New Personal Best! Brag About That New Pb!

[KeithT]

new 2k PR, taking 2.9 seconds off my previous best

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
6:39.7 2,000m 1:39.9 351 1507 34

1:38.6 500m 1:38.6 365 1556 33
1:41.3 500m 1:41.3 337 1458 32
1:41.2 500m 1:41.2 338 1462 34
1:38.6 500m 1:38.6 365 1556 37

To be honest, this was as much a mental battle as a physical one, given how anxious my mind can get in the early and middle stages of these tts. I spent at least an hour over the past 2 days 'planning' the time trial and preparing for the different pressure points and preparing strategies to handle them physically and mentally.

the other thing I did was a longer warm up - almost 20 mins, following a Dark Horse structure. And I think it helped. I didn't get the 'oh my God, what did I get into?' at 500 that I often get.

Looking at the splits, it looks very symmetrical and maybe that's a relatively efficient way to do it...seems close to the French method? If I'm honest, I was hoping to keep the middle 1k at around 1.40.5 and then try a gradual acceleration at the end if I had anything left, but I guess the benefit of going a little easier in the middle half was easing the anxiety burden and I knew by about 500 to go that I had the PR...it was just a matter of how much

it's my first 2k time trial since last September. One the one hand, 'only' 3 seconds of improvement doesn't feel like much for a year, albeit I've only been training consistently and with purpose since early April. But this tt and the process leading up to it has made me realise that I both need to do more work in this zone or a little faster...I think my conditioning is better but my power may be down. And also that there's no substitute for practicing this event and getting used to the peaks and troughs of it. I won't be going crazy, but I'd think that a max or slightly sub max 2k every 4 weeks will help me get the most out of my body when there's a race on the line.

enragingly....this puts me second in this year's 50-59 rankings....0.1 seconds slower than the fastest verified time!

Excellent result Nick!!! I knew you had sub 1:40 in you and you have worked hard. Three seconds is a lot when you get into faster times. I have no doubt you can keep going lower. I like your idea of doing more 2Ks - maybe not quite at max. Also spending more time at or below desired 2K pace is always helpful.

[Dangerscouse]

Stupid idea for today: 2k TT

I did not feel it either I wanted to row today at all. But I was so motivated mentally so thought to give it a try at all costs

Plan was to start with 1:42 and stick to that as long as possible.
That was the outcome:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
6:56.5	2,000m	1:44.1	310	1366	31
1:40.0	500m	1:40.0	350	1504	32
1:41.8	500m	1:41.8	332	1441	31
1:44.8	500m	1:44.8	304	1346	32
1:49.9	500m	1:49.9	264	1207	29

1: felt so easy, so started way to fast
2: felt good, but fatigue kicked in a bit
3: fatigue was getting worse
4: around 5:30min mark I decided to HD. Breathing hard for few seconds I thought "wait, why not getting a new PB anyway" and started again

What I've learned (again) today: stick to the plan

I think ~6:50 is in stock, but must be delivered.

If you iron out the adrenaline rush / foolish thoughts you'll probably get 6:50, but well done on the PB and sub 7 regardless of a short HD.

[KeithT]

Stupid idea for today: 2k TT

I did not feel it either I wanted to row today at all. But I was so motivated mentally so thought to give it a try at all costs

Plan was to start with 1:42 and stick to that as long as possible.
That was the outcome:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
6:56.5	2,000m	1:44.1	310	1366	31
1:40.0	500m	1:40.0	350	1504	32
1:41.8	500m	1:41.8	332	1441	31
1:44.8	500m	1:44.8	304	1346	32
1:49.9	500m	1:49.9	264	1207	29

1: felt so easy, so started way to fast
2: felt good, but fatigue kicked in a bit
3: fatigue was getting worse
4: around 5:30min mark I decided to HD. Breathing hard for few seconds I thought "wait, why not getting a new PB anyway" and started again

What I've learned (again) today: stick to the plan

I think ~6:50 is in stock, but must be delivered.

