In past columns, I've detailed some of my training theory behind a ride like this<\/a>.\u00a0 Yeah, it's lots of muscular endurance<\/a> and plenty of VO2 max work<\/a>.\u00a0 No, it's not glamorous at all, but it gets the job done.\u00a0 In all honesty, training never is glamorous, is it?<\/p>\n Today, I'm going to chat about how you know it's time to test (even if it's outside your scheduled testing time) and modify your program a bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Monkey Knife Fight<\/a> is around 2 months away.\u00a0 That's not a hell of a lot of time to go about building the upper-end fitness necessary to complete a spring classic.\u00a0 And it's especially short time to get fit for a 64-mile spring classic with gradients up to 20%.<\/p>\n I ask myself again, “What the fuck did I get myself into?”<\/p>\n Or more appropriately, what did Nate rope me into?<\/p>\n Well, it's of little consequence.\u00a0 The date is set and the cash is paid, so I better make the best of it. \u00a0I\u2019ve got a couple short months to really cram in some kind<\/em> of training before the big day comes. \u00a0In reality, I don\u2019t want to embarrass myself by being left for dead on some steep gravel climb. \u00a0Nor do I want to endure the ignominy of having to put a foot down because my legs either cramp or aren\u2019t up to the task at hand.<\/p>\n Really, would anything else other than total victory be acceptable? \u00a0Not on my watch, no sir.<\/p>\n This next couple of months will absolutely be both a\u00a0test of timing and<\/em> a testing time. \u00a0Will I have enough time to make the necessary jumps in fitness? \u00a0Or will the relentless march of the clock and calendar put paid to my hopes and dreams?<\/p>\n That, dear reader, is why this is a testing time. \u00a0It\u2019s also why it\u2019s \u201ctesting time.\u201d<\/p>\n So, now is the time to test where I'm at and see where I can best focus my precious remaining time. It\u2019s one of the rare occasions that I\u2019m going to throw the book out the window and jump into an unscheduled FTP test<\/a> to ensure I'm on the right track, fitness wise.\u00a0 Sure, in theory, I should be testing in 2 weeks.\u00a0 But as they say”I ain't got time fo dat!”\u00a0 And besides, I need to change things up now.\u00a0 I'm due.<\/p>\n How do I know? I just do. I'll show you how to figure it out too<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the biggest clues that it's time to test or retest fitness is simple numbers.\u00a0 In this case, I've been seeing aerobic decoupling<\/a> numbers that are well below the “magic number” of 5%.\u00a0 In fact, in the case of some sweet spot\u00a0intervals<\/a>, I've been seeing\u00a0negative<\/em> decoupling numbers.\u00a0 That essentially means that, compared to heart rate, average power rose during an interval.\u00a0 And if that's the case during sweet spot work, it means something is shifting in a positive direction.<\/p>\n Besides the aerobic decoupling numbers, I've also noted that heart rate recovers faster between hard efforts.\u00a0 Sure, I've only been doing the occasional VO2 max workout<\/a> during the base phase.\u00a0 And that's just to keep the upper-end fitness primed a little bit anyway, not to really affect any significant VO2 max shift.\u00a0 But during those efforts, I've found that heart rate returns to aerobic levels rather quickly after an interval.\u00a0 It's just another clue that it's time to start looking at changing up some FTP numbers.<\/p>\n Riding an event like Monkey Knife Fight is very much a case of riding by feel.\u00a0 RPE plays an important part<\/a> in events that involve varying terrain and crazy shit like 20% unpaved gradients.\u00a0 Well, RPE really matters in any case where your changing surfaces.\u00a0 That's mostly down to the change in resistance at the wheels: what\u00a0feels<\/em> harder isn't necessarily harder when you compare the numbers.<\/p>\n In this case, while it's admittedly been really shitty weather so far this season, I've been outdoors a few times.\u00a0 In those short 45ish miles, I've found short, hard efforts aren't terribly challenging after the winter base work.\u00a0 Short, sharp climbs are fairly easy to handle and pretty easy to recover from, generally speaking.\u00a0 Where punching over a tough roller might leave the legs feeling shabby for a little while, that fatigue simply isn't there right now.\u00a0 There's a small question of if this is because there's very\u00a0little accumulated fatigue or if my legs truly feel that good.\u00a0 I'm going with the latter, actually.<\/p>\n Similarly, longer efforts such as muscular endurance drags up false flats don't really burn the matches much either.\u00a0 After around 7 weeks of longer duration muscular endurance training, I've found that those false flats melt under the pressure of my pistons.\u00a0 Not only can I push through them, there's little worry about recovering on the other side too: it's a pretty simple affair to spin out the legs for a minute and be ready for more.\u00a0 Again, it's a feel<\/em> thing that means it's time to look at the numbers and consider retesting.<\/p>\n That said, feeling good outside is a great thing, right?<\/p>\n Well, no, not exactly.\u00a0 Not even close, in fact.<\/p>\n Where I'm still going to have a tough time are those longer dirt and gravel sections (otherwise collectively known as “the shit”, as in “we're getting in\u00a0the shit<\/em> now.”)\u00a0 To keep up with the pace, you'll have to pour on a little extra power in order to keep the speed up through those sections.\u00a0 That will require some VO2 max capacity<\/a> to punch through the rough stuff and overcome the additional rolling resistance.<\/p>\n![\"Monkey](\"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/autumndirtride-1-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>Testing Time?<\/h2>\nIt's a numbers game<\/h3>\n
![\"Battenkill](\"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Battenkill-bethTrickett-10-100-169-202x300.jpeg\")
<\/a>Going by “the feels”<\/h3>\nSo you're saying you're ready to get stabbed in a monkey knife fight?<\/h3>\n