3 Months of High Volume, Long Intervals, and Massive Calories have prepared me for the step into preparations for Race Specific Speed and Power. My base phase included ample time at High Force, Tempo and more than the usual volume of LT Threshold Training. I am in great shape, smooth at LT, dieted down to race weight, and ready to do the work to develop that punch and performance required for aggressive off road racing. Crush the hills, accelerate hard, recover, repeat.. race with great legs! You only get to have it all for a short period, and I am planning to have it all on April 18, Sea Otter Classic, 1-month away, just enough time to do some hard work and find that peak!
This weeks schedule is: Tue 7x3min @120% FTP, w/3min Rest Between Intervals (RBI). Wed, the same, 7x3min, 3min RBI. Thu, 20 x30sec @ 150% FTP, 5min RBI.
OK, Tuesday was a day I had been anticipating for a long time. 3min x 7 at 120% of FTP is really hard, and the RBI is not quite enough, so they get progressively harder and if paced correctly, will ultimately end in failure on the 7th (last) interval. Failure meaning that I reach a point where no matter how hard I try, I cannot complete the interval at the prescribed power. This Hurts, but it confirms that I certainly reached max. Max meaning breathing is out of control, severe oxygen debt, burning aching legs and "please God make these end" is echoing in my head. But, they do end! And happy days, I get to do them again Wednesday! Ugh, but the benefits are worth it, these babies boost performance. Back to Back days like this are called "Training Blocks", and is typically the way I train. The composition of the blocks change, as they are focused on targeting a specific system (in this case VO2Max), and back to back days deliver a healthy dose to stimulate improvement.
The 2-day Tue/Wed block went well, power was good, I failed on the 7th rep each day and can put a big bold check mark in the "done" box! Next week, we'll do it again, but for this week, the hard days are behind me. Onto Thursday..
Thursday I needed to avoid any type of sustained hard effort, that check has been cashed. But an EZ long ride is boring, so lets add 20x 30sec efforts at 150% of FTP. Plenty of RBI, the goal is to get the legs use to punching it and drilling it for 30sec and replicate a hard (seated) acceleration or short climb where high power demands are critical. My legs felt great, but eventually wore out and were pleasantly smoked by the end of the ride, definitely a great endurance training ride. 3hrs of low intensity volume with plenty of accumulated time at high output, resulting in a 3hr NP (Normalized Power) of 3.75watt/kg. That is significant because 3.75watts/kg is a very strong pace for 3hrs, but it wasn't necessarily a hard pace that drove the numbers, it was the 20x 30sec efforts. I was able to stay relatively fresh and used short hard efforts every 5min to increase the overall workload. It worked great, it was not sustained, or laboring, and during a 30sec effort the legs just start to burn when the time is up, so the workout never digs too deep. The workout was hard, pretty fun, and left enough in the tank to feel good for the weekends Saturday Group Ride & Sundays big MTB ride. I liked that Thursday workout.. and it earned some good TSS points too!
Picture From Mar 6 2010 Echo Red To Red:
This weeks schedule is: Tue 7x3min @120% FTP, w/3min Rest Between Intervals (RBI). Wed, the same, 7x3min, 3min RBI. Thu, 20 x30sec @ 150% FTP, 5min RBI.
OK, Tuesday was a day I had been anticipating for a long time. 3min x 7 at 120% of FTP is really hard, and the RBI is not quite enough, so they get progressively harder and if paced correctly, will ultimately end in failure on the 7th (last) interval. Failure meaning that I reach a point where no matter how hard I try, I cannot complete the interval at the prescribed power. This Hurts, but it confirms that I certainly reached max. Max meaning breathing is out of control, severe oxygen debt, burning aching legs and "please God make these end" is echoing in my head. But, they do end! And happy days, I get to do them again Wednesday! Ugh, but the benefits are worth it, these babies boost performance. Back to Back days like this are called "Training Blocks", and is typically the way I train. The composition of the blocks change, as they are focused on targeting a specific system (in this case VO2Max), and back to back days deliver a healthy dose to stimulate improvement.
The 2-day Tue/Wed block went well, power was good, I failed on the 7th rep each day and can put a big bold check mark in the "done" box! Next week, we'll do it again, but for this week, the hard days are behind me. Onto Thursday..
Thursday I needed to avoid any type of sustained hard effort, that check has been cashed. But an EZ long ride is boring, so lets add 20x 30sec efforts at 150% of FTP. Plenty of RBI, the goal is to get the legs use to punching it and drilling it for 30sec and replicate a hard (seated) acceleration or short climb where high power demands are critical. My legs felt great, but eventually wore out and were pleasantly smoked by the end of the ride, definitely a great endurance training ride. 3hrs of low intensity volume with plenty of accumulated time at high output, resulting in a 3hr NP (Normalized Power) of 3.75watt/kg. That is significant because 3.75watts/kg is a very strong pace for 3hrs, but it wasn't necessarily a hard pace that drove the numbers, it was the 20x 30sec efforts. I was able to stay relatively fresh and used short hard efforts every 5min to increase the overall workload. It worked great, it was not sustained, or laboring, and during a 30sec effort the legs just start to burn when the time is up, so the workout never digs too deep. The workout was hard, pretty fun, and left enough in the tank to feel good for the weekends Saturday Group Ride & Sundays big MTB ride. I liked that Thursday workout.. and it earned some good TSS points too!
Picture From Mar 6 2010 Echo Red To Red:
