How do I get better at 1-3min power in the middle of threshold/sweetspot/tempo, aka avoid getting dropped on zwift race climbs?

Racing
21

Naa, I am not getting in my head. I am going to go and do just that, mess with it, tonight on my ride. I am just stuck at work right now and dont feel like working so I am playing with workout creator rather than doing what I should be. Its a poor replacement for training but a pretty good replacement for work.

3 Likes
22

ride on :+1:

23

Instead of 130% (or any % of FTP for that matter), I’d do whatever your (current/recent) 5 minute peak power is, but otherwise, yes.

1 Like
24

One thing I see with all of my custom workouts from workout creator is that progression levels are usually off by quite a bit relative to the TR workouts I still do. I wouldn’t use that as too much of a judge.

25

I have a similar issue in Zwift races where climbs are longer than a minute or two. I am not a light rider and end up in VO2 max territory on all Zwift climbs. I am, at best, mid pack in my category and can usually hang on one 4-5 minute climb but not multiple climbs. I usually need to race in over/territory until the climbs. I have assessed my options as (1) increase FTP, (2) decrease kg and increase W/kg or (3) build VO2 max repeatability and duration. I don’t have repeatability issues if the climbs are less than 2 minutes. What I am not sure about is whether progressing VO2 workouts that don’t start near threshold will help.

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Over unders. Find long ones in the library and sprinkle them into your plan. Try to increase intensity 1% each over to really hammer it.

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Quick question on these way overs/unders if I may…

I completed one of the sessions recommended above to start today - 45 sec/3 min @ 120%/85% - done as 2 sets of 5 reps or approx 2x20. I aimed for increased cadence for the overs and managed approx 100-105rpm, and then dropped to a more usual 90ish rpm for the unders. It felt a good session but I never really felt a build up of lactate or much of the ‘burn’ except briefly right at the end. It felt more like a vo2 session with me breathing fairly hard during the overs. Sitting here an hour after finishig I can ‘feel’ my legs and it feels like I’ve done a good bit of work, but I didnt experience the burn I was expecting.

Now I’m wondering if doing the overs at a lower (more usual) rpm migt create more lactate build up during the overs and hence force more of the lactate clearance effect we want during the unders?

Any thoughts?