Good Friday Road Race - 2013

Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential - Winston Churchill

I was confident of my fitness coming into the Good Friday Road Race, even though my Winter training had focused on running as opposed to cycling. I had been maintaining my bike fitness throughout the Winter, I'd put in a big block of bike training heading into the race and I'd scheduled the week ahead of the race as a recovery week to be "fresh" for the start of the first race of the season. My fitness was good!

On the other side of the coin, my mental preparation for the race was lacking. Having crashed out of this race the previous year, I approached this race with trepidation. Driving to the race site felt more like driving to a job interview. And when my 3 team mates advanced towards the front of the start line, I lingered near the back for awhile, not keen on jumping into the fray too early.

Mark (left) and Phill (right) lined up for the start.

Camilo up near the front.

Me lingering near the back.

Start and Finish for the race was in Ancaster Fair Grounds. The race started and we turned the first corner onto gravel. Oh boy! I managed to more or less hold my position through the gravel section. Then we made the turn onto Trinity Road South and all hell broke loose!

I hung on for dear life as the peleton accelerated violently over the first flat section. We hit the rollers just past Book Road and riders passed me left and right. I dug deep, burying myself to try and hang on but it was a losing battle. "This wasn't supposed to happen, what was going on?" I'd worked hard over the Winter to get my weight down. "I should be dropping these guys on the rollers," I thought, "not the other way around". Not for the first time in my short cycling career, I wondered whether, at 57 years old, I'd gotten in over my head. Glancing ahead of the pack, I could see the source of the peleton's urgency. Two riders had shot off the front. The rest of the peleton was chasing them down. I cursed and hung on, barely, at the back of the peleton.


By the time we angled onto Sawmill Road, the paced eased considerably. A small break of 3 riders established itself a gap of about half a minute and the peleton seemed content to let them stay there. I moved to the right to hide from the wind and attempted to move up as best I could. But with over 70 riders vying for position along the narrow country lane, moving up was hopeless. Coach's advice echoed in my head: "Be patient and wait for the space. Don't be fighting always!" So I held my position on the leeward side of the pack and inched my way forward whenever I could. It took 2 more laps of the 15.9 km course for me to work my way forward to where Phill and Mark were at the head of the peleton.

"Camilo's in the break," Phill told me as I finally made contact for the first time in the race. "Nice," I thought, "we won't have to do any work." With a rider in the break, we wouldn't be expected to do any work in closing the gap to the break-away riders. In fact, the peleton were just starting to get a chase organized as I arrived at the front with a rotation taking effect among the front 7-10 riders or so. Being at the front with Phill and Mark, we took our place in the rotation but instead of pulling through when our turn came, we would slip in behind the first or second wheel, relinquishing our turn at the front. This served two purposes: it saved us from doing any real work and it also disrupted the organization somewhat because the guys behind us now had to accelerate past us to take their turn at the front. Needless to say, our actions were not too popular among those doing their share of the work. 

"Pull through!" one rider yelled at me. 

"I have a team mate in the break, " I informed him. 

"You don't have a team mate in the break! He shot back disdainfully. We argued back and forth for a bit until, uncertain, I asked Mark, as I passed him, whether Camilo was in the break. Mark nodded his head affirmatively. I continued my disruptive behaviour.

Riding at the front of the peleton was easier for me than fighting for position further back. Yes, I was exposed more to the wind but there was a lot more space at the front. Moreover, the pace was a more steady compared with the accordion effect experienced further back in the peleton and I felt much more at ease. Riding at the front did require a more aggressive riding style but the increased workload was worth it to escape the stop and go surges experienced further back in the pack.

We caught Camilo at the start of lap 4. I gave him a pat on the back as I rode by, hoping the donkey with the mouth behind me took note of my team mate from the break. Camilo looked exhausted. With a break of 2 riders down the road and our team mate no longer part of the break, we were now obligated to do our share of the work up front. Mark rode up beside me. "I guess it's our turn to work now, " he quipped. I smiled back, happy to play the domestique role, and together we established a rotation of two, lifting the pace of the peleton. Seeing our commitment to the chase, riders from other teams began to participate more actively and the break was absorbed before we reached the bend onto Sawmill Road.

Along Sawmill and again along Carluke, there were several attacks and counter attacks as a few riders, including Phill, tried to get away. But these attacks were quickly marked. The peleton wasn't taking any chances this close to the finish. Once we turned into the headwind on Shaver Road, the attacks ceased and nothing much happened for the remained of the lap.

Predictably, the pace picked up again at the start of lap 5, the last lap. I hung on, fairly close to the front at this point, protecting my spot along the yellow line on the side away from the wind. Such was my mentality, I became so insistent my place away from the wind that rider after rider passed me on the right and by the time we angled onto Sawmill Road for the last time, I found myself at the very back of the peleton. "How did that happen?" I wondered. "No matter," I thought, "I'll conserve and work my way back up on the windy side when we turn North". We turned North but I didn't actually start to work my way forward until we reached Butter Road, halfway along Shaver. By this time, the pace of the peleton was already beginning to pickup, in anticipation of the sprint to the finish, but I was able to makeup a lot of places by sticking to the yellow line which was now on the windy side of the peleton.

We made the final turn onto Book Road and I was close enough now to the front to see Phill make a break for it. But moving up any further was no longer an option. Riders jammed the full width of the lane and attempting to move up was futile. In fact, even maintaining my position in the pack became difficult as riders more aggressive than I began to squeeze in ahead of me. A couple of riders tried crossing the yellow line to move forward but the commissaires soon put a stop to that, disqualifying at least three offenders.

The pack slowed to a crawl as we made the turn North onto Trinity, accelerated violently, and then slowed again as, I guess, the front of the pack weren't quite ready to make the final mad dash to the finish. A couple of hundred meters later and it was on like donkey kong as all hell broke loose. I started to sprint as riders ahead of me were up out of the saddle, weaving side to side. But visions of last year's crash filled my head and I sat up, having no desire to risk a trip to the hospital for the reward of a sprint for 30 or 40th place. I crossed the line dead last out of the pack.

Epilogue

It was with a bitter taste in my mouth that I made my way to the team bus following the race. Sharing war stories with the guys helped somewhat but finishing at the very back of the pack did not sit well with me. Whether the caliber of racing M2 is that much higher or a lack of race-specific training on my part or perhaps a bit of both, it seems I still have some making up to do. And with an extremely front-loaded race season, there's not much time to lose.

Yes, we had a team bus for this race.

