1x30 min...this is going to be easy!

Last night the insomnia I often suffer from hit me. I was wide awake from 2am and have now been up 18 hours. I'm sure that's no biggie when you're 18, but for me......

Anyway, needless to say, I was a bit tired this evening. However, the turbo was beckoning me. Yes, I could have put it off till tomorrow, but my sense of masochism prevailed and after cycling home in sub zero temperatures, I was already committed.

Tonight I thought I'd try a 1x30 min session.....just out of curiosity ,you understand ,and also with the bonus, in the back of my mind, that the whole ordeal would be over that much quicker than if I went for the vanilla 2x20. To be honest, it felt mildly like a bit of a cop-out. However, at the end of it I was under no impression that I'd copped out of anything.

Since I was feeling tired and also due to the fact that I was going to go for 30 minutes instead of 20, I started off a lot slower than normal. The first 5 minutes I was never above 270watts, which I felt at the time was a bit worrying. However, i picked up the pace a bit but I was still riding a click down on my 20 pace. I felt pretty comfortable and felt I could maintain this pace for a long time. My pulse was pretty low and I felt in control. However as the session wore on, it became more of a struggle . My legs began to hurt quite a bit. I was holding a consistent pace, but I could feel the lactic acid accumulating. Breathing was fine and pulse was mid 160's. The last 5 minutes , my legs were really complaining from the consistent 30 minute pace they'd had to endure.

Anyway, I finished with an average wattage of 287watts and an average pulse of 165bpm.

I felt this 30 minute format was far better at replicating Functional Threshold Power than the 20 minute efforts. I think the 20 minute efforts can contain quite a bit of anaerobic input which skews the readings, whereas 30 minutes doesn't so that. I felt that 287watts is a pretty good indicator of my FT at the moment, despite the fact that I'm sure I could do 315watts for 20 minutes leading one to assume that my FT was 300watts.

Anyway, the bottom line is I reckon that the 1x30 is giving me a better workout for where I am in my training, despite 2x20 gives me more time in 'the zone'.

only time for 20 minutes (not that I'm complaining!)

Only time for a 1x20 this morning. Working late tonight and too many things to do.
Felt rather unwell yesterday and haven't been on my bike since Friday's session.
Felt a bit better this morning so thought I'd try and fit in a 1x20.
My idea was that since I've had some kind of virus and also that I seem to fade on the 2nd 20, I'd try and tone down the 1st 20. Keep it at say 285 watts. Not go mental.
Anyway, jumped on the damn torture machine and warmed up for 5 mins. Then off I went. Started of in the low 270w but I felt stronger than I thought I would, so I pushed on. Nearly all the time I was well over 300w and my pulse was low 170's, although my breathing felt hard, for some reason.
Thankfully my computer behaved ok this time and I came in the a 301w average and a 168bpm pulse average. Not too bad really, but once again ,my planned session of keeping it easy failed to materialise. One day I'll learn some discipline with this cycling lark.

I think one of the things I'm learning is that I feel stronger the more time I give myself to recover. I've had 3 days off the bike and I felt noticeably stronger today. I think we've all read on various Internet forums and coaches web sites that recovery is the key to improvement. I've heard that most amateurs do too much and never reach their potential since they are hammering it all the time. This is ever more true for guys like me who are....ahhhemm....more mature. We need even more time to recover. I think I'll try and stick to a maximum of two 2x20's a week . There we go...that concept of discipline again!

A tale of 2 halves and a dodgy computer.

I've had a longish rest since my last session on Tuesday. However, that didn't stop me feeling tired from a busy week . I've found that no matter how slow I go, commuting into work really takes it out of me. It's only about 10 miles into work, but it's all stop...start....stop....start. I'm not sure why it should be so tiring but for me it is. Added to this is the fact that these miles are 'junk' miles. There's no training going on since I'm normally aware that I'm either recovering from a turbo session or preparing for one so either way I'm taking it really easy.

It could of course just be that I'm too old and infirm for all this malarkey, which is a more likely conclusion.

Anyway, tonight I got out all my gear out and got ready for the dreaded 2x20 (yes, it's already the dreaded 2x20).
First session went quite well. I felt noticeably stronger than I have in a while and noticed that I was holding a slightly higher wattage than my last session. My pulse rose from the mid 160's up to the mid 170's over the session with an average of 168bpm. Average watts were 294 w which I was quite pleased about.

