Ok, so I took my bike test data and tried to enter it in the data tool, only the new tool only seems to work for power and I am a HR guy. Anyone else dealt with this or have a work around? I assume I will use the old data tool for now?
I am a HR gal. Did Bike test #2. Although my MPH and distance traveled went down ( Test #1 22.1 MPH vs. test #2 21.6 MPH) , my avg HR also went down from 165 to 156. So either I was just not working as hard for test #2, or I am actually more fit cardiovascularly, just had colder weather, wind to deal with on my test course. It is difficult to interpret these results. Maybe Santa will bring me a power meter!
Kudos and congrats to all who tested so far. Great work going on here. Everyone seemed to be crushing it today and I had been looking forward to the test tonight for the past few days.
But for me it wan't to be.... Epic Fail!
Crappy day at the office, my 83 year old mother at the dentist for 2 hrs, wife took her mom to ER - may have sepsis (chemo patient).
Get home eat 2 slices pizza then guzzle 20 oz Infinite, 30 minutes later I'm on the bike warming up and stomach starts to bloat.... reflux.... off the bike an purge some.... more warmup... another purge..... finally get to the VO2 and held on to a 10% bump (240 > 264) but just barely..... took 30 seconds before I could turn the cranks again.... started the FTP just above current watts..... tried to lift it but struggled.... legs humming..... fading after 5 minutes..... pull the plug at 6:30
Mother-in-law getting mega-antibiotics and going for chest CT as I type. My inability to peddle a stationary bike is meaningless in the bigger picture.
May try agian tomorrow... but no pizza! I'll be back!
Wow Steve - hang in there. Way to go everyone.... I did have cake this afternoon prior to my test....might have to do that again since I rocked my test!
V02 was way better this time - don't know what I was doing the first test.... was 201 today 227!!
FTP: first test 197 (187) Today!! 213 (202). YEA...I made the 200 club.
Work is working!! Did my run this am...which makes the test all the more sweeter.
Quick heads up to those who haven't done test #2 yet. Coach Rich posted a video on test pacing if you jump ahead to Week 8 on the Training Plan page. Boils down as follows: first 4 min at old FTP, hold min 5-16 at goal FTP, last 4 min "empty the tank". When targeting power rates for each segment, remember the 95% adjustment factor -- divide FTPs by 0.95 to get target watts for each segment
THANKS for posting this Mike! It helped me pace myself tonight much better than last test...
Hey everyone, giving us the wattage numbers is great but I wanted to say that those numbers on their own are not the whole story. Just because I now have a brand spanking new FTP of 259w doesn't mean I'm gonna be faster than someone who is proud that they just joined the 200+ club by a few watts.
I'm a relatively stout 6 foot tall & 177 lbs (80.45 Kg) and those 259 watts have a tough time dragging me around. Even in an aero tuck I'm like big ol' kite. Lots of folks in Mapso Nation *love* it when I take a pull, especially on my road bike. I'm running a 3.22 W/Kg ratio.
Now compare that to that new 200+ clubber who is only 5'4" and maybe 125 pounds (56.8 Kg). They're chugging along at 3.56 W/Kg or so. Boy, I'd love to have that number... That rider is over 10% more powerful than I am - and possibly working against a smaller profile in the wind and so more aerodynamic.
Okay, I know that putting your W/Kg ratio in writing might expose your current weight to those of us that are good at math but that's the parameter that levels the playing ground. How is everyone doing in that department?
Solid solid work from everyone on their tests (and for putting it out for everyone to see). For those that didn't quite hit their own goals for whatever reason, its still all good. Stay the course, figure it out, and hit it when you decide you have to. Everyone has been doing the hard work and the fitness is there, regardless of what one day says.
Since I tested early and am substituting a 5k Saturday for my VDOT test, I'm doing a 'normal' in week schedule. As I almost puked a little in my mouth thinking about doing a set of 2x20's this morning, I compromised with a 2x14, both ending up with a 0.98. Was surprisingly hard to get motivated for it, given the mojo I worked up for the FTP test.
