Well, that was humbling. Ended last season at 335 FTP. Was completely burned out at the end of the year and didn't touch bike for almost 2 months. Good thing that it will come back over the next 6-8 weeks.
VO2 - 334
FTP - 260
Legs are mush... Almost fell down the stairs coming down after my workout....
@Satish-- Sorry I'm just reading this now, so you may have already tested. I do all of my workouts on my rollers (instead of my fluid trainer). Therefore I test on my rollers. If you like your rollers and plan to ride on them this winter, then test on your rollers. And use whatever bike you plan to ride most of the winter. Some people do all of their OS workouts on their tri bike (in aero), others do them on their road bike and transition onto their tri bike in the spring. I have done both and don't personally see much difference in my "July tri self" . FWIW, I'm using my road bike this OS, even though I used my tri bike all last OS. Good luck either way!
@KK-- I'd suggest you wait at least 2 weeks, then retest. This will give you a bit of time to get your head in the right place and get your "cycling legs" back since you've been off the bike for so loing. Maybe just do the test instead of your Tuesday or Thursday bike workout in Week 3. By then you should also have a little better feel for your numbers, and you will still have plenty of time in the OS to crush yourself. It's all about building to the last 3-4 weeks, remember.
Way to get it done everyone, no where to go but up from here.
My test was quite the humbling reality check as well, and ever worse than the nightmare I had last night.
VO2 went ok as my power started to fade with about 30 seconds left but I hung on and only lost a few watts at the end. Probably a good indication of current fitness (or lack there of).
20' test was paced horrible and I fell apart at 9' in, took it easy for a minute and then started to rebuild. The small victory of the day is that I did finish the 20' test even though I wanted to quit. I don't think this is an accurate test but I'm going to start with my FTP based on this and re-evaluate after about 2 week.
@John I hesitate to test on the rollers for fear of falling off. I can do ftp and VO2 efforts but as I get tired I also get wobbly. I am also working on some hand numbness issues that occur on the rollers and can be quite distracting after 20-30 minutes or so. I have been going to a bike fitter and there is some improvement but we are not there yet. Some of it is likely related to how hard I am gripping the handlebars (see fear of falling off above). So I will probably stick to the trainer for the test.
So-so start to the JOS. Last year I started @ 175 FTP and topped out at 230. This morning I ended up with 220 FTP. I was targeting 247 avg or so to get 235 FTP and blew up half way through. After that, I was all over the map up and down just trying to get to 20 mins...pretty similar to Matt's experience. On the plus side, I am starting much higher than last year and hope to end a lot higher as well.
Hi Kate, I'm a little confused on the V02 5 min test. Are we supossed to be using that number somewhere is it a baseline for further testing? I completed my 20 min bike test and used the EN Calculator to get my power zones. But I didnt see any section to input the VO2 test. Thanks
Nice work to everyone who has gotten it done today. I unfortunately can't test today since I'm flying cross country and will have to defer it until tomorrow. It should be pretty 'interesting' for me since I have not been home in 3 weeks nor on a bike for well over a month. Suffice to say, I'm going to get a very 'baseline' value for my first test.
Never sweat the first test though. There is no where to go but up from here.
This morning I started my 2nd OS …. I will say that just knowing the Bike test was coming this morning was a bit daunting. And while I procrastinated some before heading down into the Pain Cave, I nailed a pretty good test for me … I exceed my rookie year starting FTP by 25 watts and VO2 by 32 watts.
@Darren from the coaches notes "The average watts for the 5' test is your Vo2 power, used for future Vo2 workouts.". Typically on Thursdays we will have a Vo2 session. Perhaps this is not the case for beginner or intermediate plans right away but Vo2 work will show up. This is when you use that number.
Gordon
Note that I have an outseason captain designation but this is from last year. I have a request in to get it changed.
It is finished. Now the task is trying to remember that this feeling will eventually go away. ZP (Zone Puke) seemed like it began around minute 5 in the 20 minute segment. Really tough to hang on. Like maybe by Wednesday night. Thank goodness I already ran my 5K test on New Year's Day. By the way, I looked for the EN version of the test but couldn't find the file so I used the TR version. Is there an official EN FTP test file? Not that I'm gonna retest or anything...
