@ CC - Jealous of riding outside. 39 degrees here today and felt like heat wave, but sounded awesome for you. Tell Tom hello.
@ Matt - Bummer. Heal up. Plenty of season to get back on track. Hopefully something simple.
Knowing I have to travel on Monday to SoCal I did 2x12, plus 20 at 85% today with Friday off and maybe Saturday. Will test Sunday or Sat, depending on how I feel. Christmas parties Friday nite and Sat nite. Hard to be the sensible athlete knowing they have to test when you are at Holiday gatherings!!
Decided that IMCDA2010 is a year of "no-excuses" what so ever. If that means toeing the line at a party knowing I have to test then that is what it is gonna be!
power hack (or clinic as they are calling it) test today. that test makes me love the 2 x 20's. numbers definitely are better than when i did a few weeks of the hack in september. granted there is some change to the protocol, but not much. this one has less rest, but no 3 x 30/30's in the middle of the rest period. anyway, here are some comparison numbers
I had to travel for work yesterday and today, so schedule was a bit screwy. Did the Tuesday brick run early this morning on the hotel treadmill...I have no idea how you folks run on those dang things all the time. It's a total misery to me. Anyway...did the 3x10 intermediate ride tonight at 110%, 111%, 110%...then 18 minutes at 95%. I'm definitely moving up from 204 to ~220-225 I think.
Gordon - I've been doing these FT things for a couple of years now, and I think I've about got it figured out for myself. You and I aren't that far apart (my FT is 204). What's been working for me is to start out around 95-98% of your current FT, sort of easing into the thing. After about 1 song on the iPod I kick it up to a little over current FT (like 2-4 watts over) for 2-3 songs. That will get you to around 10-12 minute mark. At that point I start to try to keep it around where I think my new FT is likely to be, but I don't push over that. I'll invariably drift a bit lower or a bit higher, but I try to keep it pretty near that number. For the first 20 minute interval I might try to push it a little over that number for the last 2-3 minutes, but I don't go all out. In the 2nd 20, I go at roughly the same approach, but I hit it with everything I've got left for the last 2-3 minutes. My PowerAgent charts show a nice upward sloping power line and heart rate line. That seems to be working much better for me than trying to jump right in and hold steady at a higher FT.
Sisyphus and I tied tonight. I was going to try again to do the 2x20 from Tuesday on the recumbent. Third time I have tried. At 10 minutes in I thought that maybe doing the planned workout had it's merit, so I decided to try for 2x13 (just a slight compromise.) Had the Wattage on the Rec set at 215 for the first and 216 for the second. It was a mighty battle to the death but I come out victorious and did both. Then set the HR at 135 (~90%) and rode for another 20 minutes. Felt a whole lot better about this workout and feel that I should be in good position to do the ride/deep water run on Sat. Dave
Looks like everyone is pushing the limits here, nice to have an extra day off this week.
Did my beginner 2X10's at Z4 heart rate kept most of the rest of the time in Z3 but I had to concentrate to do so, seemed like an extra long work out. Overall much better than Tuesday, I think I am over the last of the cold.
I need to start thinking about getting a power meter soon...
It was awful and awesome at the same time. I put down 54 pieces of Maki. I'm still full.....I need to run this off at lunch and hit the bike tonight. I had to sleep on my back last night
@ Bill - Thanks for the comments on how you test. We will see how it goes on Monday
Thursdays workout 2X10
179 (0.99) ; 182(1.01) 22' @ 0.85. Bike felt good.
I was aiming a little higher but the phone rang and I answered it on the first interval. My approach in to the week 8 FTP is that these workouts will not help for 2-3 weeks so I want to go in rested for the 2X20. Saturday's workout will be right at the 1.0 IF and 0.85 no extra pushing.
My thinking is that if I can go in rested (or not trashed) I may get an extra 2-3 watts on my FTP that I will have to push for the next 6 weeks.
Brick complete this morning......rest/recovery for Monday's hell session.... Below pasted the 7 min interval at 114.5%.....Nailed all other intervals as well. Run was right on target. Good luck to all today!
Had a late evening out with friends last night. 17 of us in all out to dinner 7-8:30 followed by 2 hours of Bocce Ball. Got Madison from the sitter and then we were lights out by midnight. ( I am too old for midnight, New Years will be tough)Day started at 4am. Can you say exhausted when I woke up today. Long work day ahead so I got up early and did all I could on the intervals.
Started though with going to put bike on the trainer and front tire was FLAT. UUGGHH. changed that and got on the bike by 6:30.
