Wow - that was something! My first VO2 intervals done!! 120% of FTP is about 265w for me. Still learning WKO+ ... a 2.5min range gives me no data. From my "read" of the graph, I seemed to hit #1 @ 273w, #2 @ 260w. #3 @270w and #4 @ 265w.
Posted By Alessandro Commodari on 28 Dec 2010 04:58 PM
@Matt - I'm trying to make the most of my CompuTrainer and I'd appreciate your help. How does one write an erg file?
Alessandro,
Go to this site to set up your erg files. A guy from the Chicago Tri Club set it up. Very easy to use. Once you write and save the file, put it in your Comp CS/ERG Files folder. To use it, you open the Coaching Software and go to Start/Charts and select the file.
Done! Hard, but good to do something different. I went out too fast on the first one, and had a hard time settling into the targets. Ended up at 320, 313, 307, and 307. Its crazy looking down and seeing those numbers. Rounded out the ride with 30 minutes at .834. This part seemed to go on forever today. Jumped outside and ran an easy 3 miles.
Reading through the reports on today's workout, I realize I made the same newbie mistake: Aimed for Z5 target, rather than the higher number of 120%. I'll get 'er next time.
Add my name to the noobe error list in pencil! I too had aimed at the Z5-110% number but because I am dumb enough to overcook everything -- 2 intevals were over 120%, another near and only 1 fall short. Jumped on the deadmill for 3 miles easy to finish.
Man, just when 15' seemed short, we cook up intervals that make 2.5 minutes seem like an eternity! Got it done as 3 x 2.5/2.5, then 1 x1.5/1.5 and 1 x 1/1. My 120% is 380 and I thought of blacking out...wowsers nice work all!!!
Ok...so I actually thought it was kinda easy. maybe I'm a wierdo...well, I know I am...but this was just kinda odd.
I did the first 2.5 and held back to hit 345 watts. Took 2.5 min recover. Did the 2nd one and really didn't have any trouble with it - again at around 345 watts. third one was a bit tougher. It burned and I was huffing and puffing a bit, but still no real trouble hitting the target. Fourth one was challenging, at least compared to the first 3. I was breathing heavy right away. But I hit the power with no issue.
I finished off with a 15 minute interval at z3 and hopped off the bike for my run.
In all honesty I was thinking about taking 5 minutes recovery and doing 4 more 2.5 intervals.
I'm not sure what to think. I know my zones are correct. As a bigger dude I may just be better suited to this type of shorter effort.
Thanks to everyone who made the same newbie mistake on the V02, I feel slightly better about screwing them up. I do the real deal in about an hour and hope to hit 120% this time.
Ok...so I actually thought it was kinda easy. maybe I'm a wierdo...well, I know I am...but this was just kinda odd.
I did the first 2.5 and held back to hit 345 watts. Took 2.5 min recover.
Did the 2nd one and really didn't have any trouble with it - again at around 345 watts.
third one was a bit tougher. It burned and I was huffing and puffing a bit, but still no real trouble hitting the target.
Fourth one was challenging, at least compared to the first 3. I was breathing heavy right away. But I hit the power with no issue.
I finished off with a 15 minute interval at z3 and hopped off the bike for my run.
In all honesty I was thinking about taking 5 minutes recovery and doing 4 more 2.5 intervals.
I'm not sure what to think. I know my zones are correct. As a bigger dude I may just be better suited to this type of shorter effort.
Eric, this typically just means that your VO2 max (or ~ 5 min power) is high compared to your FTP. Or more simply that you are better at putting out higher power for short periods of time then lower power for longer periods. There are always a few people that find the V02 max work very easy for this reason. There is nothing wrong with with at all. I would think of it like a swimmer that is really good at the 400 but not quite as competitive at the 1600 or longer. It could be your size, genetics, or just past training.
There are a couple of ways you review your data or do tests to see what your power curve is....
- The WKO power distribution chart will show your curve for the last 28 days or what ever you set it too. This is not the best when you are only doing one type of training, but during the season why you are riding out side and doing different types of rides it is a great resource.
- WKO also can show how your 10". 1', 5', and 20' power relate to different Category cyclyst. I'm the opposite of you and a Cat 2/3 at FTP, Cat 4 at 5', but ranked untrained for 1' and 10".
- CP test. Do an all out 5' then easy 10' then all out 20'. Compare your average for the 5' to your average for the 20' to find your ratio. Generally over about 1.25 and you have more than enough VO2 attic and will beneift most from FTP work, whereas under 1.2 and you probably need to do some more VO2 work to see a good increase in FTP. My guess is you are over 1.25 and thats why the VO2 work at 120% of your FTP does not seem as hard. Again, for comparison I have never been over 1.15 and therfore VO2 work at 120% is very hard for me.
