I'm brainstorming myself a new training method. It'll basically be Friel Lite. It'll keep a three-hard, one-easy weekly periodization cycle, and will have three yearly macrocycles:
My heart rate distribution for the past 28 days:
Every year this time (base period/off season for most cyclists in North America), there begins a flurry of on-line discussion and argument about the benefits and risks of strength training for cyclists. It's not hard to find well-known coaches and physiologists to argue either side of the issue. Coggan thinks weights are useless and that the fatigue generated by strength workouts can be harmful to endurance athletes because time is taken away from productive training; Friel has always (at least since the '80s) been a proponent of strength training in the base training periods.
I have a lot of respect for some of the folks on Google Wattage (where many of the heated discussions occur) who dismiss the use of weights and/or strength training because “the research does not show that it helps; therefore it’s a waste of time so it hurts.” Research and real scientific results are crucial to learning how to use your training time most efficiently. It’s perilous to ignore the results of multiple legitimate scientific studies. But I think the anti-weights voices are a little too stubborn in their narrow, but very consistent, response: “the research does not show that weights make you faster.”
Maybe they don’t make you faster. But I can tell you from n=1 that they make you feel faster. That’s worth something. They make you feel more confident. That’s worth something. They might make your bones healthier and more dense. That’s worth something. They make you less prone to injury. That’s worth something. They make you look and feel better. That’s worth something. They make winter training less monotonous. That's worth something. And a whole big bunch of very successful cyclists and coaches have reached the conclusion, for a variety of reasons, that weights are worth the time. That’s worth something.
For me, all those minor ‘somethings’ add up to a lot. So I’m sticking with the weights for a few decades until the researchers get it sorted out.
This is a good post by Joe Friel explaining some benefits of the long L2 ride. There is no doubt that significant ride time at L3 and L4 are both important for aerobic system development in the winter/base period of the year. But there are things L2 can give you that L3 and L4 don't.
The Aerobic Base Ride
On a related note, I found this statement by Hunter Allen yesterday on Google Wattage; it sums up my thoughts on doing century-length rides in November and December:
"One other point is that longer rides made up of the components above (L1, L2, and L3) can help you make the next quantum leap in FTP. I have seen so many Masters riders that are restricted to 8-12 hours a week and no matter how hard and smart they train, just never are able to get to 'the next level'. Only when they can introduce a 2-3x a month long ride into their training plan that tax both the cardiovascular and muscular endurance components are they able to make the quantum leap. It doesn't mean that every weekend has to be a 100+ mile ride, but 2-3 a month can make a difference even if you never, ever race near that distance or to that level of fatigue."
I understand the 'only train as long as your longest race' philosophy. I just don't agree with it.
The most significant changes from my 2008 and 2009 plans are:
By May I'll know once and for all if Friel's philosophy works.
My 225-watt test showed 8% decoupling in a 30-min test. (later determined that it wasn't really 8%, more like 3-5% if I used the correct calculation method). I wanted to see the results of a lower wattage test, so I did an 80-min decoupling test at 175 watts.
Not only did I not find any evidence at all of decoupling, the result was NEGATIVE 2%. First 37 min: 176w at 123 bpm; Second 37 min: 177w at 122 bpm. Go figure.
I'll do the 225w test again to see if I can repeat the 8% decoupling result. If I can, then the next step will be to see at what wattage the decoupling effect starts to occur. Will it be at an abrupt wattage or will it gradually decouple?
If I find that it's an abrupt point, will additional aerobic system training raise the 'decoupling point?' Will additional aerobic training lower the 8% decoupling I see at 225 watts? Lots to investigate; but that's ok - I have until Spring.
If you saw me race in the Gainesville crit last weekend you'll know the obvious: I didn't get my ass handed to me, I got it thrown at me. It was very ugly. And the worst part was that my legs were fine and my power was decent. I was just outclassed by my competition in an 8-man masters field with nowhere to hide.
Anyone who's read anything about training is familiar with periodization. You work harder and harder for two or three weeks, then take an week so the body can supercompensate.
Well I guess I've sort of unintentionally done that on a macro scale. We'll call 2001 through 2005 my base period. I was a triathlete then and probably averaged about 75 to 100 miles per week on the bike - mostly at tempo. I got stronger on the bike each year, but never got very fast.
In 2006 I discovered bike racing. I'm not sure how it happened, really - I guess I'll go back and read my blog - that's why I starting writing this stuff, anyway - so I could see trends. I delved into all sorts of training literature and worked pretty hard to get better. And I did get better. I trained with structure for three years, 2006, 2007, and 2008. I could barely hang onto the back of the cat5 pack when I raced in Gainesville in spring 2006. I catted up to cat 4 for 2008, where my biggest achievements were winning the Tour of Atlanta and getting a 2nd in the Elberton road race in a 40-mile break. I think I was on the cusp of getting some real results.
