Final HIM Bike Test - is drop in FTP normal?

mcstrangelove

I'm nearing the end of Intermediate HIM training and had my final bike test this morning.  Very prepared: plenty of recovery, plenty of rest, nutrition on point, etc.  But at the end, my NP was quite a bit lower than my last test.  The only evidence I can find is that my NP has been slowly decreasing the past several weeks (looking at statistics in Power Agent).  On the contrary, my vDot has increased.

Questions:

1) For the HIM, do I use this new, slower FTP for my zones?  Or use the one I've been training at and consider this a fluke?

2) Is this a normal occurrence at the end of HIM training, due to increase in volume & intensity?

3) Or, have I reached the limits of what I can handle as far as training, and perhaps switch to the Beginner HIM plan for the final 4 wks before the race?

Thanks for your advice!

Chris G

Give us all the numbers, that may help.  Also, can you take a screen shot of your wko 28 day power graph and post that as well?

mcstrangelove

 My original FTP was 154 and today's was 146.  Is that bad?  Should I retest next week?

Don't have wko+ yet, using Power Agent.  I'm not sure if it gives a historic graph, but I'm sure I can give you numbers from each workout, when I get home tonight from work.

David Ambrose

For some folks, it can be challenging to incur significant increases in both vdot and FTP simultaneously. Whether that is an issue for you, depends ; reviewing your data files, training log, etc may shed some light as you try to identify a correlation, if any, between changes in your vdot with changes in your FTP as well as any other factors which may pop out.

Al Truscott

Mac - I've noticed the peak of fatigue in our training plans comes with about 15-20 days to go before the race. The accumulated fatigue may in part be accounting for your apparent drop in FTP. I've also found that my bike performance in the final race rehearsal has been a very good predictor of race day performance. Specifically, I am usually able to go a *little* bit faster on race day than I do in that RR. In IF terms, if I can handle 0.69 (I do IMs, not HIM) in the RR, I can usually do 0.70-0.71 on race day. Caveat: this only applies if I'm able to perform the run in the RR as prescribed; if I can't handle the run in that workout, then I biked too hard.

As to what FTP to use, I tend to go with the one closest to the race, in this case the one I extrapolate from the RR. So it's not really an FTP, its really more using the actual watts I can hold for the RR, bumped up maybe 1-1.5%. I don't know if this is what RnP would say, so it might be good to give them a holler as well. Your FTP "drop" is significant, and would be meaningful on race day. You need to get that straight before you plan your day.

cwhyte

I was going to point out the same thing Al did. You're at a point where fatigue should be at a peak and FTP will likely be reflective of that fact.

Now I'm a bit different when it comes to RRs though. I don't do them because I don't believe in doing an RR when your fatigue is high. How I feel on race day is entirely different than how I feel 3 weeks prior to race day. Another way to look at it: There is no one point in my Race Prep period where I'm even as close to rested as I am on race day so an RR doesn't tell me much. Having said that, I've also done 13 IMs, although Al has probably done more, so I don't necessarily feel like I learn anything from an RR. I know what I can do on race day due to extensive experience in the sport. I wouldn't necessarily give the same guidance to someone who is relatively new to the sport.

Thanks, Chris

Al Truscott

Posted By Chris Whyte on 15 Mar 2011 02:20 PM

...There is no one point in my Race Prep period where I'm even as close to rested as I am on race day so an RR doesn't tell me much. ... I don't necessarily feel like I learn anything from an RR. I know what I can do on race day due to extensive experience in the sport. I wouldn't necessarily give the same guidance to someone who is relatively new to the sport.

@ Chris - I agree with all these points. I didn't really do RRs until I came to the EN training plans in the last two years. What I discovered doing them (n=3 now) was that if I could hold my planned race day pace for six miles during the last RR, after biking 112 miles at 1-2% IF lower than planned for race day, then I could also do it for 26 miles on race day, reflecting, I suppose, the increased rest leading up to the race. That gave confidence to this perpetually anxious racer. I did indeed do a number of successful IM runs prior to using RRs, purely by the seat of my pants, making me even more anxious. I prefer the reassurance I describe above. It's less a data thing than an emotional reassurance, a crutch I might not really need.

Coach Patrick

I have struggled with final tests as well...my week 14 test is almost always better. I am using the Boston Marathon trainnig as an excuse not to test right now. You have done the work, the fitness is there and it's waiting for the right chance to express itself.

P