sure to do about 20' of a warmup before I'm doing anything (MS or testing). Hope that helps!
  • mcohenmcohen

    Thanks for the thoughts. I kinda suspected that the day before would affect a bit. Will likely retest sooner than 6-8 weeks for this to see and will rest before. You also have a different HR on the run v. the bike. Thanks for the info about what will cause the HR to go up. But, is it not still the goal to be able to do hard work and still keep the HR down? Also, good to know that a long warm up is not unusual. I need a good warm up to be ready for anything, training or racing. I see that you are doing the Muncie HIM. Is that a good race? I am always looking for new races to think about.

  • DerekDerek
    Michael,
    I agree with Jennifer i try to test on fresh legs so i"ll tone down a couple of workout prior to testing. Yes the bike and run HR are different i wouldnt be to worried about them not matching up. I m guessing that you are a HR athlete as am I. Although i use HR for my bike workouts i would definitely suggest purchasing a garmin device for your run workouts if you havent already. Pace is so much more reliable and consistent when it comes to training and racing.

    As for the bike test I my best advice would be forget what the HR reads during the test itself. Ride hard and steady for 40 min making sure not to go out too hard, and let the HR fall where it falls.

    To try and answer what i think you are asking i'll give an example of what i usually find happens:
    -your threshold HR will not change much from test to test maybe 5 bpm. However the amount of work that you will be able to perform will begin to increase at that same threshold HR.
    -so in the end my threshold HR doesnt really drop it stays the same, but by race day i am riding much faster/pushing more watts at that same threshold HR as compared to the original bike test.

    Hope that makes sense
  • Gordon CherwoniakGordon Cherwoniak

    Michael,

    To add to what Derek has said about the testing.  You are not looking to do more work at a lower HR during a test, this will come from the work that you do in the OS.  The test is about a very hard effort over 42 minutes, for me I know where my max HR is and I also use power but that HR will get up there. 

    Over the 20 weeks of the OS the threshold work that you do will raise the roof thus allowing you to more work at your IM or 1/2 IM pace.   You will put this in to effect more when you transition out of the OS and in to your IM/ half IM plan when the rides get longer. 

    Gordon

  • jburbattjburbatt
    Totally agree with Derek about not worrying about HR run vs. bike since we train by pace on the run (we use HR as a secondary metric to check out hydration, fatigue, etc, but not primary to set your pace). Additionally, you'll test less as a HR athlete on the bike since it won't change that much (vs a power athlete's profile which is more sensitive to change). But as Gordon said, you'll be able to do more work at X HR = increasing your ability to do more work. You're not so much lowering your HR while doing the same amount of work, that's not the goal.

    I've never done Muncie, this will be my first year. Though I've heard good things about it, and after IMWI wanted to do something fast, and something that was going to be close to home.
  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn
    I'd also add that you shouldn't worry too much about tests that don't go so well. Don't re-test a bunch of times so that you end up missing workouts or totally frying yourself. Sooner or later you'll get a better feel of where you stand as you bench mark yourself more and more. If I test poorly, I tend to ignore the results and set my FT (or HR in your case) to where I think it belongs and as my fitness changes, I update it accordingly.
  • mcohenmcohen
    Thanks so much for all the above info. It definitely makes sense and helps alot with trying to figure this all out. Training with a plan and knowledge is so much better, but harder, than trying to do it all on your own as I have been for years for everything. I can already tell that EN will have a lot of benefits!
  • morpheusmorpheus
    Hey, hijackin', gotta another OS question.

    This is my favorite time of the year to ride around here, in ATL. Group rides become a bit more social. That, and every Fall, me and some buddies always seem to be introducing some new peeps to the joys of cycling and car-dodging!

    So, here's my ?: Sticking with my Nov OS plan, am I 'allowed' to still ride with the buds on the weekend? My take is that I need to do the work, the plan, on the trainer prior. Get the workout done and out of the way first, then head out for a spin with the locals. Hammering in the group rides is done for the year, now its just enjoying the Fall weather....not exactly EN style.

    So, EN workout first, then spin with friends?
  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn
    @Chris,

    yup. The general rule is extra stuff is allowed as long as it doesn't interfere with other workouts. So if your Saturday extra ride made you not hit all your Sunday numbers, then ease off the the extras. The OS gets hard real soon image
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