I just blew up about halfway through Clark in the Sweet Spot Base II Low Volume plan. I probably could have used another day of rest before attempting this but it wasn’t a particularly taxing week. Clark started out difficult and only got worse. In general, I think the best intervals are easy the first couple of times and then you bury yourself in the last one. FWIW I think my strength are going longer efforts at pace. I’m not sure how much the initial stomps wore me out. I’d get through them just fine but a couple of minutes later I’d find myself in the pain cave.
Anyway, I finished the 4th interval at 90% and ended it there. I think I need some rest but I’m also curious if I should adjust my plan going forward. I hate not finishing a workout although I admit that its likely to happen if I try new things. I’m about 8 weeks in with trainerroad.
It’s kind of funny all the potential value of adaptive training as we see individual strengths and weaknesses here daily. I particularly like the race winner workouts because I can shrug off the initial bit and the lower sweetspot intervals are more comfortable than some of the threshhold workouts that are at the same intensity. It seems like for you, those initial sprints are more impactful.
Don’t adjust your plan. Keep going. The next workout may surprise you. Bluebell is one of the particularly “easy” vo2 max intervals for most as 60 seconds on and 60 seconds off is doable for most. It could be a good confidence boost going into the remainder of base.
Also, there’s nothing wrong with adjusting the workout you’re in if you think you can still get some quality work in for the remainder of the session.
I’ve blown up before on a workout, swallowed my pride and knocked down the intensity. I figured getting some work in was better than not getting any workout in.
If 90% was killing you on the 4th interval, maybe decrease it 5 or 10 percent and/or throw in a few back spins to clear your legs if needed. If the high force stomps were killing the workout for you, but you made it 75% through, you could backspin on the stomps and try to keep going on the longer intervals.
The cues in the workout often recommend how you can adjust.
Oh ya I know the feeling
Sometimes if I go to hard on those beginning sprints it makes the threshold effort hard as F. I just learned to not go hard as a mofo on those sprints and hit a conservative power number that’s like 450 watts but it definitely helps me hit the target for the threshold efforts.
Are you eating before/during rides? I remember having to grit through SSBII and when I got to build phase and I really felt like i was getting in a hole.
One day I splurged and got a milkshake with lunch on a day I had a hard workout. It was a night and day difference how I felt going hard that evening. Since then I have been dabbling with different on the bike nutrition to see what I like but if I know I’m going to be working at or above my FTP that evening I will definitely eat a little extra that day.
Also sour patch kids have been my on the bike snack. They don’t have the potassium a GU Chomp has but from a calories/sodium perspective I believe 1 chomp = 4 sour patch kids.
Hey, I just did Clark yesterday. It went well but I had blown up on Donner the day before as my head wasn’t there, and hadn’t slept well enough for the ~20k of commuting a day that it got warm enough to do this week.
Missing a workout happens sometimes, even on lower intensity ones. As long as you can figure out why (usually sleep, motivation, or calories), and it’s not a recurring issue, it means nothing.
Just make some notes about how you felt, how your sleeping and eating had been the past few days, and reflect on what to do different. Maybe just take a rest day or cut out one prescribed workouts this week.
Thanks for the helpful advice. I was back at it this morning and did Bluebell without a problem. It think its right to say that Clark found a weakness that Iook forward to working through. Also, good advice on backing off the effort for the workout next time I run into trouble. I knew it was an option but I wasn’t sure were the line is drawn for that vs just getting some rest.
but it definitely helps me hit the target for the threshold efforts.