What PR did you hit today?

[holybinch]

well, if you insist…
I started by ignoring the best advice given to me, which was to get early to the line, in order to be at the front.
Also, despite being told it would start on the hammer, I still got surprised by just how hard it all was.

We started with a headwind, and after 7-800m there was a very sharp, technical corner.
Being 1/ at the limit 2/ at the back of the pack already, I just couldn’t keep up with the first half of the bunch. I managed to hang on for dear life on the wheel of the guy in front of me, then pulled ahead and regrouped with a few other stragglers.
With about 4k gone, I was wondering if I’d even finish half the race

But then, the group I was with made good progress. Not enough people working together, really, but then, some guys (including me at times) were struggling just to hold wheels, so it’s hard to ask them to do a strint at the front
I still tried to bridge to the bunch, which wasn’t that far ahead (could see them in the distance when they were cornering) and got a talking to by a guy who wasn’t happy with the pace I was setting
My view was: If I’m going to do the work, I might at least make the others suffer as well.

However, this only ended up causing more pain in my legs, and, as we reached the last lap, I launched an attack on the rougher section to try and at least finish first of my group.
Alas, it wasn’t to be, they caught me…

Finally, in the lead up to the sprint, I was in a great position, managed to jump on the wheel of the guy who “won” our group, but he was just too strong for me. Still, 2nd out of that lot, so absolutely delighted.

Considering the metrics (NP about equal to my FTP for 1h20, best 40k, best 20m effort, etc) my only regret is to not have been early at the line. I am convinced we worked as hard, if not harder than the guys in the bunch

[ABG]

30-120min all in one ride

[HLaB]

Lol, not today but yesterday. Ignoring my muck up at the start, I hit a comfortable hr threshold of 183bpm (92%) for an hour yesterday and maxed at 191bpm. I averaged 185bpm and maxed at 196bpm (98%) for last weeks 10. I was thinking I should lower my max post OP but this gives the confidence it’s still in the right ball park

[Stringwise]

@holybinch

Considering the metrics (NP about equal to my FTP for 1h20, best 40k, best 20m effort, etc) my only regret is to not have been early at the line. I am convinced we worked as hard, if not harder than the guys in the bunch

All super impressive congrats on getting in the mix.

The earlier you get to the line the closer to the front you can be (without being on the front) and that can allow you to drop back in the field to recover without being shot out the back.

That’s especially important when there is a technical corner like you described. I raced in January (pre-covid seems like another life) and I managed to create a break with this same approach. I was 3rd wheel into the corner and coming out of the corner all of us on the front smashed and it caused the field to split early in the race. The strong guys who weren’t in the right spot for that corner were eliminated from contention with one hard dig.

Add to my story the element of the headwind from your story and that would be a juicy spot to attack for sure. Once gaps opened in front of you it would have been very hard to close them. The leaders had a clear line with no brakes and you probably had to slow considerably when everything bunched up around that corner. Then you had to chase into a headwind. Just typing this makes me want to road race so bad You then hammered for the rest of the race with NP=FTP and still didn’t catch back on which says a lot about the importance of that corner.

Great job and lesson learned for the next one!

[codybraithwaite7]

Found this gem in the TR Library : The Power Test: 30s, 2-min 5-min. I only did 75% of it. Seated sprints on the trainer are not fun.

[holybinch]

@Stringwise

Great job and lesson learned for the next one!

Indeed. One can read as much as one wants on the tinterweb, but in the end, first hand experience remains quite valuable, it seems
Can’t say I’m bothered by the result, it was intended as a learning race.
I’ve got 2 more in a few weeks, one a hill race, and the other one another flat, crit-type, race.
Can’t wait.

[CaptainThunderpants]

Hit 301 FTP on my latest Ramp Test on Sunday, which is an all time PR for me and one of my goals for this year. I was using TR on and off starting middle of 2018, starting with a 183 FTP. Really started consistently training last year around August and had an FTP of 222 then. Was using the Low Volume plans until Covid hit and I could switch to the Mid Volume with the extra time (now back to using Low Volume). So overall, I’ve been really happy with TR and my progress. Next goal is 4 W/kg, which will be 328W at my current weight of 82kg. Perhaps over the “offseason” coming up I can drop some extra fat I’m carrying around.

[stevemz]

Not from today, but Sunday. Some nice progress at this duration.

[Stringwise]

Nice work! Are you taking that fitness to Leadville in 2021 or some other long event?

[stevemz]

Nope, just part of my regular training.

[ErickVH]

Ignore heart rate and power. 5/10 RPE. Longer is fine.

[DavidGIS]

Finally improved my time on a mountain bike segment I’ve been practicing for a while, and lost over 10 seconds too over my previous time on a 5 minute segment! Big frustration is that I still managed to add about 20 seconds to the run because of another rider with a small dog that refused to pull over for part of the run. No, I’m not bitter at all. Never.

[HLaB]

Somehow managed a circa 58s (awaiting official results) on the Broughton TT despite the wind impact being twice as much, again having little warm up (it was freezing so I hid in the car ), having a shallow wheel and putting less effort in so I wasn’t caught out. Last time I rode it in 2016 was when the same bike was 6 months old but it had no disk or powermeter and had only been doing structured training for a year

2016

Today

[Charlie_Botterill]

Best ever 90min - 2hr power today

[thesupermarket]

Had my first race since February. 10pm night laps in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Super fun race. Huge turn out, like 70 riders. Anyway had some new power PR’s that feel a bit embarrassing after seeing the numbers tour riders are putting out for an hour. That said, averaging 408 watts for 2.5 minutes is a lot for me. Not a steady 408 but an initial spike of 1280 and another at 800 soon after then settled in for an effort floating between 300 to 500 watts. Big deal or not, it was enough to get a big gap and take a prime lap. But in the end went from 4th to 11th in about 3 seconds at the finish. Made me realize the thing I hate most about racing is that the race ends. Would much rather prefer to just keep riding until nobody is left. I also realized that if you want to be competitive in fast races, where a break is very difficult to sustain, you have to have a sprint up your sleeve or you don’t stand a chance.

This feature is pretty sick. Isolates the PR and shows you TSS for and all kinds of data for your efforts.

[SammyG]

First-ever licenced race, and after just under a year of structured training I was pretty happy to come home and see I’d hit PB at both ends of the spectrum.

The most disappointing thing is that it will be the first and last race of the season

[stevemz]

(yesterday but w/e)

25w up over previous PR in this season, and it had a mis-shift in it.

[Captain_Doughnutman]

Jealous!

Is that the result of specific FRC work or from better training in general?

[AndyBaggott]

Nothing spectacular, but I completed this route with an avg speed 2.3 mph quicker today than when I last rode it in January, 140bpm then compared with 137 today.
I was on my gravel bike so the power is estimated.
I can’t compare my cadence but I know I spin loads better now than when I started TR in April.
Can’t wait to burst through the other side of a winter of training and dieting

[eguiz]

Did my first hill climb yesterday, after 5 days completely off the bike. Savage wake-up call for my body, but hit a 5min power PR (362w) that included coasting for the last 30 seconds… Went at 394w for 4:33, substantial numbers for me!