The TR file still shows my old FTP of 280 from last summer. There was no effing way I was holding that number. I shouldn't have even tried. Those last 5 minutes were horrible but I made it somehow. New FTP is 253 and my W/Kg = 3.22. New VO2max is 316. Last year I started out at 242W so I guess I should be happy I preserved some power over last year's start. Now it's time to work on that 4 W/Kg target and VDOT of 50.
the one you did is harder PW! I did this in the Nov OS as well by mistake. It has only 5 minutes recovery between the Vo2 and the 20minute test. The EN one is 10minutes. Big difference!!!!!!
Well, I did see the note about taking 10 minutes rest so I paused the TR file and got off to stretch a little and uh, take a leak. Is there an EN file to use?
Test done. I hate hate hate testing. Good news is I'm not as far behind as I thought from last year. Bad news is that body comp sure as heck is. Plan is to change both of those situations pretty damn quick.
FTP = 220 (actually 221, but I like easy to remember numbers) VO2 = 250 (actually 249, but see note above) Body Comp = Nah. Not going there in public. :-)
Rest up tomorrow! Run test is looming on the horizon!
Dropped in to see my old NOS and SC buddies from last year! Glad to see all these familiar names! Good luck this test week! I dread these tests more than some tri's I do every year. I'm in week # 11 NOS and for what it is worth, the bike work is more challenging this year!
Best part about the test was timing the music just right so that Young the Giant 'my body' started playing with 3 minutes to go! (if you aren't familiar with the song, it is upbeat and has the refrain ' my body says no but I won't quit cause I want more'.) Boom! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYpF2pCkLI
I changed the test protocol a bit on the advice of an exercise scientist friend of mine and added an extra 10 minutes between the VO2 and FTP parts of the test. It made the whole workout 80 minutes long, but definitely repeatable
So some things that strike me as odd - dropped watts by oh say 50 watts from my last test a few months ago. Hmmm... not really right I feel. So then it hit me... D'oh! I forgot to inflate my rear tire!!! No wonder I was busting butt for peanuts. Well also I have been plowing snow for the past 3 days straight. My HR to start the test was just 20 beats below my test HR. Hey time will tell, and if my numbers are easily achieved this week then we know I need to re-test. :-)
The great thing is that my alter ego came along for the ride. She is flying the invisible plane while I do battle with the lasso of truth. I love that I grew up in a comic book store!
I am glad that is done! Excited for my run test this week and to give 100% to my workouts.
Got my test completed this morning. This was actually my first test using the trainer so I wasn't sure what to expect. FTP down about 19 watts from IMFL. I suspect that only 1 ride since then and being on the trainer contributed to this. I have to get my head in the game to be able to ride the trainer. Such mental game for me.
Great to see everybody testing :-)....... good news is I'm starting the 4th week of my OS and didnt have to test today.... bad news is.... I test again this coming saturday! You guys are motivating me!
Think I was a bit too conservative on the 20 minute test. Really is an art to pace these things. Upside is I finished pretty strong. Downside it was as painful as I remember them to be.
Odd my vo2 hasn't dropped much. Looking back to reclaiming my bike fitness this year and tri-shape. Enjoyed the marathon training but it's time to get back to doing other stuff
Test completed! Yippie... I have to say, like many I was regretting the test. I am a new biker and have only done the FTP Test once before and that was enough to hate it. All said, its done the good news it is higher than my first test but not where I would like it to be. I left a little on the table, but not much - I have so much to learn about cadence and pacing...
Well, the test is completed! I was curious to see how I'd do since:
- I was off the bike for 18 weeks June-Oct, then did just 2 hours/wk on the road bike Nov-Dec to get back in the swing of things
- I got back on the tri bike only 2 weeks ago, and did only 2 rides on it
- I got a new bike fit, much more aggressive, and find it a lot harder to stay in aero on the trainer
- The BCS Championship game was on the screen. Not "Man vs. Food" or other junk TV that I usually use for workouts
Overall I was pleasantly surprised. My 5' test was 302w and the 20' test was 258w done mostly in the aerobars. This means an FTP of 245w, 3.7w/kg with my weight ~10lb higher than normal. Garmin link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/426040023
Detailed version:
22' warmup sequence including consuming a gel, then 3' easy. For the 5' I went out pretty hard, loosely targeting 300w but willing to dial back if necessary. I started too hard of course and was averaging around 308w through the first minute and a half. Then the decline started for the next minute or so and I was averaging 303w through the halfway point. At that point I knew 300 was achievable if I just kept my output up. My HR was up to almost 180 which for me on the bike is pretty high. With 2' remaining I allowed myself to get out of the aerobars and crank out power sitting up. Overall I maintained my power with HR heading up to 183 and finished the 5' set with NP of 302 watts.
