Week Six Testing
I'm going on vacation next week, so will be doing my week 6 final testing on Sunday. Should it just be the same test method as the week 1 test?
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I'm going on vacation next week, so will be doing my week 6 final testing on Sunday. Should it just be the same test method as the week 1 test?
Comments
Completed my week 6 test. Bit of a mixed result - not quite what I was hoping for. The 5' test went fine - test week 1 was 274W, and this test was 283W. I'd been holding 280 for most of the 3' intervals so was pretty happy with the results.
But my FTP did not show any progress. My test started falling apart after 12 minutes, dropped about 30 watts for a minute to recover then ramped up again to reach the end. Ended up 1 W less then 1st week test, definitely within a margin of error- week 1 237w, this test 236W.
I fully rested 2 days prior to the test, but I think the cumulative fatigue of the past few weeks has taken a toll.
Will be interesting to see how everyone else did - I'm off to a week vacation on the beach, so plenty of time to recover and rebuild and then possibly retest next weekend just for fun.
Did it on Monday....Im always a day ahead of schedule( boy this test is PAINFUL!!!)
Rested Yesterday....
Here's the results:
5' @ 303w (8w higher than 1st test!!!)
....gave it my all!(couldn't have got 1 more watt)
20" @ 250w (5w lower than 1st test)
.......My legs felt the 5' all out effort
Hr was 6 bpm lower than my usual FTT test HR...usually indicates to me some fatigue if my hr doesn't respond
I might retest later this week on the 20' only ( I suspect the 5' test really impacted the 20' result)
Hey Folks,
I should have added this to the email, but let's have you pick your day of the test: either Tues or Thursday...or even Saturday. But I think it would be good if you took a day off before the test to recover.
Uh oh!!!
I know Im fitter with the roof going up!
I definitely did not feel like my legs were ready to rock......No biggie!
Vince
Yeah, remember the old Emergency Broadcast System mantra: "This is a test; this is only a test. Had this been a real race ... you prorbaly would have gone faster!" I'm now two weeks behind y'all, so I won't get the fun of fearing failure until March 2nd. Tomorrow is just week 4 for me, 5 x 3 (4'). I'm gona savor that extra 3 minutes at 60%!
BTW, I've been noticing, at least in my power files, that the NP in the VO2 set, including both the 120 and th 60% parts, is EXACTLY EQUAL to my FTP. Does that mean anything, I wonder? Is there a method to the madness?
I don't think I'll ever do another 5' -- 20' test again. These things just plain suck. The 5' suck the zap right out of the legs and then that makes the 20' feel like a 120% effort but lasts for 4 times as long. OK got that off my chest. I did not know how the test would go as last week I was really spiralling down the road to a crash of the mind and body. I took the weekend off from the bike except a little 85% stuff Saturday and that did the world for me. Got the pop back in the legs if you know what I mean. Overall i think i had the test of my life with where I am at. And yes the damn coaches are right again, this stuff really works, just have to watch the limits of yourself doing this kind of stuff though in my opinion.
(And I lost 6 more pounds since last test. Not exactly the best way though. I posted a couple weeks ago getting the flu bug or something and pucking etc... to dehydrating myself and in tthat 24 hour period lost 9 lbs. I've gained 3 back since but does make the w/kg look good and I'm at IM race weight alot earlier than I thought.
OK the results:
5' test: week 1 = 318, week 6 = 327
20' test: week 1 = 264 (horribly excecuted), week 6 = 285
.95 of 20' test = 271 FTP (new w/kg = 4.3)
Oh and its going to be quite a while till I want to do any VO2 stuff again.
Well, yet another bad test. I want to just leave it at that, but I'm having a hard time with that. This morning, I paced the 5' test very well, negative splitting it, and feeling like I may have left a touch on the table (instead of feeling shot with 1' to go and holding on for dear life like the last one). Started the 20', and felt pretty good holding right around 250. At 8' in, it started to slip away, I just couldn't keep the watts without a surge. By 12' in, it was in ridiculous territory, struggling to hold numbers around 220 (which I was able to hold for 30' no problem on Saturday after 30/30's). Poured it on in the last 90 seconds or so, after trying to pick it up with 5' to go and not being able to, and the same at 3' to go.