Great PB!! This looks painful - I can feel the pain in the last 500m just reading it. For sure you could go a bit faster with flatter pacing. We all have issues sticking with the plan no matter how many times we have done TTs. The 6:50 goal is a good one.

[MartinSH4321]

Stupid idea for today: 2k TT

I did not feel it either I wanted to row today at all. But I was so motivated mentally so thought to give it a try at all costs

Plan was to start with 1:42 and stick to that as long as possible.
That was the outcome:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
6:56.5	2,000m	1:44.1	310	1366	31
1:40.0	500m	1:40.0	350	1504	32
1:41.8	500m	1:41.8	332	1441	31
1:44.8	500m	1:44.8	304	1346	32
1:49.9	500m	1:49.9	264	1207	29

1: felt so easy, so started way to fast
2: felt good, but fatigue kicked in a bit
3: fatigue was getting worse
4: around 5:30min mark I decided to HD. Breathing hard for few seconds I thought "wait, why not getting a new PB anyway" and started again

What I've learned (again) today: stick to the plan

I think ~6:50 is in stock, but must be delivered.

Well done! 6:50 definitely in reach without HD

[Sakly]

If you iron out the adrenaline rush / foolish thoughts you'll probably get 6:50, but well done on the PB and sub 7 regardless of a short HD.

Well done! 6:50 definitely in reach without HD

Great PB!! This looks painful - I can feel the pain in the last 500m just reading it. For sure you could go a bit faster with flatter pacing. We all have issues sticking with the plan no matter how many times we have done TTs. The 6:50 goal is a good one.

I really think 6:50 is realistic. But two things I have to consider:
1. stick to the plan!
2. TTs on a planned day when feeling strong in body and mind. One or the other is probably not enough to squeeze it all out - even if a new PB is possible.

Thank you all anyway, next try when above points match next time

[aussie nick]

Stupid idea for today: 2k TT

I did not feel it either I wanted to row today at all. But I was so motivated mentally so thought to give it a try at all costs

Plan was to start with 1:42 and stick to that as long as possible.
That was the outcome:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
6:56.5	2,000m	1:44.1	310	1366	31
1:40.0	500m	1:40.0	350	1504	32
1:41.8	500m	1:41.8	332	1441	31
1:44.8	500m	1:44.8	304	1346	32
1:49.9	500m	1:49.9	264	1207	29

1: felt so easy, so started way to fast
2: felt good, but fatigue kicked in a bit
3: fatigue was getting worse
4: around 5:30min mark I decided to HD. Breathing hard for few seconds I thought "wait, why not getting a new PB anyway" and started again

What I've learned (again) today: stick to the plan

I think ~6:50 is in stock, but must be delivered.

fastest you've ever gone over the distance = well done

huge achievement finishing off the row too. that last 500 must have been horrible.

it's definitely a challenge reigning in the energy and optimism at the beginning of a 2k. Even if you've planned for eg 5 hard/fast strokes, then 5 harder strokes, then get onto race pace...if you're not careful you can take another 10-15 strokes to slow down to race pace and all of a sudden it's 250m and you're at 1.34/500 or something and it's hard to get that energy back. Still...what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (and hopefully smarter!) and this experience will help you be more disciplined next time and you'll get closer to 6.50

[aussie nick]

new 2k PR, taking 2.9 seconds off my previous best

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
6:39.7 2,000m 1:39.9 351 1507 34

1:38.6 500m 1:38.6 365 1556 33
1:41.3 500m 1:41.3 337 1458 32
1:41.2 500m 1:41.2 338 1462 34
1:38.6 500m 1:38.6 365 1556 37

To be honest, this was as much a mental battle as a physical one, given how anxious my mind can get in the early and middle stages of these tts. I spent at least an hour over the past 2 days 'planning' the time trial and preparing for the different pressure points and preparing strategies to handle them physically and mentally.

the other thing I did was a longer warm up - almost 20 mins, following a Dark Horse structure. And I think it helped. I didn't get the 'oh my God, what did I get into?' at 500 that I often get.

