Hell of the North - as a recovery ride

I felt quite 'lactic' after yesterday's effort so I needed an active recovery day. After lunch I got ready to do a toned-down version of the Hell of the North workout that I love so much. I did the last 50 minutes using 300W (96% FTP) when Boonen was on screen and 260W (83%) when he wasn't.

power = black and HR = red.

After a 10 minute warm up I got into the 50 minute interval and felt very comfortable throughout. In fact, about 35 mins into it I realised I was ramping up my power above my target 300W and not letting it get down to my 260W recovery either. Once I'd flushed yesterday's tiredness from my legs I just felt stronger than I thought I would. In fact, my average power for the first 40 minutes (288W) was the same as the last time I did this workout (289W) but back then I was unable to continue and had to have a rest. Today I was just fresher and with a much lower HR.

Looking back at the period around 6-7 Dec I think I was either slightly ill or run down. I had several workouts where I seemed to lack power despite several periods of rest. I didn't have any obvious symptoms, just a general lethargy. Maybe having 2 weeks off work over Xmas is helping. Maybe I should go Pro!!! Maybe at 42 I'm past Pro.

60 minutes of New Year's Day hurt

Glossary

Today was a beautiful Yorkshire day with clear skies and a cheeky breeze; far too nice to be stuck in on the turbo. I was lucky enough to get the use of a local airfield to do some riding away from the roads with massive puddles hiding massive potholes so I decided to do a single 60 minute effort to see how close to my predicted FTP I could get. My predicted FTP is currently 314W based on my most recent 20 minute test but I knew that I was unlikely to achieve this theoretical figure due to the differences between a controlled turbo session and a road session with wind, gradient etc and wrapped up in warm winter clothing.

I started off well enough averaging 314W for the first 20 minutes, and maintaining it out to 30 minutes and then dropping slightly to 312W at the 40 minute mark. By this time I was hurting and regretting the bottle of wine I had last night and the workout I did yesterday afternoon. In the last 20 minutes I really suffered and was able to manage only 300W; every time I dug deep I was unable to maintain it for more than 30 secs or so. My 60 minute average power was 308W which is approximately 98% of my theoretical FTP. Interestingly, throughout the session my HR was a lot lower than I had expected, reaching a maximum of 168bpm and averaging only 160bpm. I would have expected it to be around 176 and 165 respectively.

Here's the plot of the ride, black = power, red = HR and blue = my theoretical 314W FTP

So, as I expected I was unable to match my theoretical FTP but I got very close. Looking at the data afterwards I realised that there was a lot of variation in my pedal force/cadence plot and it was nowhere near the tightly bunched grouping I'd strive for on a turbo session; but that's the difference of riding in real-world conditions.

This is also obvious in the power curve for the ride. Again, I'd prefer a peakier curve.

So overall I was very pleased with the ride and I was glad that I never gave in to a strong urge to quite after 33 minutes. It's my first 60 minute all-out effort and at the end of it I was having to stand to get decent power into the pedals and I had nothing left. Importantly, it has allowed me to validate my theoretical FTP of 314W. Had I been better rested and been better motivated (for example, being chased by a bear) I think I could achieve 314W for an hour.

At 308W using guideline figures for drag I would have achieved a 25 mile TT speed of 41.78kph (25.96mph) which is 57m 46s (assuming I could still put out 308W in a fully aero position on a fully aero bike).

Stats for the ride:

Relative Intensity - 1.002
Bikescore - 100
Ave cadence - 80rpm
Work done - 1110kJ (~1100 kCals burned)

L'Etape de la Defonce simulated race

After yesterday's run and a long winter walk today I was keen to get back on the turbo before I started drinking to celebrate the end of a good year. This year I entered some good races, including L'etape de la Defonce in South Wales. After the race I analysed my power output and made it into a work-out that I can do to replicate the first 68 minutes of the race.