Only had time for 1 hour so did the main set stuff. My legs and energy were not there. Ended up just settling in and not stressing and did 2 x 14 @ 90% each then 1 x 7 @ 105%. Totally pulled that 105 % from deep within. Not pretty. 30 Min brick at slower than Z1 ...Yowza. Maybe the 2 glasses of wine last night??? What do you think??
Totaly worth the fun night with friends....and for the record our team won at Bocce Ball.
Off to work, Have a great Saturday!!
We are getting together with Geoff Wieczynski and Aaron Smith for dinner and to watch the Tivo'd Ironman World Championships!!!
Feelling a little better than Thursday so the workout went well other than the white stuff falling out of the sky that made the run a little challenging to hold pace in the slick stuff. Should have wore the Trax on the shoes today. Bike came in at a solid 102% for 1st 14' and 103% for 2nd 14', and finally the 7' of hell at 110%. Run went ok just slick and held the MP and HMP close by 5 seconds per mile even though loosing the traction. Nice to have Sunday off tomorrow!!
Two bike days in a row for me. Yesterday was 2x12 at 203 watts with 10 min at .9 (.9 for the hour). Today was 2x14 at 204 + 201 and then the evil 7' at 224 with 2x15 at 178 + 175. was definitely fading on that last one!
Uggg. After a complete rest day yesterday I felt more tired/fatigued than I expected. Today's ride was a lot harder than I figured it would be. Woke up a little later than normal (wanted to get some extra sleep) and then instead of riding right away I ended up playing my son's new Wii game, Biathlon. Very cool game and made me miss my high school nordic skiing days. Anyway. Ended up hitting the Computrainer at 2:45pm. Much later than I normally ride.
10' warm up and felt like legs were lead and dead. Managed to get through 2x14' at 274 (~105%) but struggled with the 7' @ 286 (~110%). Had to stop pedaling a couple of times to release the load on the CT and allow myself to turn the pedals over. Put in some time (15' and 8') at 230 (88%) and had to call it a day as my tire went flat. I've been riding these watts for all the workouts over the last 4-5 weeks so I'm hoping to see a bump in FTP on Monday.
No run as had other things to do (and legs weren't really feeling up for it anyway). May go for an easy one in the morning just to move the legs a little. Hope my legs feel a little better going into Monday's test.
Feel like I am starting to get the hang of the recumbent. Pretty well crushed it today w/ 2x14 mins @ 220, then 1 x 7 @ 230 followed by 2 x 15 at 190. The heart rate was up a bit on the 15 min efforts, higher than 85%. Not sure if I should back that down a bit? That is what I did last week but I did have pretty bad legs for the first several days of this week (coincidence?)
Does anyone else here ride a recumbent? I ask because I do find myself inadvertently scooting up just a bit, maybe to try and get more power? I consciously have to push back from time to time. Today I noticed with about 10 minutes to go out of the 1:40 ride that I was starting to get some pain in my low back and piriformis/gluteal area. Not sure if it is from the position, lengthof time, etc.
I then did my deep water running (I will not be testing next week) so I hammered 2 x 15 min and then 1 x 7:30. I was one tired puppy when I was done and the low back/butt was still sore. I did some stretching and sat in a hot tub for a few minutes. I guess I will have to watch that over the next few days.
Hope everyone is doing well as we finish up week 7! Dave
Well, I've been doing my own thing since Clearwater last month but figured I would start back with the Nov OS bike plan today. Rode 50 miles outdoors at 58 degrees start and about 64 at the end...breezy...cool for Tampa. I use RPE, so did 2 x 14 mins at Z4 (tongue out, breathing hard), and 7 mins at Z5 (tongue dragging the road...hurts bad) -- all into the wind. I could feel the loss of fitness, but felt stronger on the 2nd 14 mins and even faster on the 7 min Z5 leg. But the ceiling caved in on the way back and holding Z3 wasn't easy, even with the wind at my back. It took me 2hrs 36mins for the ride. IMCDA is a ways off but I'm motivated. Watched IM Hawaii on TV later in the day...so many inspiring stories!
This did not feel easy, but it felt good. Rode from noon-1:30 today. I have NEVER started a workout that late before in as long as I can remember! It was weird.
Earlier in the week I did the VO2 / FTP test to get my ratio to see if I qualified for the power hack. I didn't. Ratio ~ 1.23 VO2 = 314 FTP = 254 (95% of 267)
My initial test 7 weeks ago was 231, and I've been adding 1 watt to each bike ride. I've gotten up to doing my intervals at 243 watts. However, since when I did my VO2/FTP test, I ended up with a greatly increased FTP from that test I thought I'd use the number from that test for my intervals on Saturday. That 11 extra watts made it much tougher. For the VO2 tests, I had to actually stand for 5-10 seconds each minute to give myself a mental and physical break during the 5' set. Something to look forward to ...
