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Doing my first plan run today which is an RP1. Looking at the paces, they don’t seem to line up with how the zone calculator calculates zones.
My just ran FTP came out at 8:14
SSP makes sense. Upper end of zone X is around where I feel my targeted HM pace will be @ just under 2 hours
LTP is listed as high end zone 3 which is a 1 hour sustainable pace. High end zone 3 is FTP which is the pace you can only manage for 1/2 hour.
CV is listed as zone 4 which is above the pace I can maintain for 1/2 hour. That’s the definition of FTP (top of zone 3) which is a 30 minute max run.
All that said, I’m ignoring the descriptions and simply pacing Upper X, Upper Z3, Low Z4 as per my calculated zones. Hopefully this is the correct approach.
B,
I think we can do better at those new 2021 Edition descriptions. The purpose of this workout is, unlike many of the 2020 Edition workouts, is to have the athlete recognize and committ to very different intensities within the same workout and we found that using times, not zones, worked well to express those intensities. It does conflict with some established 80/20 zones.
LTP “high end” is misleading. It’s still zone 3 but needs to read mid to lower end. The key there is the pace you can maintain for an hour, which is as you point out, still Zone 3.
CV is “within Zone 4” which includes low Zone 4 and we’re pushing the athlete in this workout for that two minutes.
For now in that workout, LTP = anywhere in Zone 3 , CV = low Zone 4. We’ll work on making the descriptions, the calculator, or the documentation more clear on this.
David
Thanks David.
I can only speak for myself, but I much prefer seeing things in zones rather than some nebulous thing like, “pace you can maintain for 1 hour.” I have no idea what pace I can maintain for an hour.
The only pace I actually know is my FTP because I’ve ran it. Everything else is a guess and on any given day could change. On the other hand, I know right where upper zone X-lower zone 3 is. So, as long as the zone calculator gives the proper zone ranges, I can dial my pace easily into any workout.
The great thing about your method is you give functional ways for the average person to determine things like VT, FTP, LTHR. Then it uses those quantitative measures do design workouts around. I understand more clearly how to use those quantitative numbers.
I can see how those kinds of description can be helpful to someone should they not have a watch that does pace, but as for me, please don’t go away from describing workouts in terms of zones.
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