Drop in Power on last RR

Bob Irwin

Did my last test FTP last week before Vineman 70.3, and my power dropped 8 watts.  I'm getting fatigued, so I'm thinking it's probably accumlated fatigue, not enough to eat, or something other than reduced fittness.  My questions is what should I use on race day?  Thinking I'll probably use the lower number just to be conservative, then if I feel really good 40 miles into the bike I can push a little harder. 

ezellrh

Bob, how did your race rehearsals go? I tend to rely more on those than I do any late power tests. FWIW, unless I feel especially frisky, I don't do any testing two months out from a race. I really rely on how the race rehearsals felt and how well/poorly I ran off the RR bikes.

Al Truscott

Posted By Roy Ezell on 24 Jun 2013 02:41 PM
Bob, how did your race rehearsals go? I tend to rely more on those than I do any late power tests. FWIW, unless I feel especially frisky, I don't do any testing two months out from a race. I really rely on how the race rehearsals felt and how well/poorly I ran off the RR bikes.

+1....The second RR is what I use to set my goal watss for race day. For Power Geeks who use TrainingPeaks/WKO, the number you're looking for is your five hour power on the Mean Maximal Power Curve

Peter Greagg

What Al said

Bob Irwin

Thanks all. When I said last RR, I meant previous. My first RR was for the full Vineman, and it was a disaster. Couldn't hold .7 for more than four hours. However, I've been having trouble over four hours. The two IM's I've done previously have been late season races, and I think I started too late. At 63, I think January OS was too late to get my volume that high for a mid July IM - that's a discussion for another time. My one and only RR for will be this weekend for the 70.3. Since my FTP test was a few watts down, I thought I'd use the lower number. I can always make it up on the run if I've gone too easy on the bike - in theory.

cgres123

You will be rested via your taper stick with EN recommendations and as you said dial it up later however that may affect your run, patience and discipline hold your power numbers and run well.