Official Sprocket Rockets Training Thread

[EWG]

Eating feels like a second job sometimes.

My job feels like a second job sometimes.

[meepmoop24]

Adding in intervals has been really beneficial. Worked up to 4x5m intervals but since my race is in a little over a week (on Saturday 10/2) today is going to be the last day of 4x5m intervals.

I was planning on doing an easy (Z2 HR) 30-40 mile ride this Saturday and then starting to taper off training in the week leading up to the race. Any recommendations on a taper strategy? Based on the limited reading I've done it seems like reducing training volume >=50% and sticking to Z2 is key, but still keeping some short interval work (<60s efforts) mixed in.

[Tailwind]

I’m not an expert, still very much figuring this out… but what I try to avoid is my legs feeling dead like they do when I don’t ride my bike for a week. So essentially trying to think of a few rides in z2 that are really paced like recovery rides and a few hard efforts mixed into short rides to make sure my legs remember how to pedal hard. For me I kept intervals to 20-30 seconds and would take a minute off between.

Basically don’t press hard often. Don’t ride your bike a ton. Have a few times you put out some wattage.

Adding in intervals has been really beneficial. Worked up to 4x5m intervals but since my race is in a little over a week (on Saturday 10/2) today is going to be the last day of 4x5m intervals.

I was planning on doing an easy (Z2 HR) 30-40 mile ride this Saturday and then starting to taper off training in the week leading up to the race. Any recommendations on a taper strategy? Based on the limited reading I've done it seems like reducing training volume >=50% and sticking to Z2 is key, but still keeping some short interval work (<60s efforts) mixed in.

[meepmoop24]

I’m not an expert, still very much figuring this out… but what I try to avoid is my legs feeling dead like they do when I don’t ride my bike for a week. So essentially trying to think of a few rides in z2 that are really paced like recovery rides and a few hard efforts mixed into short rides to make sure my legs remember how to pedal hard. For me I kept intervals to 20-30 seconds and would take a minute off between.

Basically don’t press hard often. Don’t ride your bike a ton. Have a few times you put out some wattage.

That seems to line up pretty well with what I'm reading elsewhere. This article basically outlined your strategy: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/t...cycling-event/

[XtrPickels]

Adding in intervals has been really beneficial. Worked up to 4x5m intervals but since my race is in a little over a week (on Saturday 10/2) today is going to be the last day of 4x5m intervals.

I was planning on doing an easy (Z2 HR) 30-40 mile ride this Saturday and then starting to taper off training in the week leading up to the race. Any recommendations on a taper strategy? Based on the limited reading I've done it seems like reducing training volume >=50% and sticking to Z2 is key, but still keeping some short interval work (<60s efforts) mixed in.

Maintain intensity, Reduce Volume.

I'd do at least 1 workout during the week (Wednesday at the latest if a Saturday race). Do this workout to 75% capacity
Other riding stays at Base Zone. Great times to dork around and practice skills.
Total Riding volume reduced 30-40%. I feel when you get to 50% you tend to feel flat.

[XtrPickels]

I've been toying with the idea of taking on a few coaching clients.
There'd be two options.

1. Consultation (One time meeting / cost)
Essentially a one-time meeting that could be used for anything the athlete wanted. This could be used to create a training plan (3-6 months), to educate the athlete, to answer questions and get advice etc. Essentially a way for someone to get solid guidance tailored to them. If any updates were needed or the plan runs out, another meeting to check-in and re-up. I'd work with an unlimiting number of people for these.

2. Monthly coaching (recurring meetings).
This would be traditional coaching with weekly check-ins and updates to the plan. This is a much more hands-on approach that is fully customized to the athlete. Additionally Monthly check-ins to have more in-depth conversations about anything the athlete wants to cover. I would take on 3-4 athletes for this and would be looking for a 6+ month commitment. This will be a premium service as I don't like to do anything half-assed.

Would anyone be interested in these services? I'm trying to gauge interest across contacts to see if it's worth creating a side-business around this. Probably up and running by the end of the year if so.

As always, the BS I spew on here will always be free and sometimes factual.

[meepmoop24]

Maintain intensity, Reduce Volume.

I'd do at least 1 workout during the week (Wednesday at the latest if a Saturday race). Do this workout to 75% capacity
Other riding stays at Base Zone. Great times to dork around and practice skills.
Total Riding volume reduced 30-40%. I feel when you get to 50% you tend to feel flat.