I'm starting to get pretty frustrated.
12/18 1/11 2/16
5' 301 305 305
20' 256 246 241
Ratio 1.18 1.24 1.26
95% 243 234 229
No surprise on the lack of movement at the 5' level. I'd barely been able to hit 97-98% of this number for the entire clinic.
The 20' test on 12/18 felt hard, but I thought that I'd left a couple of watts on the table. the 1/11 test was an abomination, started too hard, and paid for it. Today, I'm just baffled. Especially where the 95% # (243) on 12/18 was within 1 watt of my 2 x 20'(2') test a week later. I felt like that was a representative effort.
I don't know what to say. I didn't think that I was being aggressive on the 20' interval this morning. I started off around 250 (NP = 249 through 5' and 10'). I felt like I recovered pretty well in the 10' down between 5' and 20'. And I've executed one of these well before, so it's not like I don't know how to do it. I just couldn't.
I'd like to just say "oh, there's a lot of accumulated fatigue, hang in there", but it's getting harder and harder, since I've now done 2 months of bike work without a single indicator that things are moving in the right direction. That's a long time to keep the faith.
Mike
Two thoughts here (we'll see when more results come out):
1. Maybe putting the test on Thursday with rest or very easy on Tues would help (RnP: if you say "Tues" we're goin' to test Tues!)
2. Maybe testing on two seperate days (i.e. 5' on Tues and 20' on Thurs) would help (The 5' really zaps you)
We all need to remember this ONE test is not entirely accurate for fitness changes......I suspect we will have breakthroughs in fitness, FTTs, etc. in next weeks. Seems for me that these kinda changes take alot time to consolidate and when you don't expect it is when it will show.
I will test at lunch today but had a horrible Sat ride where I cut my FTP work nearly in half and just played around with 80%. Fried is how I felt. I took Sun and Monday off. You guys aren't alone. I can only hope that the coaches know we will come out of this with a ramp up in function after we recover somewhat. Faith is easy to keep when times are good. RnP aren't dummies...we will be tearing it up, relatively speaking, because of this work.
Vince
P.S. forward this to me if I am crying a river when I post my test results later!
On the test, increased 5' from 292 to 314 and 20' from 256 to 274. It took standing on the big gear for the majority of the workout but I was pleased that the second 10' was actually a little stronger - just need to start seeing gains on the run.
Mike, I know this is much easier said then done, but don't get down on yourself. You have seen great gains on the run and you will also see them on the bike when your body is ready for it. Last year I saw no gain what so ever after almost 8 weeks of V02 week, but then a few weeks later it hit and my ftp jumped. I never actually tested my 5' power again but I bet it went up as well. I'm in the opposite situation as you this year... my bike continues to improve, but I'm actually getting slower on the run. It's hard, but I'm trying to I'm just going to keep my chin up and keep believing that my run fitness will come back some day (and hopefully improve).
Trent... nice job buddy, it's amazing how closely are numbers are tracking this year on the bike.
Here are my final results:
Week 1 Test 5' - 315, 20' - 276, Weight 143, Ratio 1.141
Week 6 Test 5' - 326, 20' - 287, Weight 141.2, Ratio 1.136
FWIW, I did a 2 x 20 at the end of Week three and was a 276.
Changes:
5' went up 11
20' went up 11
Weight went down 2.8
Ratio is basically the same at 1.14 rounded
Question for the coaches:
Since my ratio is still well below the 1.22 would I benefit from another round of the power clinc workouts... after a full week off first
Mike G I don't know what to say. Last year I went from 262 watts to 289 watts in 9weeks of the outseason I thought I was a stud then went to my tri bike for the season and dropped to 270 and never picked up another watt the rest of the year. Even now I am hanging around 289 on my road bike again, I too am beginning to wonder if that is all I am capable of. To see my vo2 improve as much as it did I still think there must be more there somewhere.
