8-week self-assessment thread
Reading Coach P’s new wiki “Understanding OS Test Results” post made me think about making my own little self assessment of the outseason, so far. In some ways. P’s post is mainly about what to make of seemingly disappointing results and how to be realistic. That’s not where I’m coming from as just thinking aloud. I hope other people will do the same and we can learn from each other. I’m sure some of the OS vets will have remarks that will be helpful too.
Qualitative assessment – Weeks 1-8
The first 2-3 weeks were relatively “easy”, especially on the bike. There were a few intervals that I wondered if I would finish at power, but when they were over, I felt fine. The run was a bit more of a challenge. I was, especially, having a little trouble getting to those mid-effort paces (MP, HMP).
The next segment was marked by more confidence on the bike intervals and “overachieving” on the power, while doing better on my run intervals. I felt very good here, and did 2-3 extra (easy) rides or runs. However, I felt every single one of them the rest of the week, and I’ve pretty much stopped that altogether.
Weeks 6-7 were very hard on the bike. I was focused on trying to make an improvement on the test and proving that what I thought were gains were real. This culminated with the Week 8 bike test, which was…very hard..as it should be. Although the test reflected the gains I expected, I wondered if that was going to be “it”. I was having a hard time imagining working harder. On the run, it felt like I was finally making some progress.
The latter part of week was a revelation. The bike intervals were hard due to their duration, but they felt more like they did in week 3-4, not like they did in week 6. I felt like I “consolidated” the gains from the previous very hard weeks. The run test validated the moderate progress I felt I was making. Sometimes I think I recover a bit more slowly than some other people, so I wonder if this ‘better’ feeling is where other people were on the days of their tests…i.e., me just getting there a little later.
Quantitative assessment
The delta for the weeks 1 and 8 bike tests was +15 W. I am not immune from wanting to be “special”, so sometimes I mentally inserted an “only” in there. However, now that I’m feeling better again, I’m optimistic that there is more to come, so I’m feeling better. The bike is at an all time high, regardless, so I have to feel good about that.
The delta for the weeks 1 and 8 run test was -17 sec, which felt similar in magnitude. I am within a few second of my best on the run, and have never trained quite like this before. My goal of breaking 19:00 is still very far (40 seconds) away, but I’m willing to just “turst the plan” for now.
Overall
No miracles so far. However, lots of hard work, and real, measurable progress. No BS, and that’s the way it should be. If anything, though, this kind of benefit/work ratio is great for keeping the commitment high. I’m good to go.