Weekly Summary

I've had the luxury of a week off work to allow me to focus on getting some good training in and hopefully make some more progress towards my targets. I've even had the the opportunity to get out on the roads and do some normal cycling rather than the relative monotony of the turbo.

This week has been my biggest since the start of the experiment:

Time riding: 8 hrs 44 mins
Work done: 7700 kJ
Bikescore: 650

This is most obvious in the graph below showing time in power zones 3, 4 and 5. I've done more in each of these zones than in any previous week and at the end of it I still feel keen and strong; much better than I expected to. It will be interesting to see how going back to work will impact on my turbo workload.

I've also managed to reduce my weight to around 74.8 kgs (based on 3 days' measurements) so cutting alcohol and reducing chocolate seems to be doing some good. With the race season about 2 months away I'm not really that bothered about my weight yet, but I'd like to be a kilo lighter next month.

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)

Recovery Day Musings

At the end of the third week I have achieved: Rides: 3 - all turbo sessions totalling 3 hrs 35 mins (last week 5 hrs 50 mins). This reduction is largely a result of having 3 days off at the start of the week due to other commitments.

Total Bikescore (TSS): 274 (last week 456)

kCals burned (incl warm-ups and cooldowns): 3277 (5391)

I didn't have a planned TSS for this week, but I woke up this morning feeling a little throaty so I feel I have achieved as much as I wanted to in the last 3 days. We have a 'house cold' which I'm trying to avoid so I don't want to overdo things and get ill. I have been looking at the various ways I can compare workouts since I started to lose confidence in TSS/Bikescore as a useful metric. Below is a graph comparing my work done (in kJ), Bikescore and TSS. As you can see, and as I would expect, they are all pretty much the same across the last 4 weeks.

This week's times in various Zones show how easy I've had it compared to my 'big week' last week.

 

Total time in Zone 3: 0:33:37 (last week 57:10)

Total time in Zone 4: 1:32:36 (last week 2:17:34)
Total time in Zone 5: 0:16:50 (last week 0:38:23)
Total time in Zone 6: 0:01:20 (last week 0:03:37)
Total time in Zone 7: 0 (last week 8 seconds)

 

The last 4 weeks' Zones 3-5 durations are shown in the table below:

On every measure I have had an easy week. I have had 2 hard workouts and an easier one but I've  compressed all my work into 3 days and I'm now feeling a bit lethargic as a result and I feel I need a recovery day. I'm due (and dreading) a 20 minute power test soon to see what benefit the preceeding 4 weeks of turbo work has given me. I'll probably aim to do this next weekend so I'm planning turbo sessions on Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri (probably with a hangover after the office Xmas party on Thurs evening) and then the test.

Looking back at the same period last year I was doing a lot more riding on the road and racing CX too so I was getting a lot more time on the bike than this year. This year the Yorkshire roads are terrible to the point of being dangerous, with massive puddles and potholes. It will be interesting to see whether the turbo work has been sufficient to maintain my 20 min power output without the longer road rides I usually do.

Glossary

This is a description of the terms, abbreviations and concepts that I use in the blog. There are better guides on the internet, but this is how I understand them in the context of this blog.

FTP - functional threshold power. This is the maximum power I can output for a 60 minute period. As I have never done a 60 minute test I use a 20 minute maximal test and subtract 5% from the result. For example, I recently completed a 20 minute power test at 322W, so I can calculate an FTP at 322x0.95 = 307W. The highest 60 minute figure I have ever recorded is 291W but I still use the 307W figure for planning workouts.

Bikescore or Training Stress Score (TSS). This is a measurement used to estimate the training stress of a workout. If I did a 1 hour workout at FTP I would record a TSS of 100. 30 mins at FTP is 50, and so on. I don't like this figure very much as I find it very blunt and it hides a multitude of information. For example, a 60 minute FTP ride gets 100. A 3 hour ride at 175W gets 100. The 1 hour ride would kill me and the 3 hour ride would bore me.

Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR). The exercise intensity at which blood lactate starts to accumulate faster than it can be cleared. The highest average HR I have recorded in a race was 174BPM which is taken as my LTHR (based on training industry norms). Since I got a power meter I use HR less but I always have an eye on where my HR is compared to LTHR. In steady state I start to feel uncomfortable at around 162BPM and I'm hating life at 174BPM. My HR on a turbo is different to my HR on the road or racing so there is difficulty using a race LTHR as a real guide on the turbo. Also, as HR varies from day to day, LTHR is really only a guide.

Interval. Basically an interval is a period of exercise where power output is at a certain level. For example, I may do a pair of 20 minute intervals at FTP or 5x5minutes at 120% FTP. The theory is that doing hard work for short periods allows you to stress your body more effectively. I'm lazy and sometimes mix the term Session with Interval when I really mean Interval.