Then in fall 2008 my power meter crapped out and I didn't replace it. Then 2009 started out poorly - I had a bad crash at my very first race in early March that messed me up for a while and caused a bad back that lingered for a couple more months. The end result is that I really have not 'trained' this year at all. I've ridden a decent amount, averaging about 8 hours per week since February. But I've done no intervals and had no training structure. Basically, I've taken the year off from training. So we'll call this my recovery year. Also, my Tarmac SL downtube cracked for no reason that I know of and Calfee is working to repair it (it really has been a tough year). And to make it just a little bit tougher on myself, I catted up to 3 (a move of true genius, I see now).
But through all this year's problems, I've still gotten a little stronger. A friend loaned me a SRM for the past month with a loaner frame when mine cracked. It has confirmed what I felt - that my MMP curve has moved northeastward even with no structured training (I'll post the curve later). I'm slightly stronger in almost all time intervals.
So now I guess it's time for me to start another four-year cycle. Last week I created and initiated a training plan to take me through October (I'll post that later, too). Today I ordered a Power Tap which will be here by mid-week. Since I catted up to 3, I figure I have no choice but to get stronger if I want to continue enjoying racing.
So it's time for me to get stronger.
I have no idea why, but my legs are super this week. Mondays hill repeats were easy and I broke all sorts of personal records on my little test hill. Yesterday's 90min tempo ride was a no-chainer. Today I got on the computrainer to do 1-hr tempo. My last 45 minutes normalized power was 265 watts. Thats an IF of 0.92 based on what I thought my FTP was (I'm now sure my recent estimates have been low).
This is the sort of week that sends you to your training log to see what the heck caused it. I couldn't find anything significant. I've had a solid spring, but nothing exceptional. On Saturday I raced in the masters Georgia state championship RR. It was pretty well attended by strong riders - more than a couple strong cat 1s and very strong masters veterans. I had my arse handed to me, making a short day of it (90 min - some of it at pretty high intensity).
My best guess is that the old rule that to taper you need to cut back on volume and keep the intensity high is accurate. That's sort of what I've done lately. Problem is, I'm not trying to taper for anything. Guess I'll just enjoy the good form on training rides.
Last year I was able to maintain FTP growth through January 8th - then my results flattened out. It's probably not a coincidence that I started doing much more VO2max and anaerobic work in January last year. Either then intensity somehow stunted my FTP progress or, more likely, the reduced time available for SST and L4 work stopped my FTP improvement.
This year I've pretty much stayed away from high intensity work except for what I got in the Peach Peloton attack zones. I did my first set of hill repeats for 2009 on Monday.
Yesterday I did another FTP test. It appears that my FTP is still creeping upward. That's good news, but it makes me wonder if I should continue to hold off on intensity training even longer into the year. Oddly enough, I don't feel that my anaerobic system is suffering much from the lack of training. One thing's for sure, the absence of intensity in January and February has me feeling much fresher and I've not been sick since last spring.
I guess if the training program ain't broke, don't try to fix it. So for now I'll let my intensity mostly come from races and see what happens. I'll probably know in my first crit if the lack of anaerobic work has set me back in that area. My current FTP chart is below. I probably should do at least FTP test in my recently modified TT position to see how that stands. But I've been putting it off because, well, hurts a lot to be in that position for 45 minutes - I really didn't develop the new position for longer races.
This is a good winter trainer workout for gradually transitioning from pure FTP build into a little more intense L5 work. It'll give you 55 quality minutes and 66 TSS.
Google is very helpful in making up workout names: In 532 AD, the Nika Riot occurred in Constantinople, and about 30,000 people were killed in the Hippodrome (horse track). Also, 532 AD was the first year that the Anno Domini calendar was ever used.
Since 2000/2001 my winter training plan has included at least one day per week on the TT bike. This winter is no different. In November and December I've done one SST workout per week on the Cervelo.
Winter is also the time to do position tweaks. A few days ago I added a new Thomson stem to my P2K. It is the same length as my old stem, but has a 10-degree downward angle (the old one had a zero angle). That lowered the front end 16 millimeters [90cm x sin(10 deg) = 16mm]. I also moved the tri-bar extensions forward about 15 mm. To maintain a similar reach, I shifted my saddle forward about 1.5 cm forward. Shifting the saddle forward meant that I had to raise it a little to keep the same height from the BB. I had to add new shifter cables and cable housing due to the extended new position. To polish it all off, I sawed 2.5 cm off the top of my fork, steerer tube, whatever you call that thing, and took off several spacers.
As I mentioned, up 'till now I've only done SST workouts - 85% to 90% of FTP.
After I made the adjustments, I did a 45 minute workout including 4 threshold power intervals - 100% of FTP - each 7 minutes long. Not what I would call a difficult workout.
For two days after the workout I have been extremely sore. Legs, back, shoulders - it's been hard to sleep, even. I don't know if it was the slightly different position, the slightly higher intensity, the fact that it's my first winter over 40, or maybe all three. But it hurts like hell.
The experience has changed the way I'll approach my TT training for the rest of the winter. After a few more workouts to hopefully 'stop the hurt,' I'll start doing shorter, harder intervals on the TT bike. If many of my TT efforts this year will be prologues or very short TTs in the Georgia Cup series, I'd better get used to VO2max level efforts on the Cervelo. So from here out, it's weekly 355s on the TT bike: 3x5min@L5 (L5 is 110% FTP power).
