Options
JOS 2018 Bike Week 8 - Digging in Deeper
I am still in Utah (day 9) but I am getting on a bike today at my buddy's house.
this begins our 3rd week of Vo2 Intervals, where we dig in deeper and build upon the solid gains we've been making thus far in the OS.
For those that feel they've not been hitting it, a great week to dig in and get it done. For those that are feeling the accumulated fatigue, keep on it, great week to build the mental strength and really solidify your training.
I am looking forward to reading some great results, questions and the always lively discussion.
A few pics of my 2 hour skimo tour a few days ago in Big Cottonwood Canyon
Tagged:
2
Comments
@scott dinhofer - great pics!! I didn't feel too hot this morning and it showed when I got on the bike. I got some VO2 work in, but could only go for a minute at a time and I was gassed.
5 x 3' done yesterday. That extra minute really made a difference. On the last interval, I just stuck my head down and counted pedals until it was over with. Just could not look at the screen because the time just seemed to move so slow. Glad I got it done.
taking a day off after skiing 8 or the last 9 days. Legs are trashed, had to decrease the effort but did 5x2'@ 265 #winnning
5 x 3' done today. I feel like a new man after taking Sunday off and just doing a pilates session yesterday.
I increased the efforts on the last three intervals to ~1.17 IF. I suspect I may be doing these at a lower intensity than the group. What IF are you all targeting?
I think the RX for these was about that, seems to get lower as the intervals get longer. I did the 2' ones from last week today and they were coming in at 1.2
@Jeff Phillips I thought the notes listed 1.1-1.2/ FTP+15/best effort so that's what I tried for on the last 2.
My range was today was 5x 3' - 1.11, 1.14, 1.2, 1.25, 1.29. I still was not feeling great after yesterday off day so eased in. This OS I've been extending my Vo2 workouts a little higher than my traditional 1.2 cap. I'm also very aware that intensities this high can dig you in to a hole quickly.
PM training sessions are always a challenge for me motivationally-speaking, and today's was a "special" case. Convinced myself to get on the bike, and that is when I noticed the 3' interval, and thought to myself "THAT is going to be a bit more of a challenge than the 2' from last week." While I hit the interval, and did not reduce the bias, I did completely space and forgot to increase the bias as I progressed through the intervals. All were really tough...that third minute especially so. So, all came in at an IF of 1.16 for me.
I'm still not certain how I'll approach the remainder of the week with the half marathon on Sunday, and I'm hoping to find a balance between OS training and approaching Sunday's race feeling somewhat fresh.
@Jeff Phillips I did 5 x 3 at "only" 1.15 (the TrainerRoad L3 workout in erg mode with no adjustment) so maybe the lowest IF in the thread. For scheduling reasons, I had to do the run earlier in the day instead of after the ride like I normally would, so I was happy to just make it through that. In the current VO2 Max phase of the OS, I've been mostly doing the intervals at the prescribed FTP percentages (usually in TR in erg mode), only bumping them on occasions when I feel particularly strong and think it is unlikely to hurt the quality of another planned workout. In the first phase, where we were doing more around FTP and sweet spot, I was bumping most of them up, but only because it was pretty clear my SWAGed FTP was no longer correct. In general, since there are several reasonably hard workouts each week, I've tried to balance working hard with not completely burying myself in any one workout so I'm recovered enough to go hard again the next day.
@Wendy Kelly - I think you need to define what type of performance you want to have on Sunday.. are you a "completer" or someone competing (even with just yourself)?
i would not do any run speedwork for the rest of the week and I would do an ez spin for an hour on Saturday on the bike for one hour max.. but really ez, zone 1/2 in terms of power, arrive at that half mary on Sunday with as fresh legs as possible. I would also consider skipping hard bike intervals on Thursday. Backing off a few days of the week prior to the event won't greatly impact your OS.
the real issue is how deep you go on Sunday and what that means on recovering and ability to hit numbers early next week.
Suggest you hit @Coach Patrick in your coaching thread.
Rode to work today so I was all warmed up when I got home. Shed some outer layers, made up some Gatorade and got on the trainer. Did the workout as planned and was either 1.21 or 1.22 IF across all the intervals. Cut the workout after the last recovery interval since id already ridden an hour going to andfrom work.
I love the longer days. We're gaining almost 4 minutes of daylight per day so its realy noticeable. Soon we'll be riding outside regularly. 😎
I'd agree with you @Bill Eckert about the extra minute taking it's toll. adding another rep last week didn't seem like so much of a grind compared to going from 2-3mins each interval
pushed out 1.15, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.15 for these.
Have just done the FTP run - had to cut right back on the TRP zone running as tight for time, but got the work done in 45mins with decent warm-up & cool down
Also did the 5x3' yesterday at 1.15 each and was glad when it was over. Today ran the 3 x 1 mile at 7:26 / 7:20 / 7:10 min / mile.
