If I had any questions about whether the Time-Crunched Cyclist plan would give me adequate workouts, those questions were answered this weekend. Up until these sessions I had wondered if the plan was giving me enough training stress. By Saturday evening I was feeling the stress… and it was good!

Here are the numbers:

Friday’s OverUnder Intervals. Based on my new FTP numbers the plan called for me to average between 133 – 216 watts for the entire ride. Within this hour and half session I was to complete 3 x 9 min. OverUunder intervals. “Over” means a ClimbingRepeat interval at an average of 281 – 296 watts. “Under” means a SteadyState interval at 254 – 266 watts. The sequence was to do a SteadyState interval followed by a ClimbingRepeat and finished up with a second SteadyState interval.  Between these intervals I would take a 6 minute Rest Between Intevals.

I loaded up the trainer because it was too late to get out on the road. So, I turned on the ACC Tournament and started spinning. I got my first SteadyState interval in. I had to concentrate to keep the wattage in line. That was good. I’d rather be fighting to keep the wattage up then trying to keep it low. I finished up the interval at a 258 average wattage. My heart rate stayed a pretty steady 164 bpm.

Then it was time to ramp it up for the ClimbingRepeat interval. This would be very like one of the 8 minute efforts during the FTP test. I figured my results would be similar. Sure enough I finished up the interval with an average of 287 watts. The heart rate on this one went up to 173 bpm.

The final effort was a repeat of the first one. After doing the first two it seemed much easier. Even so, I upped the average wattage to 262 watts though my heart rate reflected the sustained effort by coming in at an average of 170 rpm.

These efforts definitely had a perceived exertion that made me feel as though I was being stretched. Knowing where I am going with the plan and that things are only going to get harder, I’m pretty confident that I’m going to see progress.

Saturday was basically the same workout. However, I was supposed to limit my Rest Between Intervals to 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I misread the instructions and basically repeated Friday’s workout… except 1) I did it on the road, 2) I had to adjust the RBI because of traffic and terrain and 3) I went a bit harder and rode for over 2 hours.

I averaged over 190 watts for the entire 2 hours. That was still within the parameters but higher than Friday’s workout. The first SteadyState was also similar at 259 watts average. The average heart rate was up a little to 169. I attribute a bit of that to the climbing involved in the course I was following. It was the ClimbingRepeat where I really exceeded things. Rather than being a ClimbingRepeat (281 – 296 watts) I turned it into a Power Interval (299+ watts).

I blame it on the fact that I was climbing Paris Mountain. It seems I only know one say to go up that road! So, I ended up with an average of 310 watts for the 9 minutes. My heart rate still held to a manageable 178 bpm with a peak at 182 bpm.

Then it was time to finish up the intervals with the final SteadyState. Once again, I found myself creating the wattage with more ease than earlier. The issue was that I was on more undulating terrain on the backside of Paris Mountain. The graph of my wattage at that point looked like an EKG. Still, I came in with an average of 271 watts and 167 bpm. That was very similar to my first effort.

The endurance miles back home started to bring a little fatigue. I’m certain a lot of that had to do with the ClimbingRepeat in the middle. However, inside I felt great. It is so much fun to feel myself being pushed to get through an interval. All the pain and effort is going to equal better fitness and speed.

After two CTS Field Test attempts over the last three weeks, I believe I’ve arrived at the correct benchmarks for really taking advantage of the Time-Crunched Cyclist training plan. Looking at the numbers I can already tell before I do a workout that the efforts are going to better match my expectations of the work load needed. I’m looking forward to getting started on the next eight weeks or so to see where it takes me.

My power weapon of choice, the Quarq CinQo

Here is the bottom line… According to the test, my FTP is 296 watts. You come to that number by taking the highest average wattage from one of your two eight minute efforts. My first effort was 296 watts and my second effort was 290 watts. If you are training by heart rate, you take the highest average heart rate from one of the two efforts. In my case, it was the second effort with a rate of 173 bpm.

The reason I am comfortable with that number is because it is reasonable considering my situation. At my peak training, my FTP tends to be over 300 watts. I expected my wattage to be lower when I first started training in February, but I quickly came around and could tell that the power was there. 296 watts… or, to be honest, 290 watts is right where I think I should be with room to improve. I can definitely see a 10 watt gain over the course of my training to be reasonable.

How do I do that? Well, it starts with building training zones based on my FTP. Carmichael lays out these zones in his book. Each zone is based on a particular percentage of FTP.

133 – 216 : EnduranceMiles
237 – 252 : Tempo
254 – 266 : SteadyState
281 – 296 : ClimbingRepeat
299+ : PowerInterval

If I were training with heart rate, the breakdown would be as follows.

