Feeling good about my Academy into week two. I have to run through workouts 4 and 6 which seem straight out maybe a bit of sprinting on 6. Monday will be four min max and probably Wed race on volcano lap. That leaves Friday for double workout to graduate.
Still want to redo one minute and 20 second efforts. Need a good hour in also, on the Alp. I should do a two minute and 6 minute effort as well as a full assault on ftp-20 minute effort. Time for it all? We will see. Nothing scheduled too far ahead. Still waiting on time trial and Harrogate.
Had a broken chain link Sunday (kept hearing and feeling a 'Clink'). Got it patched today. Need a new one soon.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Race 2
Two for two. A win for a number of unusual reasons. I felt like a flier, good legs, and full of java. I desperately wanted to avoid peaks in covering attacks or worse, a slow twenty minutes of drafting before a big sprint.
It was a small field with no big names that I saw. So, I decided I would go out hard. Lea Milleu came with me and helped in the first two minutes. I did 300 watts for those first two minutes. From a field of 16 or 20, we gapped a group of 8 riders. It was only 5-7 seconds at first, but it would go up about 15 seconds in that first of six laps. From there, I pushed hard especially on the kick before the sprint line. I hoped that I would build a gap of a minute and the chase would slow. I think we all kept the pace going. Two against eight is a tough call. Mostly, Lea stopped working with me and let me force the pace. (Which I was happy to do. At least I would get a second to add to my previous win.)
We added about 15 seconds a lap which is good. Going into the last lap with a minute and a half, I slowed to catch my breath for the sprint finish. I wanted to pop off right before the hill but I went just a tad early and was hurting bad on the hill. I was flailing a bit at the crest but knew I could hold the gap to the line. Only after the finish did I realize she didn't cross the line. I wonder if she dropped her chain as she finished two minutes later in fifth after such a long battle. I was afraid she might tear off real early and I was too tired for a kilometer chase. So for me, an early attack seemed best, even if I lost. Maybe Lea will want a rematch. She's certainly earned it.
I mostly want to do a time trial so I can see how my times compare to the A list (Baldi, Whitelaw, and all the big names.) But, I can't complain a bit today.
It was a small field with no big names that I saw. So, I decided I would go out hard. Lea Milleu came with me and helped in the first two minutes. I did 300 watts for those first two minutes. From a field of 16 or 20, we gapped a group of 8 riders. It was only 5-7 seconds at first, but it would go up about 15 seconds in that first of six laps. From there, I pushed hard especially on the kick before the sprint line. I hoped that I would build a gap of a minute and the chase would slow. I think we all kept the pace going. Two against eight is a tough call. Mostly, Lea stopped working with me and let me force the pace. (Which I was happy to do. At least I would get a second to add to my previous win.)
We added about 15 seconds a lap which is good. Going into the last lap with a minute and a half, I slowed to catch my breath for the sprint finish. I wanted to pop off right before the hill but I went just a tad early and was hurting bad on the hill. I was flailing a bit at the crest but knew I could hold the gap to the line. Only after the finish did I realize she didn't cross the line. I wonder if she dropped her chain as she finished two minutes later in fifth after such a long battle. I was afraid she might tear off real early and I was too tired for a kilometer chase. So for me, an early attack seemed best, even if I lost. Maybe Lea will want a rematch. She's certainly earned it.
I mostly want to do a time trial so I can see how my times compare to the A list (Baldi, Whitelaw, and all the big names.) But, I can't complain a bit today.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Week Two
Tuesday did workout number two with flying colors under great legs today. A bit sore but felt fast. Had no trouble doing 260 for last 10 miutes. Then I did a 3 second sprint or five. Then, before I cooled down, I jumped into a group workout and hit an early interval of 510 for one minute for a 7.5 which beat the previous 7.4 someone had posted. (an impossible? 8 w/kg got posted later. Sorry, don't believe that some 45 kg rider did 400 watts or so. There's no filter for excessive wattage, esp. z-power stats. Why not show the top 10 for us? The coaches see the top 20. anyways, 1200 calories burned and an extra match or two. But, I am coming around esp in strength. Only a few watts short of PR for 10 seconds today. Gotta try a two minute max soon too. Thursday is a scheduled race.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Race 1
Winner! I felt good but not great. Early race on a course I haven't raced in a long time.