I really like the rhythm of the OS with Monday off, then three hard days, Friday easy and then heavier load on week end. So it's 3/1/2/1days and pretty well balanced. Also very motivating to see everyone's progress, congratulations you all.
@scott dinhofer Thank you for the suggestions; this was pretty close to what I was thinking of doing. I am trying to beat a time on this course from a prior year, but am banking on the general improvements in my running fitness since that time to accomplish that without having to dig too deep. I will try to keep my ego in check (easier said than done...) and take into account how that day can affect the following week of training - that is an excellent point I hadn't yet considered.
My somewhat OCD nature is going to have a difficult time skipping out on any bike sessions, especially after the curveballs I was pitched last week caused me to miss one of the midweek bike workouts. 😕 I know there is a buffer built into any training plan, but...I'd rather not do anything to diminish that buffer.
Got the 6 x 30" and 7 x 1' done yesterday. Not nearly as bad as the 3 minute intervals but definitely hard with the higher intensity.
Completed the 6x30 sec and 7x1 min this morning. I felt intervals #5, 6, and 7 for the 1-min sets were challenging. Max HR climbed 1-2 beats per interval.
Quick 1-mile treadmill brick after the ride.
Tues. did the 4X3'@1.4 to 1.6, and this morning did the 5X30/5X1 max mid 400's for 30's, mid 300's for 1's.
Tough bike sessions this week, especially the third minute on Tues.
Somehow the Zwift workout was not the same you guys did. I had 5 x 30" and 5 x 1' instead of 6x30" and 7x1' but the intensity was 10 watts higher than last week (for the minute intervals) and 15 watts higher for the 30 second intervals. Maybe i was tired but this was more painful than last week and i saw my heart rate jumping from low 110's to 160's in 60 seconds. Did a short easy brick run afterwards.
Glad tomorrow is Friday.
I've been doing the TrainerRoad workouts, which have the Thursday 30 second intervals at 1.5 and the one minute intervals at 1.4. On days I've felt strong, I've very slightly bumped up the 30s, but 1.4 is about all I can handle for the minute intervals. I found every interval difficult today so just stuck with 1.5 and 1.4 in erg mode. After the first couple of minute intervals I thought I might have to reduce the intensity, but the rest periods were long enough that I managed to make it through.
@Vincent Sivirine It looks like the Zwift workout has the 30 second intervals at 1.75 and the 1 minute intervals at 1.55. I'm not sure I could even do one interval at those intensities and definitely couldn't finish the full workout, even with a couple of intervals less for this week.
Given the discrepancy between the TR and Zwift workouts, I'm curious what IF people have been doing the Thursday workouts at? Unlike the Tuesday workouts, there isn't a percentage prescribed.
@Mark McCombe , yes you're correct, 1.75 IF and 1.55 IF yesterday. It resulted in an overall IF of .89 yesterday vs. .93 last Thursday (probably due to one less one minute internal)
Managed to drag myself out of bed at 0510 this morning for the fun of 30s/1min intervals. Certainly wakes you up.
Because of time constraints, I have to compress this into a 45min ride - which means 90s recovery between the 30s intervals, and 60s between the 1min intervals - with 5-6mins between the sets.
Oucher - 1.7 for the 30s intervals, 1.3 for the 1min intervals. All better than last week!
My 9yr old walked in on me on the penultimate 1min interval - usually he has something cheeky to say. Not sure how bad I looked, but it can't have been good cos he went straight back out again without a word!
My legs felt heavy yesterday probably because I rode to work 3 days this week. That adds over 3 hours of riding, 130 TSS and some high intensity work thrown in for good measure. So I didn't do the Thursday workout when I got home. I shifted the Saturday Cruise and Crush ride to today and got in 2 hours with 148 TSS. I plan on doing the long run tomorrow and then the Bump Sprint Race on Sunday. I had a lot of fun doing that last week so that will make up for the Thursday ride.
@Mark McCombe I am doing the Thursday workouts in Zwift at a lower intensity than what was written in the workouts. I looked at what was written and knew that while I could probably do it, I would risk injuring my knee. I have found that too high of VO2 intensity, even for short intervals, can cause me problems. Even with my reduced intensity, I have been on the edge with my knee. It is bothering me a little more this week so I stayed low with the intensities and backed off on some of my running. I would much rather stay healthy and make it through this as opposed to the other option. My intensity for the 30" intervals is about 1.5 and for the 1' intervals is about 1.4. I am at my limits with that. I will take whatever gains that will produce. Like you said, there is no prescribed intensity so I think it really is an individual thing. On the other hand, I can do much more FTP type work and not have any problems so looking forward to the switch back to FTP after the testing in week 10. I actually think (just my perception) that my VO2 rises enough while I am doing FTP work to stay right in that 1.2 range. I have not actually looked at hard numbers and probably won't look back but may keep an eye on it in the future. Just some thoughts. Hope others will chime in on this.