86 – 157 : EnduranceMiles
152 – 156 : Tempo
159 – 162 : SteadyState
164 – 167 : ClimbingRepeat
173 – 196 : PowerInterval

So, each workout is a recipe using the above categories as ingredients. For instance, tonight’s workout is “90 minutes at EnduranceMiles with 3 x 9 minutes Over (ClimbingRepeat)/Under (SteadyState) (6 minutes RBI)” Using the breakdown above I know that means that for 90 minutes I hold a base wattage of 133 to 216 watts. Within that time frame, I will complete 3 intervals: 1 at 254 – 266 watts for 9 minutes followed by a recovery spin for 6 minutes / 1 at 281 – 296 watts for 9 minutes followed by a recovery spin for 6 minutes / 1 at 254 – 266 watts for 9 minutes followed by a recovery spin for 6 minutes. I then finish out the workout with the remaining time at EnduranceMiles pace. By the way, RBI stands for “Rest Between Intervals.”

This week will bring me three weeks into the program. I’m glad I have this sorted out now and am adjusting my future workouts using the new “ingredients.” I imagine that as I progress I will find the averages I put out within each range will start trending to the upper level of each range. Knowing how I am, I am going to have to work to keep the EnduranceMiles contained under the 216 watts limit. I tend to want to go harder all the time.

Actually, the greatest challenge for me over the next two weeks will be finding the time to do each workout! These are going to be some of my more busy weeks during the year. That is when a plan really comes in handy. Knowing what I need to do each day and knowing that the Time-Crunched Cyclist plan limits most workouts to 90 minutes makes it all seem doable. That is the great stress reliever that has helped me train again with a positive attitude.

A positive attitude can often do more for you than 10 more watts.

I’ve blogged over the last two weeks of my experiences with the Time-Crunched Cyclist training plan from Chris Carmichael. The plan is for the cyclist who wishes to be competitive, but has limited training time to reach that goal. A key element to the plan is to know your Functional Threshold Power and you arrive at that foundational number by performing the CTS Field Test.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist plan

Now, I have been following the plan for two weeks now. Why am I talking about the test now? It all comes down to I never felt that first test was an “honest” one.

All during the last two weeks I have pretty much exceeded the prescriptions for each workout. The reason being, I didn’t trust that my FTP was 252 watts and I also felt much better doing it. On a workout where my perceived effort was supposed to be 7 or 8 I was feeling like it was 4 or 5 when I followed the called for wattage. I found myself working more by perceived effort than the wattage numbers.

That isn’t a good thing. In order for the plan to work I need to work really hard, but also should not over exert myself. Sometimes training to go fast means you go a little slower than you think you should. To do this, I needed to be confident that I was falling in that sweet spot.

I asked my coach, Jim Cunningham (he is advising me as I go on my own with this plan), what he thought I should do. He knows me better than anyone else. His advice was to redo the test. He felt it was possible that my FTP could have dropped and the test was accurate, but it was important that I have trust in what I was doing. A new test could help remove the big question mark.

Last night I came home from work to give it a go. I had the test in mind throughout the day as I ate and tried to be adequately hydrated. Funny, but I was feeling a little nervous as though I was getting ready for a race.

Everything was set up and I climbed on the Felt (attached to my trainer) and started spinning to warm up. I looked down and noticed there was no wattage showing on my Garmin! This was not what I needed. I tried to get it to reconnect with my power meter, but it was no go.

I ended up having to get off the bike and drive down to Walgreens to get a new battery. After switching it out and confirming the two devices were pairing, I climbed back on the bike to start spinning again. It didn’t take long to put the frustrations of the situation behind me.

After getting my legs limbered up, I turned my attention to the first phase of the test… the warm up. You can try it yourself if you like. Just follow this workout flow.

• Fast Pedal for 1 minute (for me that means a cadence of 130 – 140 rpm)
• Easy Spin for 1 minute
• Fast Pedal for 2 minutes
• Easy Spin for 1 minute
• Power Interval for 1 minute (not a sprint, but a hard effort – for me it was around 400 watts)
• Easy Spin for 2 minutes
• Power Interval for 1 minute
• Easy Spin for 4 minutes

Now it is time for the test. You do this by coming to a stop and then bringing your pedal up to get a good push when the timer starts. When I did this on the trainer my wheel slipped a bit on the roller, but that was no big deal because you are supposed to work your way up over a 45 to 90 second period to a max wattage you believe you can hold for an 8 minute duration.

The plan calls for you to settle in at a 85 to 95 rpm average cadence. I found in the first effort that I was exceeding this pedaling at times around 100 rpm while putting out 300+ watts. I tried to find the gearing that would give me the most bang per stroke, but that also wouldn’t be too big a gear causing me to fatigue.

My wattage consistently and gradually declined as I neared the end. My cadence started getting a little irregular. I was tiring. However, I pushed through over the final minute and actually increased the wattage to average 315 watts. Frankly, I didn’t think I had that in me with the way I was feeling.

Perhaps that means I wasn’t going as hard as I actually could have, but with an average wattage of 296 watts for the 8 minute effort, I was satisfied. Really, that is about what I expected — and I will note what Jim Cunningham predicted. The rest of the test would give me more insight.

The test then calls for you to take a 10 minute easy spin break. It is funny, as you finish the first 8 minute effort, you question whether you will even be able to go another 8 minutes like you did earlier. However, after spinning easy and consuming was water, I was ready for the next effort. I also remembered that in my earlier test, that effort produced the highest average wattage.

The second 8 minute effort has the same instructions as the first. This time I lowered my cadence off the line and tried to use the whole 90 seconds to get up to speed. I could sense that things weren’t going as well as the first effort. I didn’t have the same rhythm of the first one. Rather than swinging through the effort — like I felt I was in the first effort — I felt as though I was chasing the average of the first test.

Indeed, I was. My average wattage for the second effort was 290 watts. I once again gave the final minute a push, but the wattage did not swell up like before. I finished the effort feeling nauseous. I figured that was a good thing. I didn’t leave anything.

So, what is the final analysis? Well, as Jim said earlier, either 1) the first test was correct and I have improved quickly, or 2) I had a bad day with the original test. The bottom line is that now I look at the training ahead and say, “Wow, those workouts are going to be pretty tough.” That is exactly what I wanted. I was nagged by the fact that the workouts just didn’t seem to match up with Chris Carmichael’s descriptions of what they would be like in his book.

It isn’t the case anymore! More details later on what the test means to my training going forward.

Bet you can tell I’m starting to get back on the bike and excited about it. How else would you explain two blog posts two days in a row? It is true. I’m starting to have fun again… even fun training.

Last night certainly was a test of that fact. The warmer weather has gotten me out on the road a bit more and that certainly helps my psyche. However, my schedule still puts me outside daylight hours sometimes and I find myself back on the trainer.

Such was the case last night. I took a deep breath before mounting the bike because I knew it was going to be a long one. Two hours riding along the roads of the Upstate flies by quickly. Two hours going nowhere in my basement… not so much.

Thankfully, I had recorded Stage 2 of Paris-Nice and it would last an hour and a half. I could make it that last thirty minutes in silence, or I could put on some tunes to help pass the time. All I knew is that I had to get it done.

I set up my trainer in the basement facing an old computer desk. I can easily reach the desk by leaning forward over the bars. There I keep my cell phone and prop up my iPad so I can watch Netflix or live programing streaming from my TV. Next to the desk I have an oscillating fan on a stand. Without it, I would fry!

The plan called for two hours at Endurance Miles pace. That means I was to ride between 115 – 185 watts the entire time. I determined that I was going to stay within the plan because I knew that Tuesday evening I was to do another CTS Field Test. I didn’t want tired legs for that effort.

Orange = Cadence / Purple = Wattage / Red = Heart Rate

When I first started off I felt kind of stiff. I didn’t push it but just kept spinning and not worrying about the wattage. I knew that once I got warmed up the wattage would come easily. Sure enough, after a few minutes I was in the sweet spot. My cadence fell into a rhythm of around 90 rpm and wattage settled in around 150 watts. My heart rate was a steady and comfortable 130 bpm. Even in the warm basement, I was hardly breaking a sweat.

Meanwhile, a very interesting race was happening in front of me on the iPad. The crosswinds had wreaked havoc on the peloton and there were groups of riders split up along the course. A lead group of 21 that included Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen and Levi Leipheimer. I will admit that I was pulling for Phinney and Van Garderen. Here were two American riders at the ages of 21 and 23 making the break in a powerful field of riders. I was pretty impressed with Phinney and his willingness to bury himself to keep the break alive and protect Van Garderen. It bodes well for the future of the US in the international peloton.

Even with the cycling, it seemed to take forever to make it through the first thirty minutes. As I finally neared the end of the first hour, I started wondering if I might find a reason to cut things down to an hour and a half. Another hour seemed like it would be an eternity.

I stopped for a couple of minutes for a “natural break” at the one hour marker. When I got back on, I shifted the gearing to raise my cadence and lower the wattage. I was still within the range called for, but I figured it would be helpful for my legs and save something for Tuesday evening. You can see how that alteration changes my wattage and heart rate.

