The training thread: How was yours? (today/yesterday/etc)

[Le Mong]

All sorts of excuses in my head lastnight not to get on the trainer... and they won
Motivation lacking yesterday and today.

The guilt is horrendous.

Weird because I'm probably in the best form I've been in for a long, long time.

Motivation in winter is not easy to maintain. Im struggling lately.

[kb]

Had my strongest ride ever on Saturday. Hoping I can keep the momentum for a few more weeks.

[Xplora]

Got a tick of approval for one hour sessions from the wife. Finally. Got some hill repeats done, 4x3x 150% FTP average over 90 seconds sounds alright? First hills for base 1/2. No niggles in the knees either. Phew.

[toolonglegs]

Got 250+ km's in on my 5 days at home ... a fair bit of that was with the kids which was fun!. Daughter took out youngest rider trophy on a rando ... Son just took me out ( literally ) mtb'ing .
Weight has stayed the same... fitness has gone through the floor .
Managed a ride in the heat 2 days ago that made me question my sanity! ... legs felt so bad, turned off from the col I was climbing and headed to one 400m lower and limped home. That night I felt so bad I was wondering if I was getting sick!. Then yesterday I headed out just for some fresh air and managed 60km's pretty damn hard... don't know where it came from but it felt good!. Power numbers were rubbish but that's beside the point. Ran into a certain Trek Factory rider that I haven't seen around here for a long time ... seems he is living 5 kms from me ( and taking every KOM at seemingly very little effort ... love it! ).
Off to Provence for the week ... hopefully get some riding in!.
Trying to find some goals for the rest of the year ... team mate said to me when I mentioned TT season would pass me by " your too big for CX, too heavy for the hills, TT''s are the only thing your "OK" at! " ... at least he is honest .
Thinking about heading to NZ for December so going to time it so I can get in a few club races over there... got to have some long term goals!.
On the plus side "work" is going well.

[simurs4]

I was starting to get a good momentum going on my TT bike which has been hard to maintain this winter, and only having my TT bike atm made it abit harder. Was in two minds about whether I should have gone out last friday, looks like I made the wrong choice as I got hit by a car after only travelling 7kms from home. Destroyed my right arm, bruised everything else and shattered my aero bar and extensions. I was about to bite the bullet on another roadie to use in between riding the TT bike but that looks to be on the back burner. No more training for me atm .
Atleast I can get new bars as the ones that came on the bike sucked.

[toolonglegs]

That does suck! ... TT bikes and traffic don't mix

[simurs4]

Definately not in this instance! Against my better judgement I went a different route to what I normally would.
Hopefully im not off the bike for too long.
If it where up to my mrs i'd never ride again though hah.

[foo on patrol]

^^ Crap, hope ya arm mends properly!

Foo

[Xplora]

Injuries are neither fun nor helpful

Weights this morning for me, snuck the two easy sets up from 20kg to 24, and kept the hard set at 28, achievable as long as I don't rush the recoveries for the challenging sets. Also a bit embarrassed that the pushups only seem to be effective if I do them off the top of the bells. Off the ground, no power? Oh well.
I did hills and a 3x10 SST a couple days ago and felt zonked most of yesterday. I seem to be feeling much more realistic "stress according to the power meter" with the SRM calibrated, I've dropped my FTP by 50 since restarting and GC reckons my FTP is 15 lower than that again - but I haven't really pushed myself hard enough to know on the current dataset. Numbers are down, but I managed to equal a mate's best time on the climb on my 5th hill repeat, he's a decent climber... so all this training must be doing something right!

[Cul]

Horrible couple of days training for me...

Saturday: Was hoping for a long, fast bunchy ~75-100km, snapped a spoke 5 mins into my ride, and didn't have time to get home to get my spare wheel before the bunch left. I climbed back into bed.

Sunday: Hoping to make up for Saturdays ride, head out get a slow leak 20mins into the ride; stop fix it (turned out to be a leaky valve). Work my way onto the back of the bunch only to hear pssssssssss. I was close to home so ended up riding home on the flat (I ride tubs) and climbing back into bed.

Sunday arvo the wife was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, and needed surgery late that night; so the last few days have been looking after the kids, wife and playing house husband while rushing around to / from the hospital. I have managed to get a few trainer sessions in once everyone goes to bed... In an in-vain attempt to maintain some form before our clubs Road Champs next weekend.

FWIW The wife is home now, on her feet and feeling alot better, albeit very sore!

[foo on patrol]

At least ya wife is good now!

Foo

[Xplora]

Training definitely has a nice long term vs short term tension which helps take the mind of some big issues. Glad to hear things are getting back to normal Cul.

Bludged for the weekend, killed myself today. Really feeling stronger right now, just big attack after big attack. Truckload of Strava trophies and 300 TSS for the kitbag. Had a quick blast around Merrylands velodrome, as well as hills and threshold intervals over and over and over. Hard to put a value on riding partners who can push you and don't complain about sitting in vo2max for a couple minutes up that hill. Again and again!

