Post Written by Patrick McCrann. You can follow him on Twitter here.
The Overview
The third week of December just flew by…partly because it was week 7 of the plan and I am in a good groove, but also because of the impending Xmas holidays. There’s just a ton of stuff to do these days and so little time to do them!
On the whole I felt good again. I am not running as much as I’d like to be, and as such just don’t “feel” right when running. I think the upcoming Holiday Run Challenge (Team EN) should really help get me back on track in the running department. I dealt with a chest cold all week; just a lot of coughing. Only now, on Monday, am I starting to cough things up. Body comp took a hit this week with extra time spent at home due to inclement weather…gotta get that bad food out of my house!
The Workouts
Monday — 45′ easy spin at .78 for 46.7 TSS. Did my best to keep this easier than .8 for a change!
Tuesday — 2 x 20′ as 315 and 300. Totally imploded, very sick and had zero mojo after last weeks ride. Interval #2 was not easy and I hurt quite badly; knowing TeamEN was out there helped me big time!
Wednesday — 4 x 1 mile, quite tough on a windy day. I think they were 6:12, 5:49, 6:08 and 6:05.
Thursday — 2 x 12 as 320, 321, then 20′ at 275 (.873) I really nailed this one. Even managed to get in some time at .85 towards the end…bonus!
Friday — Bad sleep, crazy day, etc., meant a stoopid easy spin of 30′ today.
Saturday — 2x 14 as 316, 323 then 5′ @ 340, then 25′ at .825. These Saturday rides are both fun and tough…Coach Rich is definitely a sadist / killer.
Sunday — Off in preparation for Monday’s Functional Threshold Power Test.
Monday — 2 x 20′ (2′) FTP test. New indoor FTP of 320w, with both 20′ intervals being totally even split…man, that’s just awesome! I had some dark moments in interval #2, and think that my overall focus and good pacing on interval #1 saved my day. Combined with my weight of 176 lbs, I am a lean and mean 4.0W/kg. Very, very excited to be here!
Stats Summary for the Week
Weight: Still stuck at 179. I really fell off the wagon late in the week when my test was looming and I was stuck indoors for both Sat and Sun with a winter storm. Was hoping my discipline would be stronger by now, but I guess it will take a bit more time to get honed!
FTP: 320 baby!
vDOT: Thinking the vDOT is going to take a hit, but only Wednesday’s test will tell for sure. Stay tuned to my twitter feed for updates!
CTL: 50 TSS/day (previous week was 44 TSS/day)
TSB: -28 through Sat, with a day off bumping it up to -22 (previous week was -22); this tells me the work is adding up. It also shows me how powerful a day off can be on your recovery! I think I will need to take a few more of them!
Hi, I'm Patrick McCrann. 