Well, during the first thirty minutes of the second hour the action in the race heated up. Before long I forgot I was spinning and caught myself at times upping my cadence as I was racing along with the guys on the screen! Once I got to thirty minutes to go, I was actually feeling very good and enjoying myself. I’d have no trouble making two hours.

During the last thirty minutes, I put on my headphones and started listening to music. Once I shifted into a harder gear so I could stand and give my seat a break. Then I stopped paying attention to the meter and just let my cadence go along with the various songs playing into my ears. You can probably see that on the graph above. The first hour is pretty consistent. The last thirty minutes jumps around.

Finally, I dropped into a very easy spin for the final five minutes or so. I have to admit, I could have kept going. What started out as a dreaded trainer ride turned into enjoyment. Yeah, I think things are starting to come around.

The weekend turned out to be a very good one for the bicycle. I woke up to wet roads, but enjoyed watching the Strade Bianche streaming from my iPad to the widescreen TV. After the race I spent some time with my two sons running them around on errands. By the time I got home in the afternoon, the weather was perfect for a ride.

Strade Bianche is a race I really enjoy. The white sandy roads add an interesting dimension to the event. It is also more like a classic race that favors a strong overall rider.

For a good amount of the race, a Ben Hermanns with RadioShack-Nissan stayed out front. At first he had help, but then he was all alone. He fought valiantly to hold off the field knowing that Fabian Cancellara was sitting in the pack ready to pounce.

Two BMC riders were there with Fabian, but I knew they were toast. The fact is they were having to step up and do work to bring back Hermanns. Fabian was just sitting there biding his time.

Then on the last dirt section as they neared the crest of a climb, Cancellara took off. Game over. I don’t know much about his personality, but as a bike rider he is one of my favorites. Sure, he isn’t going to win a Tour de France, but you just have to love the way he takes over a classics style course.

Cancellara’s 10 k time trial to win the race was still fresh in my mind as I headed out to do my 2.5 hour Endurance Miles work out as prescribed in the Time-Crunched Cyclists training plan. The problem is the planned called for me to stay between 115 and 185 watts. The way I have been feeling, I decided to stay at the upper end of that range.

On Thursday I did Steady State intervals and on my final effort averaged over 300 watts for 10 minutes. Granted, that was done climbing Paris Mountain, but that alerted me to the fact that my FTP is probably not 250 anymore! Friday, I took it easy for 1.5 hours on the trainer. Still, I was toward the upper end at a 164 watts average. I hardly broke a sweat.

So, on this ride, I decided to see what I could do — not overdoing it, but going at what I felt would be a RPE of 7 or 8. I took it easy as I headed out to the park. I was going to ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail and then branch out once I reached Travelers Rest. Thirty minutes on the roads out there would bring me home at the required 2.5 hours.

I stopped in the Reedy River Falls Park to grab some video of the falls that were swollen with the heavy rain fall we experienced Friday night. You can see here what the red clay of our area does to the foam. It looks more like “rust caps” than “white caps.”

Once on the trail, I upped my cadence to over 100 and settled in to between 200 and 225 watts. I reached Travelers Rest and kept going until I wrapped up an hour at that pace. It put me at an average wattage of 200. I then stopped for a moment to take in the scenery. While it was a little cloudy, the weather was nice and I could see the mountains off in the distance.

Anyone want to ride to the mountains?

Coming back the wattage dropped. This is partly due to the fact that the terrain is more downhill. I averaged 190 watts for that hour and ended up with an average for the 2.5 hours of 190 watts. So, once again, I was over the prescription for the session.

Later I received some feedback from Jim Cunningham. I had sent him my data since I started the plan and asked for his feedback. I really appreciate him taking the time to help me. He has been my coach for the last two years and has helped me through some hard times. Even though I am technically on my own this year, he still takes the time to provide me advice and oversee what I am doing with the Time-Crunched Cyclist.

His feedback was that it is hard to know whether one of two things is happening 1) the original test was off, or 2) it was correct and I am coming back to form very quickly. However I got here, he says it is very obvious that my body is coming around. The data says I am definitely improved from that initial field test of two weeks ago. “The power is there,” he says. “You might not have many matches to burn, but the power is there.”

His suggestion is that I replace my next Steady State interval workout with a repetition of the field test. He says that he expects the result to be +/- 300 watts. Well, I’ll know for sure tomorrow night. That is when I’m scheduled for the Steady State intervals.

Regardless of the result. I’ll be glad to put the uncertainty behind me. Personally, I’m thinking the number is going to come in more like 280 watts. If so, I’ll be happy with that and I can get back to focusing on moving forward. If it is 300 watts…. boy, I’m going to have some intense workouts over the next several weeks!

