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RayP said:
Yeah, I'm going to try a new route tomorrow.

Wow, all out for an hour? That's insane. I was just looking at that studios classes, and I'm going to probably take a class next week. Drop in classes are $20, so that's not too bad. If I like it, I'll probably buy a 10 pack of classes or whatever. Just gotta figure out which class to take now.

I read something on their site that makes it look like they have bikes they provide, but that you can also bring your own... I'm assuming most people bring their own to something like this?
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Well, the principal of the FTP test is to measure (or estimate) the maximum average power you can sustain for 1-hour. That would be going all-out for an hour at a steady pace. If you want to try to go beyond that you have to mix periods >FTP and <FTP, which is essentially what these workouts do.

I've never taken a class like this so I'm not sure how they do things. Just make sure that you have something to measure your speed or power. That's why I use Trainerroad to measure my (virtual) power so that my workouts are based on my tested FTP and I know what the target wattage is for each segment.
 
Bought this sub 14lbs beast mid summer, what a ride with little effort this thing cruises at 30kmh all day long. Spent a little more then I wanted but well worth it.
 
UnrealMachine said:
Well, the principal of the FTP test is to measure (or estimate) the maximum average power you can sustain for 1-hour. That would be going all-out for an hour at a steady pace. If you want to try to go beyond that you have to mix periods >FTP and <FTP, which is essentially what these workouts do.

I've never taken a class like this so I'm not sure how they do things. Just make sure that you have something to measure your speed or power. That's why I use Trainerroad to measure my (virtual) power so that my workouts are based on my tested FTP and I know what the target wattage is for each segment.
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Yeah, gonna give them a call and take a class this week. Looking at their Thursday class that is an hour long, and then followed by a group run.
 
The Imp said:
Did a 75 minute spin class yesterday, with the last 20 minutes split into 5 min blocks of full gas peaks.

Basically, single-beat pace for 4.30, alternating in and out of saddle, with heavy and increasing load, and then the last 30 seconds as an out of the saddle sprint, at really heavy load. That was a good one!

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move51609812
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Damn, that sounds like a difficult session!

My last couple of workouts were below average and I felt burned out. Despite still recovering from a ~12 mile XC ski effort on Saturday, I had a really strong sprinting session this morning.
 
Well UnrealMachine, I did my first day of adding some sprints in yesterday. It was pretty brutal, temp was in the 20s and the wind gusts were 30+ MPH at times, but I still did it.

Guess that explains why I have never truly done sprints on the bike. 20-25 seconds in and my quads are gassed and begging for mercy. BUT, I still did it. I didn't really have time to formulate structure to them, as I kind of when for a last minute ride... but about every 5 minutes, I'd bust my ass as hard as I possible could for about 20 seconds, stop for maybe 2-3 seconds, and then bust it again for another 20-25 seconds depending how big the hill was.

I've also signed up for my first class at that Energy Lab place, but that's not till a week from today. Going to get back out there tomorrow for about an hour, and if you have any tips or suggestions on a more structured sprinting routine, I'd love to see even a generic template.
 
RayP said:
Well UnrealMachine, I did my first day of adding some sprints in yesterday. It was pretty brutal, temp was in the 20s and the wind gusts were 30+ MPH at times, but I still did it.

Guess that explains why I have never truly done sprints on the bike. 20-25 seconds in and my quads are gassed and begging for mercy. BUT, I still did it. I didn't really have time to formulate structure to them, as I kind of when for a last minute ride... but about every 5 minutes, I'd bust my ass as hard as I possible could for about 20 seconds, stop for maybe 2-3 seconds, and then bust it again for another 20-25 seconds depending how big the hill was.

I've also signed up for my first class at that Energy Lab place, but that's not till a week from today. Going to get back out there tomorrow for about an hour, and if you have any tips or suggestions on a more structured sprinting routine, I'd love to see even a generic template.
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Try some Ugly 15's. 15 seconds sprint (or near sprint) followed by 15 seconds rest. Repeat for 20 rounds (10 min). Rest for 5 min. Repeat for another 20 rounds. Here's the workout: http://www.thesufferfest.com/training-video/half-easy-speed/
 
You're welcome. I was supposed to do that workout this morning, but my legs were still fried from sprints and kettlebell swings on Monday (I hadn't done them in a while). This is a TOUGH workout. What really hurts is that you barely feel the rest intervals. I had to skip an interval here & there last time I did it.
 