Some things I've learned * maybe bad to jump your workouts up by 11 watts. That is a pretty decent difference
* Riding the CT in ERG mode (which I do for training sessions) is much harder than when I have control of the power output by changing the gears. Being forced to hold a specific power with no little "breaks" of taking it a bit easier by 20 watts are possible. The CT forces you to a steady ride at that power, and so I definitely found those workouts are much tougher.
But all in all, was able to finish. Legs were pretty cooked by the end though. Interval 1: 255 (110%) @ 10' Interval 2: 255 (110%) @ 10' Interval 3: 310 (134%) @ 5 mins (VO2)
Well done to all of you...the saturday sessions are the "meat" of the program and the hardest...but I personally like'em. That much work feels about right on a trainer!
Comments
@ CC - Jealous of riding outside. 39 degrees here today and felt like heat wave, but sounded awesome for you. Tell Tom hello.
@ Matt - Bummer. Heal up. Plenty of season to get back on track. Hopefully something simple.
Knowing I have to travel on Monday to SoCal I did 2x12, plus 20 at 85% today with Friday off and maybe Saturday. Will test Sunday or Sat, depending on how I feel. Christmas parties Friday nite and Sat nite. Hard to be the sensible athlete knowing they have to test when you are at Holiday gatherings!!
Decided that IMCDA2010 is a year of "no-excuses" what so ever. If that means toeing the line at a party knowing I have to test then that is what it is gonna be!
Rearranged my workouts this week. Did Tuesdays work today.
2x15' @ 1.07 and .99 => Don't know what happened on the second; I covered up the power meter and my mind drifted. Also did about 12' @ .87.
Entire workout (187 watts):
Duration: 59:49 (1:00:02)
Work: 671 kJ
TSS: 84.1 (intensity factor 0.918)
Norm Power: 202
VI: 1.08
Pw:HR: 2.22%
Pa:HR: 1.19%
Distance: 16.161 mi
Elevation Gain: 140 ft
Elevation Loss: 0 ft
Grade: 0.2 % (140 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 64 273 187 watts
Heart Rate: 92 168 149 bpm
Cadence: 55 121 82 rpm
Speed: 4.5 23.3 16.1 mph
Pace 2:34 13:14 3:43 min/mi
Altitude: 3876 4016 3961 ft
Crank Torque: 56 292 193 lb-in
power hack (or clinic as they are calling it) test today. that test makes me love the 2 x 20's. numbers definitely are better than when i did a few weeks of the hack in september. granted there is some change to the protocol, but not much. this one has less rest, but no 3 x 30/30's in the middle of the rest period. anyway, here are some comparison numbers
today/September
5' all out 318/ 298
20' all out 248/ 221
ratio 1.28/ 1.35
Gordon - I've been doing these FT things for a couple of years now, and I think I've about got it figured out for myself. You and I aren't that far apart (my FT is 204). What's been working for me is to start out around 95-98% of your current FT, sort of easing into the thing. After about 1 song on the iPod I kick it up to a little over current FT (like 2-4 watts over) for 2-3 songs. That will get you to around 10-12 minute mark. At that point I start to try to keep it around where I think my new FT is likely to be, but I don't push over that. I'll invariably drift a bit lower or a bit higher, but I try to keep it pretty near that number. For the first 20 minute interval I might try to push it a little over that number for the last 2-3 minutes, but I don't go all out. In the 2nd 20, I go at roughly the same approach, but I hit it with everything I've got left for the last 2-3 minutes. My PowerAgent charts show a nice upward sloping power line and heart rate line. That seems to be working much better for me than trying to jump right in and hold steady at a higher FT.
Sisyphus and I tied tonight. I was going to try again to do the 2x20 from Tuesday on the recumbent. Third time I have tried. At 10 minutes in I thought that maybe doing the planned workout had it's merit, so I decided to try for 2x13 (just a slight compromise.) Had the Wattage on the Rec set at 215 for the first and 216 for the second. It was a mighty battle to the death but I come out victorious and did both. Then set the HR at 135 (~90%) and rode for another 20 minutes. Felt a whole lot better about this workout and feel that I should be in good position to do the ride/deep water run on Sat.
Dave
Looks like everyone is pushing the limits here, nice to have an extra day off this week.
