It's killing me but..........

Originally Posted by Alex Simmons

OK - I raced today.

Local crit - D Grade. Third ride outdoors since I first tried to turn a crank 4 weeks back.....

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming

I agree with better the better than nothing sentiment, but your example is one of the ways HR can be misleading, the slow reaction of HR and implicit averaging allow you to burst a bit to drive it up, float on easier sections and easily keep your HR in "zone" but a look at the matching power file shows bursts followed by rests and lack of sustained time in level. It's really easy to cheat pure HR workouts and get the numbers you want without actually holding steady efforts for the durations necessary to target aerobic adaptations.

Not really disagreeing with you Wiredued, just that I blame that sort of HR burst and float riding over the years with mediocre results. My first six months of power training while I still wore the HR strap made that pattern really clear. If I had to do it all over again without a PM, I'd focus on perceived exertion and breathing to make sure I was really staying focused instead of HR.

-Dave

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming

I agree with better the better than nothing sentiment, but your example is one of the ways HR can be misleading, the slow reaction of HR and implicit averaging allow you to burst a bit to drive it up, float on easier sections and easily keep your HR in "zone" but a look at the matching power file shows bursts followed by rests and lack of sustained time in level. It's really easy to cheat pure HR workouts and get the numbers you want without actually holding steady efforts for the durations necessary to target aerobic adaptations.

Not really disagreeing with you Wiredued, just that I blame that sort of HR burst and float riding over the years with mediocre results. My first six months of power training while I still wore the HR strap made that pattern really clear. If I had to do it all over again without a PM, I'd focus on perceived exertion and breathing to make sure I was really staying focused instead of HR.

-Dave

Originally Posted by Sillyoldtwit

And well done on your 60 minute effort. What was the wattage, or is that confidential? Tyson

Originally Posted by Sillyoldtwit

Jono if you read my post more carefully, you will see that I said, it's possible etc. And later I said, if you back off. In other words using a HRM for some might mean they are not getting the full benefit of the workout. As has been articulated many, many times in these forums, HRMs do not give you the full picture of what's going on in the old ticker.
Please yourself if you wish to use one - for me personally it's a definite NO, NO! And well done on your 60 minute effort. What was the wattage, or is that confidential? Tyson

Originally Posted by Alex Simmons

OK - I raced today.

.

Originally Posted by kopride

Coincidentially, I just did a 1 x 60 on JS's Computrainer. Thanks again, JS, for the NYC hospitality. I literally did the cycling equivalant of eating and running so I did not have the chance to review the file b/c I had to bolt out for an emergency involving my wife (She was shopping for shoes alone on Madison Avenue, and I needed to stop her before too much damage was done ), but my goal was an average of 260 for the full hour (or a little more than 90% of my FTP of 283). I usually like to do one hour intervals outdoors using my PT, and this was my first time using a CT. Very different feel on a CT. The whole weirdness of having the resistance fade as the cadence increases w/ watts remaining constant is very strange. conversely, the sensation of the resistance hitting like a wall when the cadence slowed was even stranger.

After a warmup at 200 W, I did 60 minutes with no breaks. I set the first half hour at 250. The second half, I did 280 for 10m; 250 for 10; 270 for 5; and 260 for 5. Again, that is my best recollection. If I was more familiar with the device, I probably would have just set it at 260 and let it go for the full hour. I think that I did ride at a higher cadence. On my PT and cylops trainer, I usually average only about 78- 85. In order to keep the resistance from hitting, I was forced to ride closer to 90.

Tyson, hats off to you for your ability to grind away on this thing indoors at 300+ watts for an hour or more. My best efforts have consistently been outdoors. There is a magic in just being able to set the wattage on a CT and go.

Originally Posted by Alex Simmons

OK - I raced today.

Local crit - D Grade. Third ride outdoors since I first tried to turn a crank 4 weeks back.

I lasted 5km before getting dropped, just not enough horsepower to cope with the changes in pace. So after being dropped (I wasn't the first to go either!) I just did a solo training run on the circuit while the various grades lapped me. I pulled out in the lap before all the sprints finishes were due (it was enough) and ended up with a 47 min workout with AP 196 watts and NP 205 watts. Peak power was 748W.

With my warm up, I got a total of 1:15 in and 138 TSS although it looks as though my FTP could go up 5-10W.

Feeling a bit body sore now but happy to have got out there. I'm not actually that far off the pace to hang onto that grade, so some regular racing is certainly possible. I was also able to pedal while out of the saddle for short periods. It's a little awkward but that will come with practice.

Back to riding on the velodrome is the next trick.

Originally Posted by Sillyoldtwit

It's a shame we can't rename this thread.

"Alex showing Tyson how it should be done"

Seriously though, your efforts are truly inspirational. In fact with both of us striving against the odds, you after coming back from serious injury, and me fighting father time, hopefully between the 2 of us we are acting as a catalyst to get guys & gals to believe that they too can achieve their goals through self-confidence, focussing and damned hard work.

Keep us posted Alex, many people are cheering you on. Tyson

Originally Posted by Sillyoldtwit

In fact with both of us striving against the odds, you after coming back from serious injury, and me fighting father time,

Originally Posted by Alex Simmons

I raced again yesterday. Lasted longer this time (I think the race was easier to start with) and I withdrew gracefully after half an hour or so. An NP of 207 watts, so a little better.

I have an issue with the leg liner filling with sweat and getting a bit squishy to ride on after a while. Haven't worked out best way to deal with that yet. In this instance I took a 1-lap "mechanical" to remove the leg, dry everything off and replace. I did another lap with the race but felt like that was enough for the day and pulled myself off.

During the week I did a MAP Test - 289 watts.
So I'm ~ 70% of my previous maximal aerobic power and about 20% heavier.
I'm what you class as "untrained".

The other cool thing is I was able to race on a 170mm left crank arm. Just needed to lengthen my leg a bit (which ain't hard - just loosen one allen bolt).