Exactly what I need. Not what I want to do, but I need to. Hoping to see some fairly drastic improvements come April.

Monday/Wednesday - sprint training on the bike
Tuesday/Thursday - cardio based strength training
Friday - rest, maybe some light yoga
Saturday - long ride day
Sunday - will keep this as a flexible date


Interested to see how this goes for a month or two, and what improvements I see while doing it.
 
Had a pretty good ride yesterday, and the weather was BEAUTIFUL - mid 60s and sunny. Average speed was 18.2, max speed was 33, which I was happy with. Distance was just shy of 61 miles. Probably could have been closer to 18.5 if I had really pushed it the last few miles, like I normally do, but the path was just sooooo busy and I got stuck behind a pack for almost 2 miles, during a nice downhill stretch that I usually average closer to 23-24mph during.

Taking today off, going to sprint train on my own tomorrow, and then taking a "Power-Up CampuTrainer" class.
 
Winter break here this week, which means my regular swimming haunts are closed (they're all school-pools). Incidentally, the weather's really nice now (sunny, next to no wind, 5 celcius), so BIKE SEASON! Been looking forward to this since early November.
 
Moving onto the 2nd phase of my 10-week build. In the first 5 weeks I did sprints on Mon/Fri and mid-level intervals on Wed. For the rest of this phase I am going to alternate between sprint and mid-level intervals on Mon/Wed/Fri and do a recovery/technique ride on Sat. Will finish on the 11th, take a vacation to AZ and return for an FTP test on the 18th. Hoping to go from an FTP of 257 to somewhere in the 275-280 range.
 
Awesome ride today, by my standards at least. Here are some numbers:

Distance - 25.00 miles
Avg Speed - 19.7mph
Max Speed - 29.3mph
Fastest Mile - 2:03
Average Mile - 3:03

Feeling really good about that ride, and if the weather is decent next week, really going to make a hard push for an even 20mph per mile. They key for me being able to get that pace was crushing the first 5 miles (which are pretty much a constant uphill for the most part). When I'm not busting my ass like I was today, I can get complacent and my average speed after those first 5 miles can sometimes be as slow as 16.5... Which after today I think I have come to realize sets an average to downright bad mindset when I'm out there, vs how pumped I was today after those first 5 and how much harder I wanted to bust my ass.
 
RayP said:
Awesome ride today, by my standards at least. Here are some numbers:

Distance - 25.00 miles
Avg Speed - 19.7mph
Max Speed - 29.3mph
Fastest Mile - 2:03
Average Mile - 3:03

Feeling really good about that ride, and if the weather is decent next week, really going to make a hard push for an even 20mph per mile. They key for me being able to get that pace was crushing the first 5 miles (which are pretty much a constant uphill for the most part). When I'm not busting my ass like I was today, I can get complacent and my average speed after those first 5 miles can sometimes be as slow as 16.5... Which after today I think I have come to realize sets an average to downright bad mindset when I'm out there, vs how pumped I was today after those first 5 and how much harder I wanted to bust my ass.
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That's awesome! Same route (the path)? Some hills in there you say? I don't think I've averaged that high yet, haha. Damn red lights. :sarcasm:

Man I can't wait for spring/summer to come up here. 2-3 months still. :(
 
Two flats on the first two days challenged my enthusiasm somewhat, but no flat this morning, at least :)

My 20 km ride through the city usually takes about 40 minutes. Plenty of stops and starts at intersections, but I leave home just before 6 am, so most often traffic is limited.

So, Ray - two minutes for 1,6 km? That's very decent - an average speed of just below 30 mph, or 48 kph, for the mile.
 
The Imp said:
Two flats on the first two days challenged my enthusiasm somewhat, but no flat this morning, at least :)

My 20 km ride through the city usually takes about 40 minutes. Plenty of stops and starts at intersections, but I leave home just before 6 am, so most often traffic is limited.