Traditionally these are written as the 'number of intervals' x 'duration of intervals (usually in minutes)', for example 2x20 or 3x15. There is, by definition, a rest interval (RI) between the work intervals but this is not usually stated.

KiloJoules (kJ). A measure of the work done during an interval, session, ride etc. The greater the number the more work has been completed. It is often used as a proxy for calories (kCals) burned during exercise as there is a conversion rate of roughly 1:1 between them.

Powerzones. There are 7 power zones based around a rider's FTP.



Zone 1 - Active Recovery - 0-55% FTP

Zone 2 - Endurance - 55-75% FTP

Zone 3 - Tempo - 75-90% FTP

Zone 4 - Threshold - 90-105% FTP

Zone 5 - VO2 Max - 105-120% FTP

Zone 6 - Anaerobic - 120-150% FTP

Zone 7 - Neuromuscular - 150% FTP+

Sweetspot. To confuse things, the sweetspot is further defined as 88-94% of FTP. This is generally considered to be the most efficient region to train in if you're looking to improve FTP.

 

The Quits. During hard workouts I often get a dose of the quits or the weakness. It's the point where I pathetically want to give up and do something else. Usually accompanied by whimpering.

 

 

The Hell of the North: revisited

I thought I'd revisit my The Hell of the North workout today but with a few minor tweeks to make it a bit more fun. Rather than 3 different intensities I did it with just 2. If Boonen was on screen I went for 307W (100% FTP) and if he wasn't I got a nice rest at 275W (90% FTP). This means there is less gear changing and a higher average power.

After a 10 minute warm-up I got started on the session. The first 30 minutes of the session was quite enjoyable but 30-40 minutes got a bit challenging (you can see the power output start to drop off in the graph above), so I had a 5 minute rest at 50% FTP before a 5 minute interval, then another 5 minute rest at 50% FTP and another 5 interval, then a 2 minute rest, then 2 minutes flat out coinciding with Boonen crossing the line. This was much better than the first attempt at the session and I felt quite happy that I had achieved a good workout at the end of it. Most importantly, there was a large pool of sweat under the bike so I must have been doing something right.

In 75 minutes I used 1140 kCals and achieved a Bikescore (TSS) of 97.

Weekly Summary

At the end of the second week I have achieved: 

Rides: 5 - all turbo sessions totalling 5 hrs 50 mins.

Total Bikescore (TSS): 456 (last week 390)

I had planned a TSS of around 430 for the week so I was pleased to exceed this, but I have less and less confidence in TSS as a useful metric. Having reviewed some long road rides I realise that I can regularly achieve a TSS of 300 for an 85 miler and still be able to ride again the next day. This week's TSS 456 was very challenging and regularly left me unable to anything other that just sit on the bike and recover. I need to do some thinking about what TSS is trying to tell me and how I can make it useful.

Total time in Zone 3: 57:10 (last week 0:30:00)
Total time in Zone 4: 2:17:34 (1:54:00)
Total time in Zone 5: 0:38:23 (0:38:01)
Total time in Zone 6: 0:03:37 (0:03:34)
Total time in Zone 7: 8 seconds (12 seconds)

kCals burned (incl warm-ups and cooldowns); 5391 (4430)

So it seems I have done more this week but most of that was in Zones 3 and 4 rather than an even balance across all Zones. In the future I need to do more in Zone 5 and 6 if I am going to improve my 20 minute power.

My weight is down to around 74.8 so there's steady progress in that direction, but still a long way to go to get to the 72kg target.

I will be away from the turbo for the next 3 days so I'll take it as a useful recovery period and look to beast myself again on Thursday and Friday.

2x20 at FTP

With only an hour or so before I had to do some chores I planned to do another 2x20 at FTP. The first session went well with a nice steady power output and a gently rising heart rate and beating the 307W target by 2W. The second session started well but quickly got ugly. After 12 minutes I started to have doubts I would be able to complete it with a highish HR and a lot of sweat dripping off my nose. It was then that the 'bouncing' started; periods of feeling OK interspersed with periods of feeling terrible but never feeling good. I've highlighted the suffering portion in the graph below:

Black = Power. Red = HR.

Normally I'd have stopped at this point, had a shower and put it behind me but I was determined to finish the session on target. With 3 minutes to go I started a hard push which lasted about 30 seconds before I had to back off and then with 2 minutes I started to ramp up to increase my average power from 304W to my target of 307W, rocking from side-to-side. I managed to finish with an average of 306W. So close but not quite there!

After a short recovery I was able to do some messing around to get my total calories up to 1000 and finished with a Bikescore (TSS) of 88.

The Hell of the North - completed

After a day at work looking forward to an hour on the turbo, I snuck off early and got the torture chamber set up and ready for The Hell of the North (set up here). YouTube loaded, Golden Cheetah running, Garmin recording, Go!!!