Coming into the race, I had a number of fall-back goals. Reaching the podium wasn't a realistic goal for me as the fast and flat course didn't really suit my strengths. I was 95% certain the race would finish in a bunch sprint. That the race was won with a solo break away surprised me as I hadn't even known there was a rider off the front, such was my lot on being relegated to the back of the pack. I had hoped to earn some O-Cup points by coming in the top 15 but that didn't happen either. Failing that, I had intended to help my team mates but as a team we came up short there as well, not really having a plan going into the race. My final two goals were to not crash and try and get in a good workout and those, I did achieve. I didn't crash and I got in a good workout, with an Intensity Factor of 97% of FTP for the duration of the race.

All in all, it wasn't a brilliant day for the Kurzawinski team so we may have some work to do as a team as well. 

It looks like a couple of young guys I don't know did fairly well in the Elite 4 category. I don't know what happened with Brandon.
Elite 4 Men Results - 63.6 km - Average Speed 38.4 km/h
7 MARSHALL, Travis KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 1h 41' 58" 02' 42"
13 SREBLOWSKI, James KURZAWINSKI 1h 42' 02" 02' 46"
DNF BURTON, Brandon KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA DNF

A couple of the young guys.

In the Elite 3 Women's race, Jen just narrowly missed the podium, garnering 4th place.
Elite 3 Women Results - 63.6 km - Average Speed 33.1 km/h
4 FAWCETTE, Jennifer KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 1h 55' 27" 00' 00"

Jen lined up for the start.

In our M2 race, Phill wasn't quite able to make his solo break away stick as he cramped up within sight of the finish line. Mark also had to pull out due to cramping while Camilo succumbed to his efforts in the early break of the day.
Master 2 Men Results - 79.5 km - Average Speed 38.7 km/h
23 HODGKINSON, Phill KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 2h 03' 45" 00' 30"
44 WESTWOOD, Richard KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 2h 04' 15" 01' 00"
DNF SUGITA, Mark KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA DNF
NP MONDACA, Camilo KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA NP

In the M1 race, Stan had to stop on the last lap to remove a broken spoke from his rear derrailleur and finished behind the pack. I'm not sure what happened to Andy.
Master 1 Men Results - 95.4 km - Average Speed 40.2 km/h
49 BLAZEK, Stanislav KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 2h 27' 30" 05' 08"
52 D'ANGELO, Andy KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 2h 29' 53" 07' 31"

Andy (left) and Stan (right).

Marek held his own in the Sportif race. 
Sportif Men Results - 31.8 km - Average Speed 34.8 km/h
9 KRZTON, Marek KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 0h 54' 46" 00' 00"

Our bus driver, Marek (second from right).

Shanta won her very first road race, albeit against a small field but well done nevertheless. Congratulations, Shanta!
Sportif Women Results - 31.8 km - Average Speed 28.2 km/h
1 OUDIT, Shanta KURZAWINSKI COACH/PBNJ.CA 1h 07' 36"

Shanta on the podium for her first race.

full results here:

http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/20130329-230911-gfresults.htm

Pithy Power Proverbs

The Wattage Google Group is an invaluable resource for information on training with power. In some cases, the posts can be quite lengthy, detailed, and informative. But every so often, someone will post some concise yet meaningful phrase and it "catches on". Recently, Alex Simmons started a thread that resurrects some of these pithy proverbs. I've copied the best of them here. Enjoy!

"It's an aerobic sport, dammit!" - Andy Coggan

"Training is testing, testing is training." - Andy Coggan

"The best predictor of performance is performance itself." - Andy Coggan

"The more you train, the more you can train." - Andy Coggan

"FTP = how fast you can go. CTL = how long you can go fast." - Rick Murphy

"The Anaerobic Threshold is neither." - unknown

"Hmmm." - Robert Chung :)

"Alls you can do is alls you can do." - Andy Coggan

"Cadence is a red herring." - Robert Chung

"If your on the bike and the wheels are turning, you're riding" - Andy Coggan

"Specificity, specificity, specificity . . ."-Andy Coggan

"Lydiard got it right"... -Andy Coggan

"All watts are not created equal." - Dave Harris

"The body responds like a swiss watch. You just have to figure out how to wind it." - Dave Harris

"Toss that HR monitor strap!" - Charles Howe

"Power calibrates PE (perceived exertion), PE modulates power." - Charles Howe

"It's all about the pedal force." - Tom Anhalt

"Training with a Power Meter, does it work? No, you work!" - Hunter Allen

"more is more ... until it isn't" - Rick Murphy

"The best thing about a power-meter? It tells you where you are. The worst thing about a power-meter? It tells you where you are" - Bob Tobin?

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln

"Fitness is an integral" - Rick Murphy

"For riders of every level, power is limited but speed is precious" - John E Cobb

"The less power you have the more gearing you need" - Steve Davidson

"In God we trust, all others bring data" - Ric Stern

"The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data.'" - Andy Coggan

"(The) most successful riders spend the most time at zero cadence during races." - Andy Birko

"If it *feels* hard, it *is* hard" - Andy Coggan

"At some point, you have to increase the power" - Andy Coggan

"Train, don't strain" - Arthur Lydiard

"The PowerTap is a tool, not a bolt on motor :) " - Chris Mayhew

"The PM (Performance Manager) chart is a one picture summary of the truth, as useful and brutal as honesty can be." - Alex Simmons

"Wow, I need to train more!" - Frank Overton (after looking at his previous season's Performance Manager chart)

"!!!" - Hunter Allen

"There are no free watts." - unknown

"Pain is temporary, accomplishment is forever" - Hunter Allen

Crap training is crap training no matter how you record it. -- Alex Simmons

"The most important consideration when choosing a power meter is the quality of data. Everything else is a feature." - unknown

"What's important is how hard you ride rather than how you ride hard." - Alex Simmons

It is called "training stress score" and not "training performance score" for a reason. - Andy Coggan

Winter Bike Training - Key Workouts

This blog was supposed to be about measuring progress but I thought I'd throw in this more practical blog on various power-based workouts. The following are among my favourites acquired from the Google Wattage Group.

20 x 2 FTP Test

Estimate Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and determine your training zones using this test. I discuss the test in more detail here.

Step	Duration	Training Level
warm up	10'	1-2
set 1	20'	4
recovery	5'	1-2
set 2	20'	4
cool down	5'	1
TOTAL	60'

Both main sets should be done as hard as you can manage for both intervals. FTP is estimated as 95% of the average power from both Sets 1 and 2. Once you have your FTP, use the chart below to determine your training levels. If you don't have a power meter, use average heart rate (HR) instead of FTP.

