Base training

[simonp]

I felt a bit sick towards the end of my 5k test on the rowing machine last night. Why do we do this?

There’s a few things I still want to achieve in TTs.  I enjoy the rush but the work getting there may become unsustainable.  That and I’m 46 on Sunday and there’s a chance I’m past it.

I’m 47 on Monday you prick. 

[simonp]

Serious note though. After that tough 5k effort - best I’ve done in over 2 years - I had an hour with a personal trainer and PB’d *good form* deadlift. And I’ve just done an over under workout on TR this evening. It wasn’t so long ago a hard effort like that would have me not doing any useful training the next day. So my recovery has improved markedly in the last few months which bodes well for ramping things up.

[Chris S]

I felt a bit sick towards the end of my 5k test on the rowing machine last night. Why do we do this?

There’s a few things I still want to achieve in TTs.  I enjoy the rush but the work getting there may become unsustainable.  That and I’m 46 on Sunday and there’s a chance I’m past it.

I’m 47 on Monday you prick. 

You bloody youngsters.

[Chris S]

Bollocks.

TrainerRoad may be Boring. As. Actual. Fuck, but it's never crashed out to desktop during a workout before. Zwift is three for three on that scoreboard now 

[Frank9755]

I felt a bit sick towards the end of my 5k test on the rowing machine last night. Why do we do this?

There’s a few things I still want to achieve in TTs.  I enjoy the rush but the work getting there may become unsustainable.  That and I’m 46 on Sunday and there’s a chance I’m past it.

My best season of TTs was when I was 47.  And Wilko set his 24 hour record at that age, his 12 hour at 48.  But worth going for your goals while you still have youth on your side!

[rob]

Bollocks.

TrainerRoad may be Boring. As. Actual. Fuck, but it's never crashed out to desktop during a workout before. Zwift is three for three on that scoreboard now 

I’ll have to say I watch all this and would like to maybe try a smart trainer at some point but my biggest technical glitch is when my music crashes. 

[rob]

I felt a bit sick towards the end of my 5k test on the rowing machine last night. Why do we do this?

There’s a few things I still want to achieve in TTs.  I enjoy the rush but the work getting there may become unsustainable.  That and I’m 46 on Sunday and there’s a chance I’m past it.

My best season of TTs was when I was 47.  And Wilko set his 24 hour record at that age, his 12 hour at 48.  But worth going for your goals while you still have youth on your side!

We’ll see.  Wilko seems able to batter himself more than any rider I’ve seen.  Literally carried off his bike.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Bollocks.

TrainerRoad may be Boring. As. Actual. Fuck, but it's never crashed out to desktop during a workout before. Zwift is three for three on that scoreboard now 

I think you must not be doing it right and I don't mean TrainerRoad or Zwift.

[simonp]

I felt a bit sick towards the end of my 5k test on the rowing machine last night. Why do we do this?

There’s a few things I still want to achieve in TTs.  I enjoy the rush but the work getting there may become unsustainable.  That and I’m 46 on Sunday and there’s a chance I’m past it.

I’m 47 on Monday you prick. 

You bloody youngsters.

Probably about the age you were the first time we crossed paths on an Audax.

[DuncanM]

The good news - I'm getting fitter because the overwhelming emotion after 20 minutes at 95% was boredom. 
The bad news - I flatted about 6 minutes into the second of the 20 minute intervals. This mean that the wheel slipped on the roller and the power went all choppy. I pumped the tyre up and tried again, but it flattened after a couple of minutes.  I killed the workout there.

https://www.trainerroad.com/career/duncanm23/rides/49057666-galena-1

This was supposed to be my last hard one before a recovery week. I might try making Tuesday hard, skipping Thursday all together and then doing the scheduled recovery ride on Saturday (or possibly the ramp test - I prefer doing them on weekends rather than at 6am).
Now I've gotta go and fix my p*ncture - how do you get a p*ncture on a Turbo? 

[Frank9755]

Now I've gotta go and fix my p*ncture - how do you get a p*ncture on a Turbo? 

I was wondering the same thing.  I've got a slow puncture in mine.  goes almost flat in between sessions.  Must get round to fixing it!

[simonp]

I'm done with the Sweet Spot Base plans.

Just started Sustained Power Build (mid volume). Working it around rowing training - I seem to be getting much better at recovery so it's easier to keep it going. If I have a TrainerRoad workout that clashes directly with rowing, I ditch the TR workout for the rowing one, in general.

[Frank9755]

Now I've gotta go and fix my p*ncture - how do you get a p*ncture on a Turbo? 

I was wondering the same thing.  I've got a slow puncture in mine.  goes almost flat in between sessions.  Must get round to fixing it!

