2023 Weekly Run Down 32/52 – FTP Test Time

I am linking up again for the Weekly Run Down with Kim and Deborah.

This week, I finished the Breaking Zones Power Zone Challenge. I can’t believe how fast these challenges fly by. This meant a “taper week” with two power zone endurance rides and an FTP test at the end. These are always a little bit anxiety-inducing, but I try to tell myself, it’s really just a “snapshot in time”.

I’ve been enjoying the Pump Up The Volume 3 program with a lower, an upper, and a full-body strength class each week and the upper body strength challenge (Sun’s Out Guns Out) has forced me to keep working on toning my arms. I do hope to see a difference at the end.

Monday

• 5 Min Pre-Run Warm Up – Kirsten (6/12/23)
• 10 Min Warm Up Run – Matt (12/15/22)
• 30 Min Linkin Park Run – JJ (12/14/22) – Instructor Bingo
• 20 Min Lower Body: Week 2, Day 1 – Rad (12/5/22) — PUTV3-W2D1 /Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Arms & Light Weights – Denis (6/6/23) — Sun’s Out Guns Out/Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Yoga Flow – Mariana (4/11/22) — Sunset Stretch/Personal Streak

I skipped my run last weekend (too hot!) and definitely wanted to start my week off on the right foot (figuratively and literally), so I set out for a 4-mile run first thing in the morning. I also had Pump Up The Volume 3, Arms & Light Weights (ALW), and a yoga class on my workout schedule.

Tuesday

• 5 Min Warm Up Ride – Leanne (6/26/23)
• 30 Min Power Zone Endurance Rock Ride – Matt (9/8/21) — Breaking Zones W8R1
• 5 Min Cool Down Ride – Olivia (7/28/23)
• 10 Min Mötley Crüe Arms & Light Weights – Kendall (7/27/23) — Sun’s Out Guns Out
• 10 Min Yoga Flow – Kristin (7/5/23) — Personal Streak/Instructor Bingo

Tanja and I started the last week of the Breaking Zones Challenge with a power zone endurance ride with Erik. I am so glad he’s doing PZ classes now. His classes are fun (and of course, I enjoy the fact that he’s German.)

Wednesday 

• 5 Min Warm Up Ride – Matt (5/9/23)
• 30 Min Power Zone Endurance Ride – Erik (7/29/22) — Breaking Zones W8R2/Instructor Bingo
• 5 Min Cool Down Ride – Erik (7/27/23)
• 20 Min Upper Body Strength: Week 2, Day 2 – Matty (12/5/22) – Sun’s Out Guns Out/Instructor Bingo
• 5 Min Standing Core Strength – Rebecca (8/3/23)/Instructor Bingo
• 5 Min Upper Body Stretch – JJ (5/16/23) — Sunset Stretch
• 10 Min Yoga Flow – Chelsea (6/14/23) — Personal Streak/Instructor Bingo

I finished week 8, ride 2 of the Power Zone Challenge with Tanja this morning and then we joined a couple of other Streakers365 for the Pump Up The Volume 3 program. I also added a few more classes for my trackers. It’s all about planning it out for the week.

Thursday

• 5 Min Pre-Run Warm Up – Jess K (5/24/23)
• 15 Min Rock Run – Tobias (5/25/23) — Instructor Bingo
• 30 Min EDM Run – Jon (10/28/22) — Instructor Bingo
• 5 Min Lower Body Stretch – Selena (6/11/21)
• 10 Min Focus Flow: Hips – Aditi (6/14/23) — Personal Streak/Instructor Bingo
• 15 Min Upper Body Mobility – Adrian (11/23/22) — Sun’s Out Guns Out

I was tired this morning and really didn’t want to run. I tried to find excuses, but couldn’t find any and finally got myself out the door (45 min later than anticipated). I told myself I could just do an easy run today, not the interval run I had planned. Turns out, once you’re outside and the legs are moving, things are going to be alright and I ended up with a nice progression run. Never underestimate the power of getting outside!

It was a beautiful morning for running, too, and I finished up with a yoga flow for hips and some upper-body mobility work.

