Week 7

This week was a focus on properly recovering from the EN President's Day Weekend Bike Challenge to be ready for the Week 8 FTP test and to continue slowly ramping up the run mileage. This is how the week looked:

Monday: Third and final day of EN bike challenge. Wrapped it up with 2x20' FTP intervals. Total ride IF=.942, TSS=97 for the hour ride.

Tuesday: Rest day - did some core work and stretching in the afternoon but that was it!

Wednesday: 40' run/walk with 2 x 10' of easy running at lunch. Core work in the evening.

Thursday: Early morning trainer ride as 2x12' @ 297/295, then 15' @ .87 IF. Total ride IF of .92 over the 1 hr. Legs still fatigued from weekend rides.

Friday: 30' of pilates in morning before going to pool for a short (1000m) easy swim followed by 45' of deep water running with 4 x 6' fast intervals

Saturday: Strong & comfy 90' ride on the trainer as 2x14' @ 294/294, 7' @ 326, 2x15' @ .872/.853. Brick run/walk followed.

Sunday: Complete rest. Did a little light stretching but focus was on being ready for Monday morning's FTP test.

And the data for week 7:

• Time spent training: 5:53
• Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 1:34
• Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .931
• Mileage: 83
• Training Stress Score (TSS): 443
• Chronic Training Load (CTL): 61.4 TSS/d
• Training Stress Balance (TSB): -26.4
• Weight: 173 lbs
• Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 271 watts
• Vdot: Won't test until March

Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 7:

Product Review: Fluid Recovery Drink

A couple weeks ago I received several samples of a recovery drink mix from Fluid. I have to say that after doing a little research about the product on their website before even trying it I was pretty impressed and eager to see how the drink would work for me. Here's what intrigued me:

• Gluten-free complex carbs and all-natural sugar (maltodextrin, fructose)
• Lactose-free whey protein isolate
• 2,500 mg L-glutamine
• Only 128 calories per serving

I spent most of 2008 and 2009 using Endurox R4. I felt this product worked fine but I didn't like the following: 270 calories per serving, dextrose as main sugar, not gluten-free, only 420 mg L-glutamine (I ended up adding a scoop of L-glutamine to the drink) and contains a lot of chemicals I can't pronounce.

Later in 2009 I tried Hammer's Recoverite a few times. As with Endurox, Recoverite is a popular product among triathletes and Hammer also seems to be leading the way in research on endurance sports nutrition. Again, I felt Recoverite worked fine but I wasn't really keen to the taste (citrus), consistency (a little chalky) and the cost.

So, a few days after receiving the Fluid samples I had the perfect opportunity to put it to the test: the Endurance Nation President's Day Weekend bike challenge (3 consecutive days of long, hard trainer rides very early in the morning – see my previous blog post). For the rides I had planned, recovery was crucial to staying healthy, injury-free and strong for each session.

After the first day (2 hours of solid riding with ~40’ at or above FTP), I tried the Berry Treasure flavor within 30' of finishing the ride. I was cooked from the ride and definitely felt depleted after getting off the bike. I quickly emptied the packet into about 10 oz of water (no additional L-glutamine was added). I was really impressed how quickly the mix dissolved after only a few seconds of stirring (and no clumping, too). The taste was pleasant, although I later found that I liked the flavor better with only 8 oz of water.

The real test of the product was the next morning when I did another 2 hour ride, even more intense than the day before. I was amazed how strong my legs felt - little to no fatigue or soreness. I had a great ride and consumed another packet of Fluid within 30' after the ride. This time it was the Tropical Escape flavor. I used a little less water than the day before (8 oz). I didn't like this flavor as much as the Berry Treasure, but it was easily tolerable. Honestly, I can stomach anything right after a workout, though.

I arrived to the trainer the next morning - this time for a 1 hour session with 2 x 20' intervals at FTP. I was a little worried about having nothing in my legs, especially late in these long intervals. But I surprised myself by lifting my power higher as the intervals went on - little to no fatigue or soreness.

In conclusion, I was very impressed with Fluid. I love the all-natural, pure ingredients of the product and the fact that it just plain works! I can't say for sure that the lack of leg fatigue and soreness was solely because of Fluid or other recovery techniques I used (ice baths, compression tights, good sleep) or the combination, but it certainly didn't do me any harm. I'll continue to use Fluid and am especially looking forward to putting it to the test once the long, tough Ironman training sessions start in a couple months. My only complaint is the lack of flavors – I’d like to see a couple more added in the future just to have some variety.

The Endurance Nation President's Day Weekend Bike Challenge

Every February Endurance Nation conducts a 3-day bike challenge that encourages athletes to ride as much and as hard as possible to accrue points to compete against your fellow EN teammates. Basically, the harder and longer you ride the more points you accumulate. In addition, bonus points are awarded for riding each of the 3 days.

