Power outage - I need your guidance
I need some guidance from the collective wisdom of the nation.
I did my week 8 FTP test and struggled mightily just to stay on the bike after 12' of the first interval when my ability to hold my projected watts began to wane. My mental fu was strong, but I just couldn't maintain my current FT.
I ended up with 299 and 288 for a pnorm of 290. In Nov, I tested at 300. Up until last tuesday, I was doing all the FT bike workouts above my current FT of 300. It felt ok and was not affecting my runs or next bike workouts, so I stuck with it.
Last Saturday, I had the best bike workout out fhe year, 2x12' @ 318 and 314, 1x6' @ 348, 2x15' @ ;276, 284, .94 for 90 min, followed the next day by a hard 2x2 mile run workout. The next Tues is when I saw the cummulative fatigue manifest itself. I bailed on my first 2x20' at 12' because I couldn't hold 90%. I chalked it up to being fatigued, tired, and a slight cold. Wed, I had a great 3x1 run, and on Thur, I tried the 2x20' again. 307 and 269. Ok, still fatigued, I guess. Since I didn't do a brick last Sat nor Tues, I did a 45' LRP run on Friday. Sat, I had another great bike workout. Not as crazy with power numbers as last Sat, but still very strong. 2x14' @ 311, 310, 1x7' @ 345, 2x15' @ 249 and 269. .92 for 90 min. I took yesterday off.
With all that info, my self assessment is I'm just a bit over cooked. I don't think I've actually lost watts since Nov 2nd, but I certainly wasn't able to prove with tonight's test that I should be doing FT work at or above 100%. I'm asking for guidance because this is my first full year using power and I appreciate all the knowledge and experience that exists here.
Your feedback is much appreciated.
Dave
Comments
Dave, excellent number man.... its going to take me years to get to that! Probably if you think you're cooked a little, then you most likely are. Usually in these cases you know yourself better than most, and I'm sure its like torture to take some rest, but it probably wouldn't hurt. Does it feel like you are plateauing?
Dan
Based on your other workouts I would guess when rested you are at 310 or more FT. I would not go by one workout/test at all. We all cycle through levels of energy. You may just be in the absorbing stage. You have put in some amazing work. And my guess is that you shoveled quite a bit yesterday with the snow storm?.
If I were you I would stick with the 300 or bump it up to 305-310 based on your other workouts.
No rocket science here. You are probably tired. We all are. It does not mean you need to completely rest. I would ride easy, run whatever, train if you want to for a few days and then get back in it.
You will have your killer test soon enough. It may happen on a workout day and then on the fly you modify it to a 2 x 20.
Good job all in all my dear!
CC
Get out the fly rod, and take up fishing, you sissy!
JK, we've all been there on a bad test day. Sometimes, it just doesn't go your way. You know the numbers you've been holding. Don't let one workout take that away.
If it helps, you did better than my worst test day, where I bagged it 5' into interval #2. I posted my sob story, only to hear Chris G say "why didn't you just finish it, buttercup?" And I had no answer...
Mike
I feel your pain. I've had two really crappy weeks of workouts and am dreading the test tomorrow. To mke it worse, I know that my window to workout is going to be after 9pm. I'm hoping after this week is over I'll be able to get back on track.
Unfortunately, I can't use tired as an excuse. My CTL is in the basement but my legs feel dead. Don't understand and it is getting frustrating.
Look at this from a different angle....
You have done a lot of work leading up to the test and quite a bit of racing leading into the OS (if I remember correctly). That being said, the workouts call for itervals at 95%-100% of FTP (most of the time) so hitting your workouts a bit under 300 is still getting the work done! Keep your FTP at 300 or drop it to 295. My guess is come next test you will have done a substantial amount of work at a level that will catapult you well past 310-315.
For what its worth.....YOU ARE THE HALLIGAN! Chalk today up to not a 100% day and go forward. Not sure this will even look like a bump in the road 8 weeks from now!!
I think Carrie is absolutely correct with her assessment. Hang in there and keep working.
Matt
I'd guess Carrie's guesses are pretty good here.
What does your PMC chart look like? Where is your CTL and ATL levels going into those rides where you struggled?
Also, remember the 2x20 test is just one way to determine FTP. You've got a lot of riding history under your belt and so looking at your last 28 days of power distribution to see where the big drop is would be another way to validate that 300 (or even 310) is the right number.
Would like to see your PMC chart. Being sick can also take more out of your system than you realize especially coinciding with the hard efforts of late.
Your workout loads show significant improvement in wattage so you improved, no doubt. Just your test went awry for any number of reasons. Like Carrie said...
Vince
All,
Thank you. I truly appreciate the feedback. Regarding the PMC chart. I'm still not as familiar with it as I should be, so I need to ask a question.
Do I keep the default settings for CTL and ATL?
WKO is on home PC, but I have been looking at it and my TSB is deep in the red. It's been bouncing around the -30 range. I think I was actually at -40 at one point last week. I'll have to give more accurate numbers tonight.
Again, thanks. Suprisingly, I'm not at all freaked out or concerned. I'm just trying to learn about training load, adaptation, etc.
I'm actually very happy that I finished the test last night despite knowing I wasn't going to get the result I wanted.
Dave
I
Dave,
In looking at your 2X12's you are 18 and 14 watts over FTP that's fairly significant and even over the estimated 310 FTP from others. I'm new to power but as I posted in the November OS in week 5 when I over cooked myself I took a day completely off ( and I'm not running much right now).
