SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 43)

I've got a couple of weeks left with the gym I'm at so I swam with the Tri club that's taken over the pool on lunch today.  I never swim this fast - there's a woman I'm swimming next too and I just push a bit harder to stay with her, and then get ahead if possible.  I really thought I pushed myself on my own sometimes, but it's becoming evident that I didn't.

Oh, and the coach keeps trying to get me to fix my stroke and lead with my elbow out of the water rather than my hand.  I just can't seem to get it.

I accidentally registered for it.  Mostly I was trying to figure out if it cost anything, so when I clicked the "Regsiter Now" button, it actually registered me without having to go through any kind of confirmation step!

That said, I'm going in for knee surgery this Friday, so I'm really not at all optimistic that I'll be actually participating in the tour....but I am hoping I'll be back on the trainer by then.

I also don't own the videos and will probably try just setting up the TrainerRoad rides....I did read that one person said that through most of the videos, he just has his head down trying to push through the intervals, so he never actually watches them!  So I figure that's what I'll do as well....some decent music and TR showing me what I should be hitting has been pretty good motivation for me.

In regards to the temps, it's too cold here!  I'd much rather deal with a lot of heat than a little bit of cold!  Though it's only been down in the high 30's, I'm not accustomed to it.  I can barely stand having the fan on while riding the trainer....my body gets all kinds of achey when the cold air is blowing over my sweaty body!

Oh Keri - that is my least favorite weather by far - really cold and moist.

Been unseasonably warm here - so much so that we have spring thaw-like conditions. Which means our dirt driveway is a mud bog. Supposed to head to the cooler temps tonight (what most of you all have been going through) and possibly some snow tomorrow.

Bike tests - fun!  I have a sneaky suspicion they will be on the plan for me in the near future as well.

Check out Trek Naples.  You can rent a nice road bike for quite cheap and the roads there are awesome for riding.  My parents have a place in Fort Myers and I rented a bike from their Estero store for 5 days last year.  They give you a helmet, lock and get the seat height dialed in for you as well...much better than the hotel bike I am sure.

I don't know, but I recall going into my first (and only) 5' test thinking "5', how hard can that be???
oh my

BAMF right there! 

oh this is off topic  sorry i will move it idk where.....A running club....REally...oh boy !!! I am attempting same out in my area. The school coaches are too busy to keep the high schools kids running year round and we are getting beaten badly by two other high schools with year round programs. So.....Yours truly is stepping up to the mark. 

I have no idea HOW to do this other than approch the local runninng store for starters. Comments?

Linda

Next week I swim at my favorite outdoor pool in Munich. -5C, steam rising from the water, 50m pool, topless women swimmers.

No need to be a BAMF to enjoy that. No whining here, because I enjoy long course.

Uh yeah, your title is simply lucky. I'd prefer that over BAMF in this case. 

I have done two 5MP tests in the last 12 weeks.  Before that I had never done one.  I find that by the end my legs are in searing pain but aerobically I am ok. 

The 20MP tests my legs and heart are both in the hurt box.

The last two times I have done the 5MP and 20MP test in the same session.  I really did not feel it affected my 20MP test but not sure.

Interesting!  For me, at the end of 5 mins I am literally gasping for air.  For 20 mins, it's my legs screaming and I generally just make a lot of grunting noises towards the end.  My wife hates being in the room when it's going on - something about being worried about me or something....  

One of these days...when trainer road is able to do multiple user competitions over the internet...we're all going to do a 5' and 20' test together.

I'm going to use TR virtual power...and forget to tension the roller to my back wheel...

Then you might have a chance.  (sorry -- couldn't resist)

Well played sir!

On a more realistic note, I did have a good ride today.  After about 5 rides on the TT bike, I finally feel comfortable again on the aerobars.  Did 2x15's with a slightly long recovery of 8 minutes (just easier logistically) targeting what I thought was my current FTP and was able to ride above that without totally going into the hurt locker.  Good sign.

I have only done the 20 minute tests - but there are lots of comments from the peanut gallery about the amount of noise I make (and keep in mind - I ride in the basement behind closed doors).

Stupid questions - what is the difference between the two tests (other than the amount of time)? What are you testing? What would improving one over the other mean in terms of performance?

Not a stupid question at all

What you are really trying to do is get the power you can maintain for an hour

The best way to do this is do a 1 hour test. But that is not something many people want to do, so they don't, so they don't test regularly.

To make it more "doable" they came up with a series of tests that approximate your 60min power

One way is to do a 20min test and take a percentage of that. I have heard people use 92 to 95%. So if you did 200watts for 20 minutes -> 200 * .95 = 190 watts for 60 minutes. This is an approximation. This is probably what you are doing.

Another way is to do a 5min test and a 20min and use the two to project a 60 minute. Some say this is a bit more accurate. This is what the guys above are doing.

There are a few other protocols. For example one that is "fun" is a ramp test where you increase power slowly until you fail completely. What I like about this test is that there is no question if you pushed hard enough, you push until you fail. But this test requires a computrainer. This one was designed by Rick Sterns and I think is called a MAP test.

You could do a blood lactic threshold test and get it that way as well.

There is one based on a 2x20' set

But these are all "estimates" of your true 60min FTP. The only accurate way to measure it is to do a 60min TT

Don't think I've ever actually done the 5' test, but have an idea from other workouts using intervals near that length. My legs are screaming for both, but my lungs feel it a bit more on the shorter ones. It's a different feeling, but I seem more able to handle the longer ones. And that would seem to be reflected in my power levels. Don't think there is any way I'd hit 120% of FTP for 5' power now, so have to work on that. That area seems to have fallen farther than the longer intervals as well. This should be fun.

On that note....  does anyone ever get sore/tired arms while running?  I've had it happen to me a few times, usually during a hard run.  It's usually my triceps and biceps that are affected.  To me, this suggests upper body tension that is probably wasting energy?  Any time it has happened, I try to think about relaxing a bit but it's usually too late by then.