Training session comparison

Hurricane151

I did a 1 hour sweet spot session on the rollers today and compared it to a session i did two weeks ago. There were a number of differences that I can't really explain or work out which is best

2 weeks ago
Average speed - 27mph
Average HR - 149bpm
Max HR - 157bpm
NP - 311w
Ave Power - 311w
Max Power - 410w

Today
Average speed - 29.1mph
Average HR - 157bpm
Max HR - 164bpm
NP - 315w
Ave Power - 315w
Max Power - 370w

Any thoughts based on these numbers? I confused by the significantly higher heart rate, minor increase in ave power, big increase in speed. etc.

Any thoughts appreciated

bigpikle

Speed on rollers is misleading as it can be significantly affected by tyre pressures etc. HR is affected by lots of things - rest, illness, sleep, stress, temp etc. very hard to compare day to day.

Are the power numbers from a power meter? Remember also they have a +/- 2-3% accuracy which is quite a few watts when over 300w. It could easily be the range of power on those rides was 300-325w with these errors and that might also explain some of the HR variation.

mattshrops

I would say(providivg your power readings are accurate) you worked harder and went faster on the second effort.
When doing sweetspot it doesn't need a lot more effort to elevate your HR a fair amount-obv over a decent time interval.

Your power figures are probably skewed in the first effort by going quite hard for a short period, hence a max power spike but overall lower power. Plus due to the way HR data lags the effort did not really show up and raise the hr average.

imposter2.0

Would you say the RPE was similar in both sessions? If so, I would just say that session 2 was simply an improvement on session 1.

GiantMike

I'd ignore the speed difference. 4W doesn't equate to a 2.1 mph difference.

It's not surprising that HR differs with similar power outputs. Mine reglarly changes from week to week if I do the same interval session.

danowat

HR can be very misleading, way too many external factors contribute to HR.

Are you worried about progression of your training?, how are you planning your training?, if it's important to you, get a coach, it's not that expensive.

Hurricane151

danowat wrote:

HR can be very misleading, way too many external factors contribute to HR.

Are you worried about progression of your training?, how are you planning your training?, if it's important to you, get a coach, it's not that expensive.

I am definitely concerned about progression. Always want to see improvements. Training is fairly well planned I think with a good mix of endurance rides, interval sessions, sprint sessions, threshold sessions and sweet spot spread across the week (with some rest too). I've found a coach to be a little more expensive for quite an impersonal interaction unless you pay a fortune. Maybe I'm expecting too much. I'd always be interested in a professional opinion to review plan and session outputs without paying £50+ / month

danowat

My coach is very good, less than £50 a month, weekly training plans and unlimited email support, I know people will say less than £50 isn't enough for a good coach, but my coach coaches some very quick riders in our district.

GiantMike

danowat wrote:

My coach is very good, less than £50 a month, weekly training plans and unlimited email support, I know people will say less than £50 isn't enough for a good coach, but my coach coaches some very quick riders in our district.

But were they quick riders before they started coaching? I bet he couldn't make me quick

danowat

GiantMike wrote:

I bet he couldn't make me quick

Quick? or quickER

GiantMike

Either. I'm lazy