Looking at the splits, it looks very symmetrical and maybe that's a relatively efficient way to do it...seems close to the French method? If I'm honest, I was hoping to keep the middle 1k at around 1.40.5 and then try a gradual acceleration at the end if I had anything left, but I guess the benefit of going a little easier in the middle half was easing the anxiety burden and I knew by about 500 to go that I had the PR...it was just a matter of how much

it's my first 2k time trial since last September. One the one hand, 'only' 3 seconds of improvement doesn't feel like much for a year, albeit I've only been training consistently and with purpose since early April. But this tt and the process leading up to it has made me realise that I both need to do more work in this zone or a little faster...I think my conditioning is better but my power may be down. And also that there's no substitute for practicing this event and getting used to the peaks and troughs of it. I won't be going crazy, but I'd think that a max or slightly sub max 2k every 4 weeks will help me get the most out of my body when there's a race on the line.

enragingly....this puts me second in this year's 50-59 rankings....0.1 seconds slower than the fastest verified time!

Excellent result Nick!!! I knew you had sub 1:40 in you and you have worked hard. Three seconds is a lot when you get into faster times. I have no doubt you can keep going lower. I like your idea of doing more 2Ks - maybe not quite at max. Also spending more time at or below desired 2K pace is always helpful.

thanks Keith. hope to see you celebrating a new 2k pr next Feb

[Sakly]

fastest you've ever gone over the distance = well done

huge achievement finishing off the row too. that last 500 must have been horrible.

it's definitely a challenge reigning in the energy and optimism at the beginning of a 2k. Even if you've planned for eg 5 hard/fast strokes, then 5 harder strokes, then get onto race pace...if you're not careful you can take another 10-15 strokes to slow down to race pace and all of a sudden it's 250m and you're at 1.34/500 or something and it's hard to get that energy back. Still...what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (and hopefully smarter!) and this experience will help you be more disciplined next time and you'll get closer to 6.50

Exactly what happened. And yes, the last 500 were horrible
Thx!

[Sakly]

Spontaneous 5k TT today.

Wanted to go for sub 18, so target pace was 1:48.
Plan was to start slightly above, turn the screw at 3km to target pace and go for it in the last km. Again racing at a higher rate.
This time I absolutely stuck to my race plan!

This is the result:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
17:58.4	5,000m	1:47.8	279	1260	34
1:48.5	500m	1:48.5	274	1243	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:48.3	500m	1:48.3	276	1248	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.0	500m	1:48.0	278	1256	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:46.3	500m	1:46.3	291	1302	34
1:45.8	500m	1:45.8	296	1317	34

Shaved off 14.9s!
Was focused all time, no bad thoughts about HD, even no jelly legs. But cv system was running hard in the end, so RPE was minimum 9. No HR belt yet, it is on postal return.

new 5k PB - 6.3 seconds faster than my previous best.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
18:02.2 5,000m 1:48.2 276 1250 27

Nick, I will give you a warm welcome on the other side

[nick rockliff]

Spontaneous 5k TT today.

Wanted to go for sub 18, so target pace was 1:48.
Plan was to start slightly above, turn the screw at 3km to target pace and go for it in the last km. Again racing at a higher rate.
This time I absolutely stuck to my race plan!

This is the result:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
17:58.4	5,000m	1:47.8	279	1260	34
1:48.5	500m	1:48.5	274	1243	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:48.3	500m	1:48.3	276	1248	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.0	500m	1:48.0	278	1256	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:46.3	500m	1:46.3	291	1302	34
1:45.8	500m	1:45.8	296	1317	34

Shaved off 14.9s!
Was focused all time, no bad thoughts about HD, even no jelly legs. But cv system was running hard in the end, so RPE was minimum 9. No HR belt yet, it is on postal return.

new 5k PB - 6.3 seconds faster than my previous best.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
18:02.2 5,000m 1:48.2 276 1250 27

Nick, I will give you a warm welcome on the other side

Great 5k PB, very well done. Love the rate too.

