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A GREAT RIDE WITH HIGH DFAA-1!

GENTLY RISING INTENSITY LEADS TO HIGHER POWER AT DFAA1!

Here’s today’s ride, viewed in Runalyze, via DFA-a1.

DFAa1 Rising Intensity
When you start well below your AeT, and then GENTLY raise your intensity, DFAA1 responds in a safe, but delayed sense.

I didn’t have time to set up all of my instruments, but I did run 60 minutes with my Polar H10 chest strap and FatMaxxer software. Here’s the wattage profile:

DFaa1 wattage
Wattage started low, but rose. DFAA1 started high as a result, and only barely dipped below 0.75 once.

Now I WISH I could merge these files, and I’m sure I can with Runalyze, but the point is that by starting out with low wattage, and then gently raising that wattage, I was able to end 60 minutes with a higher average power, a higher average heart rate, and a higher average DFAA1.

Now, if I could just get a decent night’s sleep tonight….

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DFAa1 Ride In the Evening – Did That Improve Monday Night’s Sleeping Pattern?

I Changed my Workout Schedule To An Afternoon DFAa1 Ride

Yesterday’s DFAa1 Ride occurred around 4pm. Normally, I ride in the late morning, but I have been multitasking on several fronts, and fell behind. I also did not get to enter in my 60 minutes, instead riding in the afternoon. This was also an attempt to determine whether an evening exercise bout would improve my sleep pattern.

The Rides this Fall are all about DFAa1. I use FatMaxxer software, broadcast from an Android phone to a PC screen, and either increase or decrease my intensity when cycling to try and stay between 0.75 DFAa1, and 1.00 DFAa1. Using this number, instead of watts, gives me a highly accurate, day-to-day method, of measuring intensity and optimizing my Aerobic Capacity.

Dfaa1
A Good Night’s Sleep can lead to a better BASE ride.

But I’m finding that a good ride requires a solid night’s rest. Monday evening’s ride actually did not go quite as well as I had hoped. The DFAa1 dipped “Below” 0.75 several times, and I also ran out of time. Therefore, the workout was just 45 minutes long, and the intensity was probalby too high.

But when bedtime came, I was pretty tired. I went to bed around 8:50pm, after a FULL meal of steak and sweet potatoes, and promptly passed out around 9:06pm. I had the Pink Noise generator on, and I had limited my alcohol intake to one glass of wine. I was hydrated, but tired. I ended up sleeping for FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS, which for me, is a recent record. But some time around 2:30am, I woke up, and did not get back to sleep until I had moved rooms, and changed beds. Then I slept for another few hours.

I am noticing a trend with this sleep; I get more DEEP sleep before I wake up, and I get more REM sleep after I fall asleep the second time. This may be anecdotal, but I do think the Pink Noise is helping. Now, I just need to get 7 or 8 straight hours of sleep.

The Garmin Connect platform is really interesting. I’m starting to understand it just a bit, but I’m going to keep working within that ecosystem of fitness, to explore features and become adept at the information it’s revealing.

Here’s the video. Thanks for reading, thanks for watching, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

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Pink Noise MIGHT Be Helping Me Sleep….

Sleep Improves With Colder Temps, Heavier Blankets, and… Pink Noise?

It’s been a couple of days now, but I’ve been going to sleep with the continuous drone of Pink Noise emanating from my phone. There are a LOT of things that are forcing me awake at times, but I’m trying to mitigate them, one at a time. The cooler temps will help, I believe. So will the need for heavier blankets. I’m enjoying the darkness at night and in the morning. My Brother-In-Law is trying to find housing for himself and his dog. I’m definitely feeling the positive effects of drinking just one beer a night, most nights. But I recently read that Pink Noise (like white noise, but… different), may help people improve their time in Deep and REM Sleep.

I think, for the most part, I am sleeping long enough. I usually crater around 9:00pm, and I have an alarm set for 6:00am. I have been driving a young man to work every morning, and picking him up around 3:30 every afternoon. This will end on Wednesday, I believe. For the most part, I have been exercising in the morning, and I’m changing that to midafternoon, after this driving contract ends. That may also help.