For Peter's question: I'm rolling at 6'3, 192, so that puts my w/kg at 3.44. My race weight is ~185, so the w/kg will get slightly better, but not much. So what that means is I love me some flat riding but hate all you small peeps when we hop off the bike and I have to start lugging this frame around a marathon course.
Keep after it everyone and keep posting the mojo. It definitely helps!
@ Peter -- started OS at 2.6, currently at 2.86, on my way to 3.0+ and beyond! i really like how this number puts the emphasis on weight loss / maintenance in addition to raw power #s
@ Ann -- glad the video helped you too -- my pacing was much better this time around too. as you probably saw, Coach P put up a similar video for the run test
My watt/kg is somewhere bewteen 3.4-3.45. Would like to get up above 3.5 which should be doable as I am about 6 pounds heavier than normal summer weight.
@Ann: Wish I had watched that video! Good for you!
If I was to change the 5k TT to thursday should I do the vo2 intervals tomorrow? (inclement weather may be rolling through on wednesday).
Wow! So many very strong folks here! Ann! You're a beast! :-) Satish, even at my desired race weight below 170 I'm still nowhere near the 3.5 mark but I'm trying!!
Don't do the VO2max workout, especially with your new number, if you want to race a strong 5K. It would be fun to watch you run it though... ;-)
Running about 173#, 255W, which puts me at 3.25W/kg.
Thinking that by the time I move outdoors I may be able to add another 10-15w - honestly I should get close to 10 just moving outdoors - and I should be able to drop down to about 168#, which means my target by 6/1 is about 3.5.
My first race is a flat course; the weight drop has more to do with the run.
Interested, by the way, to hear the arguments one way or the other between bike-focus and run-focus for after OS - how does everyone decide?
Yeah, I've been thinking about that as well, Russell. I don't know much about either of those plans. Could we also just hop into the JOS schedule if we don't have anything coming up in the early spring?
A day late on the test due to work. My V02 is up from 235 to 255 and my FTP is up from 193 to 208. W/kg is up from 2.9 to 3.1. My first OS and I extremely impressed with all things EN.
Thanks folks...I am assuming I won't lose much more weight. I have lost 23 lbs since last Dec...the last 15lbs since Aug. So I think I need to move the needle for the watts more than weight. It's nice to know this though keeps me on my toes for not gaining!
Russell - Re bike focus vs run focus. My run is weakest - well other than swimming!....so I am going Run focus...but I hate not focusing on the bike since I can see the most improvement there. Interested in hearing other comments since I am a newbie
This is the first year of the official single sport block plan but the bike/run focus stuff has been around. Typically the bike/run focus is good if you hit a plateau, have a weak sport that need extra time, or you just want to run more. I'm just going to follow Coach P's 2013 master season plan. I have a 3 week bike focus followed by a two week run focus (perhaps these are too short) but I'll probably still be on the trainer for the 3 week bike focus so don't want to do anything longer. From the run side I need to watch the volume rame up so two weeks is plenty.
I've never loaded up the get faster plans but here's a post from Coach Rich on the plans but basically :
A hybrid of our half Ironman and short course training plan -- high intensity interval training for the bike and run, with about a 2.5hr long ride and 1:15-30 long run. These are the "go to" long event volumes that, if you do them week after week, you'll be able to easily step up into either your HIM or IM training plan when the time comes.
As for heading in to the Jan OS. This could be an option, perhaps dangerous but doable. The OS used to be 20 weeks and it was cut down because of burnout and or fatigue. Make sure you hit a transition week or perhaps two if you just want more OS work. For me the change up of a single sport block will be nice then back to the get faster plan which adds in some lengh to the rides and runs. Volume is something I'm not doing in the OS but in the past I have has some trouble transitioning to the 12 week IM plan and the longer distances. So for me the get faster plan is a really good fit moving in the the IM plan.