If I find that there is as much difference between the 355s and the FTP efforts on the Cervelo as I found between SST and FTP, then there's probably more soreness in my future.
One of the useful things about power data is that a watt in 2006 is the same as a watt in 2009. So chronic training load (CTL) and functional threshold power (FTP) are reliable in comparing training and fitness across multiple years. If your power meter is giving you good numbers (close your eyes and accept it, Hoppa, it won't hurt), then CTL and FTP are 100% valid indicators of how hard you've worked in any year and what FTP benefit you developed from the work. The comparison works best in the winter FTP-build phase.
The comparison is a good test of your training program's effectiveness. There are important contributors to, and indicators of, fitness and succes other than CTL and FTP (genetics, luck, nutrition, weight, confidence, stress level, sleep quality, team strenth, equipment weight and quality, spousal support, tactics, strategy, motivation, sprint power, crank torque, 5-min power, cadence, CdA), but for me they are the ones that matter the most.
I 'invented' a new trainer FTP-build workout last night (boredom is the mother of many new workouts). I’ll call it 6789 STT. (SST is sweet spot training – 90% of FTP - not a new idea, but probably a pretty good one). It goes like this:
Begin riding at L2 effort. At 14 min, do 6 min of SST. At 23 min, do 7 minutes of SST. At 32 min, do 8 min of SST. And at 41min, do 9 min of SST. L2 effort between sets and for the last 10 minutes to make an hour-long workout.
Figure by Andy Coggan, PhD
The season is officially over. My 2008 was very successful both individually and from a team perspective. We have a great group of sponsors for 2009 and I look forward to the difficult task of topping this year's results in 2009 with Security Bank Cycling Team.
Here's a look at my yearlong Performance Manager Chart. The most notable parts of the graph are the long, slow CTL buildup over the winter (the long Peach Peloton rides make it look like a regular heartbeat). I began peaking much too early, in February. As a result I was forced to put my CTL into a dive in late March and early April in order to have time to rebuild a peak for the Tour of Atlanta in late May - my most important target. The strategy worked and I had a very successful ToA.
My CTL held pretty steady throughout the summer. I saw a late-season bump around Six Gap Century and my training for the State TT Championship, then a tail-off as I took it easy in late October. The CTL ramp for the State TT was too steep and I'd lost too much FTP by late summer, resulting in a poor performance in Ringgold.
It's interesting to note that many of my power records were set in late June and early July following a slight dip in CTL after the ToA - just as would be expected.
Most of my racing will be March through June next year. That will make a two-peak season pretty much impossible. So I plan to push more of my intensity training into January or February and ramp it up more slowly.
Anyone who rides bikes or listens to Phil and Paul knows that good form comes and goes. That applies whether you ride for Slipstream Chipotle or Security Bank. But the length and depth of the peaks and valleys is probably quite different from rider to rider. I started my 2008 training plan on November 1, 2007. Through mid-December, I did 40-min FTP tests on Tuesdays, a few sprints on Thursdays, and long Peach Peloton rides on Saturdays (with L2 on other days). I added some L4 (threshold) intervals on Thursdays to take me through December. I saw very good FTP improvement for the first 8 weeks.
Throughout January and early February, I added an L5 (VO2max) interval session once a week. February would be my L6 (anaerobic) interval month. My plan was to have my first peak of 2008 occur in early March. Then I'd ease up on the gas a little in late April and early May and get form back for the Tour of Atlanta in late May. A final peak late summer would round out my year.
Things don't always go according to plan. I peaked far too early. Most of my 2008 power records occurred on training rides in late January. I saw it happening at the time, but by the time you see it, it's too late - you can't tell your legs to chill out for 6 weeks while your schedule catches up. So I basically peaked for training camp, four to six weeks earlier than planned. I'll have to give some thought as to how to avoid that in 2009, but maybe extending the FTP training block into January and more gradually starting the L5 stuff in February would work.
I held decent form until mid March. My threshold stayed up for Perry (I took 2nd in the TT), but by then I'd lost all my top end power (was dropped in the road race). I started getting dropped in training rides and generally felt terrible every time on the road. I knew that in order to be ready for ToA in late May, I'd better hit the reset button pronto.
So over the next two weeks I cut my training load in half, lowering my CTL from the mid 80s back to about 70 (my early November level). I maintained some intensity but gave myself much more recovery time between hard rides. In early April I started a new CTL ramp. I brought CTL back up to about 78, then did a short taper for the ToA. The 'restart' worked and I had good threshold form and decent anaerobic form for the ToA.
The graph below shows my CTL since I started bike racing in April 2006. Next winter I'll modify my winter plan to work more toward two peaks, one in late Spring and one in late Summer. It's a learning process - by tracking CTL and using the rear-view-mirror effect maybe I'll eventually be able to time my peaks more accurately. But one thing's for sure - riding form will never be static if you're trying to push your physical limits.
How to get your ass kicked on the golf course:
