“The idea of an ‘echo chamber’ is a metaphorical way to describe a situation where only certain ideas, information and beliefs are shared. People inside this setting will only encounter things they already agree with. Without free movement of ideas and information people inside the echo chamber will believe that this is all there is. Under these circumstances, anyone who disagrees is misinformed at best and willfully ignorant at worst.”
No one is discouraging ideas or preventing information. Rather those that have been down that same path are sharing their experiences in hopes you may avoid some of the same mistakes. Control your controllables and your FTP, fitness, race outcome, etc. will be what it will be.
Trying to suggest to someone to get more sleep with kids under 5 is like trying to smell a fart in a tornado. Some days you can get 9, some 5. My son woke up 4 times last night, nothing I can do about it.
You want to get faster? Control the controllables.
Be as consistent as life allows (and your partner…). You are going to get sick (my kids have been sick CONSTANTLY this winter so far, sometimes I can train through it, and sometimes I can’t), you’re going to get crappy sleep.
In my experience with very young kids you can have 1 thing other than work. 1 hobby - most people on this forum - it’s exercises. If you have to make concessions on something in your life to workout and it’s worth it to you - do it. That might be sleep, overtime at work, time with your family/partner, it’s different for everyone.
In the long run, if you are consistent you’ll get faster. Something will limit you eventually: sleep, hours of training, illness, genetics, etc… - just do your best.
Good luck!
Also, don’t compare yourself to people without young kids in terms of training or on Strava - it’s not a level playing field. My buddies who are my age without kids have so much more time (not a contest, just a fact) so don’t compare yourself to them.
It seems that Garmin can’t make them reliable. Assioma Duos and Unos are very reliable. I converted them to MTB SPD and use them on gravel all the time and even have taken them Mountain Biking several times. However on the MTB they were getting struck by rocks too often so I stopped doing that.
No issues with my Rally pedals either. I think the battery door issues that plagued the Vector pedals have been remedied. I do experience bluetooth drops on my Assioma duo when on the trainer, though. I should try the Rallys.
This thread isnt really about the Garmins but since you asked.
They are delicate; fine for gravel but if your local XC races are as technical as mine, rock strikes mean they are likely to break. I have broken two pedals so far - thankfully garmin has replaced them.
Power is inaccurate - Compared to both my indoor trainer and Infocranks - they read about 10-15W lower. Power is also inconsistent as towards the end of the ride the power reading changes either higher or lower.
I’m similar age, height, weight and circumstances as the op and I struggle to stay consistent with a medium volume plan. Found it much easier just sticking to the 3 prescribed workouts then topping up volume with easier rides and club rides.
Also, even if you don’t have an actual event to train for you can still use the plan builder and I would recommend it. If you really want to target FTP for FTP sake then why not create a fake 25mile TT event? That should nicely target your 1 hour power.
Also, after some doubts at first, I’ve come to realise that adaptive training and AI FTP detection are amazing for when “life gets in the way” of training - I’ve always thought the workouts were correct - not too hard or too easy. It would work even better for the op if almost all their rides are indoors.
Briefly on favero versus Garmin - I’ve been a assioma user for 4 years and recently bought my second set. The main reason I went for them was due to the reliability issues with the vectors and I don’t regret my choice based on the experiences of my friends who went for the vectors. However, it really does seem like whatever issues the vectors originally had does not affect the new Rallys - so I would not necessarily avoid them like I did the vectors.
Agree with most of the general sentiment above that, just going from the numbers, it doesn’t seem like it’s the weight side of the w/kg equation that needs the work. But if the op is trying to run a calorie deficit than its really important to still fuel the workouts and keep up the protein intake - ~1.5g per kg is what I aim for for protein.
Supplements I use beta alanine, creatine, collagen and vit d - the op will probably want to avoid the creatine given the weight gain that accompanies it - but I find that the excess water weight does drop off after stopping use after a few weeks.
I’d also buy a foam roller - they work actual magic on my tight calves.
First let me thank everyone for the feedback it much more that I thought I would get.
I will try the MV plan this month if I see I cannot be consistent I will change to the LV and add Z2 rides when I have the time.