I last tried this workout on 14 Dec but as I was suffering with a hangover I struggled with some of the intervals. Today, however, I was full of energy and I completed the whole session with bags of power to spare. My heart rate was a lot lower (162bpm compared to 172) and I was always ready for the next big effort; I even managed a 5 minute 330W interval at the end (peaking at 370W). I just goes to show what impact the 8 pint hangover had when I last tried this workout. As a result I will raise the power levels for future sessions to make sure I am completely exhausted at the end.

I'll analyse the differences between the workout and the race later (link to follow), but I am quite surprised how closely the workout and actual race match.

Oh, Happy New Year.

Easy running recovery day

My legs felt a little tired this morning so I decided to go out for an easy run in the light Yorkshire rain. My local loop is a flat 5.7 miles and quite a lot of the surrounding countryside was under water so it made the run quite interesting.

If I'm running at a normal pace I tend to average around 7:30/mile and if I'm trying hard I can get down to 7:00/mile, but I purposely took it easy today at 9:00/mile to make sure that I keep my legs fresh for a good turbo session tomorrow.

Sufferfest: The Hunted

After yesterday's shortish session I decided that Sufferfest's The Hunted would be interesting and challenging, but also achievable with my slightly tired legs from yesterday. I last did this on 20 Dec and struggled at the end of the 20 minute interval that makes up the middle of the work out. During that workout I just ran out of energy and I backed-off. I did exactly the same again today but ran out of energy slightly earlier today. Both times my Heart Rate was at 172 BPM (near my lactic threshold) and my legs were burning so, I don't know why, but this workout is a lot harder than it looks. As a result, it's something I'm determined to master.

After a decent warm-up the first interval was quite straightforward. The second (25-45 mins) went well until I struggled at around 42 mins and then the last interval (50-62 mins) was fine. I even had enough energy for an all-out blast after the last interval, but I wasn't able to sustain the 400W+ for long.

So, after 5 days off for Christmas I've managed to squeeze in 3 hours on the turbo into the last 3 days. The attrocious Yorkshire weather is starting to get me down and I don't even feel like going out on the MTB because it is just so wet everywhere.

30 minutes of fun

28 Dec. After a morning on the ski slopes of Xscape at Castleford, I didn't really feel up to doing much on the turbo but I guilted myself into it. By the time I finally got everything set up I was running a bit short of time so I planned a single 30 minute interval at 300W (roughly 95% FTP) while watching a repeat of the 4th Stage of the 2011 Tour De France. It's the one where Roy goes on a solo break and is slowly chased down (I won't ruin the end for you but it's a good stage).

I was doing well for the first 15 minutes, averaging a healthy 309W, but I though this would be difficult to maintain for the next 15 so I dropped it down to 300W. At 23 minutes I had a strange wobble where I felt like stopping, so I backed off for about a minute and then got back on the power and finished with an average of 304W (96% FTP) for the 30 minutes.

 

This is actully quite a good workout and the 23 minute wobble shows me that it is probably an area that I need to be working on and trying to extend my duration at higher power. So, more of this or 2x20 I think. It's just a shame they hurt so much!

Post Christmas Intervals

After 5 very enjoyable days of eating and drinking I needed to get back on the turbo today to start a prolonged period of training. I'm aiming for 3 weeks of 3 days on then a day off for recovery but still keeping at the same power zone 4-5 intervals I've been doing up to now. The last 2-3 weeks have been very disrupted by the usual effects of Christmas; lots of driving, beer and chocolate and too little turbo time.

Today was a repeat of the Shorter Harder intervals I last did on 19 December. Although I felt a bit weak on a couple of the 3-4 minute ones I never really felt like I wouldn't be able to complete the whole set so I need to bump up the intensity if I'm going to continue to get as much training benefit from it as I have been; I like to feel that I have only just been able to complete a workout.

Today's trace is very similar to the last time but with a little lower intensity on intervals 18 and 19 (HR = red and power = black):