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

RapDaddyo

You can assume that all of your high-intensity efforts > 10mins were L4. You didn't really do any L5 efforts until ~4 weeks before your century IIRC. You can assume that any efforts >3 mins and power at least 50W greater than your routine 2x20s that week were L5 efforts. I don't think you did any L6 efforts, but you should use 2x20 power + 75W for those and duration >30s.

Those are the minimum durations and if you rode the efforts at the minimum duration you would want to increase power. Anyway, I think your FT is higher than 200W. You'll know soon enough.

That should do it. It will serve two purposes. One, it will help you figure out what power to ride your AWC efforts at. Two, it'll be a good MD data point on your Critical Power curve (out of three). Let's be clear. These max duration efforts are a bitch. Five minutes sounds like a short duration, that is until you're riding at a very demanding intensity of effort (for that duration). Hell, if you crank up the intensity of effort high enough, 30 seconds is an eternity.

Sillyoldtwit

I have one or 2 questions RD. Before doing the AWC test, what sort of warm up would you recommend? I thought 10mins of easy spinning at 150Watts say should do the trick.

This week on Thursday I plan to do myVO2 max work. Depending on how hard 300 Watts is tomorrow, I thought I might try 4x5mins @ 180W. My question is, when does one do the AWC intervals - on the same day?

RD wrote:

I know it is somewhat higher than 200W. 200Watts for 1 hour is a cruise for me, however, I would still like to go for 3x20 @ 200 watts after the AWC test tomorrow. Stay at 200W for the week to confirm I can do it everyday before moving up to 210W next week and so on. TYSON

RapDaddyo

Well, I just spin for ~5 mins (at ~150W) before such efforts. But, some people like a longer warmup. It's not like you're creating a lot of muscular stress so you don't need to get your muscles super warm beforehand. I think the main reason people warm up longer is mental. Me, I know it's going to hurt and it's not going to hurt less if I postpone it, so I just get my legs warm and let 'er rip.

Very funny. Don't fall asleep.

Some people like to do one type of high intensity effort exclusively during a ride. Personally, I do a mix of three (and sometimes all four) of the L4-L7 efforts on my main ride. Some days I will focus on L4 efforts, especially if I am doing the long ones (40-70 mins). I'm talking about routine weekly intervals with this statement, not performance tests. For performance tests, I think it's best to do one test only at the beginning of the ride, preferably with a day off the day before. This is just for consistency and repeatability.

That's a good plan. You want to finish the rides feeling hungry for the next session, not feeling like a failure because you couldn't hold XXX watts that you used to be able to hold. You'll get back to where you were quickly enough. No need to rush it. Enjoy 200W while you can.

Sillyoldtwit

Sorry RD, that wasn't an intentional joke. I had to read your comment 3 times before realizing I'd written 180W not 280W as intended.

netscriber

Tyson, just curious. Do you ge to use the same bike in the gym for your power readouts?

Sillyoldtwit

Most of the time yes, but I don't find any difference between them if this is what you're hinting at. I wish I could find one that was easier to ride at a given wattage.

RapDaddyo

I don't think you'll fall asleep at 280W. Although relaxing at higher intensities is a learned skill. That's one good byproduct of VO2MAX efforts. When you first begin doing them (assuming you are doing them at the right intensity), there is a tendency to get tense and tight, especially in your upper body. It takes awhile to learn how to make the power with the least unnecessary effort and energy. Since you're doing them in the gym, you might want to try this little exercise. After the 1st minute or so, take your hands off the bars and sit straight up in the saddle and continue to maintain power. Try to remain very still and stable from the hips up and just apply smooth and forceful downstrokes. Do this for a minute at a time and when you are down in the normal riding position try to carry over this same calm and relaxed upper body. It's really VO2MAX efforts that teach you that you can indeed ride at that power (and relax).

Sillyoldtwit

I shall try that sit up and beg idea in Thursday's VO2max session. I usually find though, that when I do sit up in the middle of a 20 min interval, it becomes harder to pedal. Normally I ride in a very low TT position with my elbows resting on the handlebars and perch on the very tip of the saddle.
Will keep you posted. Now 1 hour away from doing AWC test. Why do I feel apprehensive Maybe it's the L7 pain!

RapDaddyo

The "sit up and beg" position simply takes your upper body out of the picture. If you sit up you must generate power from the waist down.

Well, it's L6, but who am I to quibble about a name?

Sillyoldtwit

You mean there's greater pain!

I'm off to the gym now to do my easy L6

Sillyoldtwit

Well, AWC test = complete disaster! 2 minutes 15 secs @ 300 Watts was me done. Last night I had 2 large Drambui on the rocks and woke up with a headache this morning. Had to drink 1 bottle of Diet Coke just so I could get to the gym. However, I honestly don't think the Drambui made the slightest difference. 300 Watts is just too much for me in my present state.

After 5 mins rest did 2 x 20 plus 1 x 10 all at 200W with a cadence of 90 -110.

As it was so easy, I don't think I need a day off tomorrow, so shall go for
1 x 30mins @ 200W. That should leave me relatively fresh for the VO2 max session on Thursday. I'm thinking in my present condition perhaps 4 x 5 @ 280watts is a little ambitious. Maybe 270Watts is a more sensible figure.
Tyson
P.S. Burnt over 700 calories today - feels good!

RapDaddyo

A well-conceived and executed performance test is never a disaster. It is revealing. You just don't like what it reveals. This test did precisely what it was intended to do. Your max duration was greater than 30s and less than 3m. It provides you with a benchmark for your AWC efforts. You can either ride them at 300W for a shorter duration or you can ride them for ~3 mins at, say, 270W. Either way, at whichever duration you choose the efforts should feel like ~90% efforts. And, it provides you with a key data point for your Critical Power curve. We'll get to that later. And, of course, it gives you a little sneak peak at your 300W FT goal. An hour at 300W is no small feat, regardless of one's age.

You might find 1x5 @ 280W a challenge. I'm guessing your FT is ~220W now. Based on that, I would do the 4x5s at ~265W. I think you'll know after the first one. If the first one is hard to finish, drop it back 5W for the next ones.

Sillyoldtwit

LOL My FT is getting lower and lower. I assume the aim is to work one's way back to where one started. In my case 130 Watts. At the present rate, I shall be there before long if you continue to subtract Watts at this rate.

How many AWC intervals should I do and at what wattage?

RapDaddyo

I think you want to target ~15-20 mins of L6 efforts cumulatively. Let's say you do them at 2mins each with a recovery of 2-3 mins between each. That's a 40-60 min ride, depending on your initial warmup. As to power, I'd say somewhere between 280-300W. You can estimate your 2min MP based on your AWC test. It's probably ~310W. If you ride your 2min efforts at 90% of your MP, that would be 279W. That's my rule, 90% of MP. I assure you the last 2-3 will be very hard to complete. The second hand gets stuck in the mud after ~5 of these. The key is that you must learn to relax doing these. Yeah, yeah, I know, how the hell do I relax at 280W? It's easy. Relax your upper body completely. Relax your neck. Don't grip the bars at all, just make a "V" with your thumb and first finger and cradle the bars so you won't be tempted to wrap your fingers around them and pull. Put all your mental energies into the downstrokes. Make them smooth as butter, forceful but smooth. Maintain your cadence within +/- 1rpm. Before you know it, 2mins is over. Piece of cake.