After a nice easy spin at 125w for 10' I hit the 20' FTP test. I was pretty sure I could hold around 250w for 10' but haven't done any longer intervals so was pretty much clueless as to how I'd hold up beyond 10-12 mins. Truthfully I usually test better using the 20/2/20 protocol but this early in the season I just lack the endurance to do any longer intervals. I settled into the low 250's and decided to see how things went. Overall I was feeling ok. After 6' I rewarded myself with 1' out of the aerobars, then settled in for another 5' before another 1' sitting up. By now we were at the 13' point and my HR was at 184, so a few bpm higher than it had hit in the first 5' test. It was gametime as I got back into the bars for a planned 4'. I made it 3' before sitting up as my HR hit 188 (this is about where my HR gets on z4 running intervals outside!). Then after about another minute with 3' remaining I went into a higher gear and dropped my cadence from 94 down to the mid-80s. My dad was riding beside me and looked to be fading so I yelled at him a bit to keep going hard and started cranking in the new gear. My power of course shot up and my lap average started ticking up slightly, from 255w at the 17' mark to 258w by the end of the test. My HR ended at 191 which, for me on an indoor ride is extremely high. Upon review it looks like I negative-split the power pretty substantially, with the 20' breaking down into NP segments of 253 / 254 / 257 / 267. That and the fact I was able to hammer 277w for the last 3' probably means I left a bit on the table due to bad pacing, but on the other hand that last 3' was out of the aerobars and at a lower cadence ~86-88rpm.
So overall my FTP is 95% of 258w = 245w. My weight is ~10lb higher than usual at 146lb, so the FTP is 3.7w/kg, a lot lower than last year's season-high of 4.2w/kg when the FTP was around 260 and weight was 137. That said, I have no doubt my weight will be down to 137ish in no time, which would be 3.9w/kg even before I start working the FTP upward.
Perhaps most encouraging, this test was actually BETTER than last year's first test power-wise (although HR was higher):
Is TR supposed to automatically switch the trainer from ERG mode to Slope mode during the 5' and 20' testing portions of the workout (I have an old Powerbeam Pro)? Last time I did the TR 20' test (not the EN test), TR switched the trainer automatically. This time, the trainer did not switch, so it kept my effort at my FTP that is set in TR. Seeing this, I felt like I was wasting the effort and was a little disgusted. Halfway through the 20' test portion, one of my kids came downstairs and needed help in the bathroom, so I had to get off the bike, and my test ended there.
The good news is that I felt like I could maintain my current FTP of 247, but I really want to get the test done properly to make sure it is right! I guess I need to re-test in a few days, but want to make sure that I am doing it properly in the test portions.
I got some great news today at my Physical Therapy appointment. I told the PT that I had pushed myself on my last ride (the FTP Test) with some heavier load and that things felt fine. She said "great- keep on doing that as it will actually help you get stronger". So I'm all clear to continue the OS Bike workouts as scheduled! Yippeeeeee! I'm still not allowed to run, but we'll get there eventually.
Comments
Well, that was humbling. Ended last season at 335 FTP. Was completely burned out at the end of the year and didn't touch bike for almost 2 months. Good thing that it will come back over the next 6-8 weeks.
VO2 - 334
FTP - 260
Legs are mush... Almost fell down the stairs coming down after my workout....
My test was quite the humbling reality check as well, and ever worse than the nightmare I had last night.
VO2 went ok as my power started to fade with about 30 seconds left but I hung on and only lost a few watts at the end. Probably a good indication of current fitness (or lack there of).
20' test was paced horrible and I fell apart at 9' in, took it easy for a minute and then started to rebuild. The small victory of the day is that I did finish the 20' test even though I wanted to quit. I don't think this is an accurate test but I'm going to start with my FTP based on this and re-evaluate after about 2 week.