Since I’m still taking it easy with my entry back to running I decided to continue the bike focus I’ve been doing this OutSeason and participate in the challenge. I had 3 main goals for the challenge:

• To give the bike fitness a little extra “kick” in anticipation of next week’s testing
• To practice some recovery techniques
• To “train” the mind by doing the back-to-back-to-back long rides on the trainer
  

Day 1 – Saturday 02/13
My plan for the first day was to make it the most challenging. I wanted to put in the highest volume this day so I wouldn’t have an excuse later in the weekend to hold back on a longer ride. So the plan was to do my scheduled Saturday ride from my training plan but with some extra volume thrown in. I ended up riding 2 hours as:

10’ warm up spin
2 x 15’ @ FTP (4’ recovery spin between)
6’ @ 110% of FTP
5’ recovery spin
3 x 15’ @ 85% of FTP (2’ recovery spin between)
10’ cool down spin

PowerTap Data for the Entire workout (205 watts):
Duration: 2:01:43 (2:02:44)
Work: 1497 kJ
TSS: 159.6 (intensity factor 0.887)
Norm Power: 240
VI: 1.17
Pw:HR: 9.2%
Pa:HR: 0.03%
Distance: 37.551 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 395 205 watts
Heart Rate: 62 174 137 bpm
Cadence: 50 182 86 rpm
Speed: 2.2 24.4 18.5 mph

Day 2 – Sunday 02/14
I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to get in as much time on the trainer on Day 2, but I was hoping for at least 1:30. I ended up doing 1:50 of some pretty intense riding with very little “easy spin” time.

10’ warm up spin
2 x 10’ @ FTP (2’ recovery spin between)
2 x 30’ @ 85% of FTP (2’ recovery spin between)
10 x (30” @ 120% of FTP/30” @ 60% of FTP)
8’ cool down spin

PowerTap Data for the Entire workout (218 watts):
Duration: 1:51:21
Work: 1456 kJ
TSS: 144.9 (intensity factor 0.884)
Norm Power: 239
VI: 1.1
Pw:HR: 9.8%
Pa:HR: 0.61%
Distance: 35.984 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 431 218 watts
Heart Rate: 73 164 139 bpm
Cadence: 49 170 87 rpm
Speed: 2.2 24.4 19.4 mph

Day 3 – Monday 02/15
My original plan for Day 3 was to do my scheduled Tuesday workout from my training plan which consisted of 2 x 20’ intervals @ FTP and then take Tuesday completely off of training. These 20’ intervals are physically and mentally very challenging to get through when your legs are fresh, let alone after 2 days of thrashing in them. But the way my brain is wired is that if I set a goal to do something I will go through anything to get it done the way I planned. So after waking up Monday morning and the legs feeling pretty decent I knocked out an 1:05 as:

10’ warm up spin
2 x 20’ @ FTP (4’ recovery spin between)
5’ @ 85% of FTP
5’ cool down spin

PowerTap Data for the Entire workout (227 watts):
Duration: 1:05:48
Work: 894 kJ
TSS: 97.4 (intensity factor 0.942)
Norm Power: 255
VI: 1.13
Pw:HR: 6.29%
Pa:HR: 6.42%
Distance: 21.265 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 361 227 watts
Heart Rate: 66 169 142 bpm
Cadence: 57 212 88 rpm
Speed: 2.8 23.4 19.4 mph

Overall, I was very pleased with my results and effort during this 3-day challenge so early in my training year. I was especially pleased with my recovery techniques. Here’s some of what I did:

• Fluid recovery drink within 30’ post-ride – I had never used Fluid before but the company had sent me some samples of their recovery mix a few weeks back so I decided to put them to the test. Plus, after reading and researching the product I was really impressed by the content of the product (low calories, lactose-free whey protein, 2500mg l-Glutamine, 3.5:1 complex carb-to-protein ratio, no gluten). I’m planning on writing a review of the product in a later post but I will say that I was very pleased with the product and will be using it this year.
• 20’ of focused stretching within 45’ post-ride – This is something I’m making a concerted effort to do this year. I HATE being injured so I have to carve out the time to do this.
• Ice bath for the legs within 60’ post-ride – It hurts so good!
• A quality meal within 90’ post-ride – Consists of a lean protein, fresh and dried fruits, a starchy veggie and some healthy fat
• Compression tights the rest of the day and while sleeping at night – This one is new for me. I had never used compression tights before but I can say now that I’m a firm believer. Andrea got some good laughs! But damn if my legs didn’t feel less sore and less fatigued the next day compared to normal recovery without them.
• 30’ nap in the afternoon – I’ve found that even closing my eyes for 10’ makes a huge difference in how my body feels the rest of the day
• Roll the legs with The Stick and a foam roller for 20’ – Just like stretching, this is something I’m making an effort to do more this year.
• At least 8 hours of sleep at night, preferably 9-10 if it’s a really hard day – Again, you can’t underestimate what some good sleep does to repair the body!

In combination, these recovery techniques kept me feeling pretty fresh for each morning’s workout. I’ll definitely be employing these when the Ironman training volume starts up this summer.