Thankfully I took the full rest yesterday. I rolled and stretched and was still worried about how my legs felt since they were quite "twitchy" last night. When I was going through the warm up I still wasn't convinced, but once I did a few >110% intervals, I felt ready.
I thought the test went well and that I got stronger throughout both. Although 1' into the 5' test I already was thinking about hurling.
I tried to pace the 20' test as the first 6' at my starting FTP, the through 10' build to my more recent FTP, then through 16' really push it, I thought I would feel the "survival instinct" by that time, but it actually came closer to the 20' mark.
5' 20' ratio
new 237 191 1.24
old 226 187 1.23
As sick as this may sound, I would like to do this all again. Since I am Jan OS group, I am set to start VO2 work next week and plan to do just that. I have plenty of time to build far on top of fast.
Good job everyone and way to hang in there. This stuff is tough and glad I'm not alone in the struggle department.
It's funny, I felt like week 3 I had hit my stride and was settling in. Then I missed a week for a work trip and poof. I got tossed off the back of the wagon and have been struggling since. I've barely been able to hold FTP for > 8 minutes in the last week and a half. today I lasted 2x6'. Vo2 I can sit at for 1-2 minutes and then I fall off a cliff.
I really want to jump back on and finish out the clinic but not sure I could even put up the numbers right now to be honest. ABP is a walk in the park but once I break out of that I'm in trouble.
NEW (OLD)
5
207 (193)
20
187 (176)
and this was with a week of the flu/bronchitis!
Thanks
Toni
Week 1
5' - 263
20' - 216
Week 6
5' - 269
20' - 227
Tested this morning and wasn't expecting great things as I'm totally shattered but was pleasantly surprised to see small increases in the numbers:
Interestingly I am sure both numbers were influenced by preparing for the test and having a plan – for the 5' effort I told myself I wanted to start at 275 and build to 290 – finished with 284. Similarly, for the 20' effort I said I wanted to stay in the 240's at all times and finished with 245. Wish I had said 300's now
Seriously, I set a realistic and manageable target and although things got tougher as each interval went on, I simply refused to fade or let it drop below my target.
I don't see either number as my real VO2 or my real FTP – I probably left something in reserve on the 5' test knowing that the 20' one was coming and that 5' test certainly detracted from the 20' numbers. For example my FTP was 240w in December but these tests estimate my FTP as 230w pre-clinic and 233 post clinic. Similarly my best 5' period in December was 280w yet I tested less than that knowing a 20' effort followed. However, as a test to show “before and after” power clinic numbers it is consistent and therefore useful in that regard. I'd love to take a week off to really absorb the training – I bet the numbers would be higher and maybe a better indication of the benefits we got from the clinic.
My 5' : 20' ratio is exactly the same as before the clinic so I may return for a mini-clinic after OS and before I start the IM training - need to think about that. Realistically I don't expect the benefits of this clinic will be seen until I take some time to stand down and absorb the work. Hopefully the next FTP test before IM training will show a jump (and I'm greedy so I want a jump on my “real FTP” of 240w, not the one calculated from this clinic!!).
Final thought – all this was done while maintaining some high intensity run training. There is no doubt that affected some of us so I'd suggest that we need to assess our success by looking at our run achievements beside what we achieved on the bike during this clinic. Small increase on bike without run suffering to me is big knowing that I've filled up my FTP account with credits throughout the clinic. I just need to wait for it to clear (absorb) then it is there for me to spend come IM training.
I got the test done with mixed results. I made progress, but like many others this test today is not indicative of the fitness gains that I have made. The following is my progression over the clinic weeks.
Six weeks......
Not sure what to think about the past 5 weeks of work. I have missed no workouts and really put 100% into the process.