Did my beginner 2X10's at Z4 heart rate kept most of the rest of the time in Z3 but I had to concentrate to do so, seemed like an extra long work out. Overall much better than Tuesday, I think I am over the last of the cold.
I need to start thinking about getting a power meter soon...
It was awful and awesome at the same time. I put down 54 pieces of Maki. I'm still full.....I need to run this off at lunch and hit the bike tonight. I had to sleep on my back last night
@ Bill - Thanks for the comments on how you test. We will see how it goes on Monday
Thursdays workout 2X10
179 (0.99) ; 182(1.01) 22' @ 0.85. Bike felt good.
I was aiming a little higher but the phone rang and I answered it on the first interval. My approach in to the week 8 FTP is that these workouts will not help for 2-3 weeks so I want to go in rested for the 2X20. Saturday's workout will be right at the 1.0 IF and 0.85 no extra pushing.
My thinking is that if I can go in rested (or not trashed) I may get an extra 2-3 watts on my FTP that I will have to push for the next 6 weeks.
Gordon
It was a struggle today but i toughed it out. The week is taking its toll; only one more to go for the week.
3x10' @ 1.07, 1.07, .99
Brick complete this morning......rest/recovery for Monday's hell session.... Below pasted the 7 min interval at 114.5%.....Nailed all other intervals as well. Run was right on target. Good luck to all today!
Duration: 7:02
Work: 121 kJ
TSS: 15.4 (intensity factor 1.145)
Norm Power: 286
VI: 1
Pw:HR: 4.64%
Pa:HR: 3.83%
Distance: 2.886 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 247 353 286 watts
Heart Rate: 130 159 155 bpm
Cadence: 82 93 89 rpm
Speed: 23.3 25.5 24.6 mph
Entire workout (224 watts):
Speed: 0 25.5 20.0 mph
Duration: 1:30:58
Work: 1223 kJ
TSS: 136.6 (intensity factor 0.95)
Norm Power: 237
VI: 1.06
Pw:HR: 3.71%
Pa:HR: 1.59%
Distance: 30.342 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 369 224 watts
Heart Rate: 105 159 143 bpm
Cadence: 35 102 83 rpm
Hi Team,
Had a late evening out with friends last night. 17 of us in all out to dinner 7-8:30 followed by 2 hours of Bocce Ball. Got Madison from the sitter and then we were lights out by midnight. ( I am too old for midnight, New Years will be tough)Day started at 4am. Can you say exhausted when I woke up today. Long work day ahead so I got up early and did all I could on the intervals.
Started though with going to put bike on the trainer and front tire was FLAT. UUGGHH. changed that and got on the bike by 6:30.
Only had time for 1 hour so did the main set stuff. My legs and energy were not there. Ended up just settling in and not stressing and did 2 x 14 @ 90% each then 1 x 7 @ 105%. Totally pulled that 105 % from deep within. Not pretty. 30 Min brick at slower than Z1 ...Yowza. Maybe the 2 glasses of wine last night??? What do you think??
Totaly worth the fun night with friends....and for the record our team won at Bocce Ball.
Off to work, Have a great Saturday!!
We are getting together with Geoff Wieczynski and Aaron Smith for dinner and to watch the Tivo'd Ironman World Championships!!!
XO Carrie
Feelling a little better than Thursday so the workout went well other than the white stuff falling out of the sky that made the run a little challenging to hold pace in the slick stuff. Should have wore the Trax on the shoes today. Bike came in at a solid 102% for 1st 14' and 103% for 2nd 14', and finally the 7' of hell at 110%. Run went ok just slick and held the MP and HMP close by 5 seconds per mile even though loosing the traction. Nice to have Sunday off tomorrow!!
Two bike days in a row for me. Yesterday was 2x12 at 203 watts with 10 min at .9 (.9 for the hour). Today was 2x14 at 204 + 201 and then the evil 7' at 224 with 2x15 at 178 + 175. was definitely fading on that last one!
Entire workout (172 watts):
Duration: 1:37:28
Work: 1008 kJ
TSS: 133.8 (intensity factor 0.908)
Norm Power: 182
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 26.063 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 350 172 watts
Cadence: 38 118 73 rpm
Speed: 3 21.9 16.1 mph
Pace 2:44 19:42 3:44 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 417 198 lb-in
will run later today. have to hit the office!
Tough one again today but just settled in and got it done. I'll add the run later today hopefully.
2x10' @ 1.00, .99
1x5' @ ;1.16
2x15' @ .85, .87
FTP of 223
2 x 10' @ 253 & 249
1 x 5' @ 275
then did 25' @ 230
abt to brave the elements for the run. Drinks to follow as around 60+ people coming overfor a party around 4.
