Easy day today on the TT bike, 90 min total. Rolled down to E. Mission Bay Drive, and got in ~15 min of SST by basically doing two full laps from the Fiesta Island causeway to the next intersection and back, so three 180 degree turns on the horns but otherwise I was in position.

Honestly it wasn't too bad - it's flat, smooth and no traffic as 100% of the parkland on this stretch is closed. A few minutes at a time is a bit of a limiter, but I can always do the trainer if I want more time in position. I don't have any real TT's to train for while we're still on lockdown so I just want a quiet stretch of road to ride the bike on while Fiesta is closed.

More vo2 for me yesterday, another round of 8x2.5min @ 120%, which might be more like 116% since I think my threshold is back up 10w, but I'm still playing it safe at the high end. I'm getting through these workouts no problem and maybe just start showing signs of fatigue/cracking at the last interval, which I prefer over having myself at whatever my true current 120% and cracking earlier and often, which has generally occurred when I've done longer than 90sec at 120%

Right now, I think I have a good balance, a couple of days of vo2 stuff, a couple of days of endurance, over-unders on Saturdays (not too long on these) and sweet spot on Sunday.

I don't know that I could squat my wife, though I have been doing planks with her lying on top of me.

Was able to get out and do an interval set after work last night. Man I needed that. Only annoying thing is getting passed by a group of 3 local racers riding a paceline. Cmon, guys.

I was slotted to do 1.5 hours of Z2 last night, but I skipped a tempo ride on Wednesday, so I felt like an agro ride was in order. This is the file (including cool down) from last night's Zwift event:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4f97f489d.png

Cypress Great workout / event. I find the climbing and average speed interesting. At over 100 feet per mile of climbing, an average speed of 21.9 mph seems gonzo. Can you achieve those metrics on the road or is Zwift overstating speed?

I think it's overestimating somewhat. There were quite a few people riding those "roads" so the draft effect was probably a big player in the high avg speed. It'd be tough to (legally) do something like that in the real world due to traffic and whatnot.

Edit:

I clipped an outdoor ride to fit roughly an hour and the avg was higher than I expected, especially given that the watts were lower.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...946dc69999.png

Posting this because I have never in my life nailed an outside workout as closely as this one:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...260706aa82.jpg

#lifeslittlevictories

5 hrs of (mostly) z2 yesterday, felt strong AF, had two separate 10' segments at >100% FTP 4 hrs into the ride. Too bad there are no races right now for me to use this fitness with! Had some random wheelsuckers going down the Rose Cyn path and Santa Fe on the way back which kept me motivated to keep it pinned at or over threshold. I hate it when people draft w/o asking, and also found it confusing given the social distancing orders and that we had a headwind... Not sure what I would have done if they pulled through, either attacked or just backed off or something. Not trying to ride behind anyone else right now.

This afternoon I'll tool around on the TT bike for ~90 min spending some time in position, tempo or maybe SST tops. I'm taking it easy next week, which looks like it will coincide nicely with the weather report, which calls for rain. I'll prob be doing some TT stuff on the trainer.

Next month/block, I'm not sure what to do. My interval workout on Tuesday was hard - I'm not feeling super motivated to crush some anaerobic work right now given the lack of racing. We'll see what happens, I'll prob. just stick in "base mode", but with maybe reduced volume so I don't burn myself out for no reason.

Moved to a cycling friendly area and started riding again after a 9-10 yr break. I’m literally the slowest cat 2 is the world right now. Lol.

Good to see the “Training Status” thread still alive a decade later.

I would fluctuate (add) 4-5 pounds in the last week tapering for a race. Always races best when coming in with a little extra water / carbs and plenty of rest. It’s pretty normal to see a 5 pound drop after a long ride and being low on carbs.

Friday was an easy ski tour with some buddies. These guys aren't in great aerobic shape but are much better skiers than me. I'd skin up ahead and then wait. A good reminder that even when I'm out of shape, I'm still above where a lot of people spend most of their time.

