Today I climbed Mt Pisgah two different ways.
Whole ride
First climb
Second climb
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Thurs: Eclipse. Easier than Tuesday.
Fri: Petit. With some extra power work added in towards the end as I tried to finish out a Zwift segment before a work call and Zwift/TR started fighting for control of trainer.
Saturday: Tallac +3. Worked me pretty good. Enjoying my day off today.
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Sunday:
Warmup with Rodgers
Followed by a reccie of my next race (virtually though 
)
Recovery week started today, went for the +1 version of Pettit:
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Well, thatâs one way to test a new FTP. Felt good through the first 4 blocks despite a slightly elevated HR. Last block was a slog though. Had to take quite a few back pedals but made it to the end. After barely being on the bike for 2 weeks and getting sick a week ago though Iâm not too disappointed in this one.
Climbing AdZ in sub-60 to get the Lift Off Badge probably helped with that!
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Climbed to Craggy Dome today
Effort was a tough one after the prior two days
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After a morning of walking (and bathing) the dog, washing windows, and taking down a rotting tree, I wasnât really up for the regularly scheduled 2 hour session of sweet spot intervals, so I opted for Tray Mountain -2 instead and followed it up with some free riding on Zwift where I completed the Bigger Loop route.
I set a bunch of new virtual PRâs on the Epic climb, so thereâs that.
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Fun weekend. Saturday I did the Zwift 3R Volcano Climb Race.
Very upset with myself â just before I hit the arch at the top of the climb I noticed that the KOM panel on the left side of the screen suddenly said âRepack Ridgeâ and I thought I had accidentally quit the event! Sat up and tried to figure it out. Took me a few seconds to realize it was some sort of glitch and that I was still in the race. That few seconds cost me a higher place (in the Ds, but still).
Sunday did the Dempsey Challenge 20k version as a Z1/Z2 ride.
Today was Shortoff -1. Short VO2max intervals â still not sure whatâs going on with the trainer, you can see the power drop off at the start of each rest interval and it immediately feels like I am spun out. I tried to make sure I kept the cadence steady but it still takes a minute at least to stabilize. I am sure I am doing something wrong, itâs just like when I finish a hard interval on the road and shift to an easier cog to hit the rest interval but inertia keeps my speed up.
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Did Bird - https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/90270814-bird - I had Bird +3 scheduled but 90secs at 130%, 30secs off is a bit much for me.
Plan Builder has me tapering for an event on the weekend of the 10th/11th but this year itâs a bit different and we can do the ride whenever we want during October so itâs a case of waiting for a weather window. It means that the tapering and recovery weeks are a bit flexible.
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Ramp test this morning gave me a 3 more watts! I have to say that those 3 watts felt extremely hard earned.
After the test, I broke in my new FTP with some really nice tempo:
The over unders in my near future are already terrifying me!
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Galena +3. whoooo boy. 4x20min is hard. And WTF is up with the coaching in the last interval on this one? The first 15 mins of it was basically telling me that itâs okay to stop and I could be hurting myself if I am pushing too hard. Thatâs NOT what I need to hear when I am trying to push myself to finish.
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@cali I agree. I need to be told stuff like âyou can do this! Itâs just a little bit more than what youâve done before.â âYou got this.â âYou are definitely strong enough for this.â 
The ramp test text bothered me today. Thanks for reminding me to figure out how to turn it off for the ramp test.
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Bailed early for no reason on the ramp, again, so Iâm gonna just stop attempting tests to exhaustion and hope my apparently broken mental state sorts itself out by the time I hit Build. Taylor -2 was the plan I skipped today, so followed up the ramp with Gendarme -6 to try get some kind of similar work in:
Didnât really feel like I actually hit VO2max breathing levels, so between that and the ramp, today was probably the equivalent of an hourâs worth of junk miles outside. THIS IS FINE.
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I decided to stop worrying about nailing a load of threshold and do something totally different that still might help my FTP: Trad base HV(ish) here I come!
I couldnât bear HV1 (looks very dull, and TSS is a little lower than Iâd want). I figured throwing in HV2 & 3 without the rest week would suit me just fine. I canât realistically do 3 hour sessions mid-week due to work, so have replaced some workouts with slightly higher IF 2/2:15 sessions. I didnât feel like I needed a ramp test, so got started today with Gibbs +1. I will also be incorporating some strength stuff - am a total noob on that front, so starting with planks and single leg squats and will start adding weights in weeks to come. Hopefully 6 weeks will be long enough, but could always add moreâŚ
Any of you seasoned Z2 kings and queens feel free to chip in with any advice or changes 
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Iâm on course to hit my goal of 1x90mins at 90% this weekend. I donât have enough time during the workweek to complete that, so decided to start moving into threshold work on weekdays. Todayâs plan was 4x10 at 96%. I did 2x10 at 96%, then 1x25 at 99% (it would have turned into a Kolie Moore test if I had more time to continue ramping 
) I think I am truly finding what FTP feels like using resistance mode now. Itâs rewarding in its own way.
