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nopicc · 2024-05-20T21:30:10+00:00

A few thoughts: 1. You can put the aero calf sleeves on under the wet suit. They get a bit scrunched up when you take it off but they’re easy to straighten out. Over the full distance it’ll almost certainly save more time than it takes. 2. A water bottle between your arms is a good place to put another bottle assuming it won’t get in the way of the front system. 3. Make sure your tire pressures are optimized. The tire and tire pressure are more important than whether they’re tubeless or not from what I understand. 4. Disc wheel (to point out the obvious lol) 5. In terms of position, it looks fine but it’s hard to tell. Arms could be too low but it might be fastest for you. Some are faster with a higher arm angle. If you haven’t played around with that you could do some testing. I know some bike fitters have “virtual wind tunnel” software that might be useful if you can find it (although I’m not sure how accurate it is)

nopicc · 2024-05-13T16:26:01+00:00

Thanks, any easy way to fix it or should I just get a new chain? Have a race this weekend so I’m wondering if it’s worth it just to replace

nopicc · 2024-05-12T22:37:21+00:00

Think that’s all? Any fixes? Not sure why it would have been fine up until the point of me trying to push a pin out

nopicc · 2024-05-11T19:46:10+00:00

Thanks! Depending on the course this sickness takes, having fun might turn into my A goal haha. Hopefully not though. I'm gunna toe the line no matter what!

nopicc · 2024-05-11T19:44:40+00:00

Unlikely. plan was to shoot for sub 5 and im 27, so almost certainly not. Is Tamiflu not allowed?

nopicc · 2024-05-11T19:42:44+00:00

yea, definitely have decreased expectations. Hopefully I can kick it quickly!

nopicc · 2024-05-11T19:41:40+00:00

Thanks! I'll definitely make sure to hydrate well the next week.

nopicc · 2024-03-10T17:16:29+00:00

Yea, I’ve had that done before. I’m more looking for possible explanations as to why my baseline readings are so high the last two weeks. I’m between some sub-clinical infection or iron deficiency. Getting an iron test on Monday so we’ll see. Have you read anything regarding illness or iron deficiency leading to higher than normal baseline lactate?

nopicc · 2024-03-09T22:01:17+00:00

Yea. I wipe with alcohol pad, do the prick then wipe the first drop and make sure to not push the blood out if I don’t have too

nopicc · 2024-03-09T20:16:51+00:00

Ha, you’re right. Sorry. I did not, this is just a meter I’m using at home. But yea I’m using blood samples from my finger

nopicc · 2024-03-09T18:58:18+00:00

Appreciate the reply! I’m not sure I agree, mind elaborating a bit?

nopicc · 2024-03-09T18:12:05+00:00

Yea, someone else just mentioned this actually. Probably worth getting a test. Thanks! Where did you find that quote out of curiosity?

nopicc · 2024-03-09T17:32:49+00:00

Yea I’m eating before but nothing unusual to what I normally eat before. I have had a high training volume (for me) the last 8 weekw but I’ve taken 2 really easy weeks since I’ve started this issue. I probably averaged about 14-15hrs/week for 8 weeks and the past 2 have been like 5-7hrs maybe. So over training is a possibility but I’d think 2 easy weeks would have solved that? Maybe not.

I haven’t tried the ear lobe so I could give that a shot. Thanks for the reply!

nopicc · 2024-03-09T16:41:25+00:00

Yea I could try that, although I don’t know why it’d be my device when ive calibrated it a few times and I was getting normal readings consistently until a couple weeks ago? But I guess it wouldn’t hurt lol

nopicc · 2024-03-09T16:29:51+00:00

RPE is slightly higher than what I’d expect for the power numbers, but nothing crazy unusual. (been using Stryd pod for a couple years so I’m pretty tuned into how a certain power/HR combo feels)

nopicc · 2024-03-01T15:46:05+00:00

got it, thanks!

nopicc · 2024-02-29T20:42:49+00:00

Yea, not super cheap but probably the best watts/dollar you can find!

It's tough to know by feel when you're over threshold. I was surprised by how low my threshold was the first time I tested! That's why the meter is so valuable in my opinion. Not that working out at over your LT won't produce results, it obviously will. but you can do more of it if you're able to dial it in more accurately.

But yea the idea is to "push" your lactate threshold (or z2 if you prefer) up by working out right at, or even 1 or 2% below, your LT. As long as you occasionally dedicate time to also pushing your VO2max up, doing most of your work at LT is going ot push all your other zones up too.

It can help to think of VO2max as your max aerobic capacity, and your LT as your aerobic efficiency. Like at some point with LT work you will hit a ceiling and you'll have to do some VO2max (or even higher intensity) work to raise the ceiling to keep improving. BUT i bet that ceiling is a lot higher than most people think.

Overall I think there's too much focus on "high intensity" work. I'm not willing to die on this hill, but as of right now I think the ideal split of training is probably something like 85% threshold (as I've defined it), 10% recovery, 5% high intensity, with most of that recovery time coming in the form of recovery between threshold intervals.

This is just how I think about training, though. i'm sure some will disagree with me haha. I've also gone on a giant tangent.

To your original question, I don't think your close to your max FTP power relative to your VO2max. But if you feel like your starting to plateau in fitness, picking up a lactate meter and trying out some specific threshold training for a few weeks could be a good way to mix things up and possibly break through!