Level	Description	%FTP	Avg HR	Typical workout
1	Active Recovery	<=55%	<=68%	30-75 min
2	Endurance	56-75%	69-83%	2-5 hrs
3	Tempo	76-90%	84-94%	1.5-3 hrs
4	Threshold	90-105%	95-105%	20 min
5	VO2 Max	106-120%	>106%	3-8 min
6	Anaerobic power	>121%	n/a	30 s -2 min
7	Neuromuscular power	n/a	n/a	<=20 sec

More detail on Coggan's training levels can be found here here.

20 x 2 Workout

So, how far do you think a steady diet of 20 x 2 training would take a person? How about a win in the U.S. National Road Race and a 2nd place in the Time Trial. That's what Kevin Metcalf accomplished 4 weeks after breaking his collar bone. Metcalf does his daily 20 x 2 workouts at about 85-90 % of FTP which is right in the sweet spot range (see sweet spot training below).

Sweet spot training (SST)

The sweet spot, discussed here, ranges from about 85-100% of FTP. What people have found is that you can gain close to the same benefit by training a bit lower than L4 (i.e. high L3 or Tempo) at less metabolic cost. The advantage of this is that you can do more frequent quality workouts because they don't tire you out as much as a pure L4 workout would. A simple, proven way to raise FTP is to progressively increase the time spent training in the sweet spot. Although the chart in the link suggests that the sweet spot ranges from 70-100% of FTP, a more generally accepted range is between 88-92%.

I've used SST in my Winter training with great success. It's appeal is that there is a huge difference in perceived effort between a low threshold workout done at, say, 92% of FTP and an all out 100% FTP workout which makes extending the workout length and/or increasing more workouts (i.e. increasing time spent at sweet spot) much more palatable. My approach has been to start with 20 x 2 workouts done in the sweet spot range and progressively increase the duration of the main sets. The table below shows one way to progressively increase the duration of the workout. Using this approach in 2009, I did 4 workouts of 30' x 6 over a 4 week span which worked out to 3 hours of time spent at sweet spot and 3 hours 45 minutes (115 km) on the trainer at one sitting, not something I'd recommend. Rather, these days I would recommend keeping workouts on the trainer between 1-2 hours. There will be plenty of time come Spring to get more saddle time.

Workout	Total Duration at SS
20' x 2	40 min
25' x 2	50 min
20' x 3	60 min
30' x 2	60 min
35' x 2	1 hr 10 min
25' x 3	1 hr 15 min
20' x 4	1 hr 20 min
40' x 2	1 hr 20 min
30' x 3	1 hr 30 min
20' x 5	1 hr 40 min
25' x 4	1 hr 40 min
35' x 3	1 hr 45 min
20' x 6	2 hr
30' x 4	2 hr

In addition to increasing the amount of time spent at sweet spot in each workout, you could simply increase the number of workouts. In general, your workouts will trend towards the lower end of the sweet spot range as the duration of the workout gets longer.

General training model 

This general training model by Charles Howe is based on Lydiard in that it advocates building a large base. But whereas Lydiard advocates the build up of a huge base of long, slow, distance (LSD) during base training, Howe's approach has you doing most of your base training at Sweet Spot. And while SS workouts are easier than Threshold workouts, I wouldn't call them easy. But it is possible to get a large base of time spent at SS whereas that might be more difficult with a more high intensity training (HIT) approach. I've included Howe's model here due to its popularity in the Google Wattage Group.

The 90/90/90 Workout (Coggan)

Andy Coggan, one of the author's of Training and Racing With a Power Meter, coined the 90/90/90 workout. It's basically a HIT workout in that it hits all systems; it's not meant to be done every day. The workout is comprised of sets done at 90% of Level 4, 90% of Level 5, and 90% if Level 6. Hence, 90/90/90. Coggan posted on the Google Wattage Group that a steady diet of 90/90/90's done every other day one Winter enabled him to carry his Fall bike fitness through to Spring.

Step	Duration	Level
warm up	5 min	1-2
L4 set	20 min	90% L4 Max
recovery	5 min	1-2
L5 set	5 min	90% L5 Max
recovery	5 min	1-2
L5 set	5 min	90% L5 Max
recovery	5 min	1-2
L6 set	30 sec	90% L6 Max
recovery	2 min	1-2
L6 set	30 sec	90% L6 Max
recovery	2 min	1-2
L6 set	30 sec	90% L6 Max
recovery	2 min	1-2
L6 set	30 sec	90% L6 Max
recovery	2 min	1-2
TOTAL	60 min

Hour of power (Bill Black)

Bill Black, another esteemed poster on the Google Wattage Group, coined the hour of power (HOP) workout (see the Recovery on the Edge article about halfway down the page using this link). The main set of the workout is comprised of one hour at about sub-Threshold (88-92% of FTP) but with the addition of a 15-20 second sprint every 2-3 minutes. The hard part of this workout is the return to sub-Threshold after the 20 second sprint. The thing I like about this workout is that it's extremely race-specific to Road Racing. It teaches your body to recover from frequent anaerobic efforts while still riding at Threshold.

The next level (Allen)

Hunter Allen is the other author of Training and Racing With a Power Meter. His "next level" workouts are sort of a variation of the HOP workouts only longer. Allen's contention is that to get to that "next level" requires hard work. If you've been doing 20 x 2 workouts for awhile and you no longer seem to be progressing then you need to do something that will take you to the next level. The more race-specific that something is, the better.

Step	Duration	Level
warm up	10 min	1-2
Set 1	30-60 min	low L4 with 15-20 sec surge every 3 minutes
recovery	5 min	1-2
Set 2	5 min	low L4
	5 min	L5
	5 min	low L4
	5 min	L5
	10 min	over/under at L4
recovery	5 min	1-2
TOTAL	1 hour 20-50 min

The above workout isn't something you would jump into. Rather, it's a workout to be done after you've built up a reasonable base of sweet spot training (see General Training Model above). Alternatively, you could make this one of your key weekly workouts and build up to it progressively (see my discussion of progressive overload in this blog).

In my next blog, I will discuss how to know whether you're making progress (I think).

