Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Setting the Table

Now that the holiday binge-laze-fest is over, an honest assessment is due. A fitness test conducted tells a tale of subtle progress. My FTP is up - significantly. My left leg is getting close to parity with my (dominant) right leg. My leg speed (maximum cadences) are up as well. All of this indicates improved sub-threshold condtioning.

Over-threshold (anaerobic) capacity lacks still. Little gain in 10-, 30-, 60-second maximal power. I am both frustrated and excited. What? Frustrated at the lack of progress, but excited because I like anaerobic workouts. Don't get me wrong, they hurt when doing them. But about an hour afterwards... the legs are all warm... and you get that quiet fatigue you can get no other way. They are also a lot shorter, which is a positive when you are relegated to the trainer.

I've experimented with several workouts. Here's an example:

10:00 light spinning to warm up.
2:00 @ 130% of FTP / 2:00 Recovery / Repeat 5X
1:00 @ 150% of FTP / 1:00 Recovery / Repeat until you can't hold 120% of FTP
10:00 light spin to cool down

That'll get your heart rate up.

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