From memory for me it's 14 weeks OS, tranisition 1 week, 3 wk bike focus, 2 wk run focus, 3-5 (sorry can't remember) weeks get fast plan, 1 wk transition, then 13-14 weeks IM plan. I also have a week in there for a family trip that could be a run focus or perhaps just a sloth week with minimal trainning.
Add another bike test fail to the list! Been fighting off a cold all week, so maybe that's it. Or I have still not learned to pace these things even though this is my third OS! Gained about 15 points (332 to 347) on the VO2 part (is it possible to overdo that - or should it be all out and so by definition you can't over do it?). But 10 minutes into the FTP part I know it was not going to happen. Just no strength in legs - no mental mojo to push on. I think I knew I blew it, and bailed. So the plan is to try and get a good night's sleep every night this week, and give it another shot on Saturday, instead of the normal Saturday bike workout.
@Jim - the wisdom I have gleaned from these pages is that VO2M should not be all out, but should be seriously hard - about 120% of your target power, then you pace your FTP by (a) starting off for the first five minutes at about 105% of current FTP (e.g. the power that would give you your current FTP as a result when you take 95%) , then step up for the next ten minutes to 105% of your target power, then see if you can step up a little higher and squeeze the last of the toothpaste out of the tube for the last 5m.
There is apparently pacing guidance in the coaches talks this week - haven't looked yet, but I will today.
Sleep, hydration and nutrition make a huge difference in my ability and my mojo - from what I've read here, others experience the same. Hope you feel better. Crush it Saturday - vindication is good.
That's an encouraging sign that your VO2max number went up so much, John. I'll always do this test with the best possible effort I can manage for both parts so I won't be one who tells you to save it for the 20' test segment. I hear ya on the learning to pace the tests though. I shot for 400 watts and lasted less than a minute before dying off and holding on for 337 watts avg for VO2max.
Get yourself healthy and rested and rock that thing on Saturday.
So I screwed up the original FTP test and didn't subtract the 5% from the total (284, should have been 270) . With my new number from last night's workout (294), if I subtract the 5% I am back at a lower FTP (279) than what I have been training at the previous weeks. What should I do? Thanks y'all.
I am not the most qualified member to answer this question, but wisdom from the forum has been that this is due to testing conditions, not a loss of fitness.
Could be tied to any of:
- Fatigued for test2, fresher for test1
- Better conditions (sleep, time-of-day, nutrition, temp) for test1 than test2
- Put out more of what you had for test1, left something on the table on test2
- Worked harder in the VO2 in test2 than in test1
#1 Retest is an option chosen by some.
#2 Others have opted to bump up current training intensities marginally, and otherwise stay with program.
If it happened to me (when it happens to me at some point in the future) I will likely pursue option #2 rather than tie up training days with testing (not that a training day is a rest day or anything); I would leave the re-test for the next cycle or next transition week and make sure I entered that next test rested and hydrated and good to go.
I would, however, opt for a small bump, not a big bump, in intensity.
A day late, but not a dollar short on my test, as I "worked" 24 hours on Monday (slept from 0030-0730, with only one phone call during that time). I was very pleased with my test result, a 5+% gain in FTP to 214. Last year, 8 weeks into the OS, my FTP was 209, so I may well meet my target for the end of OS. My TrainerRoad graph shows a well-nigh perfect power curve during the 20 minute test, ramping up in the first 3-4 minutes, then holding steady for the next ten minutes, and rising all the way to the end in the last 7 minutes. My HR avg and max were 2 bpm less than the test @ the start of this year's OS. Sharp eyed observers may note that my NP on the TR graph is 214, giving me an FTP of 203; but the TR data is from my CompuTrainer, which is about 5% lower than my PowerTap; I use the PT consistently across indoors and out for my power readings, to avoid confusion.
W/kg is 3.25. Oh for the days, 4 years ago, when I was flirting with 4.0; but that was with another powermeter, and a younger body. Leading to a caveat - even with w/kg, it's tough to compare yourself to others, as all PMs produce unique results. Meaning, if I went at the same exact effort level on a different powertap, much less a quarq or SRM, I might well have a higher or lower FTP. Literally, YMMV on the results, so it's best just to compare yoursefl to yourself, and then only when on the same course, same conditions, and same monitoring system.