Bibliography

Coggan Training Levels by Andrew Coggan
61 Metcalfe Continues to Improve With Age
Sweet Spot Training
General training model by Charles Howe
Recovery on the Edge by Bill Black
The Next Level by Hunter Allen


Winter bike training - 20 x 2's and Functional Threshold Power
Winter Bike Training - Getting Through the Workout
Winter Bike Training - Planning a Season

Google Wattage Group - join this group and do a search on any of the following keywords: FTP, 20 x 2, Sweet Spot, SST, 90/90/90, Hour of Power, HOP, next level, Coggan, Metcalf, Howe, Bill Black, Hunter Allen, A Coggan, Alex Simmons, DaveRyan

Winter Bike Training - Planning a Season

Lined up on the start line when the gun went off, by the time I got clipped into the pedals I was at the back of the pack already, gapped by the peleton racing down the open road ahead of me. This jarred me out of my comfort zone and I had to dig deep to close the gap. The first several kilometers were spent hanging near the back in an effort to stay out of the wind as much as possible. But it was more of a cross wind than a head wind and I found myself working harder than I wanted at this early stage in the race. Meanwhile, at the front, a young rider from the Elite category, Derek Snider, was putting his stamp on the race early causing frequent surges as the peleton fought to match his attacks. With the usual surges at the front at every corner and hill, life at the back of the peleton was proving to be more difficult than I was comfortable with. I moved up in an effort to minimize the "accordion effect" which helped a little but that first hour was a lot of work.

Into the second lap I took the race into my own hands and attacked off the front ahead of the gravel section. I expected my move to be matched by at least a one or two others but the entire pack let me go, not seeing me as a threat. For four or five kilometers, I was given a leash of about 500 meters. I maintained a  steady Threshold effort to stay ahead, hoping that eventually I would be joined by one or two others. It was a fairly hard pace but at least it was MY pace and towards the end of the gravel section I was joined by Snider. The pace increased for 2 or 3 minutes until we were joined by 6 or 7 additional riders. With 9 riders strong, a rotation was quickly organized and for the remainder of the race until about a kilometer to go, I alternated between a low threshold and above threshold effort as I switched between drafting off the pack and taking my turn at the front.Approaching the finish line, the pace increased until with less than 500 meters to go it was an all-out sprint to the finish. I gave it everything I had and crossed the line with nothing left.

=====================================

The above scenario describes a typical road race. The first half of the race is hard but manageable at somewhere around low Threshold effort but with frequent anaerobic surges. Somewhere during the second half of the race, the attacks begin. Now the pace goes above above threshold for 2-3 minutes as the attack is made or matched. If a successful attack is made then the pace alternates between mid-Threshold and above Threshold as one alternates between taking turns at the front and recovering in the draft with recovery time dependent on how many are in the break. The fewer riders in the break, the less recovery time. Finally, there is the all-out sprint to the finish line.

So how does one train for the above scenario? Well, for certain, a good deal of Threshold riding is required. In addition, there are frequent surges with recovery done at Threshold. There are extended VO2 max efforts of 2-3 minutes or more with recovery again at Threshold. And there are extended efforts alternating between just over Threshold and just under. Finally, there is the all-out sprint to the finish.

What would a training workout for the above scenario look like? Here's a stab:

Duration	Set	Rationale
10 min	warm up
40 min	low Threshold with 20 s surge every 3 min	simulate first half of a road race
5 min	recovery	mental break because the trainer is mentally hard
5 min	low Threshold	back to race pace
3 min	VO2 Max	simulate an attack
12 min	over/unders - alternate between 1 min above Threshold and 1 min below Threshold	simulate taking turns at the front of a 2-man break
5 min	cool down

------------------
80 min TOTAL

Even though it's only 80 min, the above workout is hard. One doesn't just jump into the above workout. "You can't get there from here!" Rather, one needs to train to be able to do the above workout. The workout becomes the training goal.

Case study

So if you can't get there from here, how do you get there? The answer is that you structure your training schedule around achieving your target workout. The above scenario describes my Winter bike training goal which I'll use as a case study in designing a Winter bike training program.

The above workout becomes the key workout that would be executed in the weeks leading up to the first road race of the season. I've kept it short purposely to minimize time spent on the trainer yet sufficiently hard to induce a good training effect. Importantly, it is specific to the demands of road racing. The demands of a time trial or a shorter triathlon/duathlon would be simpler. In those cases, the key workout would centre around time spent at Threshold. The demands of a longer triathlon/duathlon or road race would have a large endurance factor but still, the key workout in a Winter training program would revolve around time spent at Threshold or, preferably, sweet spot (more on this below).

A training schedule should be structured around key workouts. The key workouts are "what gets you there from here". Typically, one can manage 2 or 3 key workouts per week at most. All other workouts are structured around the key workouts.

Three principles that should be adhered to when planning a training schedule are:

1. Consistency
2. Progressive Overload
3. Specificity

Consistency (weekly)

Consistency of training provides the foundation upon which fitness is built. For me, the best way to achieve consistency is with a weekly schedule that follows the same pattern. The routine of the weekly schedule helps in making the workouts easier. When I know that Wednesdays are a key workout day, I can prepare mentally for the workout and "just do it" without giving it much thought. Routine and good habits can be amazingly powerful in this regard.

Key workouts

The first thing I do when designing a schedule is pick my key workout days. For example, this Winter, my key workout days are Wed and Sat. I'm training two sports this Winter, running and cycling, so I've split my two key workouts between running and cycling. Wednesday is my key run workout day and Saturday my key cycling workout day.

Recovery "workouts"

The next most important workouts are recovery workouts. Recovery is the other side of the stimulus/response coin. While key workouts provide the stimulus for the body to adapt by getting stronger, the body gets stronger in response during recovery. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" but only if you give yourself adequate recovery. What constitutes "adequate" is highly individual; finding just the right amount of recovery is largely a matter of trial and error. Recovery can be either a very easy workout (e.g. very light spin) or complete rest and again depends on the individual as well as current training load. I prefer an easy workout for recovery but have had times during a heavy training load where I've felt the need for complete rest.

Moderate workouts

Once key workouts and recovery have been scheduled, "moderately intense" workouts can be scheduled in the intervening days. While a focus on key workouts will get you partway there, our sport of choice (whether cycling, running, duathlon, or triathlon) are mostly aerobic and, as such, the higher the training load the higher the fitness. Or, as is often espoused on the various training forums from Slowtwitch to the Wattage group, "more is more". Basically, what this means is that the more you train, the better you'll perform. It's been my experience that one can get a lot of mileage, so to speak, from just training a lot. As such, these "moderate" workouts are important. I tend to not worry to much about the intensity at which I execute these other workouts. Rather, I'll take what my body gives me, always keeping in mind when my key workouts are and making sure I save enough back for those.

