Help - how to stand down
OK, so I'm trying to move past my own little pity party in the other thread, and am thinking about what to do about it. If what I need is time to absorb, then I'll take it. So, the question is, what's the best way to think about this week?
- take it easy, drop the runs to Z1, drop the bikes to Z3, do no Z4 work at all, and try to get back on the horse next week
- Just keep plugging away, but take Thursday off (in addition to the regularly scheduled Friday) per the clinic email
Honestly, except for not being able to hold bike FTP #'s, I don't really feel like I've sitting on a ton of accumulated fatigue, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.
Thanks!
Mike
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I am in the same boat. I personally have done the following:
* 2 days off as listed.
* No running goals...jsut good steady runs (no repeats/pace, etc).
* Bike intervals done shorter 3 x 12 instead of 2x20 at my FTP, then just lots of .85.
Trying to stay fit without completely shutting down...I have found that I am on the edge too much after 16 weeks including VO2. Anyone else?
P
Now that the Power Clinic is complete, I'm going to back off for a few days and just run real easy when I feel like it. Interestingly, my bike legs are still holding strong.
My plan is to jump back into the OS plan at week 14 next week, which is an easy/testing week. Then I will do the final 6 weeks of the OS after hopefully being more rested.
I almost went over the edge and dove in.
If I would not have just taken the weekend easy on the bike I would have been in a world of hurt i beleive. Now after the test today, I again don't feel the greatest and absolutely no MOJO at all to go at it again. I think I'll take a couple days, maybe see how some runs feel since they seem to be on right now and then reassess saturday on the bike and if it is still not there I'll just get in some more good 85% efforts until I can manage the long FTP stuff again.
I think staying somewhat active is still good and sometimes I've gotten a boost after what seemed like a minnie taper.
This was probably the first time I've almost been broken by workouts. I usually can tough my way through but this was a different animal going like this for this length of time. I'm sure it will help though come IM race day when you have to dig deep.
My experience over the years: If I feel *fatigued* ( just plain tired, low energy, no motivation to work hard), I take as much time as necessary doing NOTHING until I've got the mojo back. Usually 12-36 hours is all that's needed. If I feel too *sore* in some tendon or muscle area, I stick with a low intensity program to work out the kinks for a day or two. The hardest part is actually following thorugh with what I know I should do, but it always works. I've been able to maintain a consisent training schedule for 17 IMs since 2000 this way. My advice: commit to a heavy schedule of watching the Olympics for the next two days, avoiding men's figure skating if at all possible (I say this as a former ice dance competitor - 45 years ago!) Concentrate on alpine downhill racing and 'boarder cross for VO2 work, with a dollop of X-C skiing for an endurance fix.
Al,.....a former ice dancer......not sure how to wrap my head around that tidbit!
When I was fourteen, my sister and I skated in one competition, finished 12th out of 12, and pretty much ended our career after that. My father was a sports collecter - meaning he would try anything once. Triple letterman in college, took up golf in his 30s, built a pool in his back yard so he could swim before work, retired in the mountains so he could ski every day, etc. He went thru a figure skating phase when I was 9-15, and dragged us kids along every Sunday morning. I think it was an offshoot of his childhood in Miles City Montana, skating on the frozen Yellowstone river every winter. The swimming and skiing stuck with me. Figure skating, not so much. But I did get some insight into the culture.
Last year I took a 1 week vacation after week 16 and then came back to do 4 more weeks of the OS. It might be worth considering doing that this year as well if needed.
Yeah, I can't imagine doing a 32 week training cycle for one race. I'm going to be lucky to get 14-16 weeks of OS, and a 10 week IM specific program before IM CDA.
Not sure where I am at. Had not considered we would actually be getting ready to end OS right now like last year. I traveled to CDA on Thursday night with the intention of riding Saturday morning on my trainer there and running Sunday, but did not do either. Did an easy 5 miler last night with LA Running Club from our store in Santa Monica which felt good and loosened me up. Felt a little "draggy" this am when I first mounted bike, but came around and had good results.