Finally, let's not forget the OS vs OS competition; we're aiming for best avg increase in FTP from start to end of OS, so this mid-OS test is not the final tally.
After a big weekend of training including a double double on Saturday and a super run on Sunday...I took yesterday off bt still felt a bit tired after a long day of meetings...but...I am pretty pleased with the final results...new FTP of 210 up from 195-200......my guts were on the floor the last 5 minute stretch as I pulled out of a mental tailspin and held serve....
I was finally able to do my test and results were good (all these weeks I thought my starting test had not been great) even when I started a couple weeks after everyone !
Vo2 wko in this morning. After last night's 5k it was....not easy. standard warmup and 3x4x45/45. called it a day after that, still have to run 45 after work this evening.
Next week I plan to continue with the beginner plan for the runs and bump up to intermediate for the bike.
Comments
I am a HR gal. Did Bike test #2. Although my MPH and distance traveled went down ( Test #1 22.1 MPH vs. test #2 21.6 MPH) , my avg HR also went down from 165 to 156. So either I was just not working as hard for test #2, or I am actually more fit cardiovascularly, just had colder weather, wind to deal with on my test course. It is difficult to interpret these results. Maybe Santa will bring me a power meter!
But for me it wan't to be.... Epic Fail!
Crappy day at the office, my 83 year old mother at the dentist for 2 hrs, wife took her mom to ER - may have sepsis (chemo patient).
Get home eat 2 slices pizza then guzzle 20 oz Infinite, 30 minutes later I'm on the bike warming up and stomach starts to bloat.... reflux.... off the bike an purge some.... more warmup... another purge..... finally get to the VO2 and held on to a 10% bump (240 > 264) but just barely..... took 30 seconds before I could turn the cranks again.... started the FTP just above current watts..... tried to lift it but struggled.... legs humming..... fading after 5 minutes..... pull the plug at 6:30
Mother-in-law getting mega-antibiotics and going for chest CT as I type. My inability to peddle a stationary bike is meaningless in the bigger picture.
May try agian tomorrow... but no pizza! I'll be back!
That's quite a day, Steve.
Good work trying to get it in, and kudos for maintaining perspective - if the test waits a day, or even a week, so be it.
And yes - Pizza plus workout - I know it works for Dean Karnazes - it wouldn't work for me.
Best wishes for your family.
Way to go everyone....
I did have cake this afternoon prior to my test....might have to do that again since I rocked my test!
V02 was way better this time - don't know what I was doing the first test....
was 201 today 227!!
FTP: first test 197 (187) Today!! 213 (202).
YEA...I made the 200 club.
Work is working!! Did my run this am...which makes the test all the more sweeter.
THANKS for posting this Mike! It helped me pace myself tonight much better than last test...
I'm a relatively stout 6 foot tall & 177 lbs (80.45 Kg) and those 259 watts have a tough time dragging me around. Even in an aero tuck I'm like big ol' kite. Lots of folks in Mapso Nation *love* it when I take a pull, especially on my road bike. I'm running a 3.22 W/Kg ratio.
Now compare that to that new 200+ clubber who is only 5'4" and maybe 125 pounds (56.8 Kg). They're chugging along at 3.56 W/Kg or so. Boy, I'd love to have that number... That rider is over 10% more powerful than I am - and possibly working against a smaller profile in the wind and so more aerodynamic.
Okay, I know that putting your W/Kg ratio in writing might expose your current weight to those of us that are good at math but that's the parameter that levels the playing ground. How is everyone doing in that department?
Soooooo. Assuming I use the adjusted watts my power to weight ratio is 3.27.
Since I tested early and am substituting a 5k Saturday for my VDOT test, I'm doing a 'normal' in week schedule. As I almost puked a little in my mouth thinking about doing a set of 2x20's this morning, I compromised with a 2x14, both ending up with a 0.98. Was surprisingly hard to get motivated for it, given the mojo I worked up for the FTP test.
