What I did to prepare for Sebring 2017 ---today
- Thread starter ratz
- Start date
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Ratz: Maybe the IOS is more stable for the new TR app then the Windows version.Or run the current version of the program, where you never loose data and can restart the work even if you crash.....
I have had nothing but problems with the newest TR version on my i7 laptop. Plenty of RAM and speed.
Stupid TR program constantly just "is not responding", workout just pause, or dropping my HR or wattage randomly for minutes at a time.
I can feel my blood pressure rising just typing this out!~~~~~
Any time I have ever used it, it has cost me 10-20 extra minutes - restarting it, re-assigning the HR and power. Very frustrating.
Christmas is right around the corner!
If you want to send me an MacBook Pro to "test", I'll be more than happy to work with that - heck - maybe I can even use it for work!
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Hardy: Zwift does have their own training workouts - and I did see 2 different FTP tests. Pretty comparable to all other - it's not rocket science by any means!
I have not tried the workouts, but did read DC rainmaker's assessment of the feature on Zwift. Looks like it works in tandem while still riding along with everyone else in the Zwift world. But you have to still follow the workout and not chase people. I would probably fail horribly . Zwift is a pretty fun "diversion", but for an extra $10/month - not sure I would like it, unless they could import the TR workouts. Structured training is still better I think - well unless your Jason and you just pass everyone in Zwift like ever day is a race - with donuts at the end!
Ratz - you have a good contact with TR - maybe ping them and see if any hope in getting their workouts uploaded to Zwift?
Also - IMHO - If you really want to train good in the winter (heck - all the time really), I would opt for the trainer over the electronic shifting. (I believe pricing will continue to come down fast over the next year for elec shifting stuff too.)
I think I've probably got 25K miles on my KICKR in the last 2 years. Love it!
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Sounds like the new flux could use a good long period of firmware updates to get it up to speed from the two reviews I read. I'd be wary jumping onto a net constructed model before they work out the bugs. Sounds like the Neo is way out of your price range so I'd say it's a matter of weighing the value of direct drive over wheel on setup.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Funny coming from you Jason - but I guess you probably meant it to be!
I actually have no problem letting people go passed me unless I'm looking for someone to chase. Then again on zwift I tend to head strait for the biggest mountain which sees 10% of the traffic compared to the flatter coastal routes. You can take the rider out of the mountains but you can't take the mountains out of the rider.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I can definitely see some benefit in riding Zwift especially if you are motivated to ride hard. I know the first year I started riding my Cruzbike (Silvio - Started in June 2016) - I was commuting to work. It is really only 10 miles each way, but I found myself going longer and longer, until I had 2 hour rides to work. Lots of elevation changes. I got strong really fast, and back then I could push 350watts for 5 minutes- even after riding for an hour. (Of course that was on the Silvio).
Since the bikes are setup on DF values, it sure is nice to climb the grades so fast!
Bottom line - doesn't matter what you train on - If you can push the envelope weekly with some of your rides, you will get stronger. It's slightly easier to do with a group that has a stronger rider than yourself - and some find it hard to do on a trainer because you can just stop - and don't have to walk home in shame!
Anyway - I look forward to finding you Jason on Zwift sometime before this year is over and we can have some fun together! I plan on riding a lot - when my wife goes down to see her parents from Dec 29 - Jan 1. I'm even thinking of trying to ride a 24 or more hour stretch during that time. Maybe mix it up with some Bowl games and Zwift!
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I wanted to quit so bad in that 100k zwift race but each time I thought "wtf else do you have to do today you one armed gimp"
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
I have an iphone 5c in a drawer you could have an use; has no services but heck the wifi works.If you want to send me an MacBook Pro to "test", I'll be more than happy to work with that - heck - maybe I can even use it for work!
