I am new to indoor biking – only 24 WO sessions with my first plan in TR. I believe I did reasonably well so far and was able to keep to most interval targets at ~90 rpm cadence without feeling too tired (except with my first ramp test).
My FTP is 142 (I am ok with it). Improved from 123 (from Ramp test)
Yesterday was my toughest indoor ride when I did “Ochiltree” (Threshold 4.9) for 1 hour with following statistics: TSS: 84/91, IF: 0.92/0.95, NP: 140, HR 140, Cadence: 76. While I did complete “Ochiltree”, I had to take 4 break in recovery zones of ~30 seconds.
I did pretty well – kep to target – for 20 minutes and for the last 15 minutes. I was tired at the end but not exhausted. I was able continue on with regular daily life after the ride. However, for some reason I lost my rythm in the middle when I dropped my cadence from 85-95 to below 70 on a couple of occassions.
At the end I declared that it was “hard” and that the reason was “intensity.” TR did not adjust my levels or FTP.
Questions:
Is this behavior/trend normal for newbies (like myself) with “Ochiltree” (Threshold 4.9) and reported stats?
What should I do to sustain my cadences at 90+ all the way through for ~ 1 hour? (NOTE: I can sustain ~90+ rpm for Endurance (3.5), Sweet Spot (3.5), Threshold (3.8)
Does pausing and restarting impact Cadence and hence performance?
I would appreciate any advice/feedback on my performance, corrections, and improvement techniques.
It looks like this one was simply a tough workout. We all run into those from time to time. I’d say it’s “normal” for something like this to happen. A Threshold 4.9 is getting to be a tougher workout (especially compared to workouts with lower levels that came before it) and can be a difficult one to get through.
Pausing/restarting can certainly affect your cadence and performance. Generally speaking, we recommend trying to get through the entire workout without pausing if you can. It looks like you were given the “struggle” Post-Workout Survey for this session in particular because of the pausing/periods where your power dipped below the target level.
Maintaining your cadence for the whole workout will come with practice! Keep at it and I’m sure you’ll get there.
For now, TR/Adaptive Training hasn’t updated your Progression Levels since you haven’t completed that 4.9 successfully yet. The system won’t give you an even harder workout until you get through that 4.9 first. Once you do, you’ll continue to see your PLs (and/or FTP) nudge up.
Again, though, these kinds of incidents are totally normal in training. Some days are good, some are rough. If this were to become a pattern, then I’d start to worry more about it. Moving forward, make sure to stay on top of your recovery in terms of sleep, nutrition, and hydration so that you can be at 100% for your next workout.
Hope that helps clarify things – feel free to let us know if you have any additional questions!
Thanks for your detailed and well thought-through response!! Guess there are days like this and work-outs like “Ochiltree” (Threshold 4.9).
I prepared mentally, physically (2 days rest) and nutritionally as I knew that “Ochiltree” was hard as it hovered most of the time at FTP level and over (105% and 115%). But I believe I made a BIG mistake at 20 minutes mark. I got an important call that I had to take … and this took about 15 minutes. And rather than scratching current ride and start again from time = zero, I continued on and hence it took me some time to get my cadence. I don’t know if this was a reason (or an excuse). I wish I will get another challenge like “Ochiltree” in the next planned series (as the rest in current WO plan) are mostly Enduance/SweetSpot).
Should I try my best to keep it at 90+ rpm? My fear is that if I drop below 85 rpm, I may go into a trainer cycle-of-doom (in ERG mode) and spend most of my time recovering from it. This was the “strange situation” I tried to allude to since my last 15 minutes were pretty much on target or target+ (102%+)
Thanks for your constructive feebback. Will put it into practice.
