I completed the week 1 of 18 Weeks Sweet spot training plan. I have some doubts & observations.
My HR In Z2 rides - indoor, is around the LTHR Z2 prescribed per the xls . (not exactly below but around there. Today’s Z2 ride for almost 28 minutes it went beyond 149 Z2 HR limit and was between 150 to 155 at times.
On Saturday I did solo Sweet Spot + Z2 outside and it as all over.
My observation is ( not just this training week, but most of the time, outside, I am in Z3 of HR against Zone 2 of Power
My question is - Should I bring the watts down to make sure I am within the prescribed HR range or should I choose only power and kind of ignore HR.
How to address this big underlying issue of matching the zones, otherwise I will not be able to perform better in long rides / races.
I would make sure your threshold heart rate is set correctly. If you took 5% off your heart rate from your field test, don’t. So with a 20 minute effort heart rate takes time to respond to the effort. So the first 5 minutes are far less than your threshold heart rate.
What I would do is go back to your training and look for your peak 60 minute heart rate. See how this compares to your set threshold heart rate. You can look on the dashboard view of TrainingPeaks. You can choose the chart heart rate curve. This is the easy way to pick out your peak 60 minute heart rate. Make sure the date range is set for last 365 days.
My 20 Min HR while doing the field test was 180, my 30 is about 179 and 60 minutes for last week ( not a total 60 m hard ride) is 167. ( Z2 + FTP test) So 365 days a hour is around 177. I set up as 180 in LTHR which gives me 149 max at Z2.
But I did not get answer, say for Z2 - I can hold the power 2 hours but HR may go well beyond 149, went to 157, so should I ignore HR or reduce the power to bring back the HR to < 149
Did it go up to 157 or did it average 157bpm? Your zone 2 heart rate on a zone 2 day should average in zone 2 heart rate range. It will drift up with fatigue and the longer you ride in zone 2 which for the most part is ok. You want to see this point where it drifts later on in rides as you get more fitness.
So long story short try to keep your average heart rate close to zone 2. Maybe dial the power back slightly indoors. Your indoor power can be as much as 5% lower compared to outdoor riding. So dialing the power back slightly is ok.
The heart rate started drifting upwards after fist 45 mins and went till 157. The average was still 147 which is < 149. But this is indoor.
Outdoors my HR so far always will be in Z3 for Z2 power. And I am confused what to do outdoors too. The Saturday ride I did outdoors , the average HR was 164 while the avg power was till Z2. (Off course I had about 18 minutes in between in ( not continuous) of Sweet spot as prescribed.
Something with your power or heart rate is not lining up right. Was the FTP test recent? Same powermeter you are using now?
Was the outdoor ride steady? Most of the time in the distribution chart spent in zone 2?
It almost seems your FTP maybe set too high? Would you be able to ride at 60 minutes at your FTP? Seems your heart rate would be through the roof.
What about your caffeine intake? Maybe that is inflating your heart rate for your rides. There could be other factors. But without looking over data it is hard to say. If this is something new you are experience you might want to check with your doctor.
I did the prescribed field test before setting up anything in TrainingPeaks. In the test my FTP was actually came up higher than I was training myself. So I used that FTP and LTHR which was given by the test. I am following the 18 weeks plan.
I have done almost 90% of my old FTP for an hour on 178 AVG HR. So yes I think I can ride, about 90% of new too for an hour.
Today I did the 3 X 12 Minutes at 91 or 92% . of my new FTP. My HR was in Z4, I thought this was tracking well with the power zones indoor.
I tried to share the workout files using TP but was that share button is not visible in the plan. Is there any way I can upload the files.
I think my indoor workouts track to the LTHR zones, but outside my HR is always a zone +. Not just now, but many years of causal riding.