It's even powder blue to match your original CB Jersey.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I remember those days - Back in 2015 - I tore my front and rear rotator cuff in my crash at Sebring 24 - I had the surgery in March. It was great to be able to just lay back on the Vendetta and pedal - while my shoulder healed. I did not loose hardly any fitness due to that. It was a little weird riding the bike for real the first couple of times, especially since I was not allowed to do any real weight training on my shoulder for at least 6 months after.
But it all worked out.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Yes
There is not much in accuracy to mess up from a computation method. But physically the testsare just really hard to do and it takes practice to get good at pacing the tests with out blowing up.
It's pretty straight forward math, with 3 formulas:
The 2 tests used by all the training programs are as follows:
1) Ride Qty-2 x 8 minutes segments full gas; take the "average" of the "average watts" of the two segments and multiply by 80% = FTP
2) Ride Qty 1 x 20 minute segment full gas; take that average wattage and multiply by 90% = FTP
The 80% and 90% values are based on the rate at which people "fade" over an hour on an all out effort; after studying 1000s of athletes. Once you have FTP you can scale workouts relative to the strength of the athlete. That means that a workout called "Super Donut Run" will be equally challenging to riders of vastly different size, strengths, and training levels.
3) The third formula is the new mFTP which has not been publicly released. It's for coaches using WKO4 and athletes using training peaks. It "Appears" to be calculated from the last 90 days of real riding; and it's is surprisingly accurate IF you are regularly training and initially started from an FTP test. Beauty of this one is that someone who is actively training doesn't have stop training to test (FTP tests are best done on two days rest, and are ride to you puke efforts, often then messing up training for the follow day or two) mFTP removes that hurdle
Yes but their library is not a mature or developed yet. They are very exclusionary in their betas so they have been lagging in mainstream input for the community at large.
The big 3 are: Trainer Road, Zwift, and CyclopesVirtualTraining
- All have built in workout editors
- Zwift has gameification
- TR has the largest workout library and full training plans
- CVT has video rides
- Zwift seems to focus on making time on the trainer less boring
- TR focuses on making the time on the trainer more productive
- CVT splits the difference.
- It's the same challenge on the real rode; if you don't chase people outdoors then you probably won't indoors either.
Basically you have to try and see which one will motivate you to ride...
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ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Road TR-Rendezvous and got it handed to me at minute 48. too much time off installing that new floor for Christmas. Going to be a long week on the trainer.
Book the rooms at the Chateau Elan by the race track. Heads up on that; there are only 2 rooms left and they are only available through Expedia.com. Suggest anyone search for rooms in the area get on it fast; use Kayak.com and you'll find that there are 2 left at the Elan (by the track) , and 6 left at La Quinta (12 miles away)
Edit: booked Pluckblond's plane flight so that I can pick her up on my way there with the bikes. Expensive getting there from MN for this family so all those closer to FL and fence sitting; I'm expecting to see you there in force.
Book the rooms at the Chateau Elan by the race track. Heads up on that; there are only 2 rooms left and they are only available through Expedia.com. Suggest anyone search for rooms in the area get on it fast; use Kayak.com and you'll find that there are 2 left at the Elan (by the track) , and 6 left at La Quinta (12 miles away)
Edit: booked Pluckblond's plane flight so that I can pick her up on my way there with the bikes. Expensive getting there from MN for this family so all those closer to FL and fence sitting; I'm expecting to see you there in force.
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CruzLike
Guru
Rendezvous was not a ride in the park for me either. I didn't have new flooring to blame it on. The ride was an 8 on the effort scale. The rest of the morning I was bushed. I just ate lunch, hopefully that will boost my recovery.
This ride was similar to the ramp FTP test Larry took. I bet he had fun on Rendezvous following the ramp test. A little dejavu.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Remember it's just a number, and used mostly to be able ride structured workouts that will both challenge you and not kill you, so you eventually adapt and get strong.
The pounds/kg ratio is really more meaningful if you are trying to compare one person's overall strength to someone elses. The lighter you are, the less watts you need to have the same overall power as someone heavier than you.