Yesterday got up and hit the trails on my mtb before the crowds got out (dang quarantine getting people outside). Still amazing to me how fast I'm going on my trail bike this year. No explanation. It's heavier. I'm heavier, I have burlier tires. And yet I'm PRing segments.
Homework and **** through the afternoon, then got out for a road ride in the evening. Outside! Couple of efforts on hills just for fun. Based totally on feel (no PM to compare to years past), my 1 minute power is pretty decent right now.

Today I climbed in the morning. Top rope solo, so wasn't around anyone. Don't tell the crag patrol though, they seem to have a bee up their bonnet about anyone doing anything outside. Had planned to ride but was tired so took a nap. Then got a run in the evening.

Top it all off with some zoom hangout sessions with friends and I had a pretty fun little weekend, all things considered.

I'm having a real issue with my groin riding indoors. It gets really tight the longer I ride to the point an hour in I have to get up and stretch. My theory is its more of a static position and I go upright more so those muscles can't relax like they can when I ride outdoors (when my position is much more variable).

Started doing yoga again, hopefully it'll help.

Intensity week this week. So every other day and lower overall load. Did enough good volume weeks with solid Z2 and some tempo/SS to build back to my pre-crash CTL. Woot!

I really want to get the upper end to this:
2min: 450w
4min: 400w
8min: 350w

Those gonna hurt something real bad.

90 min SST at 275 watts today. The same effort was only getting me 240-250 watts 3-4 weeks ago. The good thing about a 10 year layoff is the power numbers are skyrocketing. A long way to go, but progress sure is fun.

Run before lunch and a ramp test to re assess fitness this afternoon. Ways to go is the answer to that question.

8 hours last week.

Training but with no goals or events per se. I am getting good at longer tempo rides - well what could go wrong with that. My hair is starting to look like Don King meets Boris Johnson. I am getting two cloth face masks delivered in the next couple of days made by a local triathlon shop - supporting local business. I am watching Fauci and Dirx on TV looking for some good news. Are we having fun yet?

Okay. Snap out of it. It is raining for the next couple of days so structured work on the trainer. I need some solid pain.

Took most of the last 2 weeks off with a very odd cold. It's definitely going away now though, may try for an easy spin tonight and get back to it towards the end of the week. Annoying but I should hopefully be back to full power in 4-5 weeks, and there are no races coming up anyway.

People around here were starting to worry about you with the description of your symptoms.

My block of vo2 workouts is coming to an end this week. Today I did 6x3min @ 120% and the fact that I didn't die at the end and could probably handle more is probably a sign I didn't quite push myself to the max, but it's all good. I think the added confidence is more important than nailing the intensity perfectly given I'm not training for anything.

They were definitely weird! I still have a little congestion but it's a ton better and no more burning feeling.

Those are a tough call. Picking the right % or # of reps and sets to optimize the stimulus.

You want it hard enough to stimulate the right 'system' but not so hard you waste your time by failing things.

I'm probably doing a 3x3x3 tonight to gauge my ability on those. I'm aiming low at first for a # I know I can do 2 sets of. Then the third set is optional. From there, I'll judge to either increase the power or not. If I get two sets in and bonk the third set......winner winner chicken dinner.

I'll have to have my phone handy in my pocket running Z-companion app so I can skip that last set if necessary.

4x12 sweet spot tonight. The weather is pretty sweet this week, and I might actually get a ride in without leg warmers.

Bonus: The state park about 15 miles from my house is closed, so the fun twisty smooth climb up to it is mostly void of cars. I figure 4x12 might as well occur there.

1 hr z2/z3 today. Almost didn't ride but it was sunny and it's hard to pass up getting out of the house. Down 7-8 pounds from a month ago, about 18 more until I'm at my old race weight. Who knows, maybe I'll do a race this fall!