FTP of 223
2 x 10' @ 253 & 249
1 x 5' @ 275
then did 25' @ 230
abt to brave the elements for the run. Drinks to follow as around 60+ people coming overfor a party around 4.
Uggg. After a complete rest day yesterday I felt more tired/fatigued than I expected. Today's ride was a lot harder than I figured it would be. Woke up a little later than normal (wanted to get some extra sleep) and then instead of riding right away I ended up playing my son's new Wii game, Biathlon. Very cool game and made me miss my high school nordic skiing days. Anyway. Ended up hitting the Computrainer at 2:45pm. Much later than I normally ride.
10' warm up and felt like legs were lead and dead. Managed to get through 2x14' at 274 (~105%) but struggled with the 7' @ 286 (~110%). Had to stop pedaling a couple of times to release the load on the CT and allow myself to turn the pedals over. Put in some time (15' and 8') at 230 (88%) and had to call it a day as my tire went flat. I've been riding these watts for all the workouts over the last 4-5 weeks so I'm hoping to see a bump in FTP on Monday.
No run as had other things to do (and legs weren't really feeling up for it anyway). May go for an easy one in the morning just to move the legs a little. Hope my legs feel a little better going into Monday's test.
Feel like I am starting to get the hang of the recumbent. Pretty well crushed it today w/ 2x14 mins @ 220, then 1 x 7 @ 230 followed by 2 x 15 at 190. The heart rate was up a bit on the 15 min efforts, higher than 85%. Not sure if I should back that down a bit? That is what I did last week but I did have pretty bad legs for the first several days of this week (coincidence?)
Does anyone else here ride a recumbent? I ask because I do find myself inadvertently scooting up just a bit, maybe to try and get more power? I consciously have to push back from time to time. Today I noticed with about 10 minutes to go out of the 1:40 ride that I was starting to get some pain in my low back and piriformis/gluteal area. Not sure if it is from the position, lengthof time, etc.
I then did my deep water running (I will not be testing next week) so I hammered 2 x 15 min and then 1 x 7:30. I was one tired puppy when I was done and the low back/butt was still sore. I did some stretching and sat in a hot tub for a few minutes. I guess I will have to watch that over the next few days.
Hope everyone is doing well as we finish up week 7!
Dave
Well, I've been doing my own thing since Clearwater last month but figured I would start back with the Nov OS bike plan today. Rode 50 miles outdoors at 58 degrees start and about 64 at the end...breezy...cool for Tampa. I use RPE, so did 2 x 14 mins at Z4 (tongue out, breathing hard), and 7 mins at Z5 (tongue dragging the road...hurts bad) -- all into the wind. I could feel the loss of fitness, but felt stronger on the 2nd 14 mins and even faster on the 7 min Z5 leg. But the ceiling caved in on the way back and holding Z3 wasn't easy, even with the wind at my back. It took me 2hrs 36mins for the ride. IMCDA is a ways off but I'm motivated. Watched IM Hawaii on TV later in the day...so many inspiring stories!
2x10 @ 103% and 104%
1x5 @ 112%
85% exactly for both 2x15.
This did not feel easy, but it felt good. Rode from noon-1:30 today. I have NEVER started a workout that late before in as long as I can remember! It was weird.
Earlier in the week I did the VO2 / FTP test to get my ratio to see if I qualified for the power hack. I didn't. Ratio ~ 1.23
VO2 = 314
FTP = 254 (95% of 267)
My initial test 7 weeks ago was 231, and I've been adding 1 watt to each bike ride. I've gotten up to doing my intervals at 243 watts. However, since when I did my VO2/FTP test, I ended up with a greatly increased FTP from that test I thought I'd use the number from that test for my intervals on Saturday. That 11 extra watts made it much tougher. For the VO2 tests, I had to actually stand for 5-10 seconds each minute to give myself a mental and physical break during the 5' set. Something to look forward to ...
Some things I've learned
* maybe bad to jump your workouts up by 11 watts. That is a pretty decent difference
* Riding the CT in ERG mode (which I do for training sessions) is much harder than when I have control of the power output by changing the gears. Being forced to hold a specific power with no little "breaks" of taking it a bit easier by 20 watts are possible. The CT forces you to a steady ride at that power, and so I definitely found those workouts are much tougher.
But all in all, was able to finish. Legs were pretty cooked by the end though.
Interval 1: 255 (110%) @ 10'
Interval 2: 255 (110%) @ 10'
Interval 3: 310 (134%) @ 5 mins (VO2)
Also added 2x15' @ 218 (94%)