If you want to call it that.. that is.. if you consider the garage to be a "field".. I have done two previous attempts at this stationary field test in the past six weeks, both aborted.. The first time, was on the rollers. Big mistake. Not enough resistance to do the one minute blow-outs.. though I managed 318 watts for the 5 minute interval. Couple of weeks later, I tried again, this time on the wind trainer.. Had to abort again after the 5 minute interval (309 watts this time) because I just felt sick and weak- didn't eat enough and had a tough day in the field on my feet for 8 hours.. Tonight was different. I set up in the garage with the door open, nice cool breeze.. Did the 5 minute interval real conservatively.. and here's how it all compares:
My first field test of 2007, my second field test of 2007, my CP5 and CP20 of 2007, and tonight:
5 min: 304 watts on 5/12/07, 315 watts on 6/13/07, 334 watts on 6/23/07, 301 watts on 1/9/08
20 min: 234 watts on 5/12/07, 256 watts on 6/13/07, 265 watts on 9/4/07, 239 watts on 1/9/08
Let me just say that doing anything super high intensity for five minutes straight, on a wind trainer, with the knowledge that you're going to do a 20 minute time trial afterwards, is very tough mentally to get through.. [for me] Maybe the reason my previous two indoor attempts were aborted is because I blew too much on the 5 minute portion.. Tonight, I reigned myself in on the 5 minutes.. pegged it at 295 or so for the first four minutes, and then really pounded in the last minute, but only got it up to 301.. By keeping something in reserve, I managed a better result on the 20 minute TT portion of the test- I FINISHED IT, for one!.. What I'm happy to see is that I averaged higher tonight than I did on May 12th of last season (even though my Normalized Power on that test was higher: 262 versus 241) There's nowhere to hide on a wind trainer! No descents where you can coast for a few seconds.. This is what makes time trialing on a stationary bike so hard.. especially for a weenie like me who sucks at time trialing in the first place! At any rate, my 239 tonight is still a better result than my "easier" field test of May 12 of last year.. However.. these numbers are NOT good! Especially considering my current weight of 79 kg! (Yes, you're not the only one who has added 5-10 pounds this winter.. Quit looking at my gut!!! I'm working on it!!! SNL skit..Hehe.) My overall wattage picture is pretty bleak, especially when my watts/kg are plugged into a Coggan Power Profile.. It tells me I'm at a cat 4 level for all durations [except for 5 min.. where I'm rated a cat 3 for some reason..] Sometimes I think that it's a small miracle that I race against and finish all of these New England Masters crits which are stacked with Masters talent.. I must be very lucky.. Either that or very crafty about when to save energy and when to open the throttle.. and whose wheel to follow.. and whose to avoid..
Now it's time to use the data from tonight's test and apply it to the next three weeks of intensity. We can now estimate that my Functional Threshold is "X", and I'll be directed to do all kinds of different percentages of FT for all kinds of different durations.. No need to try and figure it out. Paying someone who understands my fitness better than I myself understand it, to help me force my body to adapt and get stronger/faster.. is just fine with me.. One less thing. Wish I had done it ten years ago. Thanks for reading.
America's #1 Balance Bike Destination
America's #1 Balance Bike Destination
5 comments:
Murat, I'm confident that your new commitment to training will push those numbers up quickly!! Dont worry about where they are now, only where they are when the first "a" races of the season are about to hit.
I've really been starting to feel the legs come into their own as of late and I give the FG lots of credit as well as my diligent work doing SST 2-3 hours weekly.
I'm confident that you'll see some big jumps as your training gets more speed oriented.
Oh, also: I dont trust my power numbers on the trainer, as 1 thought cp20 was around 260 watts...i tested outside a few weeks later on a hilly (hard to dial in wattage) course and saw 319 watts, so I really dont trust trainer numbers... have you noticed the same effect?
(just to breag to the power nerds, I did some CP5 testing and hit 411, easy, so i'm hoping to keep this trend on the rise (87 kilos and falling). it seems my CP numbers up to about CP5 are quite solid, but it's the longet LT type efforts that really make me feel weak, particularly when I take my heft into account.
Keep the consistency!!!
-Leo
Yeah indoors, it's a lot different. Takes a lot more concentration.. and you can't use your own weight as resistance like you can do out on the road. It's you and the fan/magnetic whatever.. plus the friction of all the parts in between your foot and the bearing of the trainer.. Field tests done outdoors should be done on relatively flat roads. When it's hilly.. even rollers.. you will have big spikes in power followed by big drops. This usually averages out better as long as you don't coast and keep up the pressure on the downhills. In the end, your normalized power tends to be much higher than if you did the same average indoors. That said.. there is a rule I've been following on my outdoor field tests- no standing- I do them 100% seated. If you're on relatively flat roads, this is obviously no problem. Standing thows a whole different dynamic into the watts and skews the numbers.
You seemed strong like bull the other weekend when we rode together. What are you doing tomorrow at 8:00 am? You should come over and consider being on the M1 team. Write me: reiscotools@yahoo.com
your biggest problem is overheating on the trainer, even with several fans and the window's/doors open/in the garage.
you should do your power testing over two days, 5 min on day one, and the 20 on day two. and do them outside, you sissy!
Murat, I'd love to be on the M1 team. honestly i really would.
My good buddy and I have started a team here in Boston and I am already deeply committed to that.
Also, I have no car so training and racing out of Rhody would be a bit tough.
I hope M1 stays strong for next season as I may be looking for a team next season, but I rarely think that far in advance, sooooooo...
thanks a ton for the invite and I wish I could be part of what seems like a very professionaly run team.
thanks again, murat and keep the legs supple!!
respect,
Leo
JB.. You should know that the whole point of a field test is to establish your current functional threshold (FT) and that this value is what we [are supposed to] center all of our intensity around.. A coach will tell you to do intervals at 70% of FT, 90% of FT, AT FT, 120% of FT, 200% of FT, etc etc. This isn't about trying to break records in the CP1, CP5 and CP20 departments.
We can do this one of two ways:
1- Do a one hour time trial
2- Do a combination of intervals, such that the final 20 minute TT gives a very similar result.. Along the way, we also get the benefit of checking up on our CP1 and CP5.. but these intervals are really intended only to take the freshness out of our legs.. make them feel about "thirty minutes tired".. We typically take our 20 minute average watts from the field test, deduct 5% and call it our FT.
Of course I would prefer to do it outside, but I have a coach who scheduled it for Wednesday.. I couldn't take the day off of work just to do a field test, and I'm not doing it at night! Outside, my results would have been a lot better! As you say, overheating is a big problem.. but splitting the field test in two defeats the purpose!
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