Xert XSS and FOCUS -and how easily the numbers change under intensity.

If you’ll recall from the previous post, my Xert XSS and FOCUS for Saturday was 121 points of XSS, and 134 points of Deficit. After 1hr 40minutes, there were 73 XSS points, and a FOCUS that was Infinitely Aerobic. But I just could not sit still.

In an area of the ride approaching Mound House, NV   I let my wife know that I was going to attempt a breakthrough, and that’s exactly what happened.

GOING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH

Remember – my goal during this BUILD period is mostly based on aerobic training. However, I had a suspicion that my Xert Fitness Signature was still too low. So, I pulled up a pre-planned series of Intervals in my Garmin. They’re 8-second Intervals, with 8-second recoveries. There are 44 of them.

The reason I chose 8-second efforts, with 8-second recoveries is this: the time gap roughly coincides with the time required to travel between telephone poles, light poles, or other regular highway markers. 8 seconds is also a great mental repetitive value. I can do these with or without a timer. Finally, 8 seconds gives me time, on moderate slopes or in headwinds, to really get my Power up, and move my Xert MPA and Power Field into Yellow, Orange, Red, and even Purple, which will affect my Xert XSS and FOCUS acutely.

Now take a look at the graph of these intervals. Total time is just 6 Minutes and 30 Seconds.

Notice how the first 15 of these intervals were fairly uniform in power. They peaked at around 420 to 450 watts, and as the slope sets in on the hill, my recoveries go from BLUE (Aerobic) to GREEN (tempo) intensity. My 8-second recoveries were actually high power, and the MPA did NOT get a chance to bounce back up.

ANYONE CAN DO JUST ONE – OR A FEW… IT’S THE MORE THAT MATTERS.

 

Here’s a quick rule of thumb when you’re going for a Breakthrough. If your Xert MPA is LESS THAN 200% of your Wattage (Example; 600 Watts of Xert MPA vs 350 Watts of power), and your Power is ORANGE (3 minutes or less of Xert HIE available) or RED (30 Seconds of less of Xert HIE available), keep pushing and get that breakthrough. The MPA will drop much faster than it will recover, and your body will still be able to maintain those intervals of that Power. It’s also a heck of a mental incentive.

THIS WAS NOT THE MOMENT OF THE BREAKTHROUGH! YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE POWER ON FOR AT LEAST 5-Seconds.

This next interval is where I my Wattage crossed over the Xert MPA value for a long-enough period of time, and I began earning a TRUE Breakthrough and Signature Reset.

Crossing the Rubicon with Xert XSS and FOCUS

I call it “Crossing the Rubicon“, because it means you’ve done something that was theoretically impossible. It is also an incredible feat, much like Caesar’s other great accomplishment, building a bridge to cross the Rhine in just a few days, then disassembling it just as quickly, all while the Gauls were watching from the woods. And finally, as the great Yogi Berra is claimed to have said, “When you come to a fork in the road, TAKE IT!” Translation: KEEP GOING!!!!

Look carefully at the image. Do you see all the yellow lines in the last five intervals? Those are areas of Wattage and Power that were ABOVE my Theoretical Functional Threshold Power of 264 watts. Now, do you see how the purple line of MPA just flatlines at 264 Watts? I’m earning points towards a better, more accurate Xert Fitness Signature, and I’m earning SCADS of points on my XSS.

In fact, now is just as good a time as any to show a new metric, one that is NOT visible on the Garmin Xert Fields.

XSSR – Xert Strain Score per Hour

Take a look at the purple box that accompanies the line of MPA (Maximum Power Available). You’ll see a term below it: XSSR.

XSSR stands for Xert Strain Score per Hour, and it’s basically telling you that if you continue to ride at THIS power, for SIXTY MINUTES (1 Hour), then you’ll earn that many points on your Xert Strain Score (XSS). Now, we all know that that is basically impossible, but it’s still useful to see just how POWERFUL these short intervals really are, and how much they affect Xert Strain Score.

In just six minutes, I earned 33 points, based on my THEN-CURRENT Xert Fitness Signature.

But it gets better.

Remember my FOCUS goal? 20 Minutes and 30 Seconds, and just before I began my effort, I was “infinitely aerobic”?

Well….. this was my FOCUS AFTER that breakthrough set of intervals.

So, for one and a half hours, I rode infinitely easy, but in just six minutes, my Xert FOCUS  went from “–:–” to 6:53, and my Xert XSS went from 73 to 109 points!

CONCLUSION – Xert MPA and Power acutely effect Xert XSS and FOCUS

Here is how this ride looked on my Garmin Screen, for the remainder of the ride.

Tracy and I rode tempo up the Truck Route, thinking I could maybe hold 280 watts for 20 minutes, but I was well and truly knackered by the time I reached the hill, and barely managed 260 for 26:00. I used the Xert Segment Hunter, but I abandoned the effort after just 10 minutes, and watched the required power climb to impossible numbers.

By the end of the ride, my Xert XSS and FOCUS read 210 and 6:53, and strain was about 450 KiloJoules.

 

What were the changes to the Xert Fitness Signature at the end of this Epic Ride?

And a new position on the Rainbow Dial for the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor.

I’ll post tomorrow whether I ride today or not, but I need to resume my life balance. I’m going to walk the dogs, get groceries, fly my combat flight sim, and enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Thanks for reading. I know it was a doozy.