Weight - 153 (15 lbs over race weight)
VO2 - 300 (35 below peak indoor VO2)
FTP - 226 (55 below peak indoor FTP)
Thanks guys! I will use the road bike.
@John I hesitate to test on the rollers for fear of falling off. I can do ftp and VO2 efforts but as I get tired I also get wobbly. I am also working on some hand numbness issues that occur on the rollers and can be quite distracting after 20-30 minutes or so. I have been going to a bike fitter and there is some improvement but we are not there yet. Some of it is likely related to how hard I am gripping the handlebars (see fear of falling off above). So I will probably stick to the trainer for the test.
Never sweat the first test though. There is no where to go but up from here.
This morning I started my 2nd OS …. I will say that just knowing the Bike test was coming this morning was a bit daunting. And while I procrastinated some before heading down into the Pain Cave, I nailed a pretty good test for me … I exceed my rookie year starting FTP by 25 watts and VO2 by 32 watts.FTP – 222
VO2 - 253
@Darren from the coaches notes "The average watts for the 5' test is your Vo2 power, used for future Vo2 workouts.". Typically on Thursdays we will have a Vo2 session. Perhaps this is not the case for beginner or intermediate plans right away but Vo2 work will show up. This is when you use that number.
Gordon
Note that I have an outseason captain designation but this is from last year. I have a request in to get it changed.
It is finished. Now the task is trying to remember that this feeling will eventually go away. ZP (Zone Puke) seemed like it began around minute 5 in the 20 minute segment. Really tough to hang on. Like maybe by Wednesday night. Thank goodness I already ran my 5K test on New Year's Day. By the way, I looked for the EN version of the test but couldn't find the file so I used the TR version. Is there an official EN FTP test file? Not that I'm gonna retest or anything...
The TR file still shows my old FTP of 280 from last summer. There was no effing way I was holding that number. I shouldn't have even tried. Those last 5 minutes were horrible but I made it somehow. New FTP is 253 and my W/Kg = 3.22. New VO2max is 316. Last year I started out at 242W so I guess I should be happy I preserved some power over last year's start. Now it's time to work on that 4 W/Kg target and VDOT of 50.
Well, I did see the note about taking 10 minutes rest so I paused the TR file and got off to stretch a little and uh, take a leak. Is there an EN file to use?
Got it. Thanks. Quite a few differences but as I said, I ain't lookin' to go there again for a couple of months.
FTP = 220 (actually 221, but I like easy to remember numbers)
VO2 = 250 (actually 249, but see note above)
Body Comp = Nah. Not going there in public. :-)
Rest up tomorrow! Run test is looming on the horizon!
FTP 239 (or 240 a la Kori)
VO2 302 (or 300)
Best part about the test was timing the music just right so that Young the Giant 'my body' started playing with 3 minutes to go! (if you aren't familiar with the song, it is upbeat and has the refrain ' my body says no but I won't quit cause I want more'.) Boom!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYpF2pCkLI
I changed the test protocol a bit on the advice of an exercise scientist friend of mine and added an extra 10 minutes between the VO2 and FTP parts of the test. It made the whole workout 80 minutes long, but definitely repeatable
.
Lets all have fun over the next 14 weeks!!!!!!
Test is in the books!
So some things that strike me as odd - dropped watts by oh say 50 watts from my last test a few months ago. Hmmm... not really right I feel. So then it hit me... D'oh! I forgot to inflate my rear tire!!! No wonder I was busting butt for peanuts. Well also I have been plowing snow for the past 3 days straight. My HR to start the test was just 20 beats below my test HR. Hey time will tell, and if my numbers are easily achieved this week then we know I need to re-test. :-)
The great thing is that my alter ego came along for the ride. She is flying the invisible plane while I do battle with the lasso of truth. I love that I grew up in a comic book store!
I am glad that is done! Excited for my run test this week and to give 100% to my workouts.
FTP= 196
VO2= 261
May 2013 - 270 vo2/ 244 FTP
Today - 263 vo2 / 213 FTP
Think I was a bit too conservative on the 20 minute test. Really is an art to pace these things. Upside is I finished pretty strong. Downside it was as painful as I remember them to be.
