Okay – so you recall from the earlier post that the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor wanted 83 XSS points and an Xert FOCUS of 21:17.
So here’s where I was after One Lap of the Reno Wheelmen XC Course on Peavine.
Let’s break down what these Xert Fields on a Garmin mean.
- On Line 1, you have “MPA” and “POWER”. MPA stands for “Maximum Power Available”, which means if I were to suddenly get chased by rabid and hungry coyotes, at that moment, I could generate no more than 1113 watts in ONE INSTANT. This number rises and falls as you increase or decrease your POWER.
Power is measured in watts, and at this moment, it read ‘6’, as I was coasting to a stop. Notice the color. If Power is BLUE, you’re HIGHLY AEROBIC. If it’s GREEN, you’re riding at TEMPO PACE. If it’s YELLOW, you’re in or above THRESHOLD intensity. If it’s ORANGE, you’re in the Vo2 range, and you’ve got 3 minutes OR LESS before you’re completely dead. If it’s RED, you’ve got less than 30 seconds before you’re completely dead. The colors shift as you use up and reconstitute something called “HIE”, which stands for “High Intensity Energy”. Again – we’ll discuss this stuff later. Hence, subscribe and keep reading. - FOCUS after one lap reads “19:26” and it’s BLUE. What this means is this: ALL the energy I put into this lap led to an OPTIMIZATION of OUTPUT in the 19:00 to 20:00 range of Mean Max Power. So, if my goal was 21:17, and I average 19:26 after 35:00 of riding, I was MORE INTENSE than the plan called for, but not by much.
Next is STRAIN. STRAIN is one of my favorite measurements in Xert, but it’s not given the kind of attention that it deserves. I’ll post about it more in a separate blog entry, but the TL:DR version of XERT STRAIN means this: It only goes UP as you ride, and when combined with FOCUS, it can help you govern your rides. After 30 minutes, my XERT STRAIN was 73 kilojoules. Watch what happens after Lap 2…. - XSS is the measurement I was aiming to match today. After one lap of my course, I was at 32 points of Xert Strain Score, and I need another 50 points to reach my daily goal.
Difficulty was at 32 points and it was colored Green. This means I was getting about 32 points of XSS per hour at that point (SLOW), and the GREEN means my power output was below my rolling average of XEP, or Xert Exponential Power, which is something I just don’t look at, which again, is another discussion for another blog post. - Finally, there’s KiloJoules. I LOVE KILOJOULES! Watts = Joules per Second, and KiloJoules help determine Watts! It’s better than Calories, and it gives me an idea of whether I’m truly ready for an intense effort or not. I usually like to get about 200-300 KiloJoules under my belt before I blast out intervals.
So that was just the first lap.
Here’s the data from the full ride, second lap included…….
#BOOM!!!
I couldn’t help it. The day was just too gorgeous, I had the trail mostly to myself, the temps were perfect, there was a slight tailwind while climbing, AND I JUST FELT GOOD.
I set a PR on the course by 15 seconds, set two PR’s climbing, and only missed another descending PR because there were hikers and cyclists and dogs in the way on the trip down.
But look at the details…
FOCUS went from 19:26 to 6:57. MUCH more intense than planned. Furthermore, the was BLUE, which means the watts were all over the place, mixed like a fruit salad, and there was not much FOCUS in my FOCUS.
STRAIN leaped from 73Kj, which is acceptable, to 192 in about 27 minutes. I’ll be feeling this tomorrow. I REALLY NEED TO RIDE SOME MORE BASE!!!
XSS? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – 85 points, 83 needed. Had to push to get there, and pedal downhill some as well.
Difficulty? Well, that’s interesting. 67 XSS Points per hour projected. That number floats as you stop and make adjustments to your suspension, take a drink, answer texts and emails, etc.
KiloJoules? 672. I try to make sure I use at least 500 KJ/day, when I ride the trails, because it leads to a longer-term result throughout the day, and honestly, it abets my ADD tendencies. I’m also a lot more chill at the UPS Store. Finally, if you believe in a theory called EPOC, the intensity with which you burn KiloJoules in a workout, leads to more fat burning the rest of the day.
I’m currently at 67.5 Kilos and <7% BF, so I’m really, really happy about my body and my performance right now.
Finally, let’s look at the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor adjustments, post-ride.
Look carefully at the Needle on the Rainbow over the last 3 days. The Needle is moving. Slowly but surely, it’s moving towards 12 O’clock.
Let’s see how tomorrow’s road ride with my wife turns out, and how that affects the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor.
Thanks for reading!