My advice is give it another 2 weeks to see how your body handles continued VO2 workouts at a120%. Even if they seem easier than the FTP work you can probably use a little break from FTP work in every workout.
I would not just go and add more VO2 work at this point as the high intensity stuff can come back and bite you. It is easy to add another 2.5 minutes here and there and it doesn't feel like a big deal, but a few works of that and you can dig a pretty deep hole for yourself.
That was a spicy meatball! The low easy effort included zeros from gettting off bike for more water. Suprisingly, the 20' work section felt pretty good but maybe that was only in comparison to the challenge of the last V02 effort. Looking ahead to some of the Saturday workouts is a little scary.
So today was my first day back after 7 days of vacation and runs only. Vacation was ok. Only got 4 runs in, but 2 of them were 2x2mi @ T pace, so that's pretty good. First try at the 4 x 2.5 @ 120%. Didn't know what to expect, so I went a bit conservatively. Think I'll push them harder tomorrow. WKO+ isn't giving me normalized power or VI for such short intervals. Avg power was around 203, and I was shooting for 208. 28' at zone 3! VI 0.83
Spent 7+ hrs in the car today driving to Galena to a shortened xmas with mom for lunch and turned around and came home. Got stuck in traffic, and didn't really feel like working on the bike. 45' total @ .91 and did 2 x 2.5/2.5 @ 1.21 each. Wanted to quit, so did Tabata protocol real fast and called it a day.
I didn't hit all my targets on Tuesday's workout, but I managed to get it done today. Average Power 276/269/270/270. FTP is 209, so at 120%, my target would be 250. Should I be holding back to 250 or just go as hard as I can for the 2.5, as long as I can hold the power for all the intervals?
I can't seem to get an NP out of WKO+ for any interval less than 5 minutes - is there a setting I can adjust? ( I see Beverly has the same question )
Looking forward to the day off - for those of you who haven't got it done yet - have fun! I put my head down, closed my eyes and hammered for about the last minute of each interval. Phew.
I really struggled with this morning's intervals. Not sure if it's mental or physical. I'm very distracted with work. Anyway, I did hit my target watts (294) for 4x2:30 thanks to my erg file but it took all I had. Legs were seriously trembling after each one. I was going to do 2x10 at 85% but got 2 minutes in and stopped. Picked it up again for a couple minutes and stopped agin. I noodled through 20 minutes like that.
Scheduled workout-- 4x(2.5 @120%, 2.5' @ 65%). I got three of them done and then had two sets of dry heaves on my recovery--last one 10 seconds before the last interval. I had two cups of coffee (since my cup holds 2 that would be 4) this morning and I wonder if that played into the equation or if my medicine is causing stomach issues.
I shut it down aftewards. It is frustrating as it isn't the fitness that is causing me to quit. I was pumped up to get the last set done and felt jazzed up until the near yack.
Got mine done Tuesday after riding in the car for 7 hours, and got up early to get today's done as well. The 2.5s are definitely much harder than the 30/30s, and I'm hoping the gains are also better. The numbers from my 2 workouts came out pretty similar. FT is 230, so targets were 276 (120%) and 150 (65%):
120% is 269W for me. Couldn't quite hit it today - legs tired from hefting bags of sand Tuesday night to fill the base of our new basketball hoop, and yesterdays Retul fitting didn't give them a rest either. 18' warmup 4 x 2:30 @ 266W, 269W, 261W, 261W 22' @ 187W, 90RPM, IF .84 Total bike 61', TSS 74.4
120% is 220-230 for me. Needed to do it this am cause otherwise it just would not have happened today. Actually felt okay. Hit 236, 240, 242, and 228. Then rode 24 min at ~86% at a norm power of 163.
Thursdays 4 x 2.5 were definitely harder than tuesday thanks to the third day of hard work in a row. I survived though and then finished up with 25' @ 85%.
Took the full warm up today to get my body loosened up! I really wasn’t sure if I would be able to hold the watts, but made it through. Heart rate was a little higher, and a little more sweat on the floor than Tuesday, but the dry heaving was less. Happy with today's workout. Really dreading Saturday!
Yes the King's were up 4 times during the night. Nice two hours of sleep. You guys must have been busy our last call was to a regular in your area and when whe got there afte being secured by the police....Bare with me cause this shits funny....the lady of the house was holding a small parrot and the COP asked her if it was a rat...she said no holding the bird and kissing it as it took a chunk out of her lip....LOL....I then asked her if she raised them and she stated no why......the cop then stated he breasts them out like pheasants and eats them.....then the pt came out and she told him not to touch the bird to quote "take your ass to the hospital so I and peachy can have some peace and quit for awhile". It was a great scene and a very loving couple...........Same area as your shooting.....