FTP, and lbs/KG ratio aside, this still does not measure how much endurance someone has.
I don't think I seen a metric on that other than a power curve.
Based on the power curve we each have "FTP's", or "Lbs/Kg ratiro's" per time.
Sprinters will have higher values at the tall end of the curve, Super endurance riders will have higher values at the flat end of the curve. Basically we are all different!
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Yeah he's got some thing silly like a wedding this weekend; so he got his schedule adjust and rendezvous got pushed to next week. He got to do Eclipse which is waiting to destroy us on Saturday....
Just wait for week 4 and Tower; it's a very dark place ....“Ka was a wheel; it was also a net from which none ever escaped.”
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I am riding a modified week, since I will be out Friday thru Sunday.
Bob suggested I ride Eclipse today - instead of Rendezvous - but now I think he just wanted "bury" me after my 105min FTP ramp workout of yesterday.
Thanks Bob!(but thankfully I was rested and felt better than I did yesterday)
It was a tough workout with 90 mins at 0.85 IF (compared to 60 mins at 0.80 IF for Rendezvous) so I can't wait to see how you guys like Eclipse on Saturday! I'll be thinking of you guys while I'm watching my daughter graduate from college. I'm hoping there will be donuts there somewhere!
I actually felt pretty chipper, so I upped the first 20min set to 106%, 2nd set to 104%, and 3rd set to 102%, with rest intervals at 120%. Ended up with 90 mins at 0.90 IF and 122 TSS. What a difference a day makes!
https://www.strava.com/activities/802124990/analysis
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
http://help.trainingpeaks.com/hc/en-us/articles/204071814-Intensity-Factor
Intensity Factor (IF):
For any workout or part of a workout, the ratio of the Normalized Power to the rider's functional threshold power, which gives the user a relative intensity in relation to their threshold power. IF is used to calculate TSS.
Example a Ride with a NP of 80% FTP is IF=0.80
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Finish Carson (city blues). New FTP is still kicking my but. Blew out on interval 5 and had to finish out at 80-90%. Pretty much like last year week one sucks but hopefully will get around the corner by Tuesday. Next up shower and hopefully awake enough to actually register for the event. Yep that is probably a good idea.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Finished the 3-hour Maclure this morning. (The rest of you will ride it this weekend).
I still think Ratz is trying to bury me before I go off to my daughter's graduation. I resist burial strongly!
I went to bed late last night, figuring I might just ride an hour this morning. Woke up at 4am and figured - "well I might as well do the Maclure ride now!"
It's almost a sleepy ride compared to some of the other rides you have done this week, but you should be able to do it under your MAF heart rate. My avg HR was 123 with NP at 171. This was so much easier of a ride then when I did it back on Nov 26, when my HR averaged 143 and topped out at 162. In my current ride, my last 20 minute stretch at 185 watts had my HR average at only 129, whereas on Nov 26, that last 20 minute stretch at 181 watts my HR averaged 157! What a huge difference.
(We were having terrible smokey conditions due to several large forest fires. It is amazing what a lack of oxygen does to your system!)
Today's on the left - Nov 26 on the right.
I still think Ratz is trying to bury me before I go off to my daughter's graduation. I resist burial strongly!
I went to bed late last night, figuring I might just ride an hour this morning. Woke up at 4am and figured - "well I might as well do the Maclure ride now!"
It's almost a sleepy ride compared to some of the other rides you have done this week, but you should be able to do it under your MAF heart rate. My avg HR was 123 with NP at 171. This was so much easier of a ride then when I did it back on Nov 26, when my HR averaged 143 and topped out at 162. In my current ride, my last 20 minute stretch at 185 watts had my HR average at only 129, whereas on Nov 26, that last 20 minute stretch at 181 watts my HR averaged 157! What a huge difference.
(We were having terrible smokey conditions due to several large forest fires. It is amazing what a lack of oxygen does to your system!)
Today's on the left - Nov 26 on the right.
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