A field of 30 started out at a moderate pace, mostly orange instead of red. We had ten of us after splitting the field and continued to that first climb leading to the Classique course lap. I stayed out front and mostly behind someone who hit it hard then faded. but, we ran off with a third splitting the ten up. by the 1 km to go, we had our fourth and I upped the pace now that we had the right combo. Two others, kicked it up before the start line and we had a group of six with a 12 second gap. We gradually took it to 30 seconds, then a minute by the next lap. (It really is only half that time in real time but only, of course, if we were to stand still.)
The only punch we had was the small hill, where I go strongest. The third lap, I was losing my heart rate and it was at threshold (160 for an old-timer like me). the fourth lap, everyone kind of slowed. I hit the hill hard but let someone ahead so I could draft in case someone attacked. again, everyone clawed their way back. I only had a feather which won't help me much in a sprint (1/2 a w/kg is barely noticeable) I waited until 400 meters to go then hit it hardest the last 300. I was a bit soft the last 100 but enough to stay ahead of Kim Bitter.
Zwift list said 1 Kryder, 2 Bitter, 3 Edqvist 4 Rosseland.
ZPower put up 1 Kryder, 2 Van der Plas 3 Watts, 4 Bitter, 5 Edqvist, 6 Rosseland
Later Zwift said 1 Kryder,2 Plas, 3 Watts, 4 Bitter
Were they invisible? I only remember Bitter on my wheel and she took the green jersey by drafting me. I won by half a wheel . It was awesome to feel the old racing spark. I wouldn't have won a 6 lap but 3 or 4 was doable at 41:17. I averaged a 146 which was deemed a 150 normalized power. So again, low ftp 250, 251, 255 avg 252.
strava of race with pictures.
A field of 30 started out at a moderate pace, mostly orange instead of red. We had ten of us after splitting the field and continued to that first climb leading to the Classique course lap. I stayed out front and mostly behind someone who hit it hard then faded. but, we ran off with a third splitting the ten up. by the 1 km to go, we had our fourth and I upped the pace now that we had the right combo. Two others, kicked it up before the start line and we had a group of six with a 12 second gap. We gradually took it to 30 seconds, then a minute by the next lap. (It really is only half that time in real time but only, of course, if we were to stand still.)
The only punch we had was the small hill, where I go strongest. The third lap, I was losing my heart rate and it was at threshold (160 for an old-timer like me). the fourth lap, everyone kind of slowed. I hit the hill hard but let someone ahead so I could draft in case someone attacked. again, everyone clawed their way back. I only had a feather which won't help me much in a sprint (1/2 a w/kg is barely noticeable) I waited until 400 meters to go then hit it hardest the last 300. I was a bit soft the last 100 but enough to stay ahead of Kim Bitter.
Zwift list said 1 Kryder, 2 Bitter, 3 Edqvist 4 Rosseland.
ZPower put up 1 Kryder, 2 Van der Plas 3 Watts, 4 Bitter, 5 Edqvist, 6 Rosseland
Later Zwift said 1 Kryder,2 Plas, 3 Watts, 4 Bitter
Were they invisible? I only remember Bitter on my wheel and she took the green jersey by drafting me. I won by half a wheel . It was awesome to feel the old racing spark. I wouldn't have won a 6 lap but 3 or 4 was doable at 41:17. I averaged a 146 which was deemed a 150 normalized power. So again, low ftp 250, 251, 255 avg 252.
strava of race with pictures.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Zwift Women's Academy Week One
Got the best of the one minute so far. I got a 499 which is 7.3 where second place is at 6.7 but few have probably done the workout #5. Besides, I am at 90% peak. Last week I was at 855, so I am coming along fairly good. My FTP is at 250 rather than 265. I hope to hit 260 this month if all goes well. Not a part of competition but certainly part of the purpose.
Here's my day 2 graph.
PS Wattage of someone is wrong here, showing something other. Doubt they can find it to correct but nobody but top two or three in the world can do some of these numbers, yet alone in a single ride.
