Week 14

Week 14 started off with another functional threshold power (FTP) on the bike despite not feeling all that great (dealt with a lot of hacking and snotty nose over the weekend). I finished the 2 x 20 minute all-out effort intervals but didn't really see the results I was looking for. Oh well - it was a good workout anyway!

During the second half of the week I was in san Diego for a conference and stayed through Sunday to do some training in some of San Diego's notoriously awesome biking terrain (see my report of that day in a previous post).

It was definitely a good week of training with some quality workouts that have boosted my confidence for where my fitness currently stands and where it can go in the weeks and months ahead.

Here are the details of the week's workouts:

Monday: 2 x 20' FTP test with 2' recovery spin between each interval. Felt OK on the first 20' (306 watts) but virus reared its ugly head and made me suffer during the last 10'. Hit 294 watts for the entire test (down from 299 from week 8 test). I'm calling it a "good workout" and may re-test outside in the coming weeks. Core work and stretching/foam roller in the evening.

Tuesday: Strong 8 mile run on the treadmill with 4 x 1 mile intervals at 6:10-6:15 pace. Lots of stretching after this one.

Wednesday: Maiden voyage on new Cannondale Slice tri bike in the morning - 70' on the trainer with 3 x 10' at 295 watts and 15' at 248 watts. Hopped plane to San Diego later in the morning. Had some time before first meeting in San Diego so swam 2,800m in an outdoor rooftop pool with hard 50s and steady 200m pulls, then did 30' core work.

Thursday: Core work in the morning. Then a great 8 mile run in the beautiful San Diego sunshine along the waterfront. 3 x 1 mile intervals at 6:05-6:10 pace.

Friday: Core work and a swim on the rooftop again: 2,300m with 5 x 200m hard. Resting the legs for some tough cycling tomorrow.

Saturday: Epic training day with fellow EN athletes: morning ride in the mountains with some brutal climbs. Afternoon ride solo along the coast with a 30' steady-effort brick run through the streets of Encinitas. Absolutely spectacular day!

Sunday: Travel day - early morning flight back home. So good to be back to Andrea and Drew!

Data for week 14:

Time spent training: 12:40
Time spent at or above FTP on bike: 32' (includes only the Monday FTT & Wednesday trainer rides - doesn't include the 5 hrs of Saturday riding without a power meter)
Avg bike Intensity Factor (% of FTP) = .86
Mileage: 160.2
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1023
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 83
TSS/dTraining Stress Balance (TSB): -44.9 (body needs rest after Saturday!!)
Weight: 171.0 lbs
Bike Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 299 watts (sticking with old FTP until I test outside)
Vdot: 53.4

Performance Management Chart (PMC) through week 13: