What did I actually train?

[hrumpole]

I've been off the bike for 2 weeks due to travel and decided that I'd just go out and ride--no real intervals. It was gorgeous out. The data that came back look like this:
Critical Power: 217
Zone
Description
Low
High
Time
Z1
Active Recovery
0
119
1:04:57
Z2
Endurance
119
162
18:44
Z3
Tempo
162
195
17:12
Z4
Threshold
195
227
13:22
Z5
VO2Max
227
260
10:52
Z6
Anaerobic
260
325
12:37
Z7
Neuromuscular
325
MAX
11:33

Heart rate looks like this:
Z1
Active Recovery
0
109
00:06
Z2
Endurance
109
133
14:21
Z3
Tempo
133
151
40:47
Z4
Threshold
151
169
1:21:58
Z5
VO2Max
169
MAX
12:05

When I was done, rest assured I was shattered. The CP estimate is probably 10-15 watts high, as it comes from before the layoff. (From that perspective, I'm quite sure it was accurate). Easy come, easy go. What does this kind of ride actually do? There were quite a few rolling hills. If I look at the HR data, it was a threshold/tempo ride. If I look at the profile, I don't know that I was in any zone long enough to train anything except perhaps neuromuscular. Does this kind of profile make you better at anything?

NP/xpower was 177. Last outdoor ride (which was 40 minutes shorter) was 201.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Hard to pin it down exactly, but at the very least it's some good aerobic base training in a variety of zones and falls into the dynamic less structured sort of SST riding. You rolled a fair amount of time in higher end efforts, sure if those were sustained excursions into Tempo or Threshold you'd have targeted those levels directly but it still sounds like a very good ride with a lot of ad hoc time above recovery mode. Those can still be quite valuable and can be a great way to get your head back in the game after a tough period or after a layoff like you experienced. I suspect it was a pretty fun ride.

I wouldn't take the HR data too seriously after a longer break. FWIW when I trained with HR I always found it spiked up easily after I'd been off the bike for a while and only started to give repeatable results for my efforts when I was back into a normal training load. It doesn't surprise me that a spirited ride after a long break drove your HR higher than you typically see for similar efforts.

-Dave

 

[hrumpole]

It was a blast. You're right about HR too--before the layoff, I could peg my HR pretty well based on perceived effort. Heavy breathing -=LT=158-161. On Sunday, I found that the pain really started at 166 or so, which is way high, but at a lower power.

Felt pretty hard, but last year I didn't ride that far 'till late April/may. It's a standard loop where I live, so I'll have a chance to check it out again soon. And a chance to get on the trainer a couple of times and see if I can get back in the groove.

The weather's getting better... Now if I could only work on that /kg side of the w/kg equation. Praise the lord and pass the cheese dip.

Thanks for the help.