Regarding the weight I feel fine and I am not restricting calories at this time. But I will start fuelling my workouts better.
The only thing I am having some doubts is the garmin vs favero. If I would be using them on the road bike I think it is a no brainer. But I would like them for the XC bike so my only option are “mod” faveros, garmin or SRM. And the SRM are to expensive for me. While I am a robotics engineer and modifying the faveros seems easy enough the warranty voiding is not ideal.
The guys that had trouble with the garmins can you better describe the issues? There seems to be some conflicting information.
Saw some youtube videos of people complaining but they are old so I don’t know if the problems were solved in the meantime.
I’ve modded a pair of standard faveros to accept SPDs via some xpedo pedal bodies which is really easy as you say… I know it “voids warranty” technically but realistically - how would anyone know as long as you kept the original road bodies too and swapped them back on in the event of a claim?. The bodies are a user servicable part so removing a re-instaling them does not invalidate the warranty.
You do still have the issue of rock strikes, and favero warranty would not cover that, but I think that is the case for any of the pedal PM options?
I’m more than happy using my modded faveros for gravel bike use - but would not use them for any propper mountain bike ride.
Another Garmin rally user. After sending my first set back in, no issues. I think the biggest thing is you need to really torque the tight to specs. I think my first set was probably user error on my part not tightening enough. No problems since. Read within 1-2% of my Quarq and my kickr (so within the spec range).
Would also support to LV plan comments and add easy Z2 when you have time. Do the best you can on sleep. My kids are all older (youngest is 19) so I typically get 8-9 hours and it fantastic!
I think people are afraid of the new garmin pedals from the horror stories of the vector pedals. I’ve had mine since they came out (i think) 2 years ago.
Definitely follow set up instructions and make sure the firmware is up to date. I ride gravel, xc and CX; have been through mud, dirt, sand , puddles, rain, rock strikes, root strikes pretty much everything.
Don’t know how they’d be on a downhill bike but mine have handled well enough for my use. The power is lower on them compared to my single sided meter on my trainer bike, but makes sense why it would be.
Mine broke twice and a battery door replacement - so 3 warranty claims within a year (300+ hours of XC).
They all got replaced so +1 to garmin off that.
Loads of people have had issued with inconsistent readings - not just me.
Reads lower than other power meters.
I have the 1 sided XC pedals - so for 600 Euros - not a good purchase IMO.
I don’t think there is some youtube influencer conspiracy. I think they are overpriced for what they are. Get the Faveros instead… I will be selling my pedals in afew months before the warranty period expires. Can’t think to pay 200 Euros to replace 1 broken pedal body.
In my line of work, we call it a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie. I’ve always liked this because it implies you can like both the journey (pie!) and the destination (more pie!). The only real trick is avoiding burn out.
Update and Questions about Returning to Training After Illness
I’ve been struggling with my health lately. I’ve had tonsillitis twice this year, and the most recent bout was severe enough that I had to take two different antibiotics and I am sick for about two and half weeks now. I’ve been feeling pretty terrible the last few days, but I’m ready to start getting back into my training routine.
My question is: what do you do when coming back after being sick? I always struggle with the first workout after an illness, and I’m currently experiencing a low level of motivation. I’m hoping to push through this and get back to my routine. Does anyone have any tips for returning to training after being sick?
Additionally, I’m wondering if it makes sense to adapt my training plan so that I can have a rest week as the first week coming back to training. Would this be beneficial, or should I jump right back into my regular training plan?
Kudos for staying after it, first off. When I’ve come back from extended illness it’s worked best when I take a week or two to feel out how my body is feeling. I’ll do, like, Recess -5 or even Scotty (my fave workout) and then go from there. Maybe try some VO2-type intervals if I’m feeling good, or shut it down early if I’m not feeling good. The feeling of seeing the gains snap back up after recovering is a really incredible feeling, so don’t give up!
Just getting on the bike is the first step. It could be 20 minutes of easy pedaling. Just go easy for a few rides. Next try putting out some power and see how it feels. Do some short tempo or sweet spot intervals.
If you’ve been off the bike for some time, then you should probably retest your FTP and start near the beginning of any progression.
If it’s just been a week or two, you’ll snap back quickly.