So at the conclusion of the weekend I was very happy that I accomplished my 3 goals: I saw a nice bump in my chronic training load (with some good rest and recovery in the following days this should lead to an increase in bike fitness and hopefully a good FTP test next week); I found some successful recovery techniques that I will be incorporating into future hard days; I pushed my mind through some tough moments at 5:30 in the morning by staying in the “now” which I will reflect on later in the year when training/racing gets tough. Here are some more stats for the 3 days:

Ride Time: 5 hours (all on a trainer)
Miles Ridden: 95
Time Spent at or Above FTP: 1:40
Avg IF for the 3 rides: 0.898 (almost 90% of FTP for 5 hours!)
Total TSS: 402

Week 6 - Hello Running Gear!!

FINALLY! After 8 weeks of a complete layoff from running to heal a pelvic stress fracture I was able to lace up the running shoes, throw on the cold weather gear, leash up the dog and head out to see how things have healed. I'm happy to say after putting in 3 run workouts this week that things seem to have repaired themselves - no groin pain, no pelvic pain during impact, no weakness during toe-off! These first 3 run workouts were very light with alternating run/walk intervals. Through the awesome advice of a couple PTs on the Endurance Nation forums I have a solid plan for ramping up the mileage and intensity while being very diligent about stretching and strengthening key areas. During these runs I've also felt the results of my very deliberate and consistent core work over the last 8 weeks. I have to keep this going.

This week I also participated in the Endurance Nation President's Day Weekend Bike Challenge. The challenge involved 3 days (Saturday-Monday) of hard work on the bike. The harder work you do (volume and intensity) the more points you accumulate. I'll write in more detail about it in a subsequent post but I can tell you that I worked very hard during these trainer sessions with very little "junk" time (anything below 70% of my FTP). I'm hoping to see a nice 'pop' to my bike fitness because of this mini-bike focus in the coming weeks.

So, here's the data for Week 6:

Time spent training: 9:29
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 2:02
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP)=.91 (week 1=.861, week 2=.837, week 3=.881, week 4=.92, week 5=.926)
Mileage: 134
Training Stress Score (TSS): 694
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 61 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -23.3
Weight: 173 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 271 watts
Vdot: Won't test until March

Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 6:

Week 5 Numbers

Five weeks of the Endurance Nation Out-Season program done and I'm continung to see some good stuff happen to the fitness (bike only since I can't do the run workouts yet). I'm consistently exceeding my week 1 FTP test (271 watts) in every FTP interval during my bike sessions. Last week, I was averaging in the mid-290s for all of my 2x12' and 2x15' FTP intervals. So, with 2 weeks to go until the next FTP test, I've decided to make the push to hit 300 watts at the week 8 FTP test. It's going to be very tough but no one ever said triathlon was easy, especially to get to where I want this year.

I also did my first run in 8 weeks! The injury seems to have healed so I put it to the test by doing a 30' run/walk workout (10' fast walk / 5' easy run / 5' fast walk / 5' easy run / 5' fast walk). Mentally it felt awesome. Physically, well, the good news: no deep groin pain like I was experiencing (had a little hip flexor soreness/tightness); the bad news: I'm so out of run shape! I've got a long ways to go to get back to the paces I was running and to meet my run goals for the year, but I know I'll get there. I just have to be patient.

Here's the data for this week:


Time spent training: 6:57
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 1:43
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP): 92.6%
Mileage: 93.5
Training Stress Score (TSS): 499
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 54.1 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -19.2
Weight: 174.5 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 271 watts (guessing it's about 295 watts now)
Vdot: Won't test until March


PMC through week 5:

Week 4 Progress & Stats (01/31/2010)

This week turned out to be a breakthrough week for me on the bike and with the injury rehab.

First, all of the FTP intervals on the trainer are really paying off. I'm consistently hitting 290 watts+ (tested at 271 in week 1). That would be almost a 7% jump in FTP in 4 weeks. Of course, I wouldn't know my true FTP unless I tested, and if the training plan doesn't call for it then I'm not going to do it - they are tough! Week 8 is where I have a FTP test scheduled, so I'll just wait until then to know my true number. I can identify several reasons why I'm seeing such a quick FTP improvement but I really think it just comes down to focusing on the workout at hand and getting it done. I'm hungry to see those numbers go up and to hit my FTP goal (315 watts) by the end of the Endurance Nation Out-Season plan so I just keep pushing.

On the injury recovery front...I started doing some elliptical machine work to get my body one step closer to remembering how to run. Two elliptical sessions along with a deep water running session and a fast-pace 3 mile walk had me pain-free the entire week! I'm pretty confident I'll be testing out the run legs next week.

So, here are the numbers:
Time spent training: 6:50
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 1:43
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP): 92% (week 1=86.1%, week 2=83.7%, week 3=88.1%)
Mileage: 98
Training Stress Score (TSS): 496
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 50.8 TSS/d
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -18
Weight: 175.0 lbs
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 271 watts (guessing it's about 290 watts now)
Vdot: Won't test until March

PMC through week 4: