Feel the Power

One of the mistakes I made in 2007 was not training enough in my "high aerobic" or "intensive endurance" zone on the bike.  During the Cadence Kona Challenge, my tested Functional Lactate Threshold (the power I can hold for one hour) was calculated at 293 watts.  My high aerobic zone works out to be around 225-250 watts.  This corresponds to my desired power output for half and full Ironman bike legs.  At IMFL, I wasn't able to hold a high enough power output even though my HR was very low.

In 2007, I tended to go for long rides at wattages below this zone or shorter more intense efforts at average power levels above this zone.  While these are key rides that I will continue to use in 2008, I've specifically added a progressive program on my Computrainer which is designed to get me very comfortable with riding 225-250 watts for the 2-5 hours necessary in my Long Course races.  These are weekly sessions that will progressively build my aerobic endurance to the target range by the time I reach my racing season.  Each session has a warm-up and warm-down component but the main objective of these workouts is to average the desired power output for the desired time.

Here is the first part of the training progression:

Week 1:   200 watts for 1 hour

Week 2:   200 watts for 1:15

Week 3:   200 watts for 1:30

Week 4:   215 watts for 1:15

Week 5:   215 watts for 1:30

Week 6:   215 watts for 1:45

Week 7:   220 watts for 1:30

And so on.  By April, I hope to be able to do Computrainer rides where I hold 250 watts for 3+ hours.  Today, I completed the second week of this cycle.  Last week I did 210 watts for 1:00 at 87 rpm.  Today, I did 209 watts for 1:15 at 84 rpm.  I'm trying to also get comfortable spinning in the 85-90 rpm range during these workouts.  Also, after these workouts, I head out for a transition run, which today was 6 miles.

Hopefully, these weekly Key Computrainer workouts will prepare me for the sustained power output I need to have at IM Austria and Canada this year.  We'll see!