Still chasing 4.0watts/kg argh! (Page 2)

I have never done the Bashful workout.  I have been doing my custom workouts that I uploaded into TR in 2019.  They are usually broken 3-4 section and so if I am doing VO2_max it is only for 10-15 minutes then I move onto aerobic, tempo, or some other type of interval for 10-15 minutes (with 5 mins. recover between types of intervals).

Yes, those 1 min rests between VO2_Max don't do anything for you.  You are almost a well off to just keep going with out the rest (or just as bad off).  Screaming does seem to help though.  It has got be through a lot of intervals anyways.

Way to stick in there.  

I am afraid to do a FTP test.  I did one like 3-4 months ago and just keep pretending like I am still at the same spot.  I don't really know where I am at though.  Hopefully progressing.  probably not to where I was at in 2020 though.   

Congrats on your progress.

I have a sprint tri in a couple of weeks (15 mile bike leg) so I think I'll have an idea of my FTP at that point.  I'm running just to finish so I'm going to hammer the bike leg so I'd imagine a full-out 15-miler (40'-ish) should show me my FTP.  At least Strava will incorporate it into their algorithm and estimate it for me.

Nice work, Roland!

Originally posted by kloofyroland Thanks guys! I just about wrapped up with my VO2Max and over/unders block and will do another FTP test in a couple weeks after a recovery week. I'll try not to overcook myself in the 3' interval which I think hampered my 20' interval performance as well, hehe. Do the FTP test Curtis! That way you'll know where you're at. (Plus I'm curious about your watts/kg) I think that race will give you a good estimate Michael. The swim will be a good warm up then you can blast off and nail that bike segment. I'd like to see the average power results of that split. Roland

This is possibly off-topic, but I did the USAT National Championship race a few weeks ago.  At Triathlons, I am typically in the top 10% on the bike and the top 2% on the run so I was surprised to have the faster Bike Split in my AG and to end up at 23.5% on the run ranking in the AG. Duathlons get a lot of fast runners but no fast cyclists.  I was talking to friends about the race and they said their 17-year-old son has been hitting their new toy which is a stationary bike and that he has been doing 5.0 W/kg.  With a #1 bike split at a nation meet they were wondering where I was at and I told them I have been flat-lined at 4.0 W/kg since 2019 but that I continue to post faster and faster bike splits at every race because I keep buying better equipment.  

Oh...and I did a Triathlon on Saturday where I was #78 on the swim, #8 on the bike, and #3 on the run.  I am not sure if I like Triathlons better where I beat rivals by 2 minutes on the run but we finish together because they were 2 minutes ahead of me on the swim or Duathlons where I get dropped on the second run but can hang with them on the first run and get enough of padding on the bike that I am still in the race.

Originally posted by kloofyroland Pretty solid performances there man. Looks like holding onto around 4.0watts/kg is keeping you competitive and pwning others in your AG. Maybe I should buy better equipment too, hehehe. I'm still using my 2012 QR Illicito Triathlon bike frame with a mix of SRAM Red and Rival parts. Anyway, I did my FTP test today and I killed it this time! I attribute that to some really good active recovery over the prior week and not working too hard on anything during the weekend leading into it. Using Jorge's Plan calculator, I'm now at 3.75watts/kg. I'm going to take some time off hard weekday workouts for several weeks and stick with some mixed stuff during my long weekend rides to maintain fitness to recover more and absorb all the fitness then ramp up again after that. Training will become specifically designed for an Olympic distance triathlon the end of July. After that race it's back to Trainer Road. With a tiny bit more weight loss and continued hard workouts, I have a good feeling I'll make it to 4.0watts/kg by the end of the year. BTW, today's test yielded my best 20' test interval since I started racing triathlons at 258 watts and I didn't feel like puking at the end of it, yay!

Nice work, Roland!  Looks like you're also getting better at testing, too, which really helps.

So my race last weekend was really poor indicator for me...way too hilly, crazy warm.  My np was only around 211 which is pathetic but I came in 40th/157 OA on the bike so I guess everyone suffered a bit out there.  I have another race in about 7 weeks that is only 8 miles on the bike, so I guess that's like a 20 test, right? 

Originally posted by kloofyroland Damn covid got me! I had fever, aches, coughing... flu like symptoms. It took me about 4 days to break my fever and about 10 days to get a negative reading on the test. So this week I started getting back on the saddle and mostly easy workouts but all 3 workouts had elevated RPE and average HR than normal for what's easy for me. >.< I'm hoping it's due to not being in the saddle a short while but to be honest, I think it's an effect of having gotten sick with covid. I'm gonna hit some sweet spot work next week and see how that goes but at this time, I'm thinking I won't be able to hit 4.0watts/kg this year. Roland

Hope you recover quickly, man.  That sucks.  You never know, and couple weeks off might do you good in the long run as long as you don't have any lingering COVID issues (fingers crossed for you on that).

Originally posted by kloofyroland Hi guys. Looks like my lungs are back at full capacity. The chase continues!

YES!!!!  Glad you're feeling better, Roland.  Chase on!

Originally posted by kloofyroland  the work required to go from 3.6watts/kg to 4.0watts/kg is on a whole other level of suffering... for me at least, hehehe. Anyway, I finished at ~3.7watts/kg based on 2 FTP calculators and I'm in the best ever bike fitness I have ever been in and injury free to boot. I'm going to enter my offseason and try to maintain where I'm at by going harder than normal during my long rides since my group always force me to despite already having done 2 leg days during the week. I aim to restart the chase around February 2023. Happy Holidays guys! Thanks for joining this thread. Roland

Try it at 90+ kg LOL.  For 4.0 my FTP would have to be around 370...I might be able to hold that for 2 minutes on a really good day.

Here's to a brilliant 2023!