Xert ATA (Adaptive Training Advice) for Saturday, October 10th, 2020
The Xert ATA and Training Pacer Rainbow Dial are showing that I am roughly 101 XSS in the hole. The workout goal is set to 166 XSS. The Focus recommendation is “Endurance”.
I took yesterday off, but the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor looks at my previous Saturdays, and it has planned a good over-reach ride for me.
The Adaptive Training Advisor has been pretty predictable, and while I am tired, I’m not overtrained.
Xert ATA – Post Ride
Well, the Xert ATA wanted 166 points? Check that box off. An “Endurance” focus? Check. Did I set some PR’s? YES – Times FOUR. Wow – another Epic Saturday’s Big Ride!
Here’s the Loop:
Several good things came out of this ride.
First, take a look at the Xert Garmin Fields as we progressed. Specifically, watch the FOCUS, on line three, left side. Then watch the Fat/Carb ratio. Remember, every gram of Fat yields 9 Calories. Every gram of Carbs yields 4 calories. So, before I got to Truck Route 341, I still had plenty of energy left in the form of carbs. That is HUGE. I banked my energy, and then spent it appropriately.
Here’s the progression:
Nice and steady rollout that is Fat Red and Watts Blue. Purely Aerobic Ride. XSS points are ticking towards the ATA goal.
400 KJ used… FOCUS is Aerobic, Fat is red, Power is blue, XSS is about 1/4 of my goal. Notice the surge in carbs? I had to climb over a pass, but I kept the watts GREEN.
600 KiloJoules used. Fat is edging back towards the Carb 1:1 ratio. XSS continues to make headway at roughly 1 point per 8-10 KJ. FOCUS is purely aerobic. Strain is slowly moving up.
800 KiloJoules. XSS is at 75, just under half my goal. Fat continues to edge closer to the 1:1 ratio. FOCUS is purely aerobic. Strain is starting to show itself. Cadence is perfect (90rpm is not ideal for everyone). Power is blue. This is going to boost my Lower Threshold Power. I just know it.
1000 KJ. Some of you may be wondering about my feeding and hydration schedule. I use the REFUL system, and I’ll write an entire series of blog posts about that some day soon.
1200 KiloJoules. At 1000 KJ, I crossed over on Fat/Carb, but in the hills again, the carbs slid back into the lead. XSS is at 75, still short of my ATA goal. FOCUS is still purely aerobic. Strain is now moderately high. I’m going to feel this tomorrow. XSS is at 112, so I’m coming up to my ATA goal. Power is GREEN, but FAT is still RED. This is a bit of a sweetspot for fat/power. It can be sustained, but it’s a narrower window than Fat-Red/Power-Blue.
THE EFFORT
Here’s the PR screen. I did have the benefit of a tailwind, but I also paced myself much better, and held at least 268w for the entire climb, with an XEP (Xert Equivalent Power) of 269, so it was VERY steady pacing.
Here’s the Xert Garmin Fields post-climb. FOCUS is still pretty far out there, at 53:51. STRAIN is now entering tough territory. I’ve achieved my XSS ATA points goal, but Carbs heavily outweigh fat in terms of energy use. Time to EAT!
Here we are at 1800 KJ. XSS is now OVER the ATA recommendation, and is in ‘Bonus’ territory. Strain is still rising but not by much. I’m now over 1/4lb of fat burn, which itself is a reward. MPA has not been touched.
And here we are at the end of the ride. Fat burn went really well, and FOCUS is almost back to ‘infinitely aerobic’. XSS went to 192, well above the ATA rec, and I’m pretty much ready to get off the bike and declare success for the day.
Post-Ride Adaptive Training Advisor and Training Pacer Rainbow Dial…
Ironically, the Xert ATA and Training Pacer, post-ride, didn’t give me the credit I thought I had earned. I’m going to have to ride again tomorrow…..
Xert ATA Adaptive Training Advisor Training Pacer post-ride, October 10, 2020.
However, read the WARNING. The Xert ATA is offering me an escape. I probably won’t take it, since I just need 40 points and I can earn that indoors, but it’s nice to see how the volume and intensity are providing good information, and deductive reasoning.
Other Notes:
Some have asked, “Where’s the 300 watts of FTP?” Well, it’s there. It’ll be there. I’m just going to follow the program to the best of my abilities, trust the ATA and Training Pacer, and see where it leads. 269 watts for 20 minutes tells me that I am close. Yet, if we look at the Power-Duration curve for today, the Xert MMP predictor feels that I could arguably achieve 295 watts over 20 minutes, and 289 watts over 25:00. I’ve now set a PR for this hill at 24:42, and I’ll have to be truly fresh and ready when I attempt this hill in mid-November.
I rode 273 watts for 20:00, about 7% below my predicted Max Power of 295 watts.
Also, in a previous post, I wrote about the Garmin Performance Condition metric. I’m basically using it as a “Might be a good day, might not” metric. Today, it popped up after a few minutes and read:
+3 on the Garmin Performance Condition Metric means I got okay sleep, I’m okay hydrated, my heart is feeling good and contracting when it wants to, vs. when it has to.
And several hours into the ride, it looked like this:
The Garmin Performance Condition Metric seems to like LSD/Zone 2 cycling. Several thousand KiloJoules in, it was still happy.
However, after the climb at or just under Threshold Power, it went to ‘0’. I think this Metric may have a lot to do with the ‘Recovery Hours’ dial that pops up at the end of a ride. Everyone jokes about the long recovery times, but there may be something to it. I’ll keep studying.
Anyway, this post has gotten long in the tooth, but the TL:DR of it all is – I’m trusting the Xert ATA, and it’s providing good feedback on my fitness. It continues to keep me honest, and it’s challenging me to “Temper Action With Wisdom”, every, single, ride.
Garmin Connect Has A Sleep Tracker That Can Help You Optimize Sleep and Recovery!
The Garmin Connect Sleep Tracker provides assessment for sleep quality and quantity.
The Garmin Connect Ecosystem is RICH with features that are either under-utilized or perhaps are misunderstood. I have wanted to explore Garmin Connect with my followers for a while now. I think the Sleep Tracker is a great place to start.