Odd my vo2 hasn't dropped much. Looking back to reclaiming my bike fitness this year and tri-shape. Enjoyed the marathon training but it's time to get back to doing other stuff
-Mike
Well, the test is completed! I was curious to see how I'd do since:
- I was off the bike for 18 weeks June-Oct, then did just 2 hours/wk on the road bike Nov-Dec to get back in the swing of things
- I got back on the tri bike only 2 weeks ago, and did only 2 rides on it
- I got a new bike fit, much more aggressive, and find it a lot harder to stay in aero on the trainer
- The BCS Championship game was on the screen. Not "Man vs. Food" or other junk TV that I usually use for workouts
Overall I was pleasantly surprised. My 5' test was 302w and the 20' test was 258w done mostly in the aerobars. This means an FTP of 245w, 3.7w/kg with my weight ~10lb higher than normal. Garmin link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/426040023
Detailed version:
22' warmup sequence including consuming a gel, then 3' easy. For the 5' I went out pretty hard, loosely targeting 300w but willing to dial back if necessary. I started too hard of course and was averaging around 308w through the first minute and a half. Then the decline started for the next minute or so and I was averaging 303w through the halfway point. At that point I knew 300 was achievable if I just kept my output up. My HR was up to almost 180 which for me on the bike is pretty high. With 2' remaining I allowed myself to get out of the aerobars and crank out power sitting up. Overall I maintained my power with HR heading up to 183 and finished the 5' set with NP of 302 watts.
After a nice easy spin at 125w for 10' I hit the 20' FTP test. I was pretty sure I could hold around 250w for 10' but haven't done any longer intervals so was pretty much clueless as to how I'd hold up beyond 10-12 mins. Truthfully I usually test better using the 20/2/20 protocol but this early in the season I just lack the endurance to do any longer intervals. I settled into the low 250's and decided to see how things went. Overall I was feeling ok. After 6' I rewarded myself with 1' out of the aerobars, then settled in for another 5' before another 1' sitting up. By now we were at the 13' point and my HR was at 184, so a few bpm higher than it had hit in the first 5' test. It was gametime as I got back into the bars for a planned 4'. I made it 3' before sitting up as my HR hit 188 (this is about where my HR gets on z4 running intervals outside!). Then after about another minute with 3' remaining I went into a higher gear and dropped my cadence from 94 down to the mid-80s. My dad was riding beside me and looked to be fading so I yelled at him a bit to keep going hard and started cranking in the new gear. My power of course shot up and my lap average started ticking up slightly, from 255w at the 17' mark to 258w by the end of the test. My HR ended at 191 which, for me on an indoor ride is extremely high. Upon review it looks like I negative-split the power pretty substantially, with the 20' breaking down into NP segments of 253 / 254 / 257 / 267. That and the fact I was able to hammer 277w for the last 3' probably means I left a bit on the table due to bad pacing, but on the other hand that last 3' was out of the aerobars and at a lower cadence ~86-88rpm.
So overall my FTP is 95% of 258w = 245w. My weight is ~10lb higher than usual at 146lb, so the FTP is 3.7w/kg, a lot lower than last year's season-high of 4.2w/kg when the FTP was around 260 and weight was 137. That said, I have no doubt my weight will be down to 137ish in no time, which would be 3.9w/kg even before I start working the FTP upward.
Perhaps most encouraging, this test was actually BETTER than last year's first test power-wise (although HR was higher):
@ JK -- I think we just found the mascot for the JOS. That is one scary looking action figure!!
Is TR supposed to automatically switch the trainer from ERG mode to Slope mode during the 5' and 20' testing portions of the workout (I have an old Powerbeam Pro)? Last time I did the TR 20' test (not the EN test), TR switched the trainer automatically. This time, the trainer did not switch, so it kept my effort at my FTP that is set in TR. Seeing this, I felt like I was wasting the effort and was a little disgusted. Halfway through the 20' test portion, one of my kids came downstairs and needed help in the bathroom, so I had to get off the bike, and my test ended there.
The good news is that I felt like I could maintain my current FTP of 247, but I really want to get the test done properly to make sure it is right! I guess I need to re-test in a few days, but want to make sure that I am doing it properly in the test portions.
Thanks for the help.
John