For Peter's question: I'm rolling at 6'3, 192, so that puts my w/kg at 3.44. My race weight is ~185, so the w/kg will get slightly better, but not much. So what that means is I love me some flat riding but hate all you small peeps when we hop off the bike and I have to start lugging this frame around a marathon course.
Keep after it everyone and keep posting the mojo. It definitely helps!
@ Ann -- glad the video helped you too -- my pacing was much better this time around too. as you probably saw, Coach P put up a similar video for the run test
My watt/kg is somewhere bewteen 3.4-3.45. Would like to get up above 3.5 which should be doable as I am about 6 pounds heavier than normal summer weight.
@Ann: Wish I had watched that video! Good for you!
If I was to change the 5k TT to thursday should I do the vo2 intervals tomorrow? (inclement weather may be rolling through on wednesday).
Don't do the VO2max workout, especially with your new number, if you want to race a strong 5K. It would be fun to watch you run it though... ;-)
@Peter - good question
Running about 173#, 255W, which puts me at 3.25W/kg.
Thinking that by the time I move outdoors I may be able to add another 10-15w - honestly I should get close to 10 just moving outdoors - and I should be able to drop down to about 168#, which means my target by 6/1 is about 3.5.
My first race is a flat course; the weight drop has more to do with the run.
Interested, by the way, to hear the arguments one way or the other between bike-focus and run-focus for after OS - how does everyone decide?
Russell - Re bike focus vs run focus. My run is weakest - well other than swimming!....so I am going Run focus...but I hate not focusing on the bike since I can see the most improvement there. Interested in hearing other comments since I am a newbie
@Russ & Peter -
This is the first year of the official single sport block plan but the bike/run focus stuff has been around. Typically the bike/run focus is good if you hit a plateau, have a weak sport that need extra time, or you just want to run more. I'm just going to follow Coach P's 2013 master season plan. I have a 3 week bike focus followed by a two week run focus (perhaps these are too short) but I'll probably still be on the trainer for the 3 week bike focus so don't want to do anything longer. From the run side I need to watch the volume rame up so two weeks is plenty.
http://members.endurancenation.us/R...ason+Plans
I've never loaded up the get faster plans but here's a post from Coach Rich on the plans but basically :
A hybrid of our half Ironman and short course training plan -- high intensity interval training for the bike and run, with about a 2.5hr long ride and 1:15-30 long run. These are the "go to" long event volumes that, if you do them week after week, you'll be able to easily step up into either your HIM or IM training plan when the time comes.
http://members.endurancenation.us/T...fault.aspx
As for heading in to the Jan OS. This could be an option, perhaps dangerous but doable. The OS used to be 20 weeks and it was cut down because of burnout and or fatigue. Make sure you hit a transition week or perhaps two if you just want more OS work. For me the change up of a single sport block will be nice then back to the get faster plan which adds in some lengh to the rides and runs. Volume is something I'm not doing in the OS but in the past I have has some trouble transitioning to the 12 week IM plan and the longer distances. So for me the get faster plan is a really good fit moving in the the IM plan.
From memory for me it's 14 weeks OS, tranisition 1 week, 3 wk bike focus, 2 wk run focus, 3-5 (sorry can't remember) weeks get fast plan, 1 wk transition, then 13-14 weeks IM plan. I also have a week in there for a family trip that could be a run focus or perhaps just a sloth week with minimal trainning.
Gordon
Add another bike test fail to the list! Been fighting off a cold all week, so maybe that's it. Or I have still not learned to pace these things even though this is my third OS! Gained about 15 points (332 to 347) on the VO2 part (is it possible to overdo that - or should it be all out and so by definition you can't over do it?). But 10 minutes into the FTP part I know it was not going to happen. Just no strength in legs - no mental mojo to push on. I think I knew I blew it, and bailed. So the plan is to try and get a good night's sleep every night this week, and give it another shot on Saturday, instead of the normal Saturday bike workout.