The first 5 minutes is a fairly relaxed warm-up before the fun starts as Boonen attacks and the intervals start. I won't ruin it for you and let you know what happens, but here's the plot of the first 65 minutes with lots of Zone 4 work mixed with short rest intervals in Zone 2. I liked that you never knew what was coming next or how long the current interval or rest would last; it made it much more interesting and less of a chore than a normal interval session. The film is also really good and helps to take your mind off any pain you're suffering.

The power plot looks like this showing that it's mainly a Zone 4 workout. Black line = power. Red line = HR. Green line = Cadence.

Stats for the hour:

Average power: 272W
xPower: 274W - my FTP is 307 therefore it's roughly 89%
Average HR: 156
Max HR: 169 (my LTHR is 174)
kCals: 970
IF: 0.89
Bikescore (TSS): 79

If you run it with Golden Cheetah (or Trainer Road) and overlay YouTube it looks something like this (the video is actually better but the screenshot makes it look worse that it is):



Next time I'll do a longer warm-up (15 minutes) and then I'll be able to do the whole workout to the end and I'll hold back earlier on. I found I was letting my power creep up above the 307W or 270W targets which may have impacted later on in the workout. Today's hour went very very quickly.

Recovery Day musings

I woke up feeling very tired this morning despite what felt like a good night's sleep so today is definitely going to be a rest day. Part of my experiement is to record how I feel after workouts, particularly if I feel like as workload may induce illness. Earlier this year I had several bouts of being run down as a results of trying to do too much with insufficient recovery and I'd like to have an idea of what I can manage without hindering near-future training.
In the last 2 days I have completed 2 workouts with a combined Bikescore (TSS) of 115+78 = 193 (the equivalent of 1.93 hours absolutely flat-out). The Hunter and Allen book suggests that Elite athletes should aim for an average daily TSS of 100 for best results. I'm aiming for somewhere between 60 and 70 per day as I have a full-time job and a life and I can't (and won't) spend all my spare time training, but I am trying to make my training as efficient as possible.

Sufferfest: The Hunted

Feeling a little sore (a strange glute soreness I've never had before) and a poor night's sleep, I was expecting to suffer when I started Sufferfest's The Hunted. With BBC iPlayer fired-up and me sitting almost naked in a kitchen with all the windows and doors open, I clicked the start button. Things started off well enough, particularly as it takes 30 minutes before you get anywhere near a sustained FTP+ effort, but when it does it's a variable 9.5 minute feast of effort above and below FTP which raised my HR to my Lactate Threshold. After a short rest itI settled into the fairly relaxed 80% FTP session which allowed my HR to drop before the final 5 minutes of increasingly challenging intervals at around 115% FTP. With a couple of minutes to go I got the usual feelings of just giving up but I was determined to finish it and just grimaced and whimpered my sweaty way to the end.

Bikescore (TSS): 78. Black line = power. Red line = HR.

Afterwards I'm feeling quite smug that I've managed to complete 2 Sufferfests in 2 days. I'll probably have a day off tomorrow before beasting myself again on Thursday. 'You have to have easy days to make sure you can do the hard days' as a wise coach once said.

Last Week's Summary

At the end of the first week I can now review what I achieved:

Rides: 5 - all turbo sessions

Total Bikescore (TSS): 390

Total time in Zone 3: 0:30:00
Total time in Zone 4: 1:54:00
Total time in Zone 5: 0:38:01
Total time in Zone 6: 0:03:34
Total time in Zone 7: 12 seconds!

kCals burned (incl warm-ups and cooldowns); 4430

The HR graph for the week shows how HR distribution varied for each workout. HR Zone 4 (163-182 BPM) is shown in orange and HR Z3 (144-163) is in red. 21 and 22 Nov are the same Shorter Harder workout, 18 and 24 Nov are the same 2x20 at FTP workout, but on the sessions where I was struggling (21 and 24 Nov) I had a very high proportion of the session in HR Z4. It is interesting to note how the HR profile varied for the same workout on different days. On some days, for the same power, my HR is much higher and when my HR gets to my Lactate Threshold HR (174 BPM), I suffer and think about stopping.

 

Using last week to plan for next week:

A Bikescore (TSS) of 390 in 5 sessions was achievable with no signs of fatigue, so I would like to aim for 4-5 sessions and 430 TSS next week. With 100 TSS being the equivalent of a 1 hour workout at FTP (306W), 390 TSS is quite a good workload for the first week but I would like to increase this gradually to identify what TSS workload becomes too hard and/or too tiring. Most importantly, I don't want to hate the turbo as this will reduce my willingness to train on it.

I'm planning similar workouts targeting Z4 and Z5 for the next 3 weeks until my next 20 minute power test to see what difference this makes. I might throw in a Sufferfest session to try to break things up a bit. Maybe There Is No Try or Local Hero.