I was thinking of doing Tue/Thu threshold and endurance on Wednesday, but based on how today went, Iâm thinking I may do back to back threshold and see what the legs feel like doing on Thursday. Man, Iâve never been so excited for a training block before. Even if I have to get up at 5am to get it in!
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Mills - 2min VO2 efforts.
Handled this better than I thought I would.
I said I wouldnât bother with 3 min efforts again but never say never.
Iâm on holiday for a week next weekend so Iâll see how I feel when I get back. The wife wonât let me take the bike and rollersđ¤Ł
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Bear Creek
Looking for some over/unders to fill the time, two minute switches, three per interval.
Toughest workout Iâve done in a while, hanging on by the skin of my teeth for last two minutes, it felt like twenty. Happy with my mental strength on this one⌠body and mind had 101 reasons to quit and I didnât
Will do something easy tomorrow as a reward for completing!
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Basin. This one has me really questioning myself. Blew with 20 seconds left on the first one as I hit 190 bpm. Dropped 5% and blew even earlier and hit 188. Dropped another 5% and barely made it through the third one and hit 188. Blew with 20 seconds left in the last one at 185 but it was really just the legs locking up entirely.
Am I just a weak mental rider? Is my FTP just way off? I honestly cannot figure out what is going on right now. Feel lost. Been up and down with completing or not completing workouts since the last two weeks of build.
Any advice out there? Is it worth ramp testing with the next 2 weeks being the final two of specialty? Like I said, I feel lost right now.
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I blew my build recently, got a couple of weeks into it and was failing it⌠I put it down to a build up of fatigue over the weeks before with base, which I was crushing and my lack of ability to recover like I once did (Age). Suddenly different types of workouts questioning other systems. I took a rest, binned the build and did other âenjoyableâ stuff like zwift racing and outdoor stuff. It kept my fitness but also made me appreciate the rest periods in workouts again. A 50 minute race at full gas makes you desire a workouts because they have lovely breaks!
Racing also allowed me to take more days off to recover, believe I deserved it after a tough race. If your FTP worked for you in base then it canât be far off. I find fatigue can suddenly makes you fall off a cliff and reducing intensity for further intervals doesnât help as youâve already gone over that edge. Nothing wrong with reducing intensity, but in my experience (n=1) if itâs due to fatigue then itâs not going to help and make you question everything.
Personally Iâm now waiting for the Zwift academy and just filling in with random workouts as Iâve had enough of racing for now, it hurts! Looking forward to some big group suffering and then Iâll probably look doing a build cycle and see how it goes.
IMO I would put good money on it you were fresh, physically and mentally and attempted the build youâd get through them with your current FTP. Thatâs another thing I judge for myself, some times I love doing a FTP ramp test, canât wait to suffer, see how far I getâŚwhen I donât fancy doing one I know Iâve probably done too much, not just physically but mentally too and its time to rest & recharge, you have to do that in your own way before hitting it again.
Sorry for long post, just my thoughts and maybe some of it will help.
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A little bit gentler start of the training block - 4x20@92%. Colder outside although humidity is 75%. Overall workout easy and pleasant.
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This definitely does help. My FTP in base was 212 or so, and it grew to 240 according to the last ramp test, but I feel like isnât actually representative of my current level right now considering every other workout seems to be a failure in compliance. Iâve not done ANY steady state efforts with this new FTP, so I donât really know how correct or incorrect it is. My suspicious is that my FTP is more likely around 225 given recent performances.
I came into this workout super rested (didnât ride since my failed workout on Saturday and spent my time horizontal as much as possible Sunday) and well fueled. And thatâs particularly why I feel like something is wrong here. The workouts last week, although I felt good, never actually complied with the power prescribed once it got over FTP, and that trend has continued into this week.
Iâm thinking I may can the rest of specialty for the year and just spend time having fun on the bike instead. Flex the fitness I have with friends, take time off and hit the base training again in November after disconnecting for a bit. This is the longest and most consistently I have ever trained before, so I may just chalk it up to the body not being used to this many weeks of structure in a row.
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