Friday

• Zen in Ten – Kristin (4/14/22) — Sunset Stretch
• 20 Min Full Body Strength: Week 2, Day 3 – Callie (12/5/22) — PUTV3-W2D3
• LIVE: 20 Min 90s Ride – Cody (8/11/23)
• 30 Min Intervals & Arms Ride – Tunde (6/7/23) — Sun’s Out Guns Out/Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Focus Flow: Hamstrings – Nico (7/27/23) — Personal Streak/Instructor Bingo

I joined two Streakers365 friends for the PUTV3 class and then joined them for Cody’s LIVE 90s Ride. I haven’t done a live ride in quite a while. I am usually so busy coordinating all the classes for the trackers into my week, that the live classes rarely fit. I also picked a 30 min Intervals & Arms Ride for the Sun’s Out Guns Out challenge and finished up with some yoga.

Saturday

• 5 Min Pre-Run Warm Up – Alex (5/17/23)
• 45 Min Rock Run – Becs (7/27/23) — Instructor Bingo
• 30 Min 80s Run – Hannah F (7/7/23) — Instructor Bingo
• 5 Min Post-Run Stretch – Becs (5/2/23)
• 10 Min Focus Flow: Floor Poses – Ross (9/21/22) — Personal Streak/Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Aretha Franklin Arms & Light Weights – Robin (8/11/21) — Suns Out Guns Out/Instructor Bingo

Today was an endurance run day. The half marathon plan suggested 8 miles, so 8 miles it was. It was my longest run in a while and I tried to keep an easy pace.

Sunday

• 10 Min FTP Warm Up Ride – CDE (1/18/20)
• 10 Min FTP Warm Up Ride – CDE (1/18/20)
• 20 Min FTP Test Ride – CDE (1/18/20) — Breaking Zones W8R3/Instructor Bingo – PR!
• Extra 10: Low Impact Ride – Olivia (2/13/23) — Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Arms & Light Weights – Emma (4/12/21) — Sun’s Out Guns Out/Instructor Bingo
• 10 Min Focus Flow: For Riders – Mariana (11/15/22) — Personal Streak

Today was the moment of truth: the FTP test! And no, this is not a typo – I did the Warm Up Ride beforehand twice! Warm-ups are important and I truly wanted to feel ready (and also, it might have been a bit of a delay tactic, haha. I was nervous about taking the test because I felt like my current zones were still pretty accurate for me. I know it’s totally normal for the FTP to fluctuate over time, but I didn’t want a decrease because of “tired legs” (since I’ve been running a lot more again), but also didn’t want a big increase because that just means that the next challenge with new zones is going to be that much harder. It’s a dilemma.

Long story short; it went well and I hit a new PR, a small increase of 6 points, and I am stoked. It’s exactly the kind of increase I was hoping for.

Current Challenges + Trackers:

Streaker365 Sun’s out Guns out  ✔
Streaker365 Sunset Stretch  ✔
Streaker365 July Personal Streak (yoga daily)  ✔
Peloton Pump Up The Volume 3 Strength Program (4 weeks) – week 2 complete  ✔
Pelotrak Instructor Bingo (weekly) – 6 bingos

I kept up with my “daily yoga” streak, continued upper body classes for the Suns Out Guns Out Strength Challenge, and got 6 (!) instructor bingos this week. I really pick my classes for my other challenges based on the bingo card. Haha. I also finished week 1 of the Sunset Stretch Recovery Tracker and week 2 of the Pump Up The Volume 3 program.

This week’s stats:

Running: 17 mi
Cycling: 51.5 mi
Strength: 85 min
Yoga/Pilates: 70 min
Warm up + Stretching: 85 min
Meditation: 10 min

How was your week? Any wins?

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Abbreviations:

Sun’s Out Guns Out – Streakers365 Upper Body Strength Tracker
Sunset Stretch – Streakers365 Recovery Tracker
PUTV3 – Pump Up The Volume 3 program
Breaking Zones = Power Zone Pack Challenge “Breaking Zones” (8 weeks)
W1C1 = Week 1, Class 1
W1AR1 = Week 1 Accelerator Class 1
Pelotrak Instructor Bingo