As the “It’s killing me” thread has become unreadable with some 129 pages, I thought it about time to start a new thread – not unlike the “Killing me” thread, with the aim of possibly inspiring S and the older cyclists to start training in a structured way if not already doing so. The progress that can be made in a relatively short time is exhilarating.

I think I disappointed my guide and mentor RapDaddyo by not introducing the finer elements of structured training such as TTS (total training stress) etc. into my workouts. I think it is up to the individual to decide how far and how deep they wish to go with their training.

Anyway, it seems like only yesterday (actually 25Jan last year) that I wrote:

Quote:

Anyway, today I took RDO's advice and attempted to find out my FT. Lo and behold it was as close to 130W as damn it. (130Watts for 1 hour) On reflection, that figure of 130W must have brought a smile to the faces of many of the regulars in the forum.

To which RapDaddyo replied:

Quote:

Now that you know your FT, you can fully apply Andy Coggan's training levels (see the table in the link I posted in your first thread). Again, I think you would make great progress working exclusively in level 4 (91%-105% of FT). You can do interval durations anywhere from 10 to 30 mins, but 20-30 mins is better.

And when I read the following now, I fall of my chair laughing.

Quote:

This week I've really got into 2 x 20 mins at 120 W as you suggested RD,and they felt awesome as you would say.

120Watts = awesome - OK whatever.



RD encouraged me by repeating –

Quote:

Awesome!

A while later I responded to a post of RD’s.

Quote:

You say you do your intervals at 214 - 248; can't imagine that at the mo.

I obviously didn’t have much imagination.



However, RD encouraged me by saying:

Quote:

I'm going on record -- I say you will do 2x20 at 200w by May 15th.

Fortunately RD was a little out in his prediction, as on the 7th May 2006 I did the following workout:

Quote:

And today another record tumbles. 1x20 @ 250W 1x10 @ 250W and with no rest 1x7 @ 240W

Fast forward to the present.



After detraining from the 3rd week in December and most of January.

(DO NOT DO THIS, IT TAKES AGES TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE BEFORE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A BIT LONG IN THE TOOTH LIKE ME.)



I started from the premise that 200 Watts was very easy for me. I likened it to ‘pedaling on rose petals’, and went right back to 230 Watt intervals in an attempt to make them like pedaling on rose petals. It was a little tough at first, but after a while they became very, very easy. Stepped it up to 245 Watts and almost from the first day they became very easy. So on to 255W intervals which also became relatively easy.

Remember these are not FTP (functional threshold Level 4 intervals, but somewhere in the L3 range)

I’m sure some in these forums will say, I should have trained at a higher wattage, but I enjoy training this way and find it a lot less stressful.



So where am I at this point in time. I have not tested my FTP so have no idea. At present I’m attempting to make 265Watts feel like cycling on rose petals.



Have done a few VO2Max workouts at 4X5 @ 290Watts.

Which brings me to today where I promised in the “Killing me” thread to reveal a special workout – the last workout in my tapering week before the Fukui 150KM ride on Sunday.



In keeping with the philosophy of doing high intensity but lower volume work in the tapering week, I opted to see how long I could hold 300 watts.



Last October I held it for 5 minutes and that was more than enough.



Today, with Blondie’s ‘hero’ blasting in my ears and the display covered up I set off into the unknown.



5 minutes came and went.



6 minutes



7 minutes



8,9 minutes



At this point the cadence was dropping of so I stood up on the trainer and ground out the last minute.



At 10 minutes I took a peek at the HRM which was at 167, and decided as this was probably getting near to my max and this is a tapering week, to call it a day.



So what did it prove. Although it isn’t 20min power and a long way off FTP, it gave me confidence; confident that I will before long achieve a 20 minute power of 300Watts.

An FTP of 300 watts?? Who knows!



There you have it in a nutshell; from an awesome 120 watts at the beginning of last year to 10 minutes at 300watts today in a greenhouse gym.

If I can do it, anyone can. As I head on towards 66 years old next year, believe me the above figures will be laughable.



So on your and get pedaling.

Cheers! Tyson

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Nice work Tyson.

I think I will be in a similar boat when I get back on the bike eventully but confident it will alll come back with a good plan, support and execution of course.

Cheers
Alex

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Custom Training Plans -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Power Meter Hire in Australia

My takeaways from Tyson:

1. Set firmly committed goals, short term and long term.

2. Develop, or have developed, a plan to get you from where you are, through your goals to the end.

3. TELL OTHER PEOPLE YOUR GOALS! You will NEVER be as accountable to yourself as you will to others.

4. Work, work, work.

5. Upon reaching a goal, SET THE NEXT ONE. If you're not moving forward, you're moving back. No natural thing is ever really standing still.

Awesome job Tyson!

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Cycling Blog - Training with Power

and surround youself with positive people (like RD was for you), remove the detractors, they get you no-where.