A typical week

Putting it all together, after penciling in my key workouts, recovery and moderate workouts, my typical training week from now until Spring, will look something like this (Note: I've not included my runs in order to try and keep things simple):

Weekday	Type	Example
Monday	recovery workout or rest day	60' light spin, 30' jog or rest
Tuesday	moderate workout	20' x 2 @ high Tempo - low Threshold
Wednesday	key workout (run)	20' x 2 @ high Tempo - low Threshold
Thursday	recovery workout or rest day	60' light spin, 30' jog or rest
Friday	moderate workout	20' x 2 @ high Tempo - low Threshold
Saturday	key workout (bike)	see schedule
Sunday	recovery or easy	60 min light spin or rest

In addition to bike training, my schedule also has to accommodate run training. Hence, Thursday's bike workout is recovery because it follows a particularly tough run workout. Melding run training with bike training can make the weekly schedule a bit more complicated but not overly so. The focus on key workout days is to put forward a solid effort whether that's on the bike or the run or both. The focus on recovery days should be on recovery whether that's following a key bike workout of a key run workout. The moderate intensity/duration workouts tend to be done more according to how you feel. If you're feeling good, give a little extra. Feeling a little fatigued, go easier.

Progressive Overload (blocks)

The principle of progressive overload goes back to Ancient Greece and the story of Milo of Croton. Milo was a 6th century BC wrestler who was renowned for great strength. It is said he developed his strength by lifting a bull daily from when it was a newborn calf. As the calf grew into a bull so Milo's strength grew.

Simply put, progressive overload is "start with what you can do and as you get stronger add more". There a really only two ways to add more. One way is to make the workout harder (e.g. more weight, more watts, faster lap times, etc). The second way is to do it for longer or more often. We'll use both in designing my Winter bike training schedule, starting with the weekly key workout.

Key workout

The key workout for the scenario above is basically a 40 minute Threshold set followed by a 20 minute Threshold set. Progressive overload is achieved by making each set progressively harder. The first set is made harder by throwing in a 20 second anaerobic surge every 3 minutes. The second set is made harder, first by throwing in a 3 minute VO2 max interval and then by finishing the set with over/unders. To attempt to jump right in with the workout would be akin to Milo attempting to lift a fully grown bull having never lifted the calf. Rather, my schedule will start with two 20 minute intervals and become progressively harder through adding "more" each week.

By starting with two 20 minute intervals, I'm already partway towards my ultimate goal because the second interval in the ultimate goal is a 20 minute interval. So I'll start by pushing out the first 20 minute interval, adding more each week until I'm at 40 minutes while at the same time throwing in some 20-s anaerobic surges. At the same time, I'll make the second interval progressively harder by adding a VO2 max interval at the 5 minute mark followed by one or moreover/unders (i.e. 1 minute above Threshold followed by 1 minute below Threshold). Each week, I'll make that second 20 minute interval harder by extending the duration of the VO2 max interval as well as the number of over/unders.

If I had a second key bike workout to give, I'd supplement that first key workout by doing something more specific. For example, I might focus on a set of over/unders, a set at Threshold with surges, or a set of VO2 max intervals. But since that second key workout is a run workout (at least until March), that option is off the table.

Moderate workouts

In addition to making the key workout progressively harder, progressive overload is also achieved by progressively adding "more" time on the trainer during each 3-week "block". For example, up until New Year's, I've been doing fairly unstructured training of about 3 bike workouts per week. Starting in January, my schedule adds an extra bike training day per week for a total of four (see training schedule below). After 3 weeks, an extra "spin" is added on Mondays to bring my weekly bike workouts to five. Six weeks into my schedule and that extra "spin" becomes a moderate 20' x 2 workout. And 9 weeks into my schedule, another easy spin is added on Thursdays to bring my weekly bike workout total to six. By that point, I'll also be finished with my run training and so my key run workout will become a second key bike workout.

Recovery

In addition to recovery from key workouts, it is also desirable to include some recovery from the progressive increase in training load. It typically takes from 4-6 weeks for the body to adapt to a training stimulus. Thus, most training schedules will build in a "recovery week" at the end of a 3, 4, or 6-week block. Alan Couzens refers to this as the unloading period. On the Wattage group, they call it "coming up for air". As with recovery days and recovery workouts, recovery weeks are specific to the individual and a matter of trial and error. Personally, I like to schedule a semi-recovery week at 3 weeks and a more focussed recovery week at 6 weeks. Thus, my training "blocks" are 6 weeks long but with a mini-recovery built in at 3 weeks. How much recovery I take at the 3 week point depends on how I feel.

Specificity

Specificity refers to tailoring your training towards your target event. In the somewhat complex scenario that we started with, the target event was a cycling road race and the ultimate key workout a fairly complex workout involving different intensities and energy systems. The key point here is that the ultimate goal of training is to prepare yourself for your target event. As such, your key workouts should become to more and more resemble the demands of your target event. To "get there from here", we generally start with workouts we can achieve now and structure the workouts to more and more resemble our target event as much as is feasible. This is a strategy not unlike that used by the renowned running coach Renato Canova. This article, well worth reading, discusses Canova's approach.

"This method has led to a 2:03 marathon (Moses Mosop), a world championship (Abel Kirui), and the third-fastest half marathon in history (Florence Kiplagat) in just the last year and a half." 

In the world of long distance triathlon or long gran fondos where endurance or the ability to comfortably complete a long distance bike leg is the key, a similar strategy to that used by Canova can be applied. Start with shorter, harder intervals. As you get closer to your target event, the workouts become longer and slower. Whereas a more traditional training approach involves easier workouts that get progressively harder, this "reverse periodization" approach involves workouts that start out harder and get easier (in terms of intensity) but more specific (i.e. longer) as the target event is approached. The added appeal of this reverse periodization approach is that it is conducive to Winter training. Rather than having to do 3-4 hour trainer workouts to traing for an Ironman event or Gran Fondo, for example, you can keep the workouts short but intense until it's time to move outdoors and longer rider become much more palatable. Using this approach last year, I took my longest trainer ride of 2.5 hours to Florida where I logged over 1,000 km in two weeks, including 2 rides at 160+ km. Reverse periodization works!

Putting it all together

In my case study, I started with a race-specific key workout I'd like to be able to achieve (specificity). I then put together a weekly schedule oriented around my key workouts (consistency). Finally, I made each workout progressively harder in such a way as to form a bridge towards my ultimate key workout (progressive overload). The resulting 12-week Winter bike training schedule is shown below.

