SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 76)

The backing off is something I do too. I'll also be mindful of what I'm trying to target and see if I'm still at an acceptable range. Such as if the workout is for threshold, am I still up in the threshold range even though the % dropped? Same for VO2.

Has there been any changes that could be affecting things? With all the swimming I'm doing, I'm having trouble hitting the harder ones as well now as almost all swims are moderately hard to hard. Just too much of an energy drain to hit the rides as much and as hard as I did last year. I'm experimenting with some shorter intervals to see if that will help get things going.

Shoes:  I have a 12oz shoe (training only) and a 9.5oz shoe (training and racing) that I switch back and forth on.

I typically use the heavier shoe on long days, trail runs and snow and rain runs.  The lighter shoe for all faster running workouts and racing.  I am considering just running in the lighter shoe for my long runs as well though.

Swim Video: Balance and a Goofy Hat

Thanks guys - I also wonder if riding the Tri bike (even though I'm sitting up for the intervals) is having an impact.  The position is certainly more aggressive than my road bike, and it just dawned on me that maybe that has something to do with it.

Are your power tests for the targets your trying to hit from the road bike?  If so then I think you might be onto something

I agree with Salty ( am I getting  the name right?)... I race in the skeechers Go Run shoe. Don't want to rely on it cuz too trendy might disappear off the market. I like Brooks and Saucony for most days, I have a wide foot and nothing else feels right. have not tried zoot yet.

When I have time I squeeze into the vibram 5 fingers shoe. Its fun... but I run on grass and dirt mostly...so not ideal for that (lack of cushioning and u end up with grass between your toes !

I use an Adamo road race seat that is comfy with a slight downward tilt. Recently discovered that at 16 miles its not so comfy. That might be me not used to riding , not the seat...idk.

Yes, Salty is a nickname but it's correct. Or you can call me Adrienne. 

How do you like the GoRuns? They have been getting fantastic review for the 1's and the 2's. I get 30% off through my work as well so I was thinking about giving them a shot. 

I tried them on once and they were really comfortable. The shape of the bottom is pretty interesting. And shoot, if Meb can rock em...

If you're primarily training for tris, stay down on the aero bars for your intervals, as well as your FTP tests when you do them.  If you test that way you should be gtg, but if you're going off an old upright test you might need to revise your watts down a little.

As for the depressing part - I hear ya.  If I'm mentally ready to quit, I tell myself "just finish out the set".  Shave 10% off what you were doing and try to finish it.  Or 20% if you have to.  But get the time in.

I also try to follow up with a shorter interval set workout the next time, to rebuild that confidence.  I had a 2x20' on Thursday that was miserable and I failed hard on the 2nd part of it.  I finished it out but was pretty far off my target watts.  So on my Saturday ride I did a long ride in the 85% range and finished it out with 2x10' at threshold.  It's a mental game but it helps because you think "well this sucks but at least it's not 20 minutes".

Maybe some of that will get you back on track

That's just some good stuff right there. 

Truth.

- Brian

Neil...don't beat yourself up too much.  I've had quite a few of those types of workouts were you just come up way short of your goal.  Having been at this whole power thing for a few years now, there are not as much low hanging fruit to pick, and it's not so easy to keep making improvements at the rate we have seen when first starting out with power.  In addition, it's harder to be "on" during all or most of our workouts.

Just keep in mind that many of the power workouts we do are meant to be extremely challenging.  To the point where you have to be having a good day just to finish them on target.  That's the beauty of a power meter right?  It doesn't let you "cheat" yourself out of a good workout.  So when you do have a workout where you fall short of your goal...just take it in stride.  Because realistically, if you were hitting your power goals on all your workouts...you're probably sandbagging your FTP or not getting in enough workouts.  The fact is that we are simply amateur AG athletes with jobs, families, and other responsibilities that eat up energy and focus from our day.  What we have left over when our workouts start...is what it is.

So yeah...part of it is HTFU...and the other part is just reality. 

I let myself cheat by sitting up when it gets rough but I usually try to limit it to no more than 60 seconds and if I'm in really rough shape, I try to force myself to stay down for at least 60.  Doesn't always happen but most of the time I can manage that.

This makes me think of a drill we did shortly before Christmas.  We had to do single leg kicking (no fins), with a kick board and the opposite leg bent at 90 degrees out of the water.  Talk about hard!  It seemed kind of silly and pointless but interesting at the same time.  I learned that I was unable to maintain a straight line kicking with my left leg.

Completely different than what you were doing but it reminded me of it.

Neil - you are not alone. You and I both need to:

- Brian

I've not had it happen until last week's Tour of Sufferlandria....but on some of the really hard intervals, I notice my glutes getting tired while in aero.  It took about 5-6 days before it started happening, but by the last day, I was having some issues staying in aero since my glutes are apparently not used to it.

I kept telling myself I could only take a short break out of aero....and at some point, it became more like "try to stay in aero for at least half of the interval and then you can give yourself a quick break!"  Definitely some bargaining going on with myself toward the end of that crazy challenge!

On a separate note, I made it back into the pool last night for the first time since surgery.  It wasn't painless, but I think it's more because my knee wasn't used to the motion of pushing against some sort of resistance than something that will hurt me.  I'm hoping a few more days and I'll get back to where I was....and not have to be so damn cautious on my flip turns (that was annoying!!). 

Don't forget to add time to let the holes heal after they take the stitches out, unless you cover it with waterproof protection of course

I train in 4 different pairs of shoes currently, Asisc's 2170 (newest), Saucony Ride, Montrail Masochist II's for trails and Saucony Guide 4's(ready for the trash). I race and rarely train in Pearl Izumi isoTransistion's. The only reason I haven't gone to the PI's exclusively is that they seem to be wearing faster than I would like. The others have a thicker sole throughout.  I keep trying new shoes in the hope that I'll find something perfect, but I know it'll change in a version or 2 anyway, so why bother? I always think that if I find a pair I really like that I'll go online and buy 10 pairs, but that hasn't ever happened. My DW might not be too happy if a FedEx truck showed up with 10 shoe boxes for me, either. I don't blame her, I spend enough on this as it is without investing in a dozen pair of shoes. 

I'm wrestling with some of the same things. Last year I sat up for a lot of them. My up position is still very low (via dropped pursuit bars), but not the same as aero. I did make a lot of progress, but did feel at times where it would have been better had I done more work in aero. This year I am doing that, but am having trouble hitting targets, or even doing efforts at all. I do think that it's more because my running and especially swimming have increased in load substantially. It's very hard for me mentally. I should be able to at least hold the bike close to what I had (I hope), but it is very unnerving since the bike is my strength. This is very hard to do even though I can see very noticeable gains in both the other two. I draw a lot of confidence from the bike.

So with yours, reset your expectations. Relearn what your capability is while in aero and go from there. Kind of forget about upright or road bike power.

Wow. That's awesome.

- Brian