I think with all the racing and hard training you are just tired. To recap, you hammered yourself last saturday .94 for 90 minutes followed by a hard run tuesday, bailed on the 2X20 but still put in 12', bounced back on the Wednesday run. Then hammered your self on thursday with a 2X20 trying to hold the watts up. Ran on Friday, is that not an off day then had a good bike Saturday.
I see a couple things here, some schedule juggling to fit in workouts which probably increased the problem. Also trying to hold the higher watts as the intervals got longer really over did it. As a beginner in my first OS I know that up until 2X10 I was crushing the workouts. At 2X12 not bad and 2x15 I had to step back the watts some. Your body is in better shape but the cumluative fatigue finally caught up to you right at the end of week 7 in to week 8 test.
Also before the test this week I back off closer to my 180 FTP in Tuesday and thursday workouts with the intention of hitting a really good test. My thinking going easier, right at 1.0 IF, on a couple week 7 bikes will net me a better FTP test in week 8. I can then thrash myself for 6 weeks at 3-8 watts higher than if I was tired going in. Not sure this is optimal but it's what I did.
Hopefully there is some useful insights here. As I have said in the past "take whats useful to you and flush the rest".
Gordon
To recap:
Through crucibles of training over many years--and learning the hard way--I have can attest to the following:
1. This training game is NOT a straight line. Training plans are written in a straight line, and we begin to think our machine-like bodies can/should continue to work like that. But in reality, it's an ebb and flow--but it's hard to be ebbing when everyone else seems to be flowing.
You are meeting that brick wall (decreased performance is a sure indicator). You don't want to keep that negative feedback loop going by pushing into oblivion. It's your time to veer off the straight line. Go easy for 3-4 days, and jump back in. You'll be so much better for it.
2. As endurance athletes we have to embrace the paradox that sometimes less is more. I know that we can't go into every workout rested by taking days off all the time. We need those cycles where we push to the limit to eke the max out of our training. But the hard part comes when the schedule says you should be building, but the body says "I can't right now." And it really--no joke--can't. Just standing down for a few days, from time to time, can insure that you are successful OVERALL, not just for this week or the next.
3. One has to take the long view, and not be myopic about this week or the next. You can't compare yourself to how others are feeling at the same moment in time. Your goal is an IM in July. How is digging a deeper and deeper hole with diminishing performance going to help you long term? Race day in LP is the prize. Don't let this downturn continue, grow, deepen. Nip it. Recover, Come back 100% (Corso, are you listening?
)
It's way easy to say "ignore it, crush it, decimate it." The path that we feel most comfortable with is to keep fighting and continue to grind ourselves to a pulp thinking we'll come out stronger--eventually. The hard part is standing down to truly be able to do crush it to the nth degree over the whole of a training year all the way to race day. Likely we're only talking about standing down for a few days. A few days!
End of thoughts on this subject.
Oh yeah, take a look at your 28-day bins. That will give you a much better idea of your FT than the test yesterday. That was a one-off not reflective of your performance over time.
LP
Linda said it much better than I did. I was rushing to get to work and will add the following.
The physiological adaptations that you will get from the 2X20's in week 7 will not show up for 2-3 weeks. I remember a comment from my first IM training; "there's not much you can do to improve your IM in the last couple weeks but there are many ways to ruin it". Recovery is key to getting stronger and while your A race is a long ways away think recovery now to avoid the overtraining abyss.
Gordon
In the last 3 yrs it seems I usually have 3-4 FTT test that are worst before I have a breakthrough and get a new FTT PB.
Probably overtraining, dec. sleep, dehydration, slight virus....all can have a factor in such an extreme test.
NEWBIES......YOUR POWER WITH FTT TESTING WILL NOT NEC. GO UP WITH EACH TEST.....JUST THE MYSTERY OF THE BODY...DON'T STRESS ABOUT IT!!!
I don't have much to add to everyone's great advice except that training into a brick wall has many flavors. While I've done the classic put my head down and run right into that brick wall, last year I would just cross the line of overtraining and insist on getting that one workout done or making up a missed workout. The result was a lingering and waxing/waning fatigue that would cycle itself in skipping Tues ride (too tired) and making up on Fri (too compulsive). So basically, standing inches in front of the brick wall and banging my head on it repeatedly.
This time around I just take the rest day--even if it means skipping 3 workouts in a row--until the PMC chart starts turning upward or I feel less like a truck hit me. It seems to be working out so far.
BTW, do you have a PM on your 'cross bike? Would be interesting to see just how many TSS is expended at one of those races. With the IF being so high, I would think those races really take a toll.
Rest up and live to crush it another day, my friend!
I agree with Chris and since I am closer I will bring some.
Man if I knew cookies were involved I might have sand bagged that test.
Gordon
Me Too! Especially if they were Steve's cookies!!!
Not sure if EN cool chicka Michele Moreno will check in here, but I wanted to pass on something she said that I liked very much. In addition to talking about nail polish and getting pink EN gear, we do try to guide each other through the training. One EN chicka was fading a bit and Michele counseled with this. which, no doubt applies here as well:
It's so hard to figure out when you should just suck it up and push harder, vs. listen to the body when it tells you to take it easier. The trick is to try one of those options and then re-evaluate to determine whether or not it was correct...rather than just continuing down the same unsuccessful path.
Of course I'm listening. I have the anti-Halligan problem, though. My PMC is an exact opposite of Mr. Halligan's/ TSB is in the black and the CTL is dropping like crazy. I've had 2 weeks of minimal volume (4hrs or so) and my legs still feell tired just walking up the stairs. I don't know how uch more "recovery" I can take.