Additional Notes

This is a Winter bike training schedule. My run training is not shown and the schedule has been setup within certain constraints, the most notable being an aversion to time on the trainer. Once the switch to Daylight-savings time arrives, and it becomes more feasible to ride outdoors, my training schedule will change towards becoming even more "specific" towards my target event, as should yours. In my next blog, I intend to cover how to know when you are making progress.

Egg Nog Jog, 2012

They said it was zero degrees Celsius but it felt much colder than that. I had intended to wear shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt but went with tights and long sleeved t-shirt. Still, with only one layer, I was feeling the cold during my warm up. My warm up took me along the tail end of the course in reverse direction. I ran up the stupidly steep hill to the 10k marker, turned around and ran back down. By the time I reached the start line, they were just about to play the national anthem.


Five-four-three-two-one and we're off! This year I tried something different. Normally I like to pace myself, saving my harder effort for the second half of a race. But being a little overweight this year, I decided on the strategy of using the downhills to gain time I'd likely lose on the uphills. With the first 1.5 km being downhill, it was a fast start for me.

I had a pretty good view of the pack in front of me running the first mile down Winston Churchill. The first 3 or 4 runners opened up a gap pretty quickly but after that, the next 10 or so were grouped fairly close together. Initially, there was a bit of a gap between me and the group ahead but by the bottom of the mile long hill I had pretty much closed that gap and even passed a few. Those few that I passed soon passed me back once we made the turn up the hill onto Sideroad 27

One of the runners I passed was Brad Mailleux of Feet in Motion. Brad and I have a friendly rivalry in this race, finishing within 3 places of each other in 5 races since 2006. Last year, I passed Brad closer to the start of the race but he passed me back on the long, steep hill at about the halfway mark. This year, I passed him later but he passed me back much earlier. So I spent most of the rest of the race watching Brad's back get gradually smaller.

The rest of my race was fairly uneventful. The wind was from the South East this year which meant a bit of a tail wind running the "rollers" along Sideroad 27. I had a great view of the leaders making their turn onto 10 line. The larger group of 10 or so runners just ahead of me, gradually pulled further ahead and strung out a bit. I more or less maintained the distance to Brad until the big hill at the halfway mark where he opened up the gap a bit. I made it to the top of the big hill alright but on the longer, more gradual hill up to Sideroad 32, I could feel a side stitch coming on and slowed a bit before it got worse. The gap to Brad began to open up.

I was losing speed to the developing side stitch. Remembering something I wrote in my previous blog about a lower cadence requiring less oxygen consumption, I extended my stride, relying on my legs to make up for speed lost by relaxing my rate of breathing. It worked! The side stitch gradually disappeared and I began to close in on the runner ahead.

For the rest of the race, I concentrated on pushing off with my legs and opening up my stride. The track workouts I'd been doing since early November were paying off. My legs were more than capable of handling the punishment I was putting them through. I didn't catch Brad but I did finish 9 seconds faster than last year, finishing in 15th place, 1st in my age group... again. Two places behind Brad... again!

Winter Bike Training - Getting Through the Workout

One of the biggest hurdles to Winter bike training, I've found, is getting on the trainer in the first place. As high as my level of motivation to train is, there is just something repugnant about doing 20 minute plus intervals on the trainer that results eventually in an aversion to climbing on the bike indoors. This article, the second in a series of Winter bike training articles I intend to write about, discusses how I get through my power training interval workouts.

Getting on the Trainer

As discussed above, the first hurdle to overcome is getting on the bike trainer in the first place. There are a number of things I do to help in this regard:

• have a clearly defined goal
• develop a regular routine
• train with others
• avoid the trainer (pace yourself)
• mix it up
• you can only do what you can do

Have a clearly defined goal

A clearly defined goal, such as completing an Ironman event, getting that first bike race podium, getting ready for a season of Centurion races can instill a desire strong enough to overcome any aversion to the trainer. When training for my first and only Ironman, I had a picture of Bill Vieira pasted on the wall in front of my trainer. Of course, I'm not serious but Bill did have a strong work ethic, was constantly pushing us, and was a powerful motivator which is the point I'm getting at: you need a powerful motivator and a strong work ethic to get through these workouts. Which brings me to the second part of this tip: make your goal a shared goal. For the above Ironman, there were four of us training in parallel and feeding off each other and this helped raise certainly my motivation level if not that of the others. Without such a goal, you might find yourself questioning your need to do those interval workouts.

Develop a regular routine

A solid routine can be a powerful tool. Habits become automatic. You don't think about why you're doing these behaviours, you just do them. In fact, sometimes the problem to STOP doing them. Generally, this happens with bad habits but good habits can also start to take on a life of their own. All you have to do is get them started. Develop a weekly routine and 'just do it!'

Train with others

"Misery loves company." This is one of those things my mother used to say that I never quite got... until I started doing trainer workouts. Sign up for a spin class. Or more than one. Get together with a buddy to train. When you've paid the money, have a set time, and friends who will mock you when you skip a session, you're more likely to do the workout. I've also found that having people around me helps me get through the workout somehow even when my workout may be different than theirs. Having people around me while I train seems to give me a lift.

Avoid the trainer

This might sound counter intuitive; how can avoiding the trainer help when it comes to getting ON the trainer? But starting your Winter training season too early can make for a very long season. It may be the case that you DO have a clearly defined goal. In fact, you may be highly motivated even excited about getting on the trainer to start training towards your new goal. Three or four months in and "not so much". That aversion to the trainer grows as your enthusiasm diminishes. So pace yourself! Do some maintenance training up until you're truly ready to get serious about power training. If you time it right, you'll have to endure only 2-3 months of trainer time as opposed to the 4-5 months that starting too early would require.

Mix it up

Last year, I started riding with my new cycling team doing Winter trail rides. Thursday was a mountain bike ride around one of the industrial developments in Etobicoke. Saturday and Sunday were trail rides. We rode through snow and cold and it was fun. This served as a good counter balance to the more boring trainer workouts. This year, I'll be doing Winter trail rides again but I'm also bringing running back into the mix. Though running lacks the specificity of bike training, it can help build up that aerobic base. And it gets me outside which I love (see 'avoid the trainer' above).

You can only do what you can do

Power intervals are hard! Sometimes I find myself just "not ready" to do that scheduled threshold workout. This seems to be a common misgiving amongst contributors to the Wattage group. The frequently quoted answer to this "not readiness" is "you can only do what you can do". If you have the legs then go for it. If you don't have the legs, don't sweat it. You're still going to get in a decent workout. Save that quality workout for another day. It will come. The important thing is to get on the trainer anyway. Rome wasn't built in a day and raising your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is a cumulative endeavor and not realized in a single workout.

