It's killing me but..........

RapDaddyo

Your workouts have been very simple so far (e.g., 2x20s @ FT). But, that is going to change as you begin to do more complex workouts (e.g., 4x5s @ 120%FT + 1x20 @ 91%FT). It becomes very difficult to manage stress without some way of comparing two or more workouts with each other. But, that's exactly what TSS does. So, here's a way to use TSS without being a math wizard. At the moment, you will be doing some combination of three intensities: Recovery, 91%FT, 100%FT and VO2MAX at 120%FT. Here is a table of TSS points per minutes for each intensity.
0.42 Recovery
1.38 91%FT
1.67 100%FT
2.40 120%FT
So, here's how you use these numbers. You just multiply them by the total minutes at each intensity and then add them all up. So, your 2x20 workout (assuming 5min warmup and 5mins between the 20s) is a total of 71 points. Your VO2MAX workout (4x5 @ 120%FT + 1x20 @ 91%FT with 10mins recovery after the last VO2MAX effort) is a total of 88 points. You can work out the stress of any combination of these efforts and compare them. As to the math, I think they teach this in the 4th grade here. Even a non-math type should be able to work this out. As to the value of the data, you'll figure it out after you overtrain and have to take a month off. So, just tuck this away somewhere and keep flying by the seat of your pants. Eventually, you'll need it.

Wise to slowly build up your endurance? Absolutely. Long events are all about endurance and power management. I get a kick out of people who proudly say they don't want to be a "slave" to a power meter on a ride and that they want to manage the ride by "feel." In almost the next sentence, they tell the story of how the bonked on a long ride. I just yawn.

RapDaddyo

You haven't offended me. I have been on my bike quite a bit working on a very interesting project with my cycling club. I'm organizing a group to ride a century (100 miles) in 5 hours or less. That's an average pace of 20mph for you non-math types. That's a pretty quick pace for non-competition cyclists. When you sit around among a group of non-competition cyclists and discuss their centuries, very few have ever ridden one in under 5 hours. Hills and wind increase the difficulty of this feat greatly and we have plenty of both here. My course has a total of 2600' of gross climbing and the usual winds are ~15mph. We did a 50-mile practice ride today with 11 riders (I was the only one with a USCF license), in a total time (net of stops) of 2:23:50. The next practice ride will be 75 miles and then we'll step up to the big one. Running an efficient TTT strategy with 11 recreational cyclists is challenging, but the most interesting challenge has been to work out the perfect pacing plan. I have elected to limit the ride to <=200W of sustainable power. On today's ride, my NP was 191W, so that constraint appears reasonable. But, a TTT pacing plan is built around the team member with the least power and there's a huge difference in how much power the guy on front puts out depending on hills and wind. Our plan today ranged from ~225W to ~375W. That's a pretty big difference.

Sillyoldtwit

RD, this is a quickie before I respond to your last long post.

My young adversary e mailed to tell me he has bought some "go faster pedals" and his climbing and speed on the flat has improved drastically. He has bought some Looks, which I used to ride with in England. In Japan however, I've been a bit chicken and am using platform pedals. I was thinking of going to my LBS tomorrow to get some new pedals and shoes. I checked several threads and everyone seems to have a different idea as to what pedals to get, which I suppose is only natural.
My question is, not what pedals to get because I'll have to decide myself tomorrow, but do they really make that much difference. I read somewhere in these forums that for a pro at least, with or without cleats would probably not make that much difference.

Anyone at all having strong views on this subject? Their opinion would be greatly appreciated.

RapDaddyo

I think the shoes are actually more important than the pedals. There are lots of clipless pedals available, with subtle differences in how you clip in and out and whether they "float" or not and how many adjustments they have to tweak the way they perform. Go to an LBS and check out several models on a trainer if possible. What many people fail to focus on is what I think is the more important issue -- the shoes. A good shoe is as comfortable as a moccasin in the upper and rigid as steel in the sole. I ride a Sidi Genius shoe with a CF sole and it's fantastic. Extremely comfortable from day one and very good at power transfer on the downstroke (the only part of the stroke that matters -- apologies to those who believe in "circular" pedaling).

frenchyge

Ahhh, so now the head games are coming into play. Let the equipment "arms race" begin.


They do help, and are much more comfortable to ride. Don't expect a "drastic" improvement in your speed, but you can still brag to your buddies about how you're flying up hills as a result of your new stuff. Tell him you you bought some $50 carbon fiber bottle cages, too, and see if he'll bite on that.

netscriber

Hi RD, sorry to barge in. So how does one achieve the comparison mentioned above? IOW what do 71 points really mean? Will it just be a historical comparison?

RapDaddyo

Well, there's nothing magic about the number. Andy chose to normalize TSS to 100 points = 1 hour at FT. But, it is sort of a nice metric, allowing easy comparison between workouts. The main thing is that it is linear, so you can in fact say that 200 TSS points is indeed 2x 100 TSS points. By tracking the TSS points of each ride, you can over time figure out what your personal tolerance is for training stress per day or per week. I find that I should take a day off the next day after a ride of >=150 TSS points. And, I try to keep my weekly volume at 1000 TSS points or less, although I have gone over 1000 points a few times. But, I think that is highly individualized. TSS allows you to compare two or more very different workouts from a physiological stress perspective, a hugely valuable capability. I trust TSS and track it weekly. It doesn't exactly require an advanced degree -- load a ride file into CP and read a graph.

netscriber

Got it. Useful if I have a PT. Right now I only have ~accurate power reading on a trainer. But I will try to log those points on my 2x20's on the trainer.
Thanks for the explanation. So is the granularity of the points based on the "Levels". IOW, there are fixed points for each level x minutes? Or are they much more granular. Meaning do the points for lower L4 Vs upper L4 differ?

Sillyoldtwit

You guys have almost convinced me I don't need cleats. At the mo I use shoes which scuba divers use. (don't know what they're called) They are very light and they have a rough sole which gives me a good grip on the pedals.

I've done 2 Centuries in them already, so maybe for the amount of benefit I'll derive through having cleats, they are not worth wasting money on. Put the money towards an RD powermeter!

RapDaddyo

If I had to choose between my old cycling shoes w/ toe clips and straps + a power meter vs. my Sidi shoes and Look cleats and no PM, I'd take the former. Fortunately, I don't have to choose.

Sillyoldtwit

We have just bought a new top of the range Toyota Estima, so I don't have to choose either - my wife does!

Today witnessed another record breaking day in the gym.

With legs still tired from Sunday's inreased milage and intensity, I forced myself to do 4x5mins @ 250W VO2MAX intervals. After 10 mins @ 100W did 1x10 @200W and then thought this won't do, so without a rest did 1x10 @ 210W finishing the final minute at a cadence of 120 plus.
I like to finish strongly because it tells me there was something left in the tank.
TYSON

RapDaddyo

What was the degree of difficulty of maintaining power on the last one?

Sillyoldtwit

Difficult to say, but I maintained the same cadence. In fact sped up in the last 20 secs or so. So, difficult I guess but nowhere near imposs!

RapDaddyo

Just checking. As you know, many believe intervals are maxed out efforts, especially as you shorten the duration. While I endorse that for neuromuscular adaptations, I just don't endorse that philosophy for intervals longer than 30sec. I think you'll realize plenty of progress at ~90% effort. Just give them time.