Halfway - how are you feeling?
So, I've been thinking about this a bit recently. We're 3 weeks in to a 6 week clinic, probably a good time for a quick check-in on state of mind, fatigue, etc.
For me, I'm hanging on. The VO2 work has been pretty tough, but I have been able to get it done, and am enjoying the different sort of pain it provides. I've struggled with the FTP work on most of the Saturday workouts, which has been frustrating (since the whole focus of the OS is to raise that).
I guess the difficult part for me is that I haven't seen the watts I'm riding for my FTP intervals go up whatsoever during the course of the OS, and now I'm kinda sliding back a touch, or maybe holding steady. I know I've been doing a boatload of work, so it's gotta catch up at some point, but it's getting a bit hard to stay patient while waiting for that jump.
Where's everyone else at?
Mike
Comments
I'm feeling kind of the same. I've been nailing all the
workouts dead on. The FTP work has been tough and I haven't really
seen an increase during the OS as of yet. But, I do know that
all of the intervals have been getting longer and more intense,
and I've been able to hit them. To me that is a big gain in ability to
hold the same power for longer. I can also hold the FTP intervals
after vo2 intervals and that's a big gain.
So, even though I haven't seen a testing gain, I know I'm getting stronger.
Bob
This Saturday was a turning point for me. My legs actually had some power and I felt great for the first time in a few weeks. To make a long story short, I did the full Saturday workout that I was unable to do the two previous saturdays and also did a FTT in the middle.
Just keep at it ... your body will adapt when it is ready and you will see gains.
I'm enjoying the hard work. It feels good to have heavy tired legs at the end of the week, but not feel total body exhaustion. I must be laying down more plumbing and power stations (capillaries and mitochondria) down there. I can feel I'm just at the edge of putting stress on the super-structure as I get a hint of tendonitis in my hamstrings. A day off tomorrow will be just fine, I think. I'm also pleased I can do all 4 run sessions/week to target so far. (I know, that's not a goal, but psychologically, I need to keep a running edge mentally.) Due to my mixing 2-3 weeks of skiing into the power clinic schedule, I started one week late, and will end up taking 7 weeks to do the program. I suspect the 2 weeks on/one week off/four weeks on will help my end result.
For me, the bottom line is always - what happens on race day? Not until then will I know if the clinic helped any. Of course, raising my FTP 15% in the OS would be a good thing to see along the way.
x3 for me.
I've been able to hit all of the vo2 workouts, but the FT work on Sat seems to be getting harder. I'd like to hear from smarter minds....but, I'm guessing that FT work in the middle of such an intense clinic is hard with the fatigue we all have. I'm unsure what will happen with the test in week 6 of this, but feel pretty confident that a week after it's all done, with a little rest to let our bodies absorb the work, we will all be much stronger.
Currently, I feel like I am getting stronger. I struggled with the Tues/ Thurs sessions this week. Maybe it was fatigue? But I had no problem on Saturday and even did 30 minutes @85%. I think if we did our 5' tests after a rest period, then we would see the gains. But we are waist deep and sinking fast - in a good way.
Would I love to see my FTP increase by even 10% by the end of the clinic? Of course.
Is that reasonable? I don't really think so.
Patience grasshoppers... sometimes gains come when we least expect to see them.
Just my $.02
And while I have yet to note any giant leaps in FTP numbers, I think that I am creeping up just a bit and maintaining previous power numbers seem just a tad easier.
I also fall into the camp of feeling stronger and able to hold the bigger watts for longer but my ability to sit at FT for extended periods has taken a hit. Mostly just accumulated fatigue and some overreaching on the run I think. Will be fixing that last part over the back half of the hack.
From an individual workout perspective, my nemesis is the Thursday workout. Have been doing well on the Tues + Sat outtings, but the Thurs @ 110 has been kicking my butt and I have yet to hit the 110 mark for all of the intervals.
I have seen signicant FTP increases in the OS but have leveled off or lost a bit with the power clinic I think. I have to think that you are laying the foundation for a big jump assuming you aren't cutting calories too much or something that would inhibit your recovery. Keep the faith as every time I second guess this "work" thing I have a deja vu moment.
That pain thing that we do on Tue seemed to pay off climbing my first hill on Sat as I was able to sit on my 120%+ number and talk while I rode one guy off my wheel. I've never ridden him off my wheel before going up hill. Ever.
Vince
Hope things turn around for me like it did for Matt.
Nice work everyone, it has been fun!
Wei
I'm with Leigh - it is the Thursday workout that I've found to be the biggest struggle so far. I did the Tuesday workout today because I'll be on a plane tomorrow and it felt good (or as good as 5x3'@120% can!). Best of all is that I feel that I've got to the stage now where I can pull out a strong 10x30/30 no matter how tired - that is a good feeling.
Like Matt I felt stronger on Saturday and completed the workout which was great after dreading those Saturday workouts. It is almost like some of the early part of the clinic is being absorbed now. I'm not expecting to see any great improvement from the clinic until a few weeks down the line though so anything now is a bonus. Can definitely feel the legs are a bit more muscular too - maybe I'm kidding myself!
Hey Folks,
Good discussion! My notes:
Finally, I want you to step back and realize how powerful it is to be having these conversations with each other with yourselves in friggin' February
. Your competition/former you will have/was having these "am I getting faster" conversations weeks before their races, not months and months like you. You're all well on your way to crushing your former selves, that's a fact 
Personally I have to chime in with what Rich said......crushing our former selves!
Not sure what will show up on race day but 100% confident that the WORK I am doing will manifest itself in positive results. I have been hitting the workouts and not really have missed any nor not been able to complete them. Not a total numbers geek so I don't get too wrapped up in what they say other than to know I need to hit X and do whatever it takes to hit X!
I am probably not as cerebral as some of the WSM in the haus, but I do know that planning the work and working the plan is a sure way to get to any point in the future knowing exactly what was done to get there! With that knowledge you are better prepared than 99.9% of the "others"!!
I can only say that this OS has proven to be more intense than I thought it would be but the results speak for themselves. I hope I'm not done getting stronger on the bike but as Eric Smith (?) gained over 50 watts so I have to think it's possible. Thanks Rich, Patrick and the EN haus for the collective wisdom, mojo and sense of team.
Vince