Getting Through the Workout

Ok, so you've gotten on the trainer and you're in your warm up routine but you've still got two 20 minute threshold intervals to get through. Twenty minutes is a long time. How do you stay focused for such a long period of time? Here are some of the techniques I use.

• watch the clock
• pace yourself
• find a rhythm
• divide and conquer
• shut up legs
• keep your cool
• audio/visual

Watch the clock

Some kind of time keeping device is essential for doing trainer intervals. There are a number of devices that are useful to have for doing intervals which I'll discuss in a future blog but a clock is one of the most important. Most readers of this blog will have some sort of heart rate monitor that comes with a timer. The one I use, a Garmin, has the advantage of being able to pre-program your interval workout. But any clock will do the trick. A clock helps with pacing as well as dividing up that long interval into segments. But mostly it just helps to know how far you are into the interval and how long you have to go.

As mentioned above, my Garmin has the capability of pre-programming a workout. I use this functionality to program my interval workouts.

20' x 2 interval workout programmed on Garmin

At the end of each step in the program above, my Garmin gives a series of beeps, starting 5 seconds before the end of each step. This lets me know when my 10 minute warmup is done, when each minute of my main set is done, and when my 5 minute rest interval is done without me having to actually watch the clock. A word of caution: you might not want to have your device beep every minute while doing your trainer workout in a room full of friends and peers. They will get annoyed.

Pace yourself

As important as pacing is in your macro cycle, it's equally important while doing your intervals. It does take some practice to get it right. Initially, the tendency is to start out too hard. The interval feels easy at the start but by about halfway through the interval it no longer feels easy. In fact, usually well before that, things start to get tough.

Heart rate profile from first 20' x 2 workout of the season.

The chart above shows my heart rate (HR) for my first 20' x 2 interval workout of this season. There are a few things to note from this chart. First, notice at the start of each interval (at 10 minutes and 35 minutes), it takes awhile for my HR to plateau. The interval feels comparatively easy during this early part of the interval. So, for the first couple of minutes or so, I start out too hard, making the rest of the workout a lot harder. By the time I'm into the second half of the first interval, I'm no longer able to sustain that initial effort. This is reflected with a decreasing HR. My performance seems better for the second interval in that I do a better job at pacing myself and thus am able to keep my HR up but in actual fact my performance, as measured by my power meter, was significantly poorer for the second interval again reflecting less than optimal pacing. Ideally, you should pace well enough that your effort gets stronger towards the end of each interval. Further, you should pace so that the effort for the second interval is stronger than the first.

The chart below graphs my HR for my most recent interval workout of the season: a 20' plus 25' effort.

Heart rate profile from most recent interval workout of the season.

What the above HR profile shows is that my effort (as reflected by HR), increased steadily throughout the first interval. The same pattern held for the second interval but was even stronger. My power meter wattage profile confirmed a slightly stronger effort for the second interval than the first. My pacing was good for this workout.

Find a rhythm

Another technique I find useful for doing a successful interval set is to find a rhythm and try and hold it. There are a number of ways of doing this. In running, it might be incorporated as part of your arm swing. In cycling, I make it part of my pedal stroke. I also use 'counting' to help. Most of you will be familiar with Count Von Count of Muppets fame who was obsessed with counting. Well, I'm the Count Von Count of cycling. It might not be as crazy as it seems. As a musician, I'm familiar with counting. Musicians count bars throughout a song. We generally count in groups of 4 beats to a bar. A phrase is typically 16 or 24 bars long so we also learn to group bars. Transferring this skill to cycling (and running), I've learned to group pedal strokes in groups of 4, 16, and 32. I pretty much know when I've done a group of 32 pedal strokes without consciously thinking about it. Knowing my cadence (for both cycling and running) typically falls between 86-90, I've learned to count off a sequence of 88 "beats" (roughly one minute) without thinking about it. Thus, I can get through each minute of a trainer interval without looking at the clock. Counting helps me to know where I am within each minute. It also helps me to establish my rhythm. If I start to slow down (or lose power), I know it right away. (As an aside, I also count strides while running. I use this in races to help me get through the race without having to look at my watch. Typically, by the time I've counted 4 minutes, I can see the next km marker). A computer that gives cadence can provide similar feedback but I've found that nothing beats finding that rhythm and holding it.

Divide and conquer

This refers to breaking that long 20 minute (or more) interval into smaller segments. I like to break down my main intervals into segments of 3-5 minutes. For example, I will group a 20 minute interval into segments of 3 minutes. This gives me 6 segments of 3 minutes plus a final 2 minute segment. During each 3 minute segment, I change position on the bike. For example, for the first 3 minutes, I'll ride on the hoods, the next 3 minutes in the drops, and the 3rd three minutes riding upright. Now I'm halfway through the main interval and I repeat the cycle: 3 minutes on the hoods, 3 minutes in the drops, 3 minutes upright. By the end of 2 cycles, I have 2 minutes left and that's a cakewalk. Breaking the main interval up like this helps me get through it easier.

Another technique I further use is to change cadence for each 3 minute segment. For example, I may start the first 3 minutes at around 94 rpm. After 3 minutes, I'll add a gear and pedal at, say, 86 rpm. This necessitates a re-calibrating of my rhythm but I've become accustomed to this. This technique helps to break up the longer interval into segments. An added bonus is that it trains me to ride with power at different cadences. Riding outside, one is never able to ride at a constant cadence; even the smallest of rises will induce either a change in cadence or a significant change in power output. So I find it useful to learn to ride at the same power output over different cadences.

Switching cadences also emphasizes a slightly different metabolic area from one cadence to another. Riding at  a lower cadence will stress the legs more while riding at a higher cadences stresses the cardio-vascular system more.


The formula below shows the relationship between power, force, distance and time.

P = F x D / T

Another way to write the above formula is


P = F x C

or Power = Force x Cadence. In other words, to keep the same power at a lower cadence, more force is required. By pedaling at a higher cadence, you can produce the same power with less force. One might think that we should always be riding with a higher cadence because less force is required but keep in mind the cost of pedaling at a higher cadence is a higher oxygen consumption and a decrease in efficiency (efficiency tends to be higher with a lower cadence).

Some people use the above technique to advantage in a time trial by alternating between a lower and higher cadence. While emphasizing one side of the metabolic coin, you're effectively giving the other side a rest. By the end of 3 minutes at a lower cadence, my legs are ready for a bit of a break. By the end of 3 minutes at a higher interval, my VO2 system is ready for a bit of a break.