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Custom Training Plans -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Power Meter Hire in Australia

Way to go Tyson!.... BTW there is a helpful acronym sticky:

TSS………………….TRAINING STRESS SCORE

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Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. http://www.earnharts.com/html/realau...cific.asp?id=3

My takeaways from that thread were:

• Quality is more important than quantity
• SST intervals need to be 10 minutes and preferably 20 minutes long
• Minimize junk miles when riding outside
• Some days are better than others but you've got to take the long view and not get discouraged by days when the legs just don't have it
• SST base work is basically year round, no need for months of small ring spinning in winter

Those concepts more than anything else changed my training after 20 years of traditional old school advice (including a lot from professional coaches) and have brought me to a fitness I only dreamed about back in the day.

-Dave

My take away from this is simply: Tyson You Are the Man!!

I think your motto could be: I'm not out to pasture, I'm out to destroy

Nice to hear from you Alex. Sorry to hear you're still in hospital, however, I'm sure once you get out it won't take you long to get back in the swing of things.
Any nice nurses there btw?

Nomad wrote:

Nomad, you've revealed my secret to all and sundry. But yes, although we are anonymous in this forum, it doesn't mean that you want to lose face in the eyes of other posters and lurkers.
Making a prediction certainly helps me strive towards my declared goals.
The 300 watt FTP ambition though, has certainly proved hard to achieve.
For many in these forums a 300watt FTP is childs play but not for me.
There's one hell of a difference between 200watts and 300watts.

Dave offered some real sound advice:

I can't argue with any of those, especially the first one.

LOL Wiredued you got me there. I always think of TTS as Total Training Stress.

Hey Feltrider, fortunately Lucy isn't around to see your Lucy would probably have put it something like, "I'm inadvertently going to find myself in front of other riders from time to time".

Thanks to all you guys for your encouragement. Tyson

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Thanks Tyson
Nurses (the women at least) are cute enough but all are taken I'm afraid, me being eligible and all, what a let down. They are all good staff though.

My surgeon told me this evening that I should be in rehab by early next week! Yipee Now to get through the next few days....

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Custom Training Plans -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Power Meter Hire in Australia

That's good news Alex. What's involved in the rehab, do you know?

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Tyson in an earlier post you wrote:

Cool! Now I see the significance of the Wednesday prior to Sunday's Fukui. A new thread! And this one will take you (and us) to the next level!

It's here! All of those hours sweating in the greenhouse! What does the weather look like for Sunday?

I can imagine this! A bunch of riders are staging in a ski area parking lot. This ain't the greenhouse baby! The sound of hundreds of riders clipping in. A lead group of 20 riders heads out. You're in it. The road snakes its way up, ....up, and......up and then the lead group you are in (and the group HUNDREDS of riders are following) disappears into a cloud!

Good luck Tyson! This will be an unforgettable ride!

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Last Wed, a student of mine, a nurse who should know better came to the
lesson with a stinking cold. Laughingly she said you'll definitely catch it.
I asked her to put on a mask, to which she replied that she didn't have one.
(a nurse?)
Yesterday I slept during the day for about 3 hours. I felt
tired all day yesterday, which I thought was strange because I didn't train
that hard on Wed and I had Thur off. Today (Sat) I still feel tired and my joints are a little sore.
I'll wait until 4 this afternoon before making a final decision, but it's
looking grim for tomorrow.
I'm so f....ing angry, I could spit. One selfish act by someone who definitely should have known better and all the build-up to the event down the drain. Pah!

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A nurse eh? Sounds to me like a Ninja assassin dispatched by............ THE SMOKER!

I figure you're either out riding the Fukui with a cold or you are at home stewing. Either way its going to be "killin you"!

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A challenge to the 2x20...

After reading this thread during the winter I started 2x20 training. I immediately felt strong and as the season started, it was noticeable, by my cycling friends, that I am strong(er) that last year and them...

but...

after a few weeks/months, my friends quickly got stronger, and I am back into my relative position, if I have to rank the group of friends I am riding with.

also,

when riding 50-100 miles endurance, it sounds (and feels) like different systems, mental, nutrition, etc come to play; not just power.

any comments?

I, too, started doing the 2x20s about six months ago. However, the only races I do are time trials, 5 and 10K. My average power has definitely increased for 5, 10, and 20 minute sessions, while keeping my heart rate below max. Before I decided to follow the suggestions in this thread, I used to concentrate my training on shorter intervals (1 and 2 mile). I did become one of the top in my age group in the state (and based on comparative times and competitors) in the country, but I seemed to reach the level of diminishing returns for a year or more. I'll have a better idea of how much the 2x20s are helping until the state finals in December. But you might be right - at your distances the training effect of 2x20s might be less effective. Hey, it's all educated guesswork anyway.