Awesome, thanks for the additional info. When you say 75% capacity do you mean in total minutes or in effort? E.g. should I do 3x5m intervals at the same intensity or still do 4x5m intervals at 75% intensity.

I'll plan on a workout on Wednesday and then a couple other easy, shorter spins. Any thoughts on doing some short openers (30s hard efforts) the day before the race? Worthwhile or skip it?

[meepmoop24]

I've been toying with the idea of taking on a few coaching clients.
There'd be two options.
...

I'd be interested in option 1 for sure. Would love to get a solid training plan in place, especially since I've seen what ~1 month of a little structured training can add to my fitness.

[XtrPickels]

Awesome, thanks for the additional info. When you say 75% capacity do you mean in total minutes or in effort? E.g. should I do 3x5m intervals at the same intensity or still do 4x5m intervals at 75% intensity.

I'll plan on a workout on Wednesday and then a couple other easy, shorter spins. Any thoughts on doing some short openers (30s hard efforts) the day before the race? Worthwhile or skip it?

Effort level based perceived exertion.

On those 5 minute efforts, you're not looking to tax your VO2 system enough to induce adaptation. You're just looking to stress it enough to keep systems on their toes... keep neurotransmitters, catecholamines, endorphins, etc. pumping to keep you feeling good while your muscles are primed for action.

[dan_pdx]

I'd be interested in option 1 for sure. Would love to get a solid training plan in place, especially since I've seen what ~1 month of a little structured training can add to my fitness.

Also potentially interested in Option 1. Do you have an idea of what you might charge?

[climberevan]

Also potentially interested in Option 1. Do you have an idea of what you might charge?

Obviously:.

[Dantheman]

It's so interesting how perceived performance can be a terrible indicator. I didn't feel all that fast today up or down but the clock told a different story. It's a good reason to record every ride.

Or my phone's GPS is wildly inaccurate and I'm putting way too much stock in the data....

[climberevan]

Here's a fantastic basic rundown of nutrition for athletes. The guest is a dietitian and pro cyclist.
https://pca.st/episode/a57a8fad-460f...3-498049605714

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I've been toying with the idea of taking on a few coaching clients.
There'd be two options.

Super late reply on this, but I'd be into option 1. Feels like I know enough about training to handle short-term blocks, but not enough to deal with a 3-6 month offseason where I'll be skiing/touring + wanting to race an occasional zwift race too.

Or my phone's GPS is wildly inaccurate and I'm putting way too much stock in the data....

Have you ever run a head unit + strava on your phone at the same time? I did recently and had differences in mileage/vert which was to be expected. I also had a pretty significant difference in my total times on strava segments too. Which makes no sense since I'd assume time is pretty fixed compared to a spotty GPS signal for vert. Def made me think I'm putting way too much faith in devices.

[Dantheman]

Have you ever run a head unit + strava on your phone at the same time? I did recently and had differences in mileage/vert which was to be expected. I also had a pretty significant difference in my total times on strava segments too. Which makes no sense since I'd assume time is pretty fixed compared to a spotty GPS signal for vert. Def made me think I'm putting way too much faith in devices.

I have not run a head unit. When I repeat rides I've seen some decent differences in vert on occasion, but it's normally pretty close and mileage is always right on. On OABs the tracks usually line up pretty well.

[XtrPickels]

Super late reply on this, but I'd be into option 1. Feels like I know enough about training to handle short-term blocks, but not enough to deal with a 3-6 month offseason where I'll be skiing/touring + wanting to race an occasional zwift race too.



Have you ever run a head unit + strava on your phone at the same time? I did recently and had differences in mileage/vert which was to be expected. I also had a pretty significant difference in my total times on strava segments too. Which makes no sense since I'd assume time is pretty fixed compared to a spotty GPS signal for vert. Def made me think I'm putting way too much faith in devices.

I've run two of the same model head unit at the same time and it's a crap-shoot on the segment times.