Not bad!.....I heard you princesses out last night several times. We were up 3x, a shooting, a broken leg, and something else legit.......says Dan Gilliat...........
Posted By Carl Noftsger on 30 Dec 2010 02:36 PM
Yes the King's were up 4 times during the night. Nice two hours of sleep. You guys must have been busy our last call was to a regular in your area and when whe got there afte being secured by the police....Bare with me cause this shits funny....the lady of the house was holding a small parrot and the COP asked her if it was a rat...she said no holding the bird and kissing it as it took a chunk out of her lip....LOL....I then asked her if she raised them and she stated no why......the cop then stated he breasts them out like pheasants and eats them.....then the pt came out and she told him not to touch the bird to quote "take your ass to the hospital so I and peachy can have some peace and quit for awhile". It was a great scene and a very loving couple...........Same area as your shooting.....
Comments
Wow - that was something! My first VO2 intervals done!! 120% of FTP is about 265w for me. Still learning WKO+ ... a 2.5min range gives me no data. From my "read" of the graph, I seemed to hit #1 @ 273w, #2 @ 260w. #3 @270w and #4 @ 265w.
Entire workout (168 watts):
Duration: 1:00:00
Work: 604 kJ
TSS: 77.9 (intensity factor 0.886)
Norm Power: 194
VI: 1.16
Now gimme a beer!
Alessandro,
Go to this site to set up your erg files. A guy from the Chicago Tri Club set it up. Very easy to use. Once you write and save the file, put it in your Comp CS/ERG Files folder. To use it, you open the Coaching Software and go to Start/Charts and select the file.
http://63.134.234.143/tri/erg.asp
Hope this helps . . . and be careful what you ask for!
Alessandro you'll need 5 min of interval to get NP to calc, so just use Ave power for these shorter intervals
Done! Hard, but good to do something different. I went out too fast on the first one, and had a hard time settling into the targets. Ended up at 320, 313, 307, and 307. Its crazy looking down and seeing those numbers. Rounded out the ride with 30 minutes at .834. This part seemed to go on forever today. Jumped outside and ran an easy 3 miles.
Ooops!
Reading through the reports on today's workout, I realize I made the same newbie mistake: Aimed for Z5 target, rather than the higher number of 120%. I'll get 'er next time.
Slinking away in shame now,
Elly
@Matt, Thanks for the link. Yeah, hard to keep it at one pint
@Hayes, 10-4
323, 320, 320, 312
Did a 10 minute zone 3 ride at the back end. Feels good to be at it again this week.
146 = 120% (126 = 110%)
1- 261w, HR 154
2- 243w, HR 159
3- 251w, HR 163
4- 237w, HR 160
20 @ 177, IF 0.865
Total bike 52:47 @ 185, IF 0.901
run 25:30, 3 miles @ 8:30
I did the first 2.5 and held back to hit 345 watts. Took 2.5 min recover.
Did the 2nd one and really didn't have any trouble with it - again at around 345 watts.
third one was a bit tougher. It burned and I was huffing and puffing a bit, but still no real trouble hitting the target.
Fourth one was challenging, at least compared to the first 3. I was breathing heavy right away. But I hit the power with no issue.
I finished off with a 15 minute interval at z3 and hopped off the bike for my run.
In all honesty I was thinking about taking 5 minutes recovery and doing 4 more 2.5 intervals.
I'm not sure what to think. I know my zones are correct. As a bigger dude I may just be better suited to this type of shorter effort.
Thanks to everyone who made the same newbie mistake on the V02, I feel slightly better about screwing them up. I do the real deal in about an hour and hope to hit 120% this time.
Eric, this typically just means that your VO2 max (or ~ 5 min power) is high compared to your FTP. Or more simply that you are better at putting out higher power for short periods of time then lower power for longer periods. There are always a few people that find the V02 max work very easy for this reason. There is nothing wrong with with at all. I would think of it like a swimmer that is really good at the 400 but not quite as competitive at the 1600 or longer. It could be your size, genetics, or just past training.
There are a couple of ways you review your data or do tests to see what your power curve is....
- The WKO power distribution chart will show your curve for the last 28 days or what ever you set it too. This is not the best when you are only doing one type of training, but during the season why you are riding out side and doing different types of rides it is a great resource.
