SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 44)

Marc -  how does that MAP test work?  I could likely do it on my Tacx trainer as well. 

As for me, the 5min tests are tough, but the 20min is tougher.  It's that middle 10min where you start to question the wattage you've targeted, and how the hell you're going to hang on till the end.

And yeah, the wife can hear me yelling at myself in the basement to suck it up over the last few minutes...

I spend a lot of time thinking about relaxing the shoulders.  It is not natural just yet, but as long as I think about it then I tend to do ok.  Speaking of not carrying water, my last run I didn't but I think that is the edge of what I can handle.  Sometimes I forget about water cause I often run by some water stations but not too many of those out in the woods.   I either use a small tiny hand held one that has a thing that slips over my hand so I'm not really "carrying" it or I use a backpack if I am going longer.  I like the backpack.  I hate things around my waist so it works out for me

Hum, if it is flu you think your getting I'd skip the run and give your body a chance at fighting it off.  If it's a cold then have fun.

Those muscles don't really do much, so likely is tension. Can you relax and shake your arms out every few minutes? I'll get tired up the trapezius area on longer runs or when I've been doing a lot of swimming or biking in aero. This area can feel it quite a bit later in an HIM.

The Road Machine & Fluid 2 are heard about most because they're both very solid trainers. There isn't much of a middle ground from there. Just jumps way up to something like a computrainer or similar ones out or coming out.

Warmup and then start at a given wattage and increase 25watts/min. You should do something like 12.5 every 30 seconds

You take the average of the last minute that is your MAP

Take 72-75% of that, that's your FTP

If your FTP is 250, your MAP will be around 333. So start at 140 and go up 12.5 watts every 30 seconds. After 10min you will be at 390w.

I have been using a Fluid 2 for years and years and have loved it. Recently it sounds like a bearing has gone out in it and I am going to see what I can do to get it repaired by cycleops. If I can get it repaired I will just leave it at school - I usually cart it back and forth with me. It travels really, really well, but it will be nice to have one less thing to lug around. As a replacement I actually just purchased a Kurt Kinetic yesterday, mainly because it has an option to add an additional 12lb flywheel - the one time I road one with it I thought it was really nice for longer intervals. My wife has a Cycleops Fluid Pro and I like it better than the fluid 2 - better feel when riding and the mount is easier to adjust than the fluid 2.

if It does not stop raining here soon I will let you know what I think of the KK a little later today....

While both are mentioned as the better choices, Kinetic seems to get better comments from the guys at TrainerRoad. Apparently the Virtual power curve is a little more predictable.

I really like my Fluid2.  Very solid.  First one I got had a leak after a few months.  They replaced it quickly, no questions asked.  This one has been rock solid for a few years with no signs of slowing down.

Used to but then I got a better sports bra

Don't wear your shoulders as earrings; run tall. You could try setting an interval alarm on your watch literally just to remind you to relax and run smoothly.

Do you swing your arms a lot when you run? (Technically this should not make a difference but it might be causing your upper body to move more and over many running cycles that could be wasting energy).

I used an older Fluid 2 before switching to KK Road Machine a few years ago.  The Fluid 2 was good but seemed to take some time to 'warm-up' before the tension on the roller became consistent.  I have no complaints with the KK..very smooth trainer.

OK, I am finally at a PC that I can type from.

I feel kinda bad, but it was 64* this morning when running, before sunrise. 80* by mid afternoon. Sorry if anyone feels some anger coming over them.

This is what I try to do when it happens but as I said, often too late by then.  The problem for me is that it's not a common occurrence so I never think to do anything preventative.  I'll have to try to remember it for hard runs in the future. 

I'm actually more inclined to think that I don't swing my arms much at all and it's the tension of holding them in place that might be causing it.  I like the run tall thought.

Made it to the pool 3 days in a row...might be a record for me...not long swims though. It was 29 degrees and there was so much steam coming off the (outdoor) pool that I couldn't see the guy in the next lane. We had a great conversation through the fog though

I have been stopping in at the gym after I swim to stretch and do some core. I have been consistent with this 3x per week for the past few months, that streak came to an end today. The gym was hot &  stuffy as usual but I paused for a moment on the way in and all I could hear was coughing and hacking. I noticed one girl sneeze on the yoga mat then roll it up. I picked up my bag and came home and did the same routine in the safety of my clean house!

Very likely, we tease my son that he has T Rex arms when he runs (he has a beautiful long stride and runs very "tall") but as soon as he tries to adjust his upper body, everything gets out of whack. Could it also be the cold? I notice that I am very tense on the bike in the cold and it sometimes hurts between my shoulders...I have to remind myself to relax. Maybe set a timer on your watch for every mile or 5 minutes to remind yourself to relax the shoulders. A tri coach once told me that if your upper body hurts when running or your legs hurt when swimming...you are doing it wrong ;-)

Ugh - 25watts per minute would hurt!!

Trust me. This test hurts less than the 20' test.

The pain is much shorter lived and there is always a "i can do a little more, one more step" rather than "why are the clock hands stopped"

Chris - I have been led to believe that the the way you are doing the 20 minute test (start strong but build steadily through the test, killing yourself at the end) gives you a better gauge of your 1 hour power than killing it at the beginning and hanging on. The second way is just using math to cheat a higher number which (despite the posturing that sometimes goes with it) is not the real aim of the test.

When typing on an iPhone, iPad, etc, typing <p> between each paragraph is your friend. Adding </p> at the end of each paragraph is good HTML practice, but it will work just fine without it.