Wednesday was a rest day. Following the Time-Crunched Cyclist plan, you have two days a week off the bike. I have changed the plan up a little to move the Monday rest day to Sunday. So, I end up having two interval type workouts close together early in the week and then pick it up again on Thursday. That Wednesday off was just what I needed going into Thursday’s interval session — maybe too much!

The plan for Thursday was 1.5 hours at Endurance Miles pace with 3 x 10 minutes Steady State intervals. I would get 6 or so minutes of recovery between the intervals and then ride out the rest of the period at the Endurance Miles pacing. That is pretty much like my last workout on Tuesday, but this time I got to do it on the road in gloriously warm weather!

What a difference the road makes! That is good and bad. The good part of it is that it is just plain funner. The bad part of it is that it makes it harder to be precise in following the wattage parameters.

This is especially true in Greenville where there are very few spots that are flat. As a matter of fact, it is impossible for me to leave my driveway without having to do some climbing. So, I find myself spinning easy to keep from going over the average while climbing and then spinning like mad to get up the wattage while going downhill.

I ended up not caring and focused on my perceived exertion. I’d see later whether everything averaged out to the plan. My main goal was to make it to the Swamp Rabbit Trail where I knew the terrain would be more manageable. I would start my first 10 minute interval there.

“Joy” is the word I would use to describe how I felt. It had not been a good winter for me on the bike. Lately, I had been doing all my work on a trainer. To be out on the road was so freeing and energizing.

It was probably a good thing I was on the SRT as I began my first interval. It forced me not to go crazy. You have to be careful that you don’t go too fast and you have to be watchful of the other runners, walkers and riders.

Amazingly, on this beautiful day, there weren’t that many people out. Perhaps it was because of the time of day. Anyway, I had no trouble keeping things consistent as I wrapped up that interval at around 260 watts. Once again I was over the designated max average of 226 watts.

After the recovery spin, I started up my second interval. I was nearing Furman about halfway through it. My plan was to get off the trail and go back home on the road using the Paris Mountain climb to finish off my last interval. I had to get off the trail with about 4 minutes left and had to take a detour on a side road in order to finish up the interval without having to sit a the light on Poinsett Highway. I wrapped it up perfectly to finish the interval and sprint through the green light. Inteval 2 = 270 watts.

Now it was time to recover for the final interval on Altamont Road. I determined that I was not going to push it all the way up. I knew that would require me to exceed my wattage for 14 minutes or so. Plus, I didn’t think I could do it.

Knowing that I wasn’t planning to go the whole way, I went a little harder in the being. It isn’t that I thought I was going hard. It didn’t feel that hard, but I glanced down and saw I was bouncing around between 300 and 330 watts. I realized that this pace would be a PR pace last year if I could hold it to the top. I also realized that this year it wouldn’t be.

I’m at least 10 pounds heavier than my weight of last year. 10 pounds is a HUGE difference in the amount of power I would have to put out to reach the top in under 12 minutes — not to mention under 11:30. Still, I was happy that I was holding the wattage beyond the water tower section.

When the 10 minute mark showed on my computer, I was at the end of my stamina. That “Steady State” interval came in at 300 watts. I was very glad to start spinning as easily as I could on the incline. Within a few minutes, I was recovering and reached the bottom of “the wall” at just over 14 minutes. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “The last time I climbed this thing, I did it in 15:30 something. I told myself then I would beat that time the next opportunity I had to climb it.” So, I stood and pushed it up the meters to the KOM line.

I looked down and saw 4:57 in the lap time field on the Garmin. Hey, not bad, I came in under 15 minutes. Then my heart rate caught up with me and I just about puked! That 40 seconds or so was the hardest I had pushed since last race season! Still, my heart rate didn’t exceed 181 bpm. So, I know I am far from my potential fitness level.

Coming off the mountain was a blast. I had stopped to talk to a fellow rider at the top. It gave me a chance to calm down before descending. It also meant that as I started down, I was caught by another rider who was moving! I was soft pedaling when he came flying around me. For fun, I accelerated to jump on his wheel.

The next few minutes was like a synchronized descent. Once again that word “joy” starting creeping into my mind. THIS is why I loved riding. Sure, when the road kicked up and I had to push along to stay on the rider’s wheel, I started feeling that sick feeling. However, I stayed on the wheel. The power was there… it is just my stamina hasn’t caught up with it.

I’m ready to go again, but I’ve got to be careful not to over do it. The plan is about building up and if I don’t build up correctly, I’ll hit a plateau a bit lower than the height I could reach. Whoa there, young man!