- WKO also can show how your 10". 1', 5', and 20' power relate to different Category cyclyst. I'm the opposite of you and a Cat 2/3 at FTP, Cat 4 at 5', but ranked untrained for 1' and 10".
- CP test. Do an all out 5' then easy 10' then all out 20'. Compare your average for the 5' to your average for the 20' to find your ratio. Generally over about 1.25 and you have more than enough VO2 attic and will beneift most from FTP work, whereas under 1.2 and you probably need to do some more VO2 work to see a good increase in FTP. My guess is you are over 1.25 and thats why the VO2 work at 120% of your FTP does not seem as hard. Again, for comparison I have never been over 1.15 and therfore VO2 work at 120% is very hard for me.
My advice is give it another 2 weeks to see how your body handles continued VO2 workouts at a120%. Even if they seem easier than the FTP work you can probably use a little break from FTP work in every workout.
I would not just go and add more VO2 work at this point as the high intensity stuff can come back and bite you. It is easy to add another 2.5 minutes here and there and it doesn't feel like a big deal, but a few works of that and you can dig a pretty deep hole for yourself.
@ Eric- Are you holding 65% during the Off intervals?
Dave
It was time for Thursdays bike workout in my world:
15' warmup including pickups (219)
4x2.5' 317/316/318/320(~1.21)with 2.5 easy(187/176/179/150)
20' @219 (.84)
5' cooldown(183)
That was a spicy meatball! The low easy effort included zeros from gettting off bike for more water. Suprisingly, the 20' work section felt pretty good but maybe that was only in comparison to the challenge of the last V02 effort. Looking ahead to some of the Saturday workouts is a little scary.
Spent 7+ hrs in the car today driving to Galena to a shortened xmas with mom for lunch and turned around and came home. Got stuck in traffic, and didn't really feel like working on the bike. 45' total @ .91 and did 2 x 2.5/2.5 @ 1.21 each. Wanted to quit, so did Tabata protocol real fast and called it a day.
I can't seem to get an NP out of WKO+ for any interval less than 5 minutes - is there a setting I can adjust? ( I see Beverly has the same question )
Looking forward to the day off - for those of you who haven't got it done yet - have fun! I put my head down, closed my eyes and hammered for about the last minute of each interval. Phew.
I really struggled with this morning's intervals. Not sure if it's mental or physical. I'm very distracted with work. Anyway, I did hit my target watts (294) for 4x2:30 thanks to my erg file but it took all I had. Legs were seriously trembling after each one. I was going to do 2x10 at 85% but got 2 minutes in and stopped. Picked it up again for a couple minutes and stopped agin. I noodled through 20 minutes like that.
I shut it down aftewards. It is frustrating as it isn't the fitness that is causing me to quit. I was pumped up to get the last set done and felt jazzed up until the near yack.
Got mine done Tuesday after riding in the car for 7 hours, and got up early to get today's done as well. The 2.5s are definitely much harder than the 30/30s, and I'm hoping the gains are also better. The numbers from my 2 workouts came out pretty similar. FT is 230, so targets were 276 (120%) and 150 (65%):
Tuesday
Thursday
1st 2.5
123%
123%
1st Recovery
77%
70%
2nd 2.5
122%
123%
2nd Recovery
63%
68%
3rd 2.5
122%
122%
3rd Recovery
44%
67%
4th 2.5
121%
121%
4th Recovery
66%
66%
Did 2x10'@ 87-90% to finish out!
@group, WKo+ doesnt' calc NP for periods shorter than 5 mins. Coggan doesn't think its a relevant., just go with AP
18' warmup
4 x 2:30 @ 266W, 269W, 261W, 261W
22' @ 187W, 90RPM, IF .84
Total bike 61', TSS 74.4
Entire workout (144 watts):
Duration: 1:00:12 (1:00:14)
Work: 518 kJ
TSS: 80.5 (intensity factor 0.899)
Norm Power: 168
My Ave HR for the entire workout was 139 so happy with that.
Not bad!.....I heard you princesses out last night several times. We were up 3x, a shooting, a broken leg, and something else legit.
Yes the King's were up 4 times during the night. Nice two hours of sleep. You guys must have been busy our last call was to a regular in your area and when whe got there afte being secured by the police....Bare with me cause this shits funny....the lady of the house was holding a small parrot and the COP asked her if it was a rat...she said no holding the bird and kissing it as it took a chunk out of her lip....LOL....I then asked her if she raised them and she stated no why......the cop then stated he breasts them out like pheasants and eats them.....then the pt came out and she told him not to touch the bird to quote "take your ass to the hospital so I and peachy can have some peace and quit for awhile". It was a great scene and a very loving couple...........Same area as your shooting.....