Well, at the end of the week and it looks like we are all chasing 'guy' wattage. Just doesn't look right. Who could do 2 minutes at 500 watts? Anyway, I had top 20 and 30 for a day. But, alas, someone beat my one minute by a hair and my 20 and 30 seemed to finish top 10 at least from group workouts of the day. I'm happy with that. I probably one of the few who can pace it just right from years of practice.
Here's my day 2 graph.
PS Wattage of someone is wrong here, showing something other. Doubt they can find it to correct but nobody but top two or three in the world can do some of these numbers, yet alone in a single ride.
Well, at the end of the week and it looks like we are all chasing 'guy' wattage. Just doesn't look right. Who could do 2 minutes at 500 watts? Anyway, I had top 20 and 30 for a day. But, alas, someone beat my one minute by a hair and my 20 and 30 seemed to finish top 10 at least from group workouts of the day. I'm happy with that. I probably one of the few who can pace it just right from years of practice.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Who You Gonna Call? Ghost Chasers
Today I'm going to share different ways to set-up and use your ghost. The main method is 1.Go as fast as you possibly can. Then 2, Go again only faster. Good luck beating your ghost as it will get exponentially harder. And if you set your PR in a race while drafting, you may find it impossible to beat that ride on a solo effort.
Who is your ghost? I read you should name yours, so I named mine...
SETTINGS AND EQUIPMENT
FIGURE 8
A good training method is to pick a course that you don't regularly race on. I use Tempus Fugit a lot, so I may pick the Figure 8 course for this. I will ride it to establish a base mark. Then I will go at it trying to match my ghost only at 1 or 2 kg heavier.
VOLCANO CLIMB
Some will start with a time trial bike, then move to a slower bike. First I do this course on my Zwift Time Trial bike. Let's say I finish at 35:00. Now, I race McFly riding my Trek Madone. Matching McFly on a slower road bike means technically I rode 35 seconds faster. Third Effort is on a Zwift Steel Bike which is 51 seconds slower. This way I can ride side by side with McFly and still be getting a better workout. After all, what is the point of a ghost if you leave them far behind?
ALP d' ZWIFT
A similar method is to ride your favorite climbing course, like the Alp with various bicycles. In this case, I will start with the slowest, the Buffalo (bargain priced) and gradually choose faster bikes. I will try to get just a bit faster each ride. I'll have confidence I can beat Mcfly because I have this little edge to motivate me. Here's a sample of bikes I will be using and their times at 4 w/kg:
LONDON LOOP
I do this at a steady even effort under FTP, maybe right between the green and the yellow zones on the graph. Second Effort is a small burst of speed at the start to get slightly ahead ( 3 seconds or so) and then hard press on the climb and 30 second sprint at the end before the banner. Third Effort is a hard start (like Zwift races) for a full minute getting a decent gap (10 or 15 seconds), then hold it so the gap stays steady. Now blast that Box Hill and jump at the one minute to go mark Remember, McFly will attack hard at the 30 seconds to go mark. Can you power all the way to the finish?
BOLOGNA
This ghost is a great learning tool to show how you need to pace your effort and use your strength on the hill. On a Tron bike at 4 w/kg the first 6 km of mostly flat Bologna course was 8:49 with 9:23 up that darn hill for an 18:12 total time.
Now after your steady effort ride, ghost that with your second effort. The sample ride was 270 watts for the first 6 km and then a higher 330 watts on the hill. The flat was slower at 9:12 (23 seconds behind). But the climb landed at 8:36 (saving 47 seconds!) for a total time of 17:46. The second effort may average about 300 watts but was 26 seconds faster than that first effort.
Third effort can attempt a slightly faster start. But have you saved enough energy to beat McFly on the last part of the climb? This will truly teach you how to race this course. You will be able to apply it towards any hilly course. But wait, there's one more.
TICK TOCK
Intervals. Your first effort will have a few mid-paced sprints. Go extra hard for 20 to 30 seconds and recover back to main pace. Don't soft pedal, remember this is more of a break away effort and you must maintain a good pace. Try one for every five minutes of the course If you go too hard, your speed will suffer too much while you struggle to recover.
