Power Mentor Group with Shane & Marc - Closed. (Page 57)

Started the morning with my long run, then got home to do Week 8's Sweet Spot ride.  Through the first 15' interval, my legs were telling my brain they couldn't do it.  I told myself I had to at least do the second interval and maybe cut it short at an hour long ride....as soon as the second interval started, everything started feeling good.  I guess my legs just took a little longer to warm up today (probably a function of running first).  

Finished it up and felt really strong on the 10' interval at 95%, so I was very happy with that.  Hoping to get out for a long ride tomorrow (there's an organized 67 mile ride that I'm considering), but forecast is calling for rain / thunderstorms starting late morning.  

I did Threshold 1 / Threshold 2 / Sweet Spot earlier in the week and finished it up with a long, outdoor ride today.  I've been riding for just over two years now and got my first flat today....thankfully, no real issues changing it (it was the rear, which meant my fingers were greasy, so that was annoying, but no issues otherwise).  I even remembered to check the tire for any sharp objects and found that was exactly what caused it.

Plan for the long ride was about 60 miles with a "main set" of 18' @ 90%, 3' @ FTP, 4' recovery on the outbound leg, and holding a fairly steady 78% on the return leg.  This resulted in an NP of 83% and VI of 1.05, which is a little more aggressive than I'd like to be for my race, but my 30 minute run after felt decent.  Per Shane and Marc's advice, I started the first mile about 15s/mile slower than my target pace, then steadily increased pace for the following.  My running legs came to me about 1.5 miles in.  My run fitness still isn't where I'd like for it to be, so it's hard to judge if things are good.  Like I said, I do think the bike was paced aggressively, but that was done on purpose.

Interesting side note: I find Sweet Spot intervals to be quite nice outside (compared to on the trainer), but I find Threshold intervals to be worse outside.  I think that's probably because I can't allow myself to just stare at the screen and focus on holding that number, like I can on the trainer.  Gotta be cognizant of everything else going on outside. 

Did Threshold 1 & VO2-2 earlier this week and had planned to do either SS or Threshold 2 today but it was 70 & sunny out. I just couldn't resist heading out for a run (wish I could ride outside, perfect day for a ride, couple more weeks hopefully) and what a fabulous run it was. What a change from the snow & ice we had a couple of weeks ago.

So...I'll get up early tomorrow and get my last ride in.

Second TT in the books.  Finished right where I hoped as far as time and placing.  5th OA and 2nd 18-34 Cat 4/5.

http://www.strava.com/activities/117479459

The interesting part, which pertains to this group, is my power.  AP of 255 and NP of 264 (according to WKO+) when my goal was 290.  I held 294 for 23:15 last week, so 290 should have been doable for a 29ish minute effort.  And when you factor in that my speed and placing were pretty spot on as far my power goal, it leads me to belive either my power from yesterday, or my power from last week was wrong.  I tend to think it was yesterday that was the outlier considering the total baseline of testing info I have.

This may not apply to those using virtual power, but if you do have a PM, this is what I take away from this.

1.  PMs are accurate and precise.  Great for training, testing, and racing, except when they are not accurate and/or precise.  It's not just me either...a buddy of mine had his PT crap out on him a few weeks ago.  It was a little more obvious to him though.  Learn to trust your PM...but not as if your life depended on it.  

2.  Make sure to calibrate or auto zero your PM as much as possible.  I didn't do it in a while.  Just lazy.  That may have helped.  Weather yesterday was wet and a little on the cooler side than normal.  So that may have played a factor with my Quarq.

3.  When racing, don't use power as your only tool.  Use HR if possible and RPE.  I quickly was able to identify that my 290 watt goal was too high based on HR and RPE.  I made the adjustment early (within 2-3 minutes) and was still able to have a good race.  After about 4-5 minutes I was able to correlate that 255-260 watts was a more reasonalbe target based on HR and RPE, and it worked out pretty well as I paced it that way for the rest of the race without blowing up or having too much in the tank.

I think this is part of the learning process in using a power meter.  While there are some people who never experience a single problem with their PM, the majority will at one time or another.  They are still great tools, but I was able to save my race by making a quick adjustment instead of believing my PM numbers like they were the gospel.