Week 1 Test
5' - 284 watts 20' - 234 watts
Week 6 Test
5' - 306 watts 20' - 248 watts
Not sure about the ratio. Can not remember the formula. Legs felt fried after the 5', but spinning for 5' and then hitting it seemed to make it happen. Went hard right out of the gate on the 5' and was determined to be north of 300! iPod was out of juice so had to just look at the PM and focus. Thought about creating power through the whole stroke. On the 20' I went out at 250 and tried to stay north of there. Almost got it, but I will take it. Think I learned how to do this test better through the training and that played a role in the increase in addition to the fitness gains!
For sure there was a big puddle of sweat when I was done.
Nice gains either way.
Great job everyone! I can't believe the Power Clinic is coming to an end, I do love the shorter/higher intensity stuff but boy am I ready for a break from it.
I didn't have high expectation going into the test (did it this Morning), because I am in week 2 of the Ironman prep and I was totally shelled from my ride on Saturday and Sunday. 3 and 2 hours on the trainer was no joke, but work is work. On Monday and Tuesday my quads were very sore, and I just felt tired and out of it. My "TP" run on Monday was barely HM pace. I just did an easy 30min run on Tuesday and bagged the swim. This morning I had a real hard time waking up and was dreading the test.
My warm up didn't go that great, my quads felt tired during the 3x 1'/2'. But when I got going on the actual test I was feeling not too bad, in fact as each test went I felt better and better. My test result was 302 for the 5' and 262 for the 20'; well that is not a totally true statement, if you drop the first min of both of the test then that is what you get. If you don't drop the first min then you get something more like 298 and 259. I think I am going to go ahead and take the higher number since a) they are not that far apart. b) I was actually riding stronger as the intervals went on, the last 2-3min of the 20' I was riding more around 285 then 260 ish. c) I am wondering how much higher I will get if I was actually rested...
Anyway, I wish I could take a little time and easy into Ironman prep, I already did the full 20 week OS and had a week transition before starting the Power Clinic. But since St George is only about 10.5 weeks away it is time to keep on trucking!
It's been fun sharing the Power Clinic journey with you all.
Wei
PS oh yeah, I guess I should say some about what my old stats were; well here they are:
New (Old)
5' 302 (290)
20' 262 (252)
Then in week five I could not maintain the six minute efforts.
This week things were much the same. After the suggested rest days I set out last evening to do the 5 minute/20 minute test. I knew my legs were still toasted before I started and once I got going, I began to fall apart quickly.
I turned the test into a medium level effort and finished up the 20 minute portion at an 87% effort.
I will spend the rest of the week swimming easy with a light run on Thursday and some shorter FTP/85% efforts on Saturday. Hopefully this break will allow me to get back into week 16 of the OS plan next week.
And although my final test was non existent, I do believe that I have improved and gotten stronger, and hope to finish up the OS stronger still and then transition into IM CDA preparation.
Testing was done on the road bike, trainer and seated for the duration on all tests.
1st 5' 345 watts norm. HR max 169
today 5' 365 watts norm. HR max 175 (highest I've seen on the trainer)
1st 20' 286 watts (290 watts in Dec with the 2x20'(2') test) therefore x 95% = 271 watts
2nd 20' FAILED.....
I blew up at 7 mins and had trouble holding 250ish watts after holding 290-300. Nothing in the mental tank. My legs didn't feel great but I think it was more mental than physical...just my opinion. Could not wrap my head around sitting on the watts any longer on the trainer. I may try a 20' test on the road Friday.
Coaches...please tell me that the FTP will come back!
V
I was so disappointed with the test 2 d ago I decided to retest just the 20' effort only....."just for fun!' (I figured if I couldn't maintain the watts I would quit......but......did pretty well
20' : wk 1 256w>>>>>wk 6 250 (Monday).........267w today.....
MUCH happier....I swam and did the 1hr run interval session yesterday so wasn't anymore rested(if not less rested)
Don't know if I should put this is the spreadsheet since didn't do the 5' first but was much happier the the bump upward!!!
This 20' is within a watt or two of my best ever 20'......so obviously fittier now more than ever!
Vince
You bet I'll take it!!