Everyone is throwing down these VO2 intervals... this JOS unit is tight!
I really bumped up my swimming and running this week as I recovered from an intense bike week. Tuesday Stage 6 Tour of Sufferlandria had me back to FTP with 2x20’@ 1.0 and earned me a new FTP of 238w. The video ended with a 3’@IF1.2 Team Time Trial that nailed down a new 5’ Power mark of 280w. That’s on target with an IF of 1.2
Thurs Stage 7 included 8 efforts @ 3’ descending to 1’ @ IF 1.25 with 1:1 work/rest ratio. The relatively short rest made the last few intervals a “lactic acid party,” but I still managed to finish with a new 1’ Power mark of 314w (IF 1.33). The final (Queen) stage is tomorrow. Hope to spend lots of time at SS. I’m looking forward to rejoining the group on the JOS schedule next week.
I did end up modifying my week to fit in the half marathon this morning. Steady run on Wednesday. Thursday, I did some mobility work in lieu of regular strength training and skipped the bike session. Friday morning, I rode mostly in Z2/Z3 as long as I could get in before work (about 1 hr 45 min). Saturday: yoga. And the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon today. It was great the see the women who earned their Olympic Marathon spots yesterday afternoon waving us off at the start line.
My ego got the better of me and I ended up digging deeper than I should have. I ran this hilly course in 2018, and was happy to finish a bit over 6 minutes faster than the last time. Those hills (and my ego) took their toll, and I'm glad tomorrow is a rest day.
Monday, I'll be exiting the Outseason early to prep for Gulf Coast 70.3. Thank you to everyone who has been contributing to this forum thread. There has been so much learning (and so much more to learn!), and it has been helpful with motivation, as well. Looking forward to my next Outseason!
@Wendy Kelly : Six minutes is a solid PR given your training focus here in JOS. Stay healthy and I look forward to reading some race reports ;-)
Final Stage of my (extended) Tour of Sufferlandria today. I planned a Sweet Spot effort, and ended up with 2:45 at IF of .85 Sufferfest Videos tend toward lots of time well over FTP mixed in throughout the effort with more Easy/Steady recovery than a typical Cruise and Crush session. Highest indoor TSS in history... identical to last June’s 2:50 bike split at Lubbock 70.3. Muscle endurance is evidenced by the fact that the last 10 min was at FTP. I also somehow set a new 5’ Power during the final attack at 2:30!
@John Culberson Big fan of the ‘fest too! It managed to wring every last oz of sweat & wattage outa you! Nice work!
had an unsatisfactory weekend on the bike. Buried myself on all the weekday workouts this week. Legs weren’t having any of the cruise/surge yesterday which was more than a little irritating. However did a very solid 11miles at TRP in 1hr 15 today, so finished on a positive
if like me you’re putting in some heavy efforts- remember that the recovery between WKOs is when U actually make the adaptations
@Bill Eckert I'm looking forward to the threshold interval section too. The main goal for the bike in the OS for me is to increase FTP as much as possible and I find it easier to gauge if FTP is increasing when doing intervals somewhere near FTP. For the first test, I was pretty sure I'd see some bump in FTP based on the Tuesday intervals we'd been doing. For this one, I'm much less sure, just because we've done so little work around FTP. The higher intensity work is probably good for me though, just because I've done so little of it, so I'm hopeful to get some type of increase.
@Wendy Kelly Congrats! 6 minutes is a great improvement!
I swapped out Saturday's (and Sunday's ride) for the Uber Pretzel on Zwift on Saturday morning with a lot of ENrs. The route is 128.3km (79.7 miles), with elevation gain of 2,335m (7,661′). Total ride time was 5hr 45 min, with 279 TSS at 0.69 IF. I paid dearly on the Alpe de Zwift for some surges earlier in the ride.
I'm doing some longer efforts on the weekend to gear up for an attempt up Mt Haleakala in mid-March.
rough reentry from ski week. did 5x30" VO2 on thursday, Saturday i did 2.5 hrs of cruising around Zwift with some harder work intervals mixed in.
advancing everything in the coming week by a day so I can get in 2x interval sessions and a long ride before skiing next weekend. Good news is I am doing a full day of uphill skiing on Saturday which should be a good 3-4 hrs of uphill work that is a good swap for a long day on the bike!
pool (a new record for me) then spent 90 mins on the trainer including a TT
on a 7.59 mile course in Portland (on Rouvy, 3% average grade, 1122 ft net
gain, steepest grade of 26%). I had done this ride once before and beat my
time by 1:50 so pretty good day for me. Sunday was 3 hours Z2 on the
trainer. I have to start picking up the bike volume because I have a 96
mile Gran Fondo on March 22. Swim volume is climbing because I have a 4
mile swim next month. I'm going to try to keep up the VO2 this month, then
need to back off as the volume gets too high.