@Jim - the wisdom I have gleaned from these pages is that VO2M should not be all out, but should be seriously hard - about 120% of your target power, then you pace your FTP by (a) starting off for the first five minutes at about 105% of current FTP (e.g. the power that would give you your current FTP as a result when you take 95%) , then step up for the next ten minutes to 105% of your target power, then see if you can step up a little higher and squeeze the last of the toothpaste out of the tube for the last 5m.
There is apparently pacing guidance in the coaches talks this week - haven't looked yet, but I will today.
Sleep, hydration and nutrition make a huge difference in my ability and my mojo - from what I've read here, others experience the same. Hope you feel better. Crush it Saturday - vindication is good.
Get yourself healthy and rested and rock that thing on Saturday.
@Chris,
I am not the most qualified member to answer this question, but wisdom from the forum has been that this is due to testing conditions, not a loss of fitness.
Could be tied to any of:
- Fatigued for test2, fresher for test1
- Better conditions (sleep, time-of-day, nutrition, temp) for test1 than test2
- Put out more of what you had for test1, left something on the table on test2
- Worked harder in the VO2 in test2 than in test1
A day late, but not a dollar short on my test, as I "worked" 24 hours on Monday (slept from 0030-0730, with only one phone call during that time). I was very pleased with my test result, a 5+% gain in FTP to 214. Last year, 8 weeks into the OS, my FTP was 209, so I may well meet my target for the end of OS. My TrainerRoad graph shows a well-nigh perfect power curve during the 20 minute test, ramping up in the first 3-4 minutes, then holding steady for the next ten minutes, and rising all the way to the end in the last 7 minutes. My HR avg and max were 2 bpm less than the test @ the start of this year's OS. Sharp eyed observers may note that my NP on the TR graph is 214, giving me an FTP of 203; but the TR data is from my CompuTrainer, which is about 5% lower than my PowerTap; I use the PT consistently across indoors and out for my power readings, to avoid confusion.
W/kg is 3.25. Oh for the days, 4 years ago, when I was flirting with 4.0; but that was with another powermeter, and a younger body. Leading to a caveat - even with w/kg, it's tough to compare yourself to others, as all PMs produce unique results. Meaning, if I went at the same exact effort level on a different powertap, much less a quarq or SRM, I might well have a higher or lower FTP. Literally, YMMV on the results, so it's best just to compare yoursefl to yourself, and then only when on the same course, same conditions, and same monitoring system.
Finally, let's not forget the OS vs OS competition; we're aiming for best avg increase in FTP from start to end of OS, so this mid-OS test is not the final tally.
After a big weekend of training including a double double on Saturday and a super run on Sunday...I took yesterday off bt still felt a bit tired after a long day of meetings...but...I am pretty pleased with the final results...new FTP of 210 up from 195-200......my guts were on the floor the last 5 minute stretch as I pulled out of a mental tailspin and held serve....
Good work everyone!
Did the bike test yesterday.
Test Results 10/29
5Min Power: 176
20Min Power: 153
FTP: 145
Test Results 12/18
5 Min Power: 186 watts
20 Min Power: 161 watts
FTP: 153
I'm improving! Still need to drop some body fat but I'm feeling stronger.
Now on to the run test tomorrow. Had to rearrage this week a bit due to lots of other things going on.
Week 8 Bike Test
FTP increased 11%
Vo2 increased 19%
Assessment:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/252921789
FTP went from 178 to 200
VO2 slightly down from 294 to 291 (this time was more even than last though)
Running has been the problem as I am taking it very easy to avoid re-injuring calf
Great work everyone !!!
FTP up to 294 from 280
VO2 up a few points to 355
Not too shabby! Want to get into that 300 club by the end of the OS
Vo2 wko in this morning. After last night's 5k it was....not easy. standard warmup and 3x4x45/45. called it a day after that, still have to run 45 after work this evening.
Next week I plan to continue with the beginner plan for the runs and bump up to intermediate for the bike.