I just finished the all purpose road plan, but wasn’t able to finish the 4DP test. After the first two sprints I burned nearly all of my sugars and saw stars halfway through the 5min test so I had to stop.
I have a fast metabolism, it’s not the first time this has happened. But I could use some nutritional advice for this test.
Should I take the 4DP test at the end of the day after all meals and snacks? And when should I take the next test? Do I start another prep week for the 4DP test on monday or just take the test come tuesday?
@Tycho I usually just have a banana in the morning and a glass of water before doing Ignitor and then Full Frontal. Are you confident that you were well hydrated? Personally I try to stay focused on hydration every day of the week but stay even more focused in the days leading up to the test. Also how do you feel about your cooling system? Do you have a fan and is it providing enough cooling during your riding?
Just about impossible to blow through your glycogen stores in two sprints. However, that doesn’t mean you’re not properly fueled.
What you ate yesterday basically fuels today. That banana you ate thirty minutes ago won’t be converted as usable for your glycogen system in totality for the better part of multiple hours.
Pacing seems to be your culprit from what you described. Possibly not enough of the right macro mix, but can’t really tell.
Figure out your BRM first. That’s baseline. Then craft to the proper macro mix based on what you’re doing/working for.
It’s not a one size fits all. You’ll have to do research and experiment for what works for you.
Just as an example - my Baseline calorie intake is 2050 - that’s just every day living. On big training days, that number can easily blow up to 4,500 - 6,000 calories. The macro splits are dictated a day in advance. Meaning if I’m doing longer MAP and above efforts, more carbs. More low effort base miles, more fats. Proteins stay relatively consistent unless I’m in a big/heavy MS phase like I am now and then that pops up to 2-3g/kg.
This feels like (but everyone’s different) you were already very low. Like near zero.
Or you just had a reaction to the effort that your body didn’t like.
4DP, Nine Hammers and so on … a lot will be manageable on normal energy stores unless we’re already riding low on carbs.
Tycho, It would be interesting to know how you went into the test.Tired or fresh. Did ignitor take much out of you? did you manage to stay hydrated?. If you completed the 12 week road plan, then you faced workouts both longer and with more intensity, so what are you doing differently for the FF?. Eating the wrong thing at the wrong time can give am insulin spike and lead to lower energy for the test, so are you taking anything different? The sprints could only drain you if your system is totally dependant on AC , but there is time for that to replenish before the 5min. If that was the case you would not have completed the 12w plan.If it was just a fast metabolism as you suggest, I would guess your body would be more efficient at burning fat due to you constantly running low on carbs.
It sounds like you hit the 5 minute effort too hard. It may be helpful to do the Half Monty instead since it is much easier to pace. There is a prep plan that includes both the Half Monty mid week followed by a FF at the end of the week.
did the Indoor & Outdoor plan, Igniter wasn’t scheduled before the 4DP test. I went it pretty fresh, week before this week was a rest week and this week was preparing for the 4DP test so not that much fatigue added to the system. I did the test at 11am after having breakfast at 9 and a little snack at 9:30 (thinking the snack would fuel me sufficiently). I think it was a matter of fuel being really low. Usually I ride during the evening when I’ve had 3 meals and 2 snacks throughout the day.
Half monty at 6 weeks put me at 295 watts for 5minutes, So I aimed for 300 watts during the 5min set, But before it ended I felt empty and had to abort, lay down. Think i’ll eat better next time…