First 30-30 workout...did I do it wrong?
Would love some feedback on this. I did the workout, and for the 30" hard, I was in the hardest gear possible. Two questions
1) I only hit Z5 on the last two...but I could not have gone any harder. I have HR only. I'm not too concerned, just want to be sure. I was at 70rpms, hitting +24mph. I can't go any faster (yet...).
2) the workout only took me about 35 minutes or so. 12 minutes of total warm up, and 20 minutes of hard work, 5 minutes cool down. Should I think of this workout like an OS workout...volume isn't THAT important here, getting the work in is. Or should I have extended my cooldown to be more in Z3...or something else?
Thanks.
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Comments
1. Using HR is very challenging for those shorter intervals (I did if for 2 years). So, you will have to rely on RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Sounds like you go the hard stuff right; don't let your cadence get too low during those...
2. When you are 'resting' between intervals, don't get below about 60%...you want to just stay 'working', NOT really resting until the (2) or (3) rest break...then some lighter spinning is okay. Believe me, this (the 60% stuff) makes these even harder!
3. If time permits, try to utilize the extra time as z3 like you said.
Keep crushing it!
Thanks for the feedback. I'm in the intermediate plan, week 5 I think.
1) My cadence was around 70rpms in the toughest gear. Is that cadence too low?
2) I go from front big ring to small ring, and gear down in the back from the small ring to about mid-ring for the 30" recoveries. Maybe that is too much recovery. Ouch.
In a race, you usually want to be in the range of 90-100 or even higher if that is comfortable, but, when you are pounding out those 30/30s, I think 80s or high 70s is probably fine. Just settle into a higher cadence in the recovery phase, and don't let the recovery be a real rest, just more of a settled and moderate effort at a race pace cadence (at least that is how I have always done them). Yeah, these are hard!
Less than 90 often means that you are grinding it out a little...of course, there is probably some variation person to person.
Hopefully someone else, maybe a WSM will chime in with some thoughts on this too...
Several comments on cadence during an IM race.
Personally, I don't ride to cadence, I ride to power and RPE and HR. During training, especially intervals on the trainer, I do try to average 90 rpm. During an IM, my cadence usually runs in the range of 83-85, while in an Olympic distance, it will be over 90. I remember Matt Ancona telling us last year that over his years of training, he had noticed his run cadence rising ( towards the mid 90s) and his bike cadence dropping (from the 90s to the 80s). The same thing has pretty much happened to me over the years. I also recall a Slowtwitch poll revealing a cadence in the low-mid 80s for the majority of respondents in an IM.
My point, if I even have one, is that there is probably a wide range of "acceptable" cadence, meaning a cadence which can result in a quality bike/run in an IM. But it may be lower than the accepted wisdon of a high (> 90) cadence for a one hour time trial for cyclists. A slightly lower cadence in an IM may be an energy saving tool, is all I can think of as a reason. But 70 is too low and 110 is too high!