The second session was a different story. Much harder. I just couldn't get going at all. I don't know if I didn't rest enough between sessions or I rested too long. I was struggling to hold 270w and my legs felt really dead. Half way through I was averaging around 285-ish watts, but it was a real struggle and it was very hard to finish the session. When I looked at the average watts, my computer/power meter went a bit schizoid and told me that I'd averaged 1456 watts. I know it was a hard session, but it wasn't that hard! I hope my Kinetic computer isn't about to break down. I've heard stories of a few breaking very easily. If it happens again, I'll have to send it back, I think.

I'm going to have a rest for a couple of days. Apart from having the proverbial 'wooden legs' after tonights session, I'm visiting some friends in Wales for the weekend, so won't be able to do any cycling.

A Fun Tuesday night in.....changing tyres .

After Neil's comments on the problems of using Spesh Armadillo tyres, I thought maybe I should change the rear tyre back to the Rubino I had on before. I did a roll test and found that the circumference is quite a bit different to the Rubino, so I had to recalibrate the Kinetic computer. Tapped in 2120 and got things set up in the garage, much to the amusement of my wife who thinks I'm barking mad.

She has a point.

Anyway, off I went on my first 20 mins. I started off a bit slowish.It always takes me time to get going even after a good warm up. Towards the end I was aware I'd gone to slow early on and had to push it a bit.Pulse up to 180 for the last couple of minutes which isn't threshold territory. It's quite a bit over . Anyway, came in with 289watts and an average pulse of 173 bpm. Ok, but not that great.

Tok's today asked me what FTP I'd like to eventually get to. 300watts would be nice,I said, but that would mean a 20 min power of 300/0.95w = 316w which I'm a long long way off at the moment. I don't think it's impossible though (famous last words).

In between sessions I began to worry about Neil's comment about the Armedillo's. I imagined I was losing watts by using this rear tyre. Heck i was probably putting out 350 watts in that first session but the tyre makes the computer think it's only 289. So I quickly changed back tyre to the Rubino and re-calibrated to computer to 2110.Anyway, it didn't make much difference.
2nd 20 min session went to form.....i.e. a lot slower than the first. I tried to keep the pace consistent and didn't go mental in the last 5 minutes. 282watts and 169 bpm.

boy I've got fat!

Got on the scales today for the first time in, well...a long time.
I'm a hefty 85kg, which in old money is 13st or thereabouts.
I'm 5'10" so that spare tyre round my waist will have to go, I'm afraid.

I'm going to try and cut out the biscuits and cakes and eat more fruit.
I'd like to get down to 75kg or even 78kg by early summer. We'll see how I get on.

dissapointing session

I was going to go out and do a road ride today. A brisk 3 hour ride in Surrey. I haven’t done such a ride for several months, but the threatening rain put me off, so I stayed in and did a 2x20.

I noticed during the week how my rear tyre was wearing down after going on the turbo, so I fitted an old Specialized Armadillo tyre. These things are bombproof, but weigh a ton. I’m wondering if changing the tyre would have affected the computer readings on the turbo since my wattage was a bit down today than on previous days, despite feeling well rested.

Anyhow, first session was a struggle to hold a decent wattage. It somehow felt harder than the last few times. Not sure why. I came in with an average wattage of 287w and pulse average of 172bpm. Had quite a longish break before I did the next session. About 15 mins due to a phone call, and found it really hard to get going again. For some reason I really couldn’t get the watts up. I was convinced my tyre was rubbing on the brakes or something since the first 5 mins I struggled at around 260 watts. As the 2nd session went on, I was able to pick up the pace and came in with 274 watts, which was a bit disappointing. Maybe I’m expecting too much too soon?

2x20 and lots of sweat

After sneaking away from work early today, I had a 2x20 session planned in my head.
Set up the trainer and the paraphernalia that one needs to do a session: towels, fan, music, drinks, pulse meter etc etc.
I was still pretty warmed up from my 10 mile ride home, so i only spent a couple of minutes before I set off on session number 1: Wanted to keep it manageable, so I didn’t go out too hard. My pulse stayed quite low throughout, even though the power was ok. In the end I came in with an average wattage of 292w and an average pulse of 163bpm. Not too shabby, I thought.

