Just getting to the end of SSBLV1 for the first time. Really enjoying it so far. This week is my easy week and I did Pettit last night. Don’t get me wrong, I was looking forward to an easy week but this workout is soooo boring. I was ready to jump off the trainer after 20 mins.
If this had been a high intensity session, I would’ve considered it a failed workout. Keeping focused and keeping my power on target was really difficult.
I’m now considering replacing the other 2 workouts this week (Bald Knob and Brasstown) with outside low intensity rides instead but I know I’ll be missing out on the structure. The thought of 90 mins of this type of workout bores me to tears.
So my question is, how do you guys get through the easy workouts? I’ve heard on the podcast that some guys watch tv or racing, but I feel like that might distract me even more from the work at hand and before I know it, I’ll have been pedalling for the last 10 minutes at too high or low intensity.
As you said, I simply turn on 60 mins of really good media (audio books, TV show, etc), I personally avoid 90 mins of low intensity indoors. I find it helps if the media is one of my absolute favorites, almost like a treat!
And lastly, I don’t force myself to stay indoors for low intensity if I’m not enjoying it. I look at that last week as a time to refresh myself a bit. I have some outdoor trails and circuits that are flat and good for steady low intensity rides.
I don’t do full recovery weeks even though I’m doing about 5-600TSS/week. I just doesn’t work that well for me. However when it’s summer and warm outside I’d rather take 1,5h outside than 1h inside on the trainer. At least when it comes to the easy-spinning-sessions.
I have a kickr, so I just leave it in erg mode and pedal away. Sounds like you’re on a dumb trainer, so the key is to lock in on the right gear & cadence before going on autopilot with entertainment. I watch on my computer, so I have the TR mini window across the bottom of the screen.
Replacing with easy rides outside is a good option, but I find it’s even tougher to target a wattage outside (especially hard to keep watts in low Pettit range with any hills, frequent starts from stoplights, etc.).
My direct thought was: get game on your entertainment. Whatever it is you like. It may take some experimentation. It speaks for itself that you can be attentive to different stuff than during VO2max work.
There is no harm in going outside as long as you really take it easy.
Podcast #134 has some good advice on how to make indoor training enjoyable.
Yeah I’m on a dumb trainer and this is the first time that I wished I had erg mode. You’re right though, keeping the power low outside would be challenging.
I wouldn’t overly worry about sticking to the structure of the recovery week workouts as long as you’re doing something, and that something is easy enough compared to the work weeks that you’re recovering. Commuting is fine. Watching TV or listening to a podcast and not being as diligent as you normally would be about sticking to the prescribed watts is fine. Riding outside and having a few short spikes of above target power for a hill or traffic light is fine.
As someone else said, don’t stress about power targets, just move your legs!
Coincidentally, I did Pettit this morning for the final week of SSB2MV, and it came as a blessed relief. Easy spinning watching trashy Spartacus on Netflix! Maybe your FTP is set too low!!(just joking )
You don’t need ERG to do this within reason. Pay attention to your gearing and cadence at the start of an interval. At that point, you just need to hold a steady cadence.
That should be easy and the slight variations you will get are not harmful. Even if you miss the start or end of intervals and the corresponding target power changes, that is not a big deal.
These workouts fall into the “Close Counts” category. The do not need to be “perfect” in order to be beneficial.
So, find some good entertainment and train on with resistance.
I need ERG in the sense that I’d be forced to perform regardless of how much attention I’m paying. Doing 1hr of over unders is great, I can stare at a number for 1 hour and not get bored. But doing this at 60% is really challenging for me. It’s not hard enough to make me pay attention, and its not easy enough for me to cruise along without having to think about it. Think I need some practice!
In that case, I would probably just drop the trainer work all together if you’re still going to hit 600 on your rest week. Maybe throw in some shorter rides like Taku.
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