Oct, Nov, and Dec OS'ers - Help us as we enter the Lion's Den

dhalligan

The JAN OS group is heading into their first weekend of the Sat Bike wko with long FT intervals, followed by some VO2 work.  As I followed the NOV group, there was a lot of chatter around these workouts.  Were they mistakes, misprints?  No they were for real.  A sadistic concotion that came from the Bike Power Hack over the past couple of years.

So, my question to all those that have already tackled these workouts, do you have any advice to share with us?  Such as, stay closer to 95% on the FT stuff?  Be prepared for 1:45 total time depsite what the workout says?

I also noticed at this point, folks that were active in posting faded away during this block.  That happens, but can anyone share with us what not to do so we can cruise through the block of training relatively unscathed and stronger, of course.    

Thanks for helping us out.

Dave

rfw6110

Good questions, and well timed, as I'm in the JOS too.  Add a newly tested FTP score to that Sat bike and there's some good hurt coming. 

tuckerm

Week 9 Dave? That is nothing compared to week 10. Does that help?

I would do this Saturdays workout how you feel and go from there. We all are different so a blanket statement wouldn't work for everyone, but your suggestion about staying close to 95% is pretty good. Especially since most will now be working on new levels. No need to overachieve here.

I know I dropped off posting, had more to do with life than the workouts in my case. Making an increased effort to post more.

Another suggestion would be to really focus on recovery. No extra workouts, no extra intensity in these next 6 weeks. As you know, the last 6 weeks are just as tough after the VO2 block. Compression tights, socks, recovery shakes, naps, good sleep are all important from here on out. OS is no joke.

Small edit: The above is for everyone else.  The Halligan should do his long sets @ ;1.05 minimum and his VO2 blocks @ ;1.5 minimum.  Anythng less and he isn't working hard enough.

mattsull

I say Go For It and see what happens. I found that I got through the Saturday workouts but the run the next day suffered. I ended up backing off on those. When I needed to start adding mileage to my Sunday runs for HM hack, I transposed the weekend workouts and that helped. I was able to get two quality days in.

Also seems like some of the "older" folks had more trouble with the recovery from the Saturday sets. I may be wrong about that.

Chris G

 I found the few I did easier than expected...but then I expected to actually die in the process so take that with a grain of salt.  Seriously, I find that once I get through 2x20 I feel like I can do anything or can't do anything and or am basically confused and not thinking well so I was able to just kinda get through them anyway.  One of my stronger 4 x 2:30 sessions was just after the 2x20 somehow.  Good luck.

Nemo Brauch

I'm skeered. Been following the "Advanced" plans 'cause I'm not doing any speed work on the run (injury recovery). But I'm wondering if I should back myself down to Beg for survival sake! I'd really be interested in hearing how some of the L'il Peeps did during this phase.

Al Truscott

@ Matt - Hmmm... I know a good idea when I see it. I'll try this week (9) as written, and if I have trouble on Sunday's run, I'll switch around week ten. I've got a serious HM planned for the first weekend in May, so now is time to start ramping up my weekly run to something between 90 and 105 minutes.
Like Nemo, I've been anticipating these workouts. I take them a a challenge to be conquered, and that requires some level of mental and physical preparation, like a race or TT. We race how we train, and this is the first real opportunity to put that credo into effect this year. So I'm trying to build an open and positive and eager mental attitude towards these wkos, just as I would towards a race.

ironmtngrl

@Nemo - Don't back down - you can do it. This little peep did and it made me feel like a monster having gotten them done! Just go moderate on the 2 x 20s, like .96-.98 VI, and have some good rockin entertainment, blow-em-up movie or good music. I had some company on the trainer for a couple of these and that helped (even though they were doing other workouts). Also - make sure you take in some calories/water for these workouts as they will wipe you out.

Nemo Brauch

Thanks for the tips Beverly! And the encouragement. I must admit, I always seem to forget to fuel properly during these OS workouts thinking "it's only an hour" and then I regret it about 3/4 of the way through. Good reminder!

gilliatt

I did them in the NOS, and they were hard. Rich wrote a great post/wiki about not overachieving on bike intervals. I think this really applies to these sets, you guys already know this but the range for z4 intervals is 95 to 100%, but do how often do you exploit riding an interval at 95%. I don't think you are going to feel you under achieved if you stick to the lower end of the range. For guys like the Halligan having a higher FTP sort of buys you a larger range so feel free to use it.

Keith Wick

I found the Saturday workouts harder from a duration point of view rather than an intensity point of view. The time on the bike seemed to increase for me (almost 2 hour workout) and I found that water just didn't do it anymore, so I added in some gatorade which helped. My legs got tired toward the end of the 80-85% stuff, but it wasn't that I was hurting/in pain because of the back to back FTP/Vo2 max stuff, I was just out of gas.

mattsull

Good point from Keith. I found the need to take in fuel also, especially since there is a run following.

rob allen

I will echo the fueling comments. By the time you are done with the run it ends up being 2.5 hrs. I agree with Matt to just go for it. I found it easy to overachieve in this part of the OS. And you do feel like a rock star when your done. Be careful with the cumulative fatigue of this block. It sneaks up on you in a few weeks.

Kitboo

Great thread, Dave! It's just about that time to start ramping up the volume as Battenkill is not far around the corner.

I remember last year that the 85% part at the end were mentally the toughest for me. Good point on the fueling, Keith---I'm thinking a few calories will help that out this year.