So, Ray - two minutes for 1,6 km? That's very decent - an average speed of just below 30 mph, or 48 kph, for the mile.
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Yeah, bummed my HRM wan'st working yesterday because I'd love to know what my average has been.

I've been adding a lot of squat movements, and rowing to my routine off the bike, and taking my training a bit more seriously... And I think it's starting to pay off.

Nunymare said:
That's awesome! Same route (the path)? Some hills in there you say? I don't think I've averaged that high yet, haha. Damn red lights. :sarcasm:

Man I can't wait for spring/summer to come up here. 2-3 months still. :(
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Yeah, that majority of the hills were on the way out, and then after I made the turn to head back was more downhill vs up.

Yesterday was so nice - 65 (18C) and sunny for my ride, very little wind.

Speaking of, going to be a rough ride today. Temp in the 30s, wind levels staying in the 20mph range and gusting into the 40s. Not even going to ride with any expectations, and just want to put a good 90-120 minutes on the bike today and manage whatever I can while I'm out there today. Then take tomorrow off, and shoot for 60+ miles come Saturday.
 
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Pretty decent ride today, the wind was absolutely killer with gusts reaching 40mph at times.

Distance - 40 miles
Average speed - 18 mph
Max speed - 28.9
Fastest mile - 2:05
Average HR - 155 bpm

first 20M - 1:12:00
second 20M - 1:01:00
 
RayP said:
Pretty decent ride today, the wind was absolutely killer with gusts reaching 40mph at times.

Distance - 40 miles
Average speed - 18 mph
Max speed - 28.9
Fastest mile - 2:05
Average HR - 155 bpm

first 20M - 1:12:00
second 20M - 1:01:00
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Sounds like fun. :) I actually don't mind wind like that... my usual ride is basically a circuit, so I get to ride against it half the time and with it half the time. The part where if turns into a crosswind is terrifying though. Especially riding in traffic.
 
Nunymare said:
Sounds like fun. :) I actually don't mind wind like that... my usual ride is basically a circuit, so I get to ride against it half the time and with it half the time. The part where if turns into a crosswind is terrifying though. Especially riding in traffic.
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Normally I don't mind the wind, and welcome it as a challenge knowing if anything I'll be a stronger rider cause of it.

But the day before it was 65 and sunny, and no extra layers were needed, and it was just gorgeous outside. So sick of this winter and ready for spring.
 
Another rough go on the trainer. These multi-minute intervals are killing me :laugh:

I did a workout that I last did almost 2 months ago and actually performed slightly worse overall. I'm hoping it is just leftover fatigue from Mon & Wed workouts, especially Wed where I did a lower-body T-25 video for the first time. Also, I might need to deviate from my protocol a bit this weekend since we still have snow and I'll probably go XC skiing on Monday. Anyway, very disappointed in today's result (I seriously had to stop a couple of times in the middle of the intervals) but I'll do better next time.
 
Pretty good ride today:

Distance - 70.75 miles
Avg speed - 18mph - could have been better, but I was up in the mountains for a good stretch and it was beautiful and I had to take some of the scenery in and stop a few times. I also saw 2 literal cows getting it on, which was just really weird.
Max speed - 38.7
Fastest mile - 1:33
Average HR - 156

Not sure on my splits, Garmin's website makes it a pain to figure that out... unless there is a way of sorting it that I don't know of to easily show it. All I know is that I improved my overall average speed by 0.6mph after I made the turn around at the halfway point.
 
Had a much better workout today. Did the Ugly 15s workout that I did 6 weeks ago, but this time I hit all of the intervals. I still need to work on better breathing techniques because I'm generally never short on breath. It's the battery acid legs that are ultimately slowing me down on both the short and long intervals.
 
This weather blows. I was really hoping to get a 20+ mile ride in this week at 20mph per mile or better.... but just couldn't do it. I did however manage to get 20 miles in at 19.3mph per, which isn't too bad by my standards, but it wasn't my goal. Maybe next week I'll be able to shed some layers and give it a better run.
 
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