An Epic Day

An Epic Day – 70 miles of Spectacular Cycling [caption id="attachment_12426" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Great sky, smooth roads, quiet bike, fit/fast wife, and fantastic scenery.[/caption]

My wife and I had an absolutely EPIC day of cycling on Saturday. It was a day where the temperature was perfect. The scenery was spectacular. The route was familiar. Traffic was low, except for the myriad other cyclists with whom we shared the day.

The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor suggested 170 XSS for the day, with an…….

Blowing Up A Workout

The Workout

My first mistake was in preparation. I needed to make some changes in the warmup, but I’m not the biggest fan of the Xert Workout Builder. The changes I wanted were made, but I also ended up making 8 warmup intervals, instead of 8 starter 30-second intervals. That meant that I had to dance around in the workout itself, jumping here and there, to get the warmup I wanted in.

The next problem I encountered in setup was that the 30-second warmup intervals were just too hard. I set them based on % of FTP, instead of % slope, and they pulled my SmO2 values down to SEVEN PERCENT. I only performed five of these, but they really hurt.

Keep the Needle Pointing “NORTH”

I’m going to Keep the Needle Pointing “North”. The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor appears to be a reward system. I’m enjoying the fact that when I wake up, I can look at the ATA and the Training Pacer, realize just how hard or easy I need to ride, and then GO DO IT. I’ve said […]

Xert Training Deficit

I like to ask myself – “What’s the ‘Fastest’ way to get to my XSS goal, while keeping FOCUS infinitely aerobic, and keep fat burning at or ahead of Carbs?

I set my trainer to ERG mode, and rode 190 watts the entire ride….

Xert – Adaptive Training Program

Xert – Adaptive Training Program

The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor and Training Pacer built me up to a higher level of preparation, for sure. This week, I will transfer over from “Build”, to “Peak” in the Xert Adaptive Training Program.

The Target Date is still November 14th. That’s when Tracy and I will attempt to summit Truck Route 341 yet again – this time, with a breakthrough in the 20-25 minute range in mind. I’m not worried about time. We both just want to set 20MMP Records that coincide with the Power-Duration Predictions at those levels.

It will be interesting to see what Xert’s Adaptive Training Program lays out. I’m looking forward to the intervals, but I also want to build my own.

Take a look at the Xert “Weekly Stats” page, inside of the “Xert Planner” menu.

Xert XSS – 76 Points of Aerobic Base

Xert XSS in the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor is recommending 76 points of completely aerobic base.

My FOCUS is set for “Endurance”.

I earn roughly 1 Xert XSS point per 9 or 10 Kilojoules of work, at about 170 watts of power. There usually is not enough time in my day to head out for an easy road ride. SO, I will probably perform this ride indoors.

I DO miss having some intervals right now, however, so I may chuck the suggestions out the window and perform some intervals to get the points, and maybe try for a breakthrough.

XSS and FOCUS per the ATA

The beauty of this XSS goal comes when you’re fit and you know you don’t need too much, to stay on target. Xert FOCUS goal was set to 13:36, which is also fairly aerobic.

But I do love my mountain biking, especially climbing.

Xert – Training Optional on the Xert Training Pacer

Xert – Training Optional in the Xert Training Pacer.

I did it – I moved the needle to the 1 O’clock position. “Training Optional” is sweet, sweet music. I’m going to take the day off. The dogs have been walked. Work beckons in a few hours. Right now, I’m going to fly my flight sim and maybe have a quick coffee nap.

Let’s look at the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor, below the Training Pacer. It describes WHY my status on the Training Pacer is set to “Training Optional”.

Xert Training Pacer – 10/4/2020

Xert Training Pacer is right at 12 O’clock.

The needle on my Xert Training Pacer is right at 12 O’Clock, but if I don’t ride today, the 24-hour triangle shows that I’ll slip back towards 11 O’Clock. The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor is recommending a 109 XSS ride, with an Xert FOCUS on “Endurance”, or “–:–“.

I’m going to head out now with my wife, and will report back soon.

Sleep and Intervals

Good Sleep is critical to recovery, so that Intervals can be completed and be effective.

I failed a workout on Friday. The effort was an attempt to get Xert XSS points in. However, I got about 5 hours of sleep on Thursday evening; three hours and then two, after two hours awake. The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor is adjusting my goals every day, but it does not take sleep quality or quantity into account. The Xert ATA does look at fatigue due to volume, but it still acts as a carrot, and I am always out chasing the goal.

The thought did occur to me to take the day off, but my goal in this series is to follow the Xert Training Pacer and Workout Goals. I’m trying to do these outdoors as much as possible. I’m also trying to adjust my intensity on the mountain bike, since that is just so much more convenient. The trails are right outside my front door. Due to some time restrictions, I was unable to get outside and ride, so I opted instead for an inside ride with intervals.

The Xert ATA was asking for 91 points and a FOCUS of 16:36. None of the recommended workouts in the right column offered anything less than 90 minutes. So, I went to the left tab of the Xert – My Fitness page, and designed my own workout.

Here’s the workout in the Xert Workout Designer

On Paper, this was entirely accomplishable. However, this is based on solid sleep and intervals that follow the SMART acronym.