[Cul]

Glad to hear things are getting back to normal Cul.

Bludged for the weekend, killed myself today. Really feeling stronger right now, just big attack after big attack. Truckload of Strava trophies and 300 TSS for the kitbag. Had a quick blast around Merrylands velodrome, as well as hills and threshold intervals over and over and over. Hard to put a value on riding partners who can push you and don't complain about sitting in vo2max for a couple minutes up that hill. Again and again!

Story of my life, wife is on the mend; and on Friday night I start to feel !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!... Wake up Saturday feeling like I am dying!
Feeling much better today, albeit sleep deprived so hoping to go for an easy spin this afternoon.


Sounds like a good ride Xplora, good riding partners are a fantastic training tool, especially if their ability is a little greater than your own.

[g-boaf]

Training definitely has a nice long term vs short term tension which helps take the mind of some big issues. Glad to hear things are getting back to normal Cul.

Bludged for the weekend, killed myself today. Really feeling stronger right now, just big attack after big attack. Truckload of Strava trophies and 300 TSS for the kitbag. Had a quick blast around Merrylands velodrome, as well as hills and threshold intervals over and over and over. Hard to put a value on riding partners who can push you and don't complain about sitting in vo2max for a couple minutes up that hill. Again and again!

Nice going. I didn't know that Merrylands velodrome was unlocked - thought you needed a key to get in. It would be useful to just hammer around there for 100 laps or more.

I've just been doing a number of 45-50km rides at low intensity to try and keep some fitness going along with the workouts recommended by the physio. I'm near fully recovered from injury and I've got the go ahead to lift the intensity. I did a 115km ride the other day at 145TSS without issue (that's sort of moderate effort for me) - so I'll try to step it up more next time and put in a few sprints as instructed. I'm also doing some short 30km rides early in the morning each day now. I'm hoping it will be enough for getting back into training proper next week.

Cul: Good news that your wife is getting better - ambulance visits are never nice.

[Xplora]

I've been there in the middle of the day both times, unsure if it's always accessible. Had a sticky at the GoogleMaps, hard to say if it's surrounded by high fence or not?

[Xplora]

Damn SST intervals. Should I be sitting under my theoretical threshold heart rate for the intervals? Last of the 4x10 was up to 174bpm with 169 avg?!

Golden Cheetah has an auto calculate FTP which has me at 230w or so, I hit 227, 228, 225 and 230 avg watts for each interval working on a estimate of 250w, which is still SST for 260w. I am starting to wonder if my aerobic capacity is waaaaay underdone and I am relying on anaerobic effort most of the time to bridge the gap?
I am trying to improve aerobic endurance, I guess I am worried I won't nudge it up without 130-160km gran Fondo efforts at 200w normalised. I don't have time for that right now

[happysumo]

Depends what you need the extra aerobic capacity for?. When I was doing a solid block working toward SA's biggest classic (100mile handicap), I was doing almost nothing but 4 hour rides (temp was always hovering between a rainy 3c and 6c. Miserable.)

A few at 200w, 215w then 220w and topped it off with one at 236w weighted average before taking a couple of days rest before some leg openers the day before the race. Race day was exactly 4 hours, and cracked out a big pb at 252w & slotted myself into 9th.

Now that the winter road season is wrapping up, it's all about focusing on 1-2hr races again, so training rides barely go beyond 60km, with the exception of an easy 100km once a week (while I'm young and time is cheap!)


If you're time poor, just pick your races better . I guess that coming into Summer, crits are the only thing on the menu for a wile?

I'd probably stick to 1-2hr rides at the most, which works well for you if you're lacking on time. Make your moves count. Fitness only gets you into the ring, your head does the rest.

With track racing, there are a few 50-60 year old guys who can give me a serious run for my game in a sprint & they've got more than 30 years on me. Pick the right moves and 3/4 of the work is done right there.

[g-boaf]

Damn SST intervals. Should I be sitting under my theoretical threshold heart rate for the intervals? Last of the 4x10 was up to 174bpm with 169 avg?!

Golden Cheetah has an auto calculate FTP which has me at 230w or so, I hit 227, 228, 225 and 230 avg watts for each interval working on a estimate of 250w, which is still SST for 260w. I am starting to wonder if my aerobic capacity is waaaaay underdone and I am relying on anaerobic effort most of the time to bridge the gap?
I am trying to improve aerobic endurance, I guess I am worried I won't nudge it up without 130-160km gran Fondo efforts at 200w normalised. I don't have time for that right now

You should be more than 230 for sure, I think you can improve it quickly, you've already got some fitness. You could do trainer sessions of 3x10min or 4x8 at sub-FTP I suppose and keep the cadence high. I imagine that would have the right effects. The key being to complete the efforts without totally smashing yourself. 3x20min would also work well, putting some 60sec sprints in the middle of those blocks. Seems like you're in a similar position to where I was a while back. If you've got Joe Friel's Power Meter Handbook, it's got a lot of good advice in it.

