Weekly Training Notes #22
I had my biggest week for a very long time this week, and I'm feeling great (but tired!).
The polarized training is in full swing, and seems to be working wonders for me. After an easy start on Monday, I did a nice Free Ride with just a couple of 8-minute intervals, during which I took advantage of my new power meter to pace them.
I knew I hadn't quite emptied the tank on the first interval, so on the second I increased the power and managed to hold on for the full duration, getting an extra 13W overall. Very painful, but effective.
I've set up the lap page on my bike computer to show 20s power plus cumulative lap power, so at any point during an interval I can see how I'm doing now relative to the entire interval.
I will of course extend the number of reps in future workouts.
I did a leg speed workout after that, then on Wednesday and Thursday did back-to-back endurance rides and a recovery ride on Friday. All these were at an easy pace throughout, so I could be ready for the weekend.
Saturday saw my return to the Unlimited ride in Savannah. I made it halfway round before throwing in the towel, after which I had to wait for a full ten minutes for the Moderate group (who started two minutes behind about 40 minutes earlier) to catch me! I finished the ride with them, even earning an extremely elusive 'massive' rating from Strava for my efforts.
It was the usual slugfest, literally taking my breath away; exactly what I want from a Saturday ride. Although it was disappointing that I couldn't make it all the way around with the fast group, it was very encouraging that I was fresh enough to give the best possible account of myself. And now I've set the benchmark, I'll aim to get further next time.
Looking North-West from the top of the bridge. Savannah, GA.
On Sunday I completed the week with an extra-large endurance ride. Leaving just before 5am allowed me to do 203 km by lunchtime. I was with the Bluffton group for a couple of hours in the middle, but otherwise riding solo. I stayed strong to the end, although as I write this on Sunday evening my legs are understandably feeling very tired.
My left/right balance has been consistently around the 57/43 mark since I got the power meter, although interestingly on one of the endurance rides this week I switched over to my reserve bike and got 51/49. I also get more even numbers on the Emonda when I'm pedaling out of the saddle, so it must be something to do with my saddle position. I'll investigate.
I've been testing out a training service called Xert, which actually seems to be very interesting and quite possibly worth the price. It uses various sophisticated algorithms to analyze riders' capabilities and performance, giving feedback on various fitness metrics, fatigue, etc. It also offers adaptive training advice, and also reacts to ad-hoc riding. I've looked at many other offerings, without taking to any of them, but this one seems like it might be a winner.
I'm sure I'll have more to say about it in the coming weeks.
I'm now two weeks out from the next race. Next week I'll reduce the volume somewhat, but ramp up the intensity even higher, before tapering during race week. I'll be interested to see if my new training regime improves my performance.
Designation: In-Season: Build 2 Time: 22.8 hours | Distance: 654 km Low:Medium:High Intensity: 75:17:8 [now using power zones rather than heart rate zones] Best Weekly Power Numbers: 5 sec 927W | 1 min 515W | 5 min 296W | 20 min 272 W Weight Training: 1 x Lower Body, 1 x Upper Body | Walking: 4 km
As ever, if you want more detail follow me on Strava, and see my full training plan soon, once I've finished rebuilding it.