Second Effort is more steady. Let McFly get ahead on that sprint. When that burst is over raise your pace just a bit and see how long it takes you to recapture your ghost. These slightly above FTP intervals (like an Over/Under Workout) will be faster than a steady effort. You will eventually find the right pattern that suits you, be it 5 seconds or 30. You'll learn how to pick up the pace for short bursts, a must in races.
Who is your ghost? I read you should name yours, so I named mine...
SETTINGS AND EQUIPMENT
FIGURE 8
A good training method is to pick a course that you don't regularly race on. I use Tempus Fugit a lot, so I may pick the Figure 8 course for this. I will ride it to establish a base mark. Then I will go at it trying to match my ghost only at 1 or 2 kg heavier.
VOLCANO CLIMB
Some will start with a time trial bike, then move to a slower bike. First I do this course on my Zwift Time Trial bike. Let's say I finish at 35:00. Now, I race McFly riding my Trek Madone. Matching McFly on a slower road bike means technically I rode 35 seconds faster. Third Effort is on a Zwift Steel Bike which is 51 seconds slower. This way I can ride side by side with McFly and still be getting a better workout. After all, what is the point of a ghost if you leave them far behind?
ALP d' ZWIFT
A similar method is to ride your favorite climbing course, like the Alp with various bicycles. In this case, I will start with the slowest, the Buffalo (bargain priced) and gradually choose faster bikes. I will try to get just a bit faster each ride. I'll have confidence I can beat Mcfly because I have this little edge to motivate me. Here's a sample of bikes I will be using and their times at 4 w/kg:
- Buffalo bike 50:49
- Zwift Time Trial 50:29
- Zwift Steel 49:57
- Zwift Aero 49:15
- Edmonda 48:59
LONDON LOOP
I do this at a steady even effort under FTP, maybe right between the green and the yellow zones on the graph. Second Effort is a small burst of speed at the start to get slightly ahead ( 3 seconds or so) and then hard press on the climb and 30 second sprint at the end before the banner. Third Effort is a hard start (like Zwift races) for a full minute getting a decent gap (10 or 15 seconds), then hold it so the gap stays steady. Now blast that Box Hill and jump at the one minute to go mark Remember, McFly will attack hard at the 30 seconds to go mark. Can you power all the way to the finish?
BOLOGNA
This ghost is a great learning tool to show how you need to pace your effort and use your strength on the hill. On a Tron bike at 4 w/kg the first 6 km of mostly flat Bologna course was 8:49 with 9:23 up that darn hill for an 18:12 total time.
Now after your steady effort ride, ghost that with your second effort. The sample ride was 270 watts for the first 6 km and then a higher 330 watts on the hill. The flat was slower at 9:12 (23 seconds behind). But the climb landed at 8:36 (saving 47 seconds!) for a total time of 17:46. The second effort may average about 300 watts but was 26 seconds faster than that first effort.
Third effort can attempt a slightly faster start. But have you saved enough energy to beat McFly on the last part of the climb? This will truly teach you how to race this course. You will be able to apply it towards any hilly course. But wait, there's one more.
TICK TOCK
Intervals. Your first effort will have a few mid-paced sprints. Go extra hard for 20 to 30 seconds and recover back to main pace. Don't soft pedal, remember this is more of a break away effort and you must maintain a good pace. Try one for every five minutes of the course If you go too hard, your speed will suffer too much while you struggle to recover.
Second Effort is more steady. Let McFly get ahead on that sprint. When that burst is over raise your pace just a bit and see how long it takes you to recapture your ghost. These slightly above FTP intervals (like an Over/Under Workout) will be faster than a steady effort. You will eventually find the right pattern that suits you, be it 5 seconds or 30. You'll learn how to pick up the pace for short bursts, a must in races.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Goals and Update
Sorry for not writing anything in a long time. i've been experimenting with peaking and resting and peaking (re-peaking?).Things have gone well, except first I got distracted by tour of Watopia and Mixtape Challenges. I did peak twice especially two weeks ago, then got very ill.
My peak effort was suppose to be an FTP effort to finally make the 4.0 club, the A racer. My last workout went overboard. I was on a super day, having planned my workouts well. My efforts was for my Zwift Challenge. I call it the Five World Challenge.It is the shortest lap on each of the five world maps. Each is done with a five minute cooldown and a five minute warm-up. I think I went about 3 minutes over at the end because I was so unfamiliar with the LaGuardia loop, which starts and ends with the sprint line. You can do them in any order and either forward or reverse. It must be done on a time trial bike to prevent drafting advantages.
