Was thinkign about something and wanted to poll the hive mind.
When you’re doing performance field testing, how recovered / ready to perform do you want to be going into that?
On the one hand, if you’re already tired before you even begin, it can have a negative mental impact, and it won’t necessarily give you a good picture of how effective your training has been.
On the other hand, you don’t necessarily get to pick the timing of your races and so you’d have to (potentially) get used to performing on days that you don’t feel 100% (this is probably more applicable for road racing and cx, which generally have a packed racing schedule, rather than triathlon). In addition, you don’t want to take too much time recovering before regular tests, because you’re missing out on training time when you do that.
So, how do you guys strike the balance? Assume we’re talking about short and relatively intense (e.g., five mins all out followed by 20 mins all out).
On the other hand, you don’t necessarily get to pick the timing of your races and so you’d have to (potentially) get used to performing on days that you don’t feel 100%.
So, how do you guys strike the balance? Assume we’re talking about short and relatively intense (e.g., five mins all out followed by 20 mins all out).
I’m not sure I understand why you don’t get to pick which races you race in regardless of when they are scheduled or that you can’t plan a proper training session around them. But, having said that, I generally try to be mildly recovered before testing (maybe 1-2 lighter days before it)
On the other hand, you don’t necessarily get to pick the timing of your races and so you’d have to (potentially) get used to performing on days that you don’t feel 100%.
So, how do you guys strike the balance? Assume we’re talking about short and relatively intense (e.g., five mins all out followed by 20 mins all out).
I’m not sure I understand why you don’t get to pick which races you race in regardless of when they are scheduled or that you can’t plan a proper training session around them. But, having said that, I generally try to be mildly recovered before testing (maybe 1-2 lighter days before it)
lol, well, you can, and you generally do. but if you’re trying to get series points, and there’s 7 races in a CX series, you “pick your battles” of course but it’s within fairly rigid constraints. And even if you plan your training around it, there’s so much about how you feel on race day that you cannot control.
also, thanks for the input, it is helpful. i’m sure it depends on how heavy was your overload whether 1 to 2 days light is enough vs. needing more or not needing any at all.
I don’t do dedicated performance testing very often (training is testing and all that). I have a pretty good handle on where things are from weekly workouts—At least as far as adjustments for “next week” go. Most of the time with “testing” I’m using that to determine pacing for an A-race.
So when I DO test, I like the conditions to be as controlled as possible, and somewhat replicate the conditions I’m intending to use the data for. Therefore, I typically insert a recovery / mini-taper week leading into the test(s). I will also usually try and test all-3-sports starting with Swim, then bike, finally run. Usually separated by 2 days.
ETA: alternatively, I sometimes will test if I’ve been off for a long while and want to establish some base zones. In which case, I typically will just train for several weeks, and then go straight into a testing week with maybe only an easy/off day beforehand. My though process there is that I’m setting training zones, so I want the tests to be at a normal state of rested training fatigue.
I don’t do dedicated performance testing very often (training is testing and all that). I have a pretty good handle on where things are from weekly workouts—At least as far as adjustments for “next week” go. Most of the time with “testing” I’m using that to determine pacing for an A-race.
So when I DO test, I like the conditions to be as controlled as possible, and somewhat replicate the conditions I’m intending to use the data for. Therefore, I typically insert a recovery / mini-taper week leading into the test(s). I will also usually try and test all-3-sports starting with Swim, then bike, finally run. Usually separated by 2 days.
that makes sense.
and i agree with you for long durations, i would not do dedicated testing. I can usually have a handle from training where i’m at for things like MLSS on down. But cycling requires power at all durations, so for five min power i generally need to test.
I think it comes down to the reasons for testing, which I see as two-fold:
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To quantify your absolute best performance within that period of time. In this instance I would prep as I do a race, because it is a race (just against myself or Strava). I would approach with as little fatigue and as much form as possible. It’s not a blip on the timeline; it’s a moment that I will look back on 2 years latter and remember the day I got that PR on that climb or set that power-number that I pretend is still my ftp. This happens once, maybe twice, per year.
