aaronmcd

Sleeping intervals the past few days. I don't typically nap, but the day after the crash I got sick. I guess weakened immune system or bike withdrawal symptoms. 3 days off the bike already feels like forever. Will still have to wait for parts a few more days.

revchuck 

A few days off won't hurt. You might well have a bunch of residual fatigue. Sleep as much as you want and eat good food. You'll start back refreshed.

tetonrider

it's always worth celebrating personal bests--they're rare!

Ygduf

It's going around. Summer cold.

And your timing is fortuitous. Heal and get well at the same time.

caloso

Hill repeats.

Ygduf

sick monday-wednesday, easy thursday and rode semi-regularly fri/sat/sun. 11.5 hours in all.

furiousferret

First ride after my vacation.

I planned a ton of cycling while on vacation in Oregon, but really didn't estimate the impact driving a few hundred miles a day would take on my time. Regardless, it gave my body some time to heal up. For old guys like me a few days off to repair micro tears and other issues has some value.

waterrockets 

Tempo rotating pulls with Tyrell and a teammate at lunch today. Hard hills, fun wind. Tyrell is a bit of a mountain goat.

I also snagged a dump truck for quick jaunt. Some crazy gusty crosswinds pulling out of the draft at 52mph, and it seemed to take forever to coast back below 30mph. I think I need to lose more weight.

Gramercy

If our heart rates are higher in races than in training, why not train at higher levels? Why do we do 20 minute or shorter intervals at threshold when an entire race can be at that level or higher?

Ygduf

If your entire race is over threshold, you need a new threshold.

That said, training is to affect systemic change. You can go out and do full-on 100% efforts (I do, as I don't like 2x20s or structured stuff) but the caveat is that you have to be more careful of overloading and over taxing your system.

You can get good results from consistent paced intervals, AND you'll know how they will affect your training load. I prefer a much more scattershot system of doing group rides (fun for me) with some rough targets, but they are that: rough. I don't always hit the times in the zones I want, and as a result I sacrifice a little gain and efficiency for a training method that I enjoy.

Everyone's mileage will vary.

shovelhd

That seems to be working for you so far.

I train well above my averages in races, and often race at an average around threshold or higher. There is a big difference between riding a TT at threshold for an hour and racing a criterium like most guys do (not OTF solo all day) for an hour. The average number is the same but the effort required is night and day.

Gramercy

I don't really know what threshold means or how it relates to racing times so I shouldn't use that term. I was referring to the videos I watch on this site where I see people's heart rates in the 170's and then spike to the 180's. I don't think people train to keep their heart rates that high while training.

I know I have a hard time keeping it that high, but maybe that's my own issue. In my race last week my average heart rate over 45 minutes was 176 and hit a max of 186. Hopefully this will drop as I get in better shape, but I figured if I'm doing some zone 4 work, that means I'm keeping HR in the 165bpm range, which is a huge difference than 175bpm. In terms of power, it's probably the difference between 190w and 300w

waterrockets 

2x20s at 90% today. 5' recoveries at 70%. Threshold is supposedly up a lot from when I did these in my last block, so targets were up too. RPE felt normal though, which helps with confidence in the gains. Teammate and I had just enough air to crack short jokes during the intervals, but not quite enough air to laugh.

MDcatV

Gramercy - why do you care what other peoples heart rates are? their heart rate has nothing to do with your heart rate.

shovelhd

Exactly. I think Gramercy needs to better understand training. Start with Friel.

wsuhoops1000

You missed the 33

Gramercy

It's easier to focus on heart rate as it's relatively constant in the videos posted here, whereas power swings wildly from 100 to 600 watts in a matter of seconds. If people were doing constant efforts it would make more sense to gauge other people's power outputs. Plus, power is relative to other's weight. I was just commenting that in videos here, heart rates seem to be on par with mine. And people on here are probably not training with their heart rates at such elevated levels. So I was hoping to get more insight as the effectiveness of people's intervals if they are not in line with actual racing tempos.

TMonk

It is easier to focus on HR for training and racing efforts, as it is more constant, as you mentioned. However, there is much insight to be gained in the wild power fluctuations that you observe in race vids - it's not just noise that averages around your power/HR for a given duration.

To make sense, The data is best observed graphically, as gleaning meaningful info from real-time power readings is difficult. Additionally, you need to have a good understanding of general training physiology, and more specifically, lactate threshold, before any of it can be put into context.

Heart rate lags behind the effort (as you acknowledged wrt power fluctuation); therefore it is inappropriate to use for sufficiently short intervals, which is what I assume you mean by "elevated levels." I trained with HR exclusively for years, and would use it to pace efforts >or= 20min in duration.

Gramercy

I looked at some of Team Sky's data - some of the numbers are fascinating. Most of the guys on the team seemed to do a 3 hour race and their average heart rates were between 120 and 130bpm, but still maxed out around 175 to 180. And their average power seemed relatively low, but I guess it's because a lot of them weigh like 135lbs.

I assume there are books on pro's and their training, but I wonder if they actually don't do much training because they ride in such long races that they rack up the miles that way. Sort of similar how basketball players don't have many structured practices as they play so much throughout the year.

globecanvas

Plan today was alternating 10' Z4 and 3' Z5. I started the intervals 90 minutes into the ride. Got through 5 of them and then experienced the most epic bonk of my life. Could barely turn the pedals. The hour long ride home was almost an out of body experience. It wasn't really unpleasant, luckily mostly downhill, felt kind of like tripping.

The cause was probably that I cheated on the training plan with a fast group ride last Saturday. All together, 75 minutes of Z5+ in the past 4 days.

globecanvas

The average efforts are low because they spend most of their time in the peloton, not because they are tiny. This is a case where average HR/power is highly misleading with respect to the actual difficulty of the race.

waterrockets 

Keep in mind that the goal of training is not necessarily to simulate race conditions. The goal of training is to induce stresses that will recover into adaptations that help you respond to or control race situations. Some of that may be mimicking parts of a race, but most of it isn't.

Honestly, read Friel and Allen/Coggan. They're a easy reads, and while a bit dated now, they will be a good foundation for your training knowledge.

misterwaterfall

From Chad Haga's blog

and from another race

My Mind Is Racing

aaronmcd

3' at 550 watts ...

mollusk

Finally got out for a ride today after weeks of not riding. Kind of depressed with family stuff that is very bad. The very bad is not with my wife and kids, but with a sibling. For a change my wife was telling me that I need to go out for a ride instead of her complaining that I ride too much. She was right. It was awesome. I had two hours of not being depressed.