Lamarck
Felt good to nail this one after struggling with Spencer +2 on Tuesday. Wasn’t easy, though.
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Andrews outdoors. Andrews is supposed to be endurance, extended to 2 hrs 15 minutes in the outdoor version (I like how the outdoor versions automatically extend the duration to hit the TSS targets). When I saw it was a long ride (for me - I normally ride for an hour, 75 minutes tops, always fasted) I decided to also experiment with fueling instead of fasted. Following some of the guidance in this post How much Carbs do you really need? - #3 by cartsman I stopped at the gas station a few minutes in and looked for some easily accessible fuel – and found this:
130 grams carbs for the 1 liter bottle…65 grams per hour…plus 153mg caffeine…sounded like a good place to start! I sipped it throughout the ride, interspersed with water.
The result: I rode at what felt like Endurance, but according to TR was somewhere closer to Threshold.
2 things I learned:
- FTP is probably set too low…I’ve been working hard the last two months, but haven’t had a chance to retest recently
- Riding higher efforts while fueling makes a difference!
I’ll have a chance to retest in a couple weeks & will be back indoors, it will be interesting to see where indoor FTP comes out. I think I will also start fueling higher effort workouts.
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Time to re-calibrate FTP?
Looking at your Intensity Factor (IF) your FTP is definitely set too low - or your power meter isn’t calibrated. 0.99 IF for 2hr 23 min should barely be possible
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I wasn’t confident about today’s workout. I did some volunteering yesterday and biked 45 mins there and back. Yesterday was supposed to be Z2, but some of the roads were 60mph and I had to battle headwinds in some very exposed places, so worked harder than planned, especially with painting all day.
My wimpy cyclist body is pretty achy today, but I managed to get through 3 x 20 even though the last interval was pretty hard. Feels like a win in the circumstances.
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Mitchell -1 today https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/88496474-mitchell-1 which was the first workout I’ve done for almost a fortnight so a bit apprehensive especially since VO2max/anaerobic stuff isn’t my forté.
Managed the first four blocks OK but needed to take a couple of breathers in the last set.
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I will wait to the end of block (1.5 week), find some more confirmation and then try the Kolie’s test. HR during Z2 and threshold workouts indicate ftp bump close to intervals.icu estimation (310) so will see.
It is way colder now and I can do, I want and I need the long effort for the WKO as I haven’t done any threshold effort longer than 30 minutes recently. I want to do this also to rebuild my mental side as I was pretty disappointed with my performance in two last months.
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Thanks! Vector 3s power meter calibrated every ride (thank you Garmin for nagging me). This ride was a) outdoors b) 75deg F ambient temp c) fuelled whereas my tests are a) wheel on trainer b) in my non-climate controlled garage in Florida where ambient is probably 85F even with the fan; c) fasted. I’ll be riding outdoors only for a couple more weeks, I need to figure out how to measure outdoor FTP & adjust accordingly.
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Beech today. Should be some easy endurance but after the vo2 session on Tuesday and Ou’s yesterday it was quite hard. Legs feels tired so glad I’ve got a rest day tomorrow.
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I thought you seemed to be enjoying Sustained Power Build too much😉
I’m hoping to have another attempt at completing it after revisiting Base 1&2. Definitely with some additional rest next rime. I’m sure it’s not your first time but anyone completing that deserves much respect👍
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Haha yeah well, some times you need the rest 
.
It’s my second time visiting sustained power build, but first time on a mid volume plan.
Good luck with base 1 and 2!
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3rd ride in a week! Finally a sense of some return to normalcy. Rather than gradually upping the power, I think I will focus on extending the ride duration and try to work my way back to 60 minute rides with my average heart rate kept at a low-mid Z1 levels. Once I complete some more testing and get feedback from the cardiologist, I hope to be able to begin upping the intensity. Covid sucks, stay healthy everybody.
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Ugggghhhh, complete fail! My ftp went up 5 watts at the start of this week, and this made me question my improvement 
I lowered the percent little by little, then I was subthreshold and it was still almost impossible. I couldn’t get my cadence even close to where I’m comfortable at 90+rpm.
I need advisement: next week is a harder supra-threshold workout. Do I do this workout next week and just push the following one back another week? I’ll end up missing out on one by the recovery week. I’m thinking I can do this when I’m on my game and definitely want to tackle it. I’ve actually never done supra-threshold workouts like this before.
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Mount Foraker +1. Got through the first three intervals at 100% but broke at the end of the third. Almost pulled the plug completely but gave my legs and heart a chance to fire back in the fourth. Backpedaled for a bit, to recover my breath and them dropped intensity 5% for the remainder of the workout. Heart rate still reached desirable zones and my average heart rate on the last interval was more than the second and third despite being 10-15 watts lower in power.
Plan is to repeat this next Thursday instead of Denali but to keep it at 100% if possible. Only then will I move to Denali.
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Yepp. Redo this one. It only gets harder.
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Supra-threshold is an incredibly uncomfortable place to be even on the best days. Repeat the workout and progress when ready. If you don’t complete the full progression in the plan that’s fine, building experience at that intensity is what’s important. Don’t skip recovery to squeeze in the workouts later on. The plans build on themselves so fatigue will be cumulative. How’s your fueling (before and on the bike)?
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Well, this rounds off my first month of combining training and dieting.
I’ve been reasonably compliant with the workouts apart from a few bonks in the first week.
Most importantly I’m pleased to see that I managed to drop 4.8kg
Now I’m just hoping I don’t see a similar drop in FTP on Monday’s test. I feel good but you never know.
Can’t say I will be too bothered tho as long as the weight loss continues. Shedding the lard is my main focus for the next few months.
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I’m still figuring out fueling as I ride in the early AM. I felt like I did a good job having about 30g carbs before riding then another 15g 15 minutes in. But I did rearrange my schedule this week a little so I may be more fatigued due to that. I’m trying to figure out when to run with the least amount of impact on my rides 
I had a quiet day at work which left me unmotivated and strangely tired.
Darwin was in my calendar. I stupidly forgot my headband though. I lasted 2 and 1/3 intervals until I found sweat dropping into my eyes and my self dropping into the ERG spiral of death. On hindsight (that wonderful thing 
), I should have toggled to Resistance mode after the 2nd interval but I chose to drop the ERG intensity to at first 90% then 80% to get my cadence back up. After I was spinning again I upped it to 100% for the last 3 minutes.
Watched a TdF (GCN) stream during the session which might have messed up the internet for TR and the ride is not uploading so you’ll have to make do with the Garmin data for now.
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