Another technique I use to help break up the monotony of the long interval sets is to throw in something different periodically. For example, I'll stand for ~20 seconds (32 pedal strokes) in the middle of my low cadence segment. This works out to once every 6 minutes which, in addition to helping break up the monotony, helps me stretch my legs and ease my lower back a bit. Another thing I might do is throw in a ~20 second sprint periodically, usually during a higher cadence segment. This has the added benefit of being sport specific to cycle racing as it simulates matching the frequent attacks and surges that occur throughout the course of a bike race.

All the above techniques effectively break up one long interval into segments making it easier to get through the interval.

Shut up legs

As "techniques" go, this one is fairly crude. But I find that it works. Inevitably, there will come a point within an interval where my legs start to complain. Usually this occurs about halfway through the interval. When this happens, I tell my legs to shut up. Jens Voigt is the author of the "shut up legs" phrase and there is probably no more respected rider in the peleton than Voigt. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. But there's a little more to this technique than just telling your legs to shut up. It involves using that discomfort, embracing it, and learning to pedal "in the moment" or, as Coach Rob used to say: "get comfortable with being uncomfortable".

Keep your cool

There is no greater saboteur of an interval workout than over heating. When you over heat, your heart rate goes up and your power goes down. The photo below shows how seriously I take adequate cooling. What the photo doesn't show is that I also have the 2 side windows open as well as 2 small fans on the piano behind me. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep from over heating.

Audio/visual

Audio and visual aids can help get you through your workout. The music should be upbeat and not sleepy. A good source of upbeat music put together specifically for trainer workouts is VeloBeats. Here you can download podcasts of workout "sound tracks". These are also available for free on iTunes which makes it convenient for loading onto an iPod. Just do a search on velobeats.

DVDs can be a good way to get through a trainer workout. The prescribed workouts themselves on these DVDs are not so useful IMHO but the workouts are usually broken down into segments and the segments themselves can be used during your own workout to help divide up the workout with the video portion of the DVD helping you to get through your own workout. Spinerval and Sufferfest are two makers of DVDs for trainer workouts with Sufferfest being the better of the two, in my experience.

An online tool that I've heard good things about is TrainerRoad. It's a visual aid in that it gives you live feedback of your power output. Your power output is measure either using an ANT-compatible power meter that feeds data into your computer or, if you don't have a power meter, there is a "virtual power" option that uses the power curve of known trainers to compute your power output. I haven't tried it myself but know a couple of people who have with good feedback from both.

Conclusion

This concludes my discussion of tips and tricks I use to get through my power interval workouts. My next blog will discuss how to schedule a Winter season.

Winter bike training - 20 x 2's and Functional Threshold Power

I started my Winter training in the pain cave last night and, since I have a number of friends who have expressed an interest in how I train over the Winter, I thought I'd write a blog about it.

One thing became readily apparent last night: I've lost a lot of fitness over the 7 weeks since the end of last year's season. Last night's workout was surprisingly hard.

Here is the workout:
20' x 2

10 warmup
20 threshold
5 recovery interval
20 threshold
5 cooldown
60 TOTAL

The 20 minute interval is the mainstay of those who train using a power meter. Visit the Google Wattage Group (you may have to apply for membership) and you'll soon discover this for yourself. The entire workout is only an hour long. The two 20 minute intervals are the main set. These should be done, initially, as hard as you can manage for both intervals. That is, you try and pace yourself so that you are able to finish the second 20 minute interval at the same power you started the first 20 minute interval. When starting out, there is obviously some trial and error involved in this but after a few sesssions, you'll soon figure it out, whether using a power meter or going by heart rate.

Ideally, you would use a power meter to gauge your effort. But you can still reap the benefits in muscle fibre recruitment using a heart rate monitor. During the workout itself, try and keep your power output within a 10-20 watt range. Using a heart rate monitor, you'll probably fluctuate within a 10 beats per minute (bpm) range. For my first workout of the season, last night, my first interval averaged 13 watts higher than my second interval and my average heart rate looked to be about 5 bpm lower but dropped a little more towards the end of the second interval. (The effects of fatigue were quite noticeable last night. The average of my second 20 minute interval was 43 watts lower than what I was able to complete for an entire 60 minute interval by the end of last January and a 15% drop in FTP).

One nice thing about using the 20' x 2 as a workout is that it is so ubiquitous within the power meter community that it has been established as a test protocol for measuring one's functional threshold power (FTP). One's functional threshold is defined as the average watts one can produce under ideal conditions over a one hour interval. Ideal conditions means you should be fresh (i.e. tapered) and able to go all out for the one hour period. The problem using this measure is that it's rarely practical to do the test. (The only time I've been done it myself was last January). Instead, the 20' x 2 workout can serve as a proxy to an all out one hour test. To estimate your FTP using the 20' x 2 protocol, you take the average of the two 20' intervals and multiply by a factor of 0.95. This will get you in the ballpark of your FTP. What I have found is that the multiplication factor should be lower (i.e. in the 90-95 % range) for well trained athletes and higher (in the 95-100 % range) for those either just starting out or, as in my case, de-trained.

So what do I do with FTP once it's been calculated.?

The importance of knowing one's FTP is in determining one's training levels (follow the link for more information on Andrew Coggan's training levels). In order to develop more power on the bike, one needs to get as much time in L4 (90-100% of FTP) as feasible. However, it's determined that a more optimal training range is within what's been termed the sweet spot. The sweet spot ranges from about 85-100% of FTP. What people have found is that you can gain close to the same benefit by training a bit lower than L4 (i.e. high L3 or Tempo) at less metabolic cost. The advantage of this is that you can do more frequent quality workouts because they don't tire you out as much as a pure L4 workout would.

My Winter bike training plan will start at three 20' x 2 bike sessions per week for probably the first six at least. After that, I'll re-evaluate my program and determine how to add more training stimulus. One thing that you should keep in mind when designing your own training program is that my main focus is on running this Winter. I'm currently running every day. So whereas I might be doing only 3 "spins" per week, if bike sessions are your only training, you might want to consider adding an extra day or two depending on what your goals are, your energy levels, and time constraints.

In future blogs, I'll get more specific about my training schedule and my reasoning behind each workout. I'll also post some tips on how I get through these trainer workouts. I'll also go over the WKO+ software and show how the Performance Manager can be used to ensure your training program has the right amount of progressive overload.