Hi I just got a power meter and did my first training ride outside. I pushed antelope-4 to my Wahoo unit.
It was tons of fun even with the strong wind. Though I wonder if I got the intended training benefit.
It’s supposed to be 4 X10 min at sweetspot.
When I look at my file in golden Cheetah… The average intervals power seems right. Out of 144 FTP.
With 137W, 133W, 133W, 126W. I tried to pick a segment with no stoplights ansd stops. Headunit suggested 120-140, 122-145, 125-150, 122-145 I finished the whole ride with a NP of 123 tss of 99 and if of 0,86.
But when I look at my file recap it shows
28:45 minutes of active recovery.
15:11 of Endurance
18:31 tempo
10:56 treshhold
5:08 in vo2max
5:43 in neuromuscular zones.
Question 1: Did I get the intended sweetspot benefit?
Question 2: Any tricks and tips to keep power within range
Question 3: Do I need to place special emphasis on recovery?
To start with, outside workouts will always be less “efficient” than a trainer in ERG. With some practice and a good stretch of road, you should be able to approximate the experience of a trainer in standard/resistance mode.
1: Yes, you got the intended benefit (but again, probably just slightly less of it than you would have gotten from a trainer in ERG)
2: Use your power meter to calibrate feel, but mainly focus on RPE. Try to increase the time between glances at your head unit. Also don’t ride to lap avg power, use 3 sec (or 1 or 5, whatever you prefer) and concentrate on holding that power. Don’t compensate for a few seconds at below-target power with a few seconds at above-target power. Just keep hitting the target. I’ve found that when I do this my lap average ends up damn near perfect every time. One more thing: your choice of road matters. Flat or steep can both work, but undulations make holding the target difficult, and you will always see time in the wrong zones on varying gradients.
I do Antelope outside often (on the road), it’s one of my favorite outside workouts to do with the normal routes that I ride. I find I can do Antelope, Monitor, etc any with shorter Sweet Spot intervals. Tried a 5x15 min SS workout outdoors last week and I just don’t have the right route for that.
With that said, my first outdoor workouts took a lot of focus to hold power within the ranges needed, you get better at it over time.
Your questions:
Based on the averages, I’d say you hit the marks and were on target for the goal of this workout. Tighten up the ranges a bit over time as you can and try to choose appropriate routes for each workout.
Keeping power in the ranges is going to come with more time and practice and knowing what sweet spot feels like. Since you’re also using a Wahoo, if you haven’t, set your LEDs for power so you can at a glance see if you’re in the range and/or make sure your 3-sec power display is nice and prominent on your screen. Focus on 3-sec average throughout the workout and if you have to lower power for an intersection or terrain or something, don’t try and drag the average power back up by going over threshold.
Focus on recovery as much as you do on training, within the limits of your lifestyle and time constraints.
For reference, here is Geiger +2 I did outdoors the other day, along with the TR zones breakdown. The power drops are intersections, but as you can see there’s barely any so do your best to choose a good route that keeps you in zone :
I get that though when you are stuck ridng indoor from october to march it gets mentally challenging to keep motivated.
The the power meter was on three seconds. I’ll try 5 for the next ride. I think the most difficult aspect of the ride that kept my power from being more constant was the crosswind that changed constantly. So I would go from 135W to 100W to 200W just because of that. It’s the compensation that got me many times way over threshold.
@Wayne That’s pretty stable. Intervals 2 and 3 looked pretty much like that. I had more swings in 1 and 4 because of stoplights,
I love the outdoor workouts but do get an inconsistent spread of power over the interval. Used to go way above on inclines /into wind and way below on declines… it is getting better the more I do it. As you mention, the struggle is finding the best sections of road (for me - Eastern Suburbs of Sydney ),… traffic lights, cars and other cyclists all impact. I have taken to only choosing those TR rides that I know work outdoors (usually shorter intervals)… I imagine that is not the ideal approach but I take the view it provides more structure and accountability than when I just go for a ride or try my own intervals.