Pink Noise uses lower frequencies of the same amplitude. I can BARELY tell the difference between White Noise and Pink Noise, but then again, I have a tin ear and poor musical taste. I turn the app on about ten minutes before I fall asleep, and it remains on most of the night. Unfortunately, I have just barely begun getting some results, but it does seem that I’m improving. I still wake up between 1 and 3 am, but the time before I wake up, I’m in DEEP sleep, and after I finally fall asleep again, I tend to spend time in REM Sleep. Today, for instance, I really do feel better. I hope the ride this afternoon yields some DFAA1/wattage results. We’ll have to see. Here’s the video…:

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First Night With A “Pink Noise” Generator

It Was Not the Best Night, But the Time Spent Actually Sleeping With Pink Noise Was VERY Enlightening…

I thought I did everything right. Well, almost everything. The one thing I didn’t get around to yesterday was a ride. Instead, I worked on a project for my father, and got a call about some Drone work that led to a three-hour discussion that killed the rest of my day. But I limited my alcohol intake, limited my caffeine intake, and stayed off the chemical sleep aides. We watched an episode of a show we enjoy, and then red ourselves to sleep around 9:30. I turned on my Pink Noise generator to a tolerable volume, and promptly fell asleep.

Around 12:30, however, I woke up with a need to hit the restroom. I FELT like the Pink Noise had worked to my benefit, but once I woke up, it took over two hours to get back to sleep, and I ended up sleeping in another room, under a weighted blanket, and with added soft padding. I woke up around 5:50am, with the alarm going off at 6:00, and started the day.

Looking at the evidence off of Garmin Connect, it’s interesting. I THINK the Pink Noise generator may have actually helped. From 9:30 to about 12:30, I was in Light and Deep Sleep. After I finally went back to sleep around 2:30am, I used the Pink Noise Generator, and started hitting my REM sleep goals.

But it was not enough overall, and today, once again, I feel like hell. I also woke up with a left-hemisphere migraine headache. I don’t know if that was because of the Pink Noise, or not. I was not dehydrated, I was not suffering a hangover. I’m vexxed.

I’m going to head out and just ride “Petey’s Poop Loop” several times from my house. I’ll shoot for 7 or 8 laps, but if not, I’ll just pull in and vedge. I tried to fly my flight sim this morning, and it was a disaster. Lack of good sleep affects mental acuity. I’m not sleeping. I’m not safe in a plane, in a car, or on a bike. I hate this.

Looking For Ways to Improve REM and DEEP Sleep

I Made my Eight-Hour Goal Last Night, But I Know I can Do Better

Yesterday’s ride was refreshing. I may try to get outside again today, but the clock is conspiring against me. Last night, I kept my alcohol consumption down to one glass of wine. I also had a nightcap of 12oz of milk. However, I also popped two Sominex to try and ensure that I would sleep more soundly.

I did get a ’77’ score on my sleep, but time spent in REM and DEEP Sleep were still inadequate. So I looked up different ways to improve on REM and DEEP Sleep, and I’ll implement them over the next several evenings.

I do like the Garmin Connect Health Stats, but I know there are so many ways that this platform could be improved. We need more charts for trends, and there are too many mysteries about just what the data is telling us. I’ll try to increase my hydration, and that means getting some “Pee Strips” to measure stuff.

But I still wonder if my wife and I might not be better served getting a new mattress. I’m intrigued by the ‘Purple’ mattress, and the ‘Nectar’ mattress. This is not how I would ideally like to spend my money, but it may be necessary.

The solution I’m going to try the next several evenings will be the addition of ‘Pink’ Noise. Pink Noise is similar to White noise, except that instead of volume, it uses equal amplitudes. We’ll see how that helps me, along with less alcohol and more hydration throughout the day.

Anyway, not much else to highlight. Thanks for reading, and ENJOY THE RIDE!