I did Richmond Flat, Innsbruckring, Classique, Volcano lap, and the shortest last, LaGuardia. I had practiced this a few times trying to gauge how much effort for each event. I must say, I went wild in the first three and finished the last two just above last time but suffered immensely.
Richmond 7:00
Innsbrukring 12:49
London 7:38
Watopia 5:37
New York 3:44
So my goals are to do fairly good for my third ZWAcademy. I hope there is finally a time trial race so we can compare ourselves to the others. In standard races, you have to be in the one with largest attendance and stay with the group in order to finish with a fast time. Ride a small race and it is mostly a solo or dual effort which is a lot slower. The stats were helpful but can't really weed out the WD's. The person with the highest 7 - 20 minutes or so was way above elite levels. So whoever was the actual highest went unnoticed and unaccredited. I would like to repeat as the one minute champion, but again, there is nothing official. Would love to get top 10 or 20 in a time trial event.
My main goal is to train from June through September, peaking in late July and to my best for the September 24th world championship time trial and defend my jersey as best I can. I assume it will take place on the soon to be released Harrogate course, so I am training with that profile in mind. I run the flat lap into the volcano climb and continue on the flat course until turning onto the reverse kom, finishing at the top line. Once the course is released, I will train night and day on it. I also plan to race the same length of time (50 minutes or so) on the Tempus course to measure my effort on a steady effort.(I actually do better on a hilly course as I am a powerful interval rider and a strong finisher. Last year I won by a final one minute effort with the second place racer fading from early efforts, going very fast on the first lap. I was still behind by 2 seconds with 2 km to go but gained 6 seconds or so at the end...
Mostly, I need to avoid distractions and prevent over-training. Wish me well and thanks for following my journey.
My peak effort was suppose to be an FTP effort to finally make the 4.0 club, the A racer. My last workout went overboard. I was on a super day, having planned my workouts well. My efforts was for my Zwift Challenge. I call it the Five World Challenge.It is the shortest lap on each of the five world maps. Each is done with a five minute cooldown and a five minute warm-up. I think I went about 3 minutes over at the end because I was so unfamiliar with the LaGuardia loop, which starts and ends with the sprint line. You can do them in any order and either forward or reverse. It must be done on a time trial bike to prevent drafting advantages.
I did Richmond Flat, Innsbruckring, Classique, Volcano lap, and the shortest last, LaGuardia. I had practiced this a few times trying to gauge how much effort for each event. I must say, I went wild in the first three and finished the last two just above last time but suffered immensely.
Richmond 7:00
Innsbrukring 12:49
London 7:38
Watopia 5:37
New York 3:44
So my goals are to do fairly good for my third ZWAcademy. I hope there is finally a time trial race so we can compare ourselves to the others. In standard races, you have to be in the one with largest attendance and stay with the group in order to finish with a fast time. Ride a small race and it is mostly a solo or dual effort which is a lot slower. The stats were helpful but can't really weed out the WD's. The person with the highest 7 - 20 minutes or so was way above elite levels. So whoever was the actual highest went unnoticed and unaccredited. I would like to repeat as the one minute champion, but again, there is nothing official. Would love to get top 10 or 20 in a time trial event.
My main goal is to train from June through September, peaking in late July and to my best for the September 24th world championship time trial and defend my jersey as best I can. I assume it will take place on the soon to be released Harrogate course, so I am training with that profile in mind. I run the flat lap into the volcano climb and continue on the flat course until turning onto the reverse kom, finishing at the top line. Once the course is released, I will train night and day on it. I also plan to race the same length of time (50 minutes or so) on the Tempus course to measure my effort on a steady effort.(I actually do better on a hilly course as I am a powerful interval rider and a strong finisher. Last year I won by a final one minute effort with the second place racer fading from early efforts, going very fast on the first lap. I was still behind by 2 seconds with 2 km to go but gained 6 seconds or so at the end...
Mostly, I need to avoid distractions and prevent over-training. Wish me well and thanks for following my journey.
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