[TrueNorth]

Out of curiosity, I recorded today's ride on both my Garmin Edge something or other and my iphone Strava app. The times recorded on one competitive local segment (which is on a bike path through a forest with several turns, so probably difficult for a GPS to track) were as follows;

Garmin during the ride: 41 s
Garmin on Strava: 42 s
iphone on Strava: 47 s

The Strava effort comparison tool showed iphone me 11 seconds behind Garmin me at the midpoint of the segment, but iphone me narrowed the gap to 5 seconds by the end. I have done this segment many times, and the Garmin numbers seem consistent with previous similar efforts, so I think the iphone was out this time. Presumably it could just as easily have been -5s as +5s, which would have put me near the top of the leaderboard.

So this thread has inspired a new strategy for Strava domination: get jacked up on beta alanine, simul-record with as many different devices as possible (especially watches and phones as I suspect they are less accurate), and pick the ride file with the most favourable timing errors.

[climberevan]

Do people really put any stock in segments that are under a minute? GPS variance is a way smaller deal on 3000ft climbs. But yeah, it's a good reminder to not get too caught up in Strava rankings.

[TrueNorth]

Yeah that’s pretty much the point I’m trying to make, with mock seriousness.

[J. Barron DeJong]

But yeah, it's a good reminder to not get too caught up in Strava rankings.

Fuck. Is there even any point to life?

[Iowagriz]

Remember that on a Garmin device there is a power saving mode in which it samples every 5 sec or something like that. I have found that mode to feeless accurate for segments.

I also remember when the Strava phone app first came out and the various research (albeit within the mtbr forum) about how phones similarly had 5 sec sampling. The consensus was that the phone app wasn't reliable for segments and that any sort of reliability about Strava for timing was out.

This happened to coincide with my local MTB club trying to use Strava to time a 6 mile loop for racing (singletrack time trial).

I know only use segments to track myself vs myself.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[bean]

Remember that on a Garmin device there is a power saving mode in which it samples every 5 sec or something like that.

It still locates every second, but only records a data point when it determines your velocity has changed. Meant to save file space not battery on older units, it's completely pointless now.

[babybear]

Out of curiosity, I recorded today's ride on both my Garmin Edge something or other and my iphone Strava app. The times recorded on one competitive local segment (which is on a bike path through a forest with several turns, so probably difficult for a GPS to track) were as follows;

Garmin during the ride: 41 s
Garmin on Strava: 42 s
iphone on Strava: 47 s

The Strava effort comparison tool showed iphone me 11 seconds behind Garmin me at the midpoint of the segment, but iphone me narrowed the gap to 5 seconds by the end. I have done this segment many times, and the Garmin numbers seem consistent with previous similar efforts, so I think the iphone was out this time. Presumably it could just as easily have been -5s as +5s, which would have put me near the top of the leaderboard.

So this thread has inspired a new strategy for Strava domination: get jacked up on beta alanine, simul-record with as many different devices as possible (especially watches and phones as I suspect they are less accurate), and pick the ride file with the most favourable timing errors.

We’ve gone as far as confirming discrepancies in the timing by gopro

Fuck. Is there even any point to life?

[Dantheman]

So this thread has inspired a new strategy for Strava domination: get jacked up on beta alanine, simul-record with as many different devices as possible (especially watches and phones as I suspect they are less accurate), and pick the ride file with the most favourable timing errors.

Brilliant!

Do people really put any stock in segments that are under a minute?

I definitely do not. It's pointless to create them at all. Once you get beyond 5-10 minutes they're meaningful for tracking personnel efforts. Leaderboards and KOMs are pretty meaningless if the gaps are seconds, but big gaps are probably credible badassery.

[Dee Hubbs]

GPS drift is real. The other day I had a live segment active on my Garmin, and with about 1 minute left in the climb it told me I was on pace to be only 5 seconds behind my PR on this 05:40 segment. So I put my head down and burred myself for the next 45 seconds until the top of the hill, to the road sign where I know the segment ends. After cresting the climb I looked down at my Garmin to see if I set a new PR and it told me I had 150m (almost 500 ft) more to go. WTF I was clearly up the climb and on the flats past the road sign.
I dont always have live segments on, and I dont have very many live segments active, but when this specific one is active it always ends within 1 or 2 meters of that road sign, I guess today when my computer picked up the satellites it was off by a bunch.
When I start my bike rides from home I know if my computer is off or not by the elevation, I know my house is at 8606; and the end of the drive is at 8555', so its an easy reference point to see if my Garmin is wack. If its off I just ask the Garmin to relocate the satellites.