Marvelous Manatees - Stronger than Ever! (Page 5)

Personally, I hate bib shorts. Men say they fit better and are better at keeping the chamois in place but I don't find that my chamois movies at all with regular shorts. I don't see the point of bottoms that require that I take off my top to go to the bathroom. That's just me though.  That being said, I do find that shorts with a wide waistband are a requirement.  

FIFTEEN YEARS?!

Great news!

Ya...getting in and out is defiantly an issue with the bibs. The Speedo jammer shorts don't even have a chamois and they work just fine. 

I got my Speed Jammer Shorts in 2008.  I only wore them for one sprint triathlon until I got into triathlons for real in 2015.  They are ready to be replaced though.  They colors are all faded out (on the outside, but not they are still bright on the interior).  The elastic has also seen better days.  My motto is, "Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without."  

So...I have been busy with the Winter Cycling Group I am leading for my Ambassador Tri Team.  I thought I had the gist of CP (Critical Power) figured out but have been brushing up on things to make sure that I can teach the group how it all works, evaluate their power tests, set up their training zones, and assign them workouts tailored to their strengths and weaknesses.  The more I study the more clueless I realize I am.  That is part of why I volunteered though.  Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is sometimes the quickest way to learn. 

So...he is my discovery for the week.  Training Platforms like TrainerRoads, Zwift, Rouvey, Wahoo Fitness, etc. all use FTP.  They test with 5 minute tests, 20 minute tests, ramp tests, the Rubber Glove test, the Full Monty test, etc.  I have not done the last two but know that most of these make an assumption about your level of endurance to calculate your 1-hour power.  If you are average then the test is a good approximation. If you have better endurance than average or if you burn out faster than average the test is not the best for you.  The CP tests does all out intervals of different duration to calculate not only your 1-hour power but also your aerobic capacity (W') which is a measurement of how much work you can do above your Critical Power.    Two people might have the same FTP of 230W.  One however may have a VO2max (30sec to 2minute all out power) of 400W and the other might have a VO2max of 310W.   So,  the one with 400W will be a better sprinter because of the capacity to do more work above Critical power.  The other will be a better at endurance races because of the ability to hold a higher percentage of their VO2max for period over an hour (i.e. 2 hrs, 4 hrs, 6 hrs.).  Further, one will need to focus on sprints to increasing the amount of work he/she can do above CP to improve his/her FTP and the other will need to work on endurance to improving the threshold percent they can to improve their FTP.  If you are average you get the right training through the on line platforms but if you endurance is better than average of if the work you can do above your threshold is better than average you may not be getting the training you need from the pre-written training plans and may progress faster with customized training.  This was mind blowing to me.  I never really understood how training plans were customized to produce faster results and bigger gains than following pre-written plans.

I have a couple of Orca tri shorts that have to be 10+ years. I only recently designated them to only trainer shorts.

Sporthill makes good stuff. I forget about them because they are not really available around here.

My bike shorts have a similar progression -- there comes a point when they are still comfortable enough to use but not in good enough condition to be used in public (or for longer rides)

Very interesting. I thought Sufferfest's (now Wahoo System) 4DP test was designed to identify those issues as it measures neuromuscular power, anaerobic capacity, max aerobic power, and FTP. From those results you are given workouts to improve where you are lacking. I'm not sure if this is the same thing as what you are doing with critical power, but it seems more detailed than just FTP. 

Jim's been using Sufferfest for a long time so he may be able to point out where I've gone wrong!  

This might be the same thing.  Those sound like the same things.  I am intrested so I am now going to have to look up the 4DP test to see how it is run and how it calculates results.  I also am going to have to go back and look at the Full Monty because I remember people saying when it came out that it calculated things other than FTP that I didn't know what were or what they were used for.  

The first Test I did was the 10-mile TT that was outline in the Heart Rate Version of the JorgeM Beginner Triathlete Winter Bike plan (which I did after a spring triathlon from May to August).  I have done a half dozen different test since then. 

Hello all, I figured a proper bit of information was in order, since I finally figured out that the thread has gone live. Life has been a bit full since late September when Ian came through. We stuck around for the cat 5 mess which blew for 11 hours straight. If you ever have the opportunity to do such a thing, book a flight and get out of town. Our pool cage is gone, we had some garage damage, the shed is junk, yadda, yadda, yadda. All in all, we are blessed to be where we are. 

However, the true fun began in November when the county reached out and said we could finally get into the Carlton Reserve that our trails are in. But first, we had to get "certified" to run chainsaws. So, after a 6 hour day of cutting fallen trees off of the trails, we had completed about 2 miles of the 25 in the park. The park didn't "open" until after New Years and any spare time has been given to that effort since then. And we are still not done. We have 2 more miles of trails to clear. The good news is that all of the stuff that is used in Piggy's Revenge is ready to go. The bad news is that we are two weeks out and still have a ton of work to do to get this thing put on. Such is life.

I went back and skimmed through the posts. I saw a Zwift question and the answer given was spot on. I ride outside, no trainer or indoor setup at all. Ann-Marie, the key to morning rides is lights. Don't let a little thing like darkness slow you down. I try to get out a couple of mornings a month on the fixie in the dark and do what has become known as the paper route ride. Up and down streets in the neighborhood, sprint one, coast one, or change it up with a longer road or a shorter road and so on. I generally come home absolutely knackered after those rides. We also have a regularly scheduled Tuesday night ride out in the Carlton, sometimes gravel, sometimes MTB.  And, when I'm pushing for improvements, I can do a lunch ride or two per week, or an after work ride. WFH has been good for that.  

Well, that should be it. I turned on notifications and will be following along henceforth. And if any of you are around Venice Fl on January 29th, feel free to stop by the park for Piggy's Revenge. Drop my name at the gate for parking and then look for the guy behind the grill and I'll get you in on the fun.

Thanks for the update, Chris! I was wondering about Piggy's Revenge!

The real question is, when are you heading up to WNC?

That's all I know of.

We need to get Ann-Marie all healed up though!