Tuesday Training

Hi

2x20 scheduled for today and wasn't sure how it would go after yesterday's exertions but I felt pretty good. Ran my .ERG file again so the session was identical to yesterdays ride and it went well, I managed to complete both efforts at the same power (load) levels as yesterday. My HR was a bit higher as would be expected but it was still manageable.

I seem to be recovering well from my training now, better than previously, which is good and I am hoping that I will slowly be able to build on this and start to increase the loads in these sessions over the forthcoming months. Looking around it is this type of session which people like Joe Friel and the people at TrainingPeaks use to run their programmes so I'm happy using this type of pre-planned session from here on, at least I know where I stand!

I did do a small test during tonight's session and found that even if you want to when you have started one of these sessions you cannot adjust the load so once it's started you are fully committed, you can either finish the session or you can't, the option to make it a bit easier does not exist, you can either turn the pedals against the infernally constant load or not, it's got to be good training!

There is no doubt that turbo training is a more efficient method of doing this sort of training than road riding, looking at my CyclingPeaks WKO+ analysed rides, on my Sunday ride I was not pedaling for 20% of the time! Even on the recent L2 ride I was not pedaling for 10% of the time which surprised me. Also this doesn't show (not using a PowerTap) when I am turning the pedals but not really applying much pressure, this is just when the pedals are not turning at all!

Measured lactate levels half way through first effort and the reading was 2.9mmol/l. This is lower than yesterday but the reading was taken in the middle of the effort rather than at the end so I need to standardise this, probably on the end point. The 2 readings suggests that during the effort the lactate level is building rather than remaining reasonably constant, this in turn suggests that I am working at or about my lactate threshold.

Quite satisfactory really, finally feel as if I can now "do" all the sessions and I'm hoping that this methodology will see steady progress being made, at least in 3/6 months time I can come back and redo one of these workouts and see, without doubt, if improvements have been made.

I still don't really understand why my output is still so much lower than is was back in June, I'll have to ponder that one.