I got back into training yesterday. Little tentative doing 5x5s at 270w/110rpm. It went okay - no odd feelings in the left leg, no twitching or tightness. It seemed easy enough, I wasn't breathing hard and I've got barely any soreness today. I'm going to do some more today. Seems like trainer rides are the only thing I'll be doing for a while with this rain.

[Cul]

Thanks guys, the wife is doing well!

Back on the bike yesterday after a week completely off. Fairly easy ride an hour of Z2, legs felt amazing but the HR was all over the place and the green stuff coming out of me probably wasn’t good either. I hope to get in 2hrs of Z2 again this afternoon, the weather is fantastic so it’s a good day to get out!

Tomorrow there is a quick bunch that does a few hills not far from home, so I will see how I feel for that, it’s a good loop with a mix of climbs from 2min to 10min.
Easy Z2 day Saturday, before our clubs Open Road Championships (92km) on Sunday. Not expecting much for the race on Sunday, I will be happy if I finish in the bunch*.

*A huge problem for me this year has been that I’ve been placing huge expectations on myself to do well at races (MTB in particular) but struggling to deliver to the level I expect as a result of inconsistent training, time constraints, compromised recovery and all the other things that come with a baby. I am trying to take a step back, and stop pressuring myself because it’s killing the fun!

[Xplora]

The process has to be enjoyable, not just the results! You are doing well to get out of the house, tbh.

Just cranked a PB session for the weights - I think my plan of shortening the gap is working, still making gains, and Joe's SM protocol of 12x 60% 1RM x2 and a finisher 8x 80% 1RM definitely puts you at the limit. Been thinking about the lifting protocols and my perversion of Joe's method seems to be a bit more sensible for me.

[g-boaf]

I did 2x18min today. I purposely did them easy at 240w just to be cautious. Nothing went wrong and it felt like I could have done another 2 of them. It didn't feel tough - so that's a good sign. Roll on next week - back into it properly. Might have a Z3 ride on Saturday and a Z2 Sunday.

On what Cul mentioned above, sometimes a break from the training is good too. I think the mental stuff can be hard if you really push hard in training and the efforts really burn you up, particularly if you aren't recovering that well. One of Joe Friel's books mentions that very thing.

[Cul]

On what Cul mentioned above, sometimes a break from the training is good too. I think the mental stuff can be hard if you really push hard in training and the efforts really burn you up, particularly if you aren't recovering that well. One of Joe Friel's books mentions that very thing.

It was probably more the last race that did it; second 6hr endurance race in a fortnight with 4hrs of it in un-ridable muddy single trail, really just killed fun in a hurry! Combine that with the other compounding issues and boom!

I find I get like this every few months, take a week off and in the next couple of rides I am hammering speed and power personal bests all over the shop, so the forced week off will likely turn out to give me the energy for the next round of training / racing / riding. Now I am thinking there is light at the end of the tunnel, days are getting longer, little one is getting better, weather is fining up, have a trip to Canberra and Coffs planned and it's almost crit season to boot!

[Le Mong]

On what Cul mentioned above, sometimes a break from the training is good too. I think the mental stuff can be hard if you really push hard in training and the efforts really burn you up, particularly if you aren't recovering that well. One of Joe Friel's books mentions that very thing.

So true, I havent even looked at a bike seriously since I did a few rides after being cleared for my shoulder. Ive lost muscle and put on weight because of rediculous working hours the last few weks but its beter than beating myself into the ground and hating it..

[Xplora]

-50 CTL equals feeling sick. Win.

[g-boaf]

On what Cul mentioned above, sometimes a break from the training is good too. I think the mental stuff can be hard if you really push hard in training and the efforts really burn you up, particularly if you aren't recovering that well. One of Joe Friel's books mentions that very thing.

So true, I havent even looked at a bike seriously since I did a few rides after being cleared for my shoulder. Ive lost muscle and put on weight because of rediculous working hours the last few weks but its beter than beating myself into the ground and hating it..

Yeah, you were pretty beaten up there. Someone I sometimes train with (does ironman events) is also badly injured and for him it's now a matter of just staying mobile, he can walk with great difficulty, can swim (which keeps him going) and can only do trainer rides at low power. I guess that gives you a different outlook. What I had is nothing in comparison.

I understand about training and long work hours, you just burn out trying to do it. It's too difficult to manage both. Physically and mentally exhausting. It's alright while your form is improving - but when you have a couple of tough training sessions that you don't complete, that's where the motivation starts to fall away I think.

This morning I just did a Z3 ride for about 45 minutes before heading off to work. That was nice. Had a commuter rider try to join in, but he only stayed there for about 30 seconds before falling back pretty quickly. I must have interrupted his lonely commute at 5:00am. We were the only two people out there.