I really think the "stand down" for 2 days was good. Was not feeling run down or exhaused before, but could have been and not noticed. Been really busy with work and stuff.
Big weekend on tap with the launching of the TREK/K-Swiss Team so going to be training hard. 4 of us from the office are riding/running/swimming with them while they are in town for their team camp!
Wow, that is an awesome oppertunity Bryan...enjoy!
What have you done this week? It's Thursday and I'm just picking this thread up.
I feel about like you do...FTP is down, pVO2 up, run is holding but off a bit for me due to lack of focus on the run.
Vince
Vince,
after the test, I almost talked myself into something stupid, and then life intervened. I got a pretty terrible stomach bug on Wednesday afternoon (a couple of hours before I was planning to run), which knocked me out all day Thursday. I'm only just now starting to feel normal again.
At this point, I'll probably do nothing today, a Z3 ride tomorrow, and a Z1-2 run on Sunday (both as tolerated). Back at it for next week. Just gotta stop thinking about my plummeting CTL :-)
Mike
I spent almost 12 months getting that line up well into the 100s and after my A-race it was disappointing to see it drop. I definitely did more that I should have after the A-race thinking I would hold on to some fitness, and it bit me in ass late on.
I had to realize that the CTL line is not a indication of fitness ... it is simply chronic traning load. In otherwards, I'm at a point now where my CTL is the lowest it has been in 15 months... but my FTP is the highest it has even been and my run isn't to far off either.
There is plenty of time to get that CTL line back up before IMUSA. Let your body rest and recover now, there is no reason to burn yourself out in Feb.
Well said, Matt. One of the things I really liked about using WKO when I first started (pre-EN) was that I had an absolute number to point to, to say "hey, look at my fitness!" It was very affirming.
In fact, just the other day, I was looking at my CTL, which was up to about 63 before this stomach bug, thinking "wow, that's just a few points off where I raced the Patriot HIM last year, and I killed that race compared to my expectations!" There's something comforting in pointing to a number on that scale as being good enough.
Of course, you're right, there is no real need to worry about it right now, since, in theory, I could start training 42 days before the race, and see the same high # after 42 days of training as if I'd been training for months before that (based on the CTL calculation), so I should know that it's not really measuring fitness.
I guess that's a mental model I've gotta drop. thanks!
Mike
I just started to look at the PMC chart in WKO this out season. I was also getting into the mental trap of “the CTL must continue to be in an uptrend or I am not working hard enough and my fitness is not improving”.
Like many others, around week 4-5 of the power clinic the body stepped in and told the head it was way off base!! I first tired to HTFU and push on. Bad idea, I quickly had the symptoms of a cold on top of piss poor workout performance. I took two rest days (a first in this off season), I knew this was the right thing to do but part of me still did not want to step down. After the two rest days I had my strongest ride this season on a Saturday (darn not a test day!). I followed up with a strong run on Sunday, even pushed it a bit extra.– DAH ( I am slow to learn)
Matt,
I'm with you. I see a relatively flat CTL in the low 60's and upper 50's, which is lower than in early October where I would ride less frequently but longer on the road, therefore I would post bigger TSS#'s. I felt better than I do now physically even though I know I'm stronger on pVO2 and even FTP (although I cannot perform and FTP test now as I fail them).
I'm wondering if the PMC is really a good measure of fitness and fatigue. It seems to make sense theoretically but it's missing something. My CTL, TSB doesn't seem to indicator nor predict my tipping point where I transition to physical or mental burnout. I cannot find a correlation as my CTL is lower than Oct's and TSB are around 0 (I have been taking 3 days off/wk lately) yet I do not feel like I bonk at 2 hours now and don't recover as well.
I pretty hard on the TT bike for 2.5 hours trying to hold 85% FTP (200 TSS)...could not ride yesterday even easily. Meandered on a group ride for 2 hours and barely put up (100 TSS). Toast.
V