I took it off yesterday and the tyre had worn through!  I could easily have had an explosion. 
The bike has a mudguard so hadn't spotted it.

[rob]

Now I've gotta go and fix my p*ncture - how do you get a p*ncture on a Turbo? 

I was wondering the same thing.  I've got a slow puncture in mine.  goes almost flat in between sessions.  Must get round to fixing it!

I took it off yesterday and the tyre had worn through!  I could easily have had an explosion. 
The bike has a mudguard so hadn't spotted it.

I had a flat on the turbo wheel a couple of weeks ago.   That was on a new turbo specific tyre as well.   I never really checked what happened to the old tube as I just stuffed a spare in.

[Phil W]

Another week till I end early base, rest then retest power levels.  Workouts are feeling easier, so confident my power is up, just hope retest proves it.  I am also doing some strength work off the bike for the first time in over a decade.  Hopefully will make a difference.

[Pedal Castro]

Rest day today, then 4 days solid intense work, 3 days rest during a Florence city break, the three weeks more build followed by 2 weeks easy touring Cuba then it's an event every weekend until August although at least half of those will be part of the training process and not tapered for.

Key targets:
BBAR certificate
ToC Chrono qualification
Club 12h record
Finish PBP

Secondary targets:
Sub 2h 50
Sub 22' 10

[Frank9755]

Another week till I end early base, rest then retest power levels.  Workouts are feeling easier, so confident my power is up, just hope retest proves it.  I am also doing some strength work off the bike for the first time in over a decade.  Hopefully will make a difference.

I'm at about the same stage.  What strength work are you doing, out of interest?
I'm doing yoga, 1 session a week to work on flexibility.  Have very tight hamstrings, which I am noticing an improvement in after just a few sessions.

[Phil W]

Another week till I end early base, rest then retest power levels.  Workouts are feeling easier, so confident my power is up, just hope retest proves it.  I am also doing some strength work off the bike for the first time in over a decade.  Hopefully will make a difference.

I'm at about the same stage.  What strength work are you doing, out of interest?
I'm doing yoga, 1 session a week to work on flexibility.  Have very tight hamstrings, which I am noticing an improvement in after just a few sessions.

Pilates exercises based around the core, with some stretching after exercise whilst I am still warm (sweating).  The pilates is all very slow and precise but I know it is really working my upper body and holding form can be really hard. 

Alicia Searvogel teached yoga for cyclists (don't know if she still does it) and she swore it was the best way to get faster on the bike.

[DuncanM]

I actually slept OK, so I got up and did my workout this morning (recovery week means I'm not bothered about catching up the ones I missed.
This was the first go on the Bushido with the fixie running 48x24 - it was great. 
https://www.trainerroad.com/career/duncanm23/rides/49447858-darwin-4
3x10 minutes between 95 and 99% of FTP, with about half of each interval being done in the aero bars. I've been practising getting into turtle position, but I can't hold it for very long (and that's without a helmet). Definitely more work needed on that front. The positive is that the new "Fast Forward" seatpost is great - it moved me a good few cm forwards and it means that the aero position is really comfy. I just need to play around with low/mid/high hands when I can ride outside and do experiments.
Ramp test on Sunday should give me a nice boost - these intervals were doable in aero, and fairly comfortable out of it, so I'm hoping I'll get a bit of a bump in FTP and that will make things a bit of a stretch again. It's a nice feeling going into workouts knowing that you should be able to complete them and work on other things, but at the same time, it's probably not going to make me faster...

[Phil W]

Weight down to 77Kg, so that's 3kg lost since beginning of year.  So power to weight ratio will be up if nothing else.  Cutting the beer down to no more than 1 pint a night outside weekends, and no more than 2 pints on a Saturday, has done that. Three more interval workouts till rest and test week, today is strength work (probably outside but not quite Rocky style). 

[Frank9755]

Yoga snowed off today.  Instructor's children's school is closing early

[L CC]

January
FTP up 13W (184->197)
Weight down (-6.8kg)
39hr 48m
1019"km" [it's a fairly meaningless number]

Happy with that.

[zigzag]

that's impressive, fboab!

i didn't have the energy for a full session of over-unders (3×16min) and managed to do one full interval and two other half way through. i am eating loads today and will be attemping the "disaster" workout on tr tomorrow, 4h15min!

[DuncanM]

Watts up 7%, weight down significantly, that's a hell of a January fboab. 

Zigzag - Disaster looks absolutely brutal, why on earth are you doing that?  There was some organised "Disaster Day" in December, but I haven't seen anything about doing it this year?

[rob]

Down to 62kg.   Road miles about half of last year's (longest 40 miles) but lots of turbo work.

Racing goals are put back to June/July but I do need to ride a 200k in 5 week's time.