Test protocol:
20 minutes at 120-125 bpm.
3 x [1 minute hard (~300 W), 1 minute easy]
5 minutes at 120-125 bpm
5 minutes all-out
10 minutes at 120-125 bpm
20 minutes all-out <-- THIS IS THE ACTUAL TEST (I.E., I MEASURED POWER FOR THESE 20 MIN.)
10 minute cool-down
Test conditions:
Power measurement device - Computrainer calibrated to 2.42
Freshness - I did two moderately tough workouts yesterday and have some residual fatigue, but nothing out of the ordinary during training.
Temperature - I opened some windows (it's ~40 degrees outside) and put a fan two feet in front of me. As a result, it was nice and cool, perhaps 60 degrees.
Music - Volume blasting; short and up-beat songs selected:
Results:
My average power for the 20 minute effort was 282 W. That puts my FTP at 268 W using the 95% rule (FTP being approximately equal to 95% of the power one can hold for 20 minutes). A bit more pathetic than I'd hoped. At roughly 73 kg, my threshold power is just under 3.7 W/kg. Based on what I've read on slowtwitch, I'm surprised that's enough to have the fastest bike split in my AG at an IM. Or, more likely, it's just evidence that people on slowtwitch are full of it. I'll take good race results over an impressive FTP any day.
The lack of importance of one's FTP notwithstanding, I had hoped I'd hold about 310 W for the test, which would result in an FTP of about 295 W using the 95% rule. Why did I expect that? Well, my best HIM wattage was 246 W in June of 2009. My FTP would have to be about 290 W for the general rule of pacing a HIM (i.e., hold 80-85% of FTP for a HIM) to hold true. On the other hand, I averaged just 200 W for both IMs I did this year. Using the rule of IM wattage equaling about 73-75% of FTP for a front of the packer, my FTP would be 267 W. That's right on par with my current test result, assuming no improvement (or improvement that is countered by the change to altitude). Of course, those power numbers were measured with a different device, which makes any comparison between my FTP and prior races of dubious value. Maybe my power meter was not properly calibrated for the HIM. Note to self: do not target 250 W for Cali 70.3.
My average power for the 5 minute effort was 315 W, or about 4.3 W/kg. Looking at Andrew Coggan's power profile (pg. 69 of coach Chuckie's favorite book, Training and Racing with a Power Meter), my FTP is near average for a CAT 3 cyclist, while my 5 minute power is slightly worse (near the bottom for CAT 3 or top for CAT 4). The discrepancy between my FTP and 5 minute max power doesn't come as any surprise given my focus on long races.
One thing the test result may be useful for is establishing different training zones. Using Coggan's chart (pgs. 53-54 of Training and Racing with a Power Meter), my zones are as follows:
Recovery: < 150 W
Endurance: 150 to 200 W
Tempo: 200-240 W
Lactate Threshold: 240 W to 280 W
Despite not having performed an FTP test before, those results come as no surprise. The only thing I might do is adjust my recovery workouts down a bit from time to time. Sometimes I can hold 170 W at 115 bpm, a HR I had considered solidly in the recovery zone.
My HR was typically in the high 160s during the 20 minute effort and low 170s during the 5 minute effort. I've loaned out my copy Going Long, which I used for determining HR zones three years ago when I first started trying to train methodically. Regardless, I can probably accurately estimate my HR zones based on training experience.
Regarding cadences, for some reason my averages are not listed in the reports I saved using Computrainer's software. However, I'd guess my cadence was 85-90 rpm for the 20 minute effort and 90-95 for the 5 minute effort. I'm a bit of a grinder, especially having spent so much time around 80 rpm for IM.
What to take away from this test? Um, not much. I can measure improvement by doing future FTP tests. I think I'll continue to race predominantly by feel with cross reference to HR and power (with special attention given to power at the start of the bike leg and on hills). My FTP is just a number, and I do not worry that some folks may have a higher number. Triathlon is not an FTP contest. More importantly than an increase in FTP, I'd like an increase in the power I can hold at 145-155 bpm (though that may be very closely related to FTP).
"More importantly than an increase in FTP, I'd like an increase in the power I can hold at 145-155 bpm (though that may be very closely related to FTP)."
ReplyDeleteIt *is* closely related but one of them is what matters and one of them is just a relative. Not a distance relative, more like a sibling, but still only a relative. You're a triathlete needing to sustain submaximal intensities for a long time, so I think you know which of the two abilities takes precedence. Regardless of how closely they're related, they're not twins.
-CV
you had me scared with the slowtwitch comment man, but you saved yourself a few sentences later...
ReplyDeletenice work....!
ReplyDeleteyeah, i think people on ST sometimes lie and are too blind to even realize the BS that is coming out of their mouths...(don't calibrate, cannot do simple math, etc, etc....)
Than of course you have those who know full well their results are embellished..
one thing that pops out at me is you have an outstanding ability to race and use your "power" extremely diligently on an IM course.
do you think this comes from the way CV coaches? IOW, he obviously has this caveman approach, and some of your w/os must have you ignore HR and power, and strictly go on feel? RPE is an important skill for IM racing, I imagine....
Anyway, great job!
Cusetri,
ReplyDeleteI think good pacing is just a matter of discipline and riding a lot. While I raced this year with a power meter, in the past I've paced fine without one. As much as I'd like to beat other racers up each hill at the beginning of an Ironman, I do my best to stick to my plan and let them go. That's where the discipline aspect comes in.
Riding a lot just gives one more experience gauging efforts. In my opinion getting the proper feel for different paces (i.e., honing ones ability to pace based on perceived exertion) doesn't require riding without paying attention to HR and power. Instead, I try compare those numbers with my sense of perceived exertion so that I am constantly refining my ability to internally gauge efforts. Chuckie did have me do rides at a variety of effort levels, and that probably helped me refine my sense of perceived exertion.
Gauging exertion is very important for IM pacing, but having a power meter can greatly reduce the need for that skill under most condition. I say "under most condition" because I don't think that power is the be all and end all of pacing, as factors like weather might change the appropriate power level for a race. For example, it's got to be a lot harder to hold, say, 225 W on a humid 100 degree day than on a 65 degree day.
thanks evan.
ReplyDeleteI use power in training and racing, and I can/do use it too much. my first HIM, I definitley went a little too easy, and used my PM to keep me in check (though going out too easy is better than going out too hard!). Having that experience now is nice as my next race in that distance I have an idea of how I should feel at certain points in the race, yet still be able to put down a good run.
In the end, how you use your watts to get you the fastest split is all that matters....
Happy training.