Over the last 3 weeks we have been running the test event for Jake’s Giro. The idea was to try something a bit different now all the racing is cancelled. It turned into the most intense and successful training block any of us have ever done.
Each session lasted on average 60 mins, the longest was 140 mins and the shortest just 20. Each session replicated a previous stage of the giro. It included sprint focused sessions with an increasing build in power culminating in an all out sprint. Mountain sessions with a number of 5-60min efforts with regular pace changes to simulate attacks and counter moves. Time trials were more steady state efforts as you’d expect.
We had a live scoreboard and seeing each of us smash out big efforts day after day really kept everyone motivated. After a few stages it became VERY tactical. We all had our own goals, mine was to win the KOM jersey so I tended to keep things a little easier until the specific KOM efforts then really go full gas.
We completed all 3 weeks of sessions and it was brilliant. Brilliant training, brilliant motivation, just brilliant. Lets see how brilliant the training numbers were!
Overall training numbers
– The weekly training volume was not huge, each session was 45-60 mins on average with a couple of longer and shorter sessions.
– 600-800 TSS for 3 weeks is not massive, this rider pictured above has been averaging 500-550 TSS and 8 hours every week since November.
– The major difference in training load came from the intensity of the sessions. The average IF being over .75, the final week was over .8 IF. This rider has been averaging .68-.7 IF per week since November.
– You can see in the time in zones breakdown how much more riding was done in the Threshold and VO2 max zone than normal, double the amount.
Riding this hard day after day is mentally as well as physically very challenging, but the social and competitive nature of the event helped motivated all of us to keep pushing the limit every session.
Specific session and Power P.B’s
All 5 riders saw a number of power bests during the event. Below is a comparison of one riders power curve pre Giro and during the Giro. He had power bests between 20’s and 90s, 5min all the way out to 2 hours.
My own numbers saw a good improvement. In one session I completed 2 x 20min efforts at 375w. Previously I had only ever managed 2 x 12mins over 375w
After completed the giro and resting I tried a 5 x 5min session to see what difference the training block had made. Again the results were clear. 5 efforts of 420w. https://www.strava.com/activities/3310847497
My previous best was a session in February holding 4 x 4mins at 420w. So a full 9 mins more at 420w.
Overall training effect
All 5 riders saw increases in their modelled FTP via WKO4.
Rider 1 – 317w increased to 330w
Rider 2 – 269w increased to 292w
Rider 3 – 349w increased to 359w
Rider 4 – 265w increased to 291w
Rider 5 – 309w increased to 320w
We ran some of the data through the INSCYD testing system to see how it compares to January form and the results were again fantastic to see.
A big jump from 72ml/min/kg in January (as previously discussed). The intense threshold work created a very strong aerobic adaption response. Serious bang for your buck!
A surprising increase from 0.52mmol/l/s. Doing a lot of high intensity, shorter sessions has created a strong glycolytic adaptation. Diet could also have been a big part here. Since there is no racing on the road, my diet hasn’t been great and I’ve been eating all the carbs and sugar in sight.
Not a huge increase here only 10w, but that is due to the Vlamax increase. Threshold is now occurring at 78.7% of VO2 max compared to 81% in January. With a focussed block of work on Vlamax reduction I could see an increase in threshold closer to 83-85% (~360w).
With a jump in VO2 max comes a jump in FatMax. The more Oxygen you can utilise the more fat you can oxidise, the more lactate you can break down in the aerobic cycle. Other-side of the equation is the jump in Vlamax meaning an increase in Carbohydrate usage.
I’m going to use the boost in top end power (increase in Vlamax and VO2 max) to smash some local strava segments. Then once we get a better idea of races returning plan a block to reduce Vlamax and shift a kg or two.
Clearly doing such an intense block of training has made a big difference to all 5 of us. Now we can’t just continue to ride this hard and expect to see the same results. At some point we would break physically and or mentally and be set back. Using a social competition element to the training has allowed each rider to push their limits that bit further. Not just during each individual session but consistently throughout the 3 weeks. That extra dollop of training intensity has produced a breakthrough. Now it’s time to recover, adapt to the training load and build on the higher level we’ve reached with some more lower intensity consistent riding. Ready to see another breakthrough in July when we all get to race again (fingers crossed)!