With IMLP 2011 a fond memory, it’s time to enjoy a return of the sufferfest. We’ve moved the CompuTrainer into a deluxe suite in the garage, where we have a TV, cable, and climate control. Lap of luxury, people!
As an added benefit of the deluxe sweet, I don’t have to worry about my house smelling like a locker room–or leaving bike grease all over the floors (which I did two weeks ago – oops!). I like sweat and grease as much as the next triathlete, but I think the garage is a better place for stinky and sticky stuff. My secret is out: I’m a real princess.
I’ve allowed myself recovery from IMLP, avoiding high intensity workouts for about a month. But, it’s time to reintroduce my body to some pain. It’s time to remind the heart that it can beat faster. (I hear the echoes of Monty Python: I’m not dead yet…)
What better device to deliver the damage than my trusty CompuTrainer?
I didn’t want to jump right into anaerobic intervals, so I settled on intervals at a challenging tempo pace, with the intention of working on muscular endurance. (Muscular endurance refers to the ability to apply force over an extended period of time.) These types of intervals are not meant to be all-out efforts, but they aren’t meant to be easy either.
If we use the “crying for my mommy” scale of perceived exertion, the tempo intervals have me crying for my mommy in the final 10 seconds, as compared to anaerobic intervals, when I’m crying for my mommy before the first 10 seconds are up.
The workout, for those of you who might be similarly interested in a moderate amount of torture, works like this:
The course:
For a warmup, I selected the progressive intervals course, which includes 5 miles of increasing elevation throughout the duration of the course.
For the main sets, I selected the <double back loop> course from the CompuTrainer 3d software, which is 1.22 miles. (There is a double back loop and a double loop. I selected the double back loop.)
I really like the loop courses because I set up as many laps as I want, which makes these types of courses very flexible for interval workouts. This loop in particular is perfect for this particular workout because it has moderate elevation changes (not exceed 5% grade), which allows me to switch the pacing throughout the interval.
I decided on 7 minute intervals, so I set up the software to do 2 laps, for a total of 2.44 miles. (In the bottom right hand corner of the screen, you can select how many laps you want to do.)
The workout:
As soon as I finished my warmup (about 20 minutes), I calibrated the CompuTrainer, so I would have accurate power data.
TIP for calibrating: I pull out the cable linking the computer to the controller box, and it automatically puts me into calibration mode. When I’m done calibrating, I plug the cable back into the controller box, and start. If you want to calibrate within a ride, you can pause the ride, and pull out the cable. After calibrating, plug it back in and re-start. This method allows me to have the data from my warm up. I recommend keeping your mouse close by, just in case something gets “mussed” up. I set my mouse on a high bar stool so I can just reach over. This set up is now part of my deluxe garage computrainer suite. Oh, yes, such a princess!
My main set included 4 x 7 minute tempo intervals, with a 2 minute active recovery spin in-between each set. I geared my effort to be 90-95% of lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), which would put me right on the border of anaerobic intensity.
After each set, I reset the course, did my active recovery for 2 minutes, reset the course again, and began the next interval. I like having the data for each interval separate, as it makes it much easier to analyze once I’m done. I can see whether my intensity dropped off or increased, I can see if my pedaling efficiency was maintained as I got tired, I can determine if I had an acceptable amount of cardiac drift throughout the effort, and so on.
Following the main set, I cooled down for 5 minutes. (I was doing a brick this day, so I didn’t want to have a very long cool down. Normally, I like to cool down for about 10 minutes.)
The Analysis:
This workout was exactly what I wanted and needed for re-entry into intervals. It wasn’t the hardest workout I’ve ever done, but it was a solid, challenging aerobic push. There were moments toward the end of each interval where I broached the anaerobic line, crying for my mommy, just like I wanted to. This served as a little reminder to the body of what is to come in future weeks.
If you are interested in the data (calling all data geeks out there!), here it is:
| time | miles | Watts | HR | MPH | RPM | OSS | LSS | RSS | LATA | RATA | |
| warmup | 0:22:39 | 5.02 | 149.1 | 125.4 | 13.2 | 77.0 | 76.1 | 77.4 | 74.7 | 97.1 | 98.2 |
| Interval 1 | 0:07:21 | 2.45 | 178.2 | 146.8 | 19.8 | 86.0 | 75.6 | 76.5 | 74.7 | 99.1 | 98.6 |
| RI 1 | 0:01:58 | 0.43 | 111.4 | 119.0 | 13.0 | 78.0 | 71.7 | 72.6 | 70.8 | 100.5 | 100.4 |
| Interval 2 | 0:07:19 | 2.44 | 180.0 | 147.8 | 19.9 | 82.2 | 73.8 | 74.4 | 73.2 | 100.0 | 99.0 |
| RI 2 | 0:01:56 | 0.37 | 96.8 | 127.1 | 11.5 | 81.9 | 77.0 | 78.1 | 76.0 | 97.4 | 96.7 |
| Interval 3 | 0:07:23 | 2.45 | 177.1 | 148.9 | 19.7 | 82.0 | 74.0 | 74.3 | 73.8 | 100.7 | 98.6 |
| RI3 | 0:02:00 | 0.41 | 103.1 | 129.1 | 12.2 | 77.6 | 73.7 | 74.6 | 72.7 | 98.9 | 98.8 |
| Interval 4 | 0:07:19 | 2.46 | 182.1 | 149.2 | 19.9 | 79.6 | 73.6 | 74.4 | 72.9 | 100.2 | 98.7 |
| cool down | 0:05:18 | 1.16 | 79.8 | 114.3 | 13.1 | 80.3 | 72.6 | 73.9 | 71.2 | 100.0 | 96.0 |
Key: OSS = Overall spin scan; LSS = Left spin scan; RSS = right spin scan; LATA = left average torque angle; RATA=right average torque angle.
This data provides a lot of useful information. If you don’t spend time analyzing your data after workouts (at least your key ones), I strongly recommend it. Get your money’s worth from your CompuTrainer, bike computer, power meter, heart rate monitor, etc.
In terms of effort, I steadily increased my effort level with the exception of the third interval. This means I need to get tougher in the bottom-middle section – you know, that part where you aren’t close enough to finish to get the adrenalin push to keep going. My high school crew coach used to call it the dead zone. I have to fight past this dead zone.
I also see that my RPMs are on the low side. I’d like to see them 85 or higher. 88-90 would be perfection. The low cadence might explain why I’ve been having a little bit of knee pain for the past few days. Based on these numbers, it seems I was pushing too heavy of a gear. And, that also would explain why my spin scan numbers are so low. Usually, I have overall averages in the 80’s, with the left side slighly higher than the right side.
The power numbers also indicate that I may have lost a little bit of force with my recovery from IMLP. That makes sense, and I’m not terribly worried about that. I have plenty of time to make up the slight difference, and build from there.
I might not have made my 12 hour goal at IMLP this year, but I will be going for the same goal again at Ironman Mont Tremblant in August, 2012. Given the lessons I learned from this year, I think 12 hours will still be a stretch goal, but I’m going to shoot for it nonetheless. Suffer sessions on the CompuTrainer will be an integral part of the 12 hour journey.
I predict lots of crying for my mommy along the way.
Have a great workout you’d like to share? Please comment! I’d love to hear from you.
