First 2x20

There was a post on the BikeRadar training forum about "2x20" drills so I thought I would try them out with a view to adding into my late base build training.

Did this last Friday as starter to a deliberately hard weekend, done in the knowledge that week following would include a couple of days off.

I decided to target 300W as the 20 minute effort, being midway between 20 and 60 minute pace. Given this target I decided to use the rollers rather than turbo to help with speed skills.

First interval was largely about finding the right gear/cadence. I found third from back cog and around 95rpm was about right to average 300W. I aimed for a target of 350KJ as this felt like it would happen in approx 20 minutes and I find having an energy target more motivating than watching seconds pass by. The interval was hard but doable ending up at 301W average over 19:32.

I deliberately did not monitor HR but the interval felt quite hard by the end. I took a 50kj breather then started another interval, this one on top cog but turning over at a far more sedate 73rpm. I felt it "easier" to keep the power up this way and was going quite well until I lost concentration and fell of the rollers. No harm done, but lost momentum and limped over the line with a 295W average in 20:18.

On WKO+ the most interesting plot proved to be the HR line. On interval 1 this moved up steadily through the interval, hitting 180 by the end. Interval 2 the HR was flat lining until I fell off...This ties up with my feeling out on the road, where, despite knowing the theory about high cadence being best, I find myself most comfortable on the flat turning a big gear over more slowly.

Overall found the 2x20 drill to be pretty hard but also a pretty good workout. I will include in base/build weeks from now on.