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To provide objective information for updating training guidelines. In this case I would be as rested as I normally would prior to a larger stress training week. In other words, It would be OK to carry some fatigue, but my mind-state would be that I was well-prepared to take on a large training load. These are more done more often, to paint a broader picture of performance and are often in replacement of workouts with longer intervals or as the first interval if I’m feeling especially spicy. I understand these are not my absolute best efforts; but done regularly they create a pattern of understanding of the performance you can likely expect on any given day in the near future. These happen every 4 to 6 weeks.
In as far as preparing to perform on off-days; this is just the normal part of completing workouts well. If I have a workout and I’m not feeling well I make a choice: If I am not feeling well enough to do the workout 100%, then I do not do the workout. If I choose to commit to the workout, I do so 100%. It doesn’t matter if I’m tired, it doesn’t matter if I didn’t eat enough, I am going to hit those numbers. Every once in a while it’s impossible: you’re just too off. But, I take that as a learning and I factor that into the next time I need to commit to the workout or not. This makes it easy because there’s no “kinda committed” when it comes to racing. I’ve had some of my best performance on some of my worst legs because I’ve gotten used to “doubling down”.
thanks, this is helpful. lol at the “pretend it’s still my ftp part.” i’m sure we all fall into that trap or similar ego-related traps sometimes
That sounds more like you need more assistance structuring your training issues more than a testing issue.
And I also take an approach similar to Tom above. Personally, I also do not put too much stock in a single test
I am fairly fresh and rested because you want to see where you are at after the most recent block of training. The difference between testing and an A-race is no taper. As I get older I really need at least 2 or 3 easy/off days to perform my best. I might do a hard workout on Sunday, Monday off, stretching and recover spin on Tuesday and Wednesday, then test on Thursday.
That sounds more like you need more assistance structuring your training issues more than a testing issue.
And I also take an approach similar to Tom above. Personally, I also do not put too much stock in a single test
Whoop gave me a mediocre recovery and i felt crappy but went for it anyway just to see how it would go. Up 15 watts for 1 min, up 30 for five, and up 20 for 20 min, so glad i did.
BTW, it was really weird to me that we were arguing about this. I mean anyone can wake up feeling cr&p no matter how you structure your training. It happens to the best of the best. I’ve seen interviews with MvDP where he was like “legs felt bad”, are you going to go up to his coach and say “learn how to structure your training?”
what i really meant is, not that you’d show up on race day and suddenly realize “oh man, I trained so hard this week, I should have tapered!” but rather, that even if you DO structure your training correctly, you might find yourself under recovered based on who knows what factors that may or may not be controllable. So it’s more like, do you wait to test until you actually feel good, or do you go ahead and push on, and learn how to get comfortable trying to perform even when subjectively you don’t feel that great. I think the answer is the latter.
That sounds more like you need more assistance structuring your training issues more than a testing issue.
And I also take an approach similar to Tom above. Personally, I also do not put too much stock in a single test
Whoop gave me a mediocre recovery and i felt crappy but went for it anyway just to see how it would go. Up 15 watts for 1 min, up 30 for five, and up 20 for 20 min, so glad i did.
BTW, it was really weird to me that we were arguing about this. I mean anyone can wake up feeling cr&p no matter how you structure your training. It happens to the best of the best. I’ve seen interviews with MvDP where he was like “legs felt bad”, are you going to go up to his coach and say “learn how to structure your training?”
what i really meant is, not that you’d show up on race day and suddenly realize “oh man, I trained so hard this week, I should have tapered!” but rather, that even if you DO structure your training correctly, you might find yourself under recovered based on who knows what factors that may or may not be controllable. So it’s more like, do you wait to test until you actually feel good, or do you go ahead and push on, and learn how to get comfortable trying to perform even when subjectively you don’t feel that great. I think the answer is the latter.
This.
I’ve started workouts on my trainer feeling “not great” but then somehow hit all the targets or hammered out a really quality session. Then other times you start out feeling great, but the numbers or duration just aren’t happening.