[Sakly]

Great 5k PB, very well done. Love the rate too.

Thank you Nick, I feel very comfortable at such rate, it is much easier to keep it spinning

[winniewinser]

Spontaneous 5k TT today.

Wanted to go for sub 18, so target pace was 1:48.
Plan was to start slightly above, turn the screw at 3km to target pace and go for it in the last km. Again racing at a higher rate.
This time I absolutely stuck to my race plan!

This is the result:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
17:58.4	5,000m	1:47.8	279	1260	34
1:48.5	500m	1:48.5	274	1243	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:48.3	500m	1:48.3	276	1248	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.0	500m	1:48.0	278	1256	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:46.3	500m	1:46.3	291	1302	34
1:45.8	500m	1:45.8	296	1317	34

Shaved off 14.9s!
Was focused all time, no bad thoughts about HD, even no jelly legs. But cv system was running hard in the end, so RPE was minimum 9. No HR belt yet, it is on postal return.

new 5k PB - 6.3 seconds faster than my previous best.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
18:02.2 5,000m 1:48.2 276 1250 27

Nick, I will give you a warm welcome on the other side

Huge milestone and a massive PB

That SR for 5k is amazing to me. Plan perfectly executed too

[Dangerscouse]

Spontaneous 5k TT today.

Wanted to go for sub 18, so target pace was 1:48.
Plan was to start slightly above, turn the screw at 3km to target pace and go for it in the last km. Again racing at a higher rate.
This time I absolutely stuck to my race plan!

This is the result:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
17:58.4	5,000m	1:47.8	279	1260	34
1:48.5	500m	1:48.5	274	1243	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:48.3	500m	1:48.3	276	1248	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.0	500m	1:48.0	278	1256	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:46.3	500m	1:46.3	291	1302	34
1:45.8	500m	1:45.8	296	1317	34

Shaved off 14.9s!
Was focused all time, no bad thoughts about HD, even no jelly legs. But cv system was running hard in the end, so RPE was minimum 9. No HR belt yet, it is on postal return.

new 5k PB - 6.3 seconds faster than my previous best.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
18:02.2 5,000m 1:48.2 276 1250 27

Nick, I will give you a warm welcome on the other side

That's a cracking result Sascha. Breaking sub 18 is a massive milestone too. That last 1k, and stroke rate throughout, are really impressive.

The consequences of that recent 2k have probably been ideal for you and this 5k.

[MartinSH4321]

Spontaneous 5k TT today.

Wanted to go for sub 18, so target pace was 1:48.
Plan was to start slightly above, turn the screw at 3km to target pace and go for it in the last km. Again racing at a higher rate.
This time I absolutely stuck to my race plan!

This is the result:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
17:58.4	5,000m	1:47.8	279	1260	34
1:48.5	500m	1:48.5	274	1243	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:48.3	500m	1:48.3	276	1248	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	35
1:48.4	500m	1:48.4	275	1245	34
1:48.0	500m	1:48.0	278	1256	34
1:48.2	500m	1:48.2	276	1250	34
1:46.3	500m	1:46.3	291	1302	34
1:45.8	500m	1:45.8	296	1317	34

Shaved off 14.9s!
Was focused all time, no bad thoughts about HD, even no jelly legs. But cv system was running hard in the end, so RPE was minimum 9. No HR belt yet, it is on postal return.

new 5k PB - 6.3 seconds faster than my previous best.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
18:02.2 5,000m 1:48.2 276 1250 27

Nick, I will give you a warm welcome on the other side

Well done, sub18 is a great milestone to break!

[Sakly]

Huge milestone and a massive PB

That SR for 5k is amazing to me. Plan perfectly executed too

That's a cracking result Sascha. Breaking sub 18 is a massive milestone too. That last 1k, and stroke rate throughout, are really impressive.

The consequences of that recent 2k have probably been ideal for you and this 5k.

Well done, sub18 is a great milestone to break!

Thanks guys

@danger: absolutely. The 2k experience was important to teach me calmness during a TT.