On Track New School

My weight loss project is very much on track. When I left for vacation, I was at 183. When I got back two weeks ago, I was at 184.6. Today I am at 182 pounds (and 20.3% body fat).

At the rate I'm going, I could be as low as 177 before I go to the conference at the end of November.

I'm also trying something new in my training program. For ages, cyclists have spent this time of year doing "base" training, just riding long miles at an easy pace. I'm taking a new approach advocated by cycling coach Hunter Allen. I'm doing VO2 max training, which is far from easy.

The theory is that functional threshold power (FTP) is a percentage of VO2 power. If I can raise my VO2 power, then I can also increase my FTP.

The workouts go something like this:

• 8 minute intervals at the highest pace that I can sustain for the entire time 
• I use 90% of my 8-minute best. My 8-minute best power is 311 watts, so I'm aiming for around 280 to 290 watts.
• 7 minutes easy pedaling (which gives me a nice 15-minute block)
• repeat until I cannot maintain the power anymore

 Today, I could do it 4 times, which is about what I was hoping for.

I also like that in a single 8-minute interval, I can burn 160 calories (plus more in the recovery, warmup, and cool down). 

It's kind of an experiment to see how things go. Hopefully it will go well.