A 5 minute break and I was off again. First 5 mins was ok, but it became increasingly harder to hold the same wattage. Really had to dig deep for the last 5 minutes. Came in with an average pulse of 171bpm and a wattage of 282watts.
I think this session showed up my lack of stamina. I’m ok for the first 20 mins but struggle a bit after that.

1x20 min

Didn't have time to do a full 2x20 (had a dinner date with people from work), so instead I did a 1x20 and thought I would use it as a 20 min test to see how many watts I could produce. So, I wasn’t going to ease off a notch like I did on my first session since I knew I didn’t have a second 20 min to do after the first.
This got me thinking that maybe it would be better to just do 1x20 mins and add 5 mins a month ,say. After all, it is only just December and I don’t intend to race until May probably. Far better to start slow and build up gradually rather than killing myself on 2x20’s twice a week and giving up in Feb!

I don’t know. I’m new to all this, so I’ll just play it by ear!

Anyway, got in from work, got changed kissed the wife and set up the KK in double quick time and warmed up quickly. I knew I had only 20 mins so I went out pretty hard. By halfway, my pulse was a tad over my threshold (or what I think is my threshold) heart rate, at 176bpm. It was rising alarmingly. For the last 5 mins it was hovering around 180bpm. I felt in control, breathing was ok. It wasn’t like I was on the ragged edge. However, the last 3 mins did drag a lot!
Anyway, when I looked at my average watts for the 20 min, I was pleased to see 305w!
I don’t think I’ll be replicating this again anytime soon. Ideally I’d like to keep it at between 280 and 290w and gradually increase the time to 30 mins, maybe 40 mins.

Introduction and first turbo session

Hi, This is my first entry in my new training blog that hopefully will see me entering a few 4th cat road races next spring/summer. I'm a 50 year old bloke who's been cycling about 10 years off and on, mainly just to keep fit and mostly on my own. I'm kind of keen to try my hand at a few races. I occasionally go out with The Addiscombe CC on their Saturday club runs, but often I can't make it due to family commitments and work. In general I do about 100 miles a week commuting into work from Morden into central London. I'll often try and get out at the weekends for a club run or a 3 hour jaunt into the surrey hills. For the record, I’ve got a max heart rate of 200 and I don’t know how much I weigh (probably too much....I’ve got a bit of a belly!). Recently I’ve been off the bike for about a month with a bad chest infection and it’s only in the last few days that I’ve begun to feel better. So I reckon I’m not in great shape physically at the moment. I recently bought a Kurt Kinetic (KK) trainer, since I heard these are the best and also because they have a power meter, which kind of interests me and will allow me to see any progress I might make. I’ve never used a trainer before and I was a bit loath to get one since I’ve heard so many stories about boredom etc. However, since I have a rather weak chest in the cold winter months, I thought it best to minimise the amount of time I spend gulping down icy air and just put up with the boredom. So, this afternoon, I set up my KK for it’s maiden flight. I’ve been reading a few books about training and also reading a fair bit on various forums, and it seems that the much talked about 2x20 is the way to go to build up ones aerobic engine. So, after spending most of the morning assembling the trainer and attaching the computer to my bike and doing a few test runs to make sure everything was working the way it should, I was ready for the off: towels, drinks ,fan and the radio turned up garage door closed ....I was ready. I warmed up for 10 minutes or so and got my heart rate up to about 70% of max. Then I stopped for a bit and then went for the full 20 minute session. I was cautious about overdoing it in the first 10 minutes, so I held back a bit and kept my heart rate around 80%. I don’t know why people speak about boredom with turbo trainers. It’s not boring, unless people find pain boring. It’s more like a kind of torture! The clock seems to move so slowly. Anyway, I got through my first 20 minutes ok: Average pulse was 164bpm and average power was 280 watts. I then had a few minutes off and got ready for the next 20 minutes: This 2nd set was harder than the first. I really had to dig deep to get to the end, but I was determined. Thankfully I got through it and my average pulse was 169bpm (85% ) and average wattage of 277w. I hope in the coming months that I can drop some weight and that my watts will go up a bit. I’d like to do 2 turbo sessions a week and see how things progress. Ideally I’d like to hit 300 watts if I can.

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