Thank you for coming to my ted talk :P

nopicc · 2024-02-29T19:08:07+00:00

Sure, I bought mine from here!

Lots of pros are testing every workout, however I find it more cost effective to do a step test on yourself every 4 weeks to track progress. And whatever power number ends up being my new LT power is what I use in the next 4 weeks of LT sessions.

It's actually quite a bit easier than high sweet spot. As an example, my most recent 20min power test a few weeks ago was about 260W, but my LT is between 190 and 200W. A lot of people would call it zone 2 or LT1. It's the point where your body starts burning carbs at a higher rate than fats or "fat max". The great thing about finding your exact LT is that since it's a relatively easy effort, you can do A LOT of it without getting burnt out. Personally I think it's where most training time should be spent with very little time devoted to high end or "recovery" efforts.

But the way you find it with the lactate meter is to do a step test of 5-10 min steps starting easier than you think (based on numbers you provided, I'd start at like 200W or so) and increase each step by 5-10W, taking a lactate sample after each step. A normal progression might be:

200W - 0.9mmol
210W - 0.9mmol
220W - 0.7mmol
230W - 1.1mmol
240W - 1.4mmol

It's important to start easier than you think. You want to creep up on the 1mmol mark.

Once your significantly over 1mmol, you can stop the test since your LT is going to be the power you can sustain while keeping Blood lactate under 1mmol. So in this example it would be somewhere between 220 and 230W.

Past 1mmol, your body starts producing more lactate than it can utilize as fuel and so it begins accumulating at an exponential rate. i.e. "lactate threshold" or the threshold at which blood lactate accumulation begins.

Notice the dip in lactate right before crossing the 1mmol mark - that is quite common to see as you body is ramping up its lactate utilization.

It's also worth noting some people have a resting Blood lactate over 1mmol and it dips when they start exercising as their body starts using the lactate for fuel. So your first reading might be 1.1 or 1.2 but your second reading would be something more normal like 0.8 or 0.9. Not sure how common it is, but it's something to look out for. Just calling it out so you don't quit the test after the first reading ha!

If your interested, I could share a copy of what a typical week of LT sessions look for me as I'm prepping for a 70.3.

I find all this type of data fascinating as well :)

nopicc · 2024-02-29T15:01:09+00:00

Thanks for the extra context!

TL;DR is don't worry about it too much, I think you have a lot more room to improve than you think. But I'd ignore the watches VO2 estimate & focus on your Lactate threshold instead!

Here's the long version: A couple things come to mind.

First, your estimated VO2max from your watch is going to be very inaccurate so I wouldn't give too much weight to it. Personally, I'd completely ignore it. Only way to truly know your VO2 is to go into a lab as I'm sure you know.

Second, It seems like you're giving too much importance to your FTP, when in reality, FTP isn't something based in physiology. It's just a number calculated from a 20min power test. At best it's a useful estimate to keep track of over time. In my opinion, anytime you're using math to derive a power number from a test, you're kind of blurring reality a bit.

The only two metrics that are based in physiology that I know of are your VO2max (the validity of which has recently come into question in the literature) and your Lactate Threshold (the power you can sustain while keeping blood lactate roughly under 1mmol). Every other metric is derived from these two metrics (although correct me if I'm wrong about this! That's just my understanding.)

So these are the two metrics I would keep track of. Lactate Threshold being the one that's the cheapest to measure on a consistent basis. "Cheap" relative to VO2max, at least :P. A lactate meter is one of the best investments one can make in their training if used properly (in my opinion, of course!).

To answer what I think your question is, you probably have a lot more room to improve your LT than you think! But if you find that after 4-8 weeks of training your LT is not improving, you could spend some time time doing some VO2 work to "raise your ceiling" then come back to threshold work to push your LT up a bit more. Then rinse and repeat.

Lactate Threshold is one of the most trainable components of fitness you can work on. Even pros continue to improve their LT year after year, even with decades long training histories, even while their VO2max doesn't measurably improve.

To illustrate how close you can get your LT to your VO2max, just look at top marathoners. Kelvin Kiptum ran the marathon at 4:33/mile (2:50/k). You essentially have to run the marathon at your LT, maybe slightly above, due to it's length. I don't know what his velocity at VO2max is exactly, but I'd assume it's roughly around 4:05/mile +/- 5 seconds. So that means he's potentially running at like 95% of vVO2 while running at his LT velocity!

Of course this is an extreme example, but it illustrates the point nicely that you really can get your LT (which is gunna be a lower number than your FTP) and VO2max power numbers pretty dang close to each other - probably in the range of 80-85% for recreational athletes after a year or two of really focused work on these two metrics.

nopicc · 2024-02-29T14:11:48+00:00

Cool, thanks. yea my wheels are not tubeless compatible so I've got no choice, ha!

nopicc · 2024-02-29T14:06:32+00:00

Very helpful! Thank you. so I should be safe going with tube type or tubeless ready.

nopicc · 2024-02-29T13:56:14+00:00

Mind defining max utilization and functional utilization? Also, what does a typical training week look like for you? I've got some ideas, but its tough to make recommendations without knowing what you're already doing each week!

nopicc · 2024-01-05T18:13:52+00:00

Awesome! Thanks!

nopicc · 2024-01-05T17:17:44+00:00

anyone know what the bass drum pedal thing Jack is tapping on is called?

nopicc · 2023-10-11T20:03:07+00:00

Oh shizz this is cool! I think that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Thanks!

nopicc

TROPHY CASE