Sweet Spot Base - Mid Volume Phase 1 - Week 1
11/26/18 - M - OFF
11/27/18 - T - Carter (45 min; 34 TSS)
11/28/18 - W - OFF
11/29/18 - R - Taku (30 min; 19 TSS)
11/30/18 - F - Mount Field (60 min; 61 TSS)
12/1/18 - Sa - 21df + Reinstein (90 min; 99 TSS)
12/2/18 - Su - Glassy (80 min; 81 TSS) + 21df
Total Training Time - 6:13 hours
Total Biking TSS - 294 TSS
TSS = Total Stress Score. Simply put, a method to analytically support the difficulty of a workout. A TSS for person A is roughly equivalent to person B regardless of the fitness difference between them. Very similar to how I explain the concept of duration x relative current fitness pacing being more meaningful to fitness gains than actual mileage.
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/what-is-tss/
Monday - OFF. 21 day fix didn't happen because Steph was going to have an extremely tough week at work. So we were postponed on doing 21 day fix until her work schedule even'd out more.
Tuesday - My first bike ride using ERG mode on my new Wahoo Kickr Core trainer. ERG mode is when the trainer controls the wattage output. So essentially, if I'm suppose to do 70% FTP wattage (150 watts) then the trainer sets the output to 150 watts. If I pedal slower or faster (change my cadence), it doesn't matter. The trainer will just make the wattage the same regardless. So you can't escape completing the workout as designed except for bailing on it completely. Relatively speaking, this workout was easy. The TSS was low (34) and the %FTP hovered around 70% for the majority of the workout. A similar TSS run was a 5 miler (43 min) at a relatively easy pace. After a few weeks with the new bike, I decided I can't wear my running shorts comfortably. So I've been using my running tights instead. They're meant for temps in the -30 to 20 F range, but thus far it hasn't caused an issue.
Wednesday - Late Tuesday night I got an email that my new TV was to be shipped on Wednesday. I had to sign for it when it arrived so I took the day off and just waited. And waited. And waited. Finally it arrived and my FIL came over to help me set it up. I didn't finish setting everything up until 10:30pm, so I decided to skip the workout and move it to Thursday instead.
Thursday - Another easy ride. Just 30 min long and a 19 TSS which is quite low (like a 2.5 mile/22 min run). I've got this. No biggy. Even thought maybe I should add in some more training because it was so easy, but decided to wait to see how the rest of the week played out.
Friday - The effort was up a touch, maybe a medium level effort. It was a 3 x 12 min interval session at 85% FTP (so like a M Tempo/HM Tempo run). It included some periods of time where I was suppose to get up out of the bike seat and do some standing biking. Man that was tough. I'd say the hardest part was that I couldn't get a consistent/fluid pedal cadence as it just seemed so herky/jerky. But I'm sure that's something that will improve and become more normal. From a TSS standpoint, similar to a 60 min easy running day.
Saturday - Steph was off and her schedule looks to be back to normal moving forward. So we restarted on the 21 day fix in advance of us starting 80 day obsession. Most of the workouts are 30 min and involve some sequence of aerobic/weights/yoga mat. Not too bad. Alright, after that I moved into the 90 min Reinstein workout. HOLY ****! This workout was intense. All the bike training sessions before this, I was like yea, I got this. But this one really really pushed me. 90 min with a 3 x 12 min interval session where the pace goes just below and just above FTP (or similar to the LT workouts for running). This workout really pushed me and my HR was sky high on this one. I even had to stop for a very short break twice during the end of the workout just to keep my legs from falling off. This was the moment I realized this training plan wasn't going to be a joke and it was going to push me to the edge. Buckle up. I'm sure it didn't help to have a 30+ min strength session immediately proceeding it that tired my legs out on its own. But the key thing is, I survived. A 99 TSS would be equivalent to a 90 min LR or a 90 min T pace run with 30 total min at T. Not quite up to the level of some really hard running events, but I think a key difference with a workout like this on the bike is you literally get almost zero breaks to your muscles since the ERG forces you to hit the scheduled wattage at nearly every moment. This ride also reinforced that I'll need to get some shorter biking shorts. These running tights were literally burning me up with how hot I was getting towards the end. I guess if I wanted to add another layer of difficulty to the training (like Heat Acclimation Training), then I'm being successful in that aspect.
Sunday - The mindset had changed now. This training plan will challenge me and I need to take it seriously. Attack the intervals before they attack me. Thankfully this workout was a step back at a TSS of 81 and 80 min. Most of the time was spent around 80% FTP with 4 x 15 min intervals. It was certainly a challenge, but not nearly as much as Saturday's workout. I also did the bike workout before doing the 21 day fix workout with Steph. The 81 TSS was similar to a 90 min EB run. Afterwards, Steph and I did the Dirty 30 workout. Survived my first week of ERG biking with some 21 day fix thrown in.
I've settled on the following schedule moving forward:
SSBase-MV1 (Biking) is from 11/27/18 to 1/6/19.
SSBase-MV2 (Biking) is from 1/8/19 to 2/17/19.
21 Day Fix is from 11/17/18 to 12/15/18.
80 Day Obsession is from 12/16/18 to 3/17/19.
Running is scheduled to resume on 2/18/19 in conjunction with maintaining some biking routine. Initially, I'm thinking 3 days running, 3 days biking, and 7 days strength through 3/17/19.
The biggest issue will be the time commitment. 21 Day fix is mostly 30 min workouts. 80 Day Obsession is mostly 60 min workouts. And the SSBase-MV1 and 2 is between 5.5-6.5 hours per week. So I could be putting in nearly 10-13 hours of training per week once we really get into the meat of it. So we'll see if that's actually sustainable. But I want to do everything possible to put myself in a position to succeed when I can return to running.
Also, some pics from the new house!
