First FTP Test Hints.
Alright. I know this has got to be a subject somewhere else, but Im too pressed for time to go look for it. Tonight, I plan on doing the FTP test in lieu of this weekends ride. I have a Powertap hub and a Garmin 310xt. Im going to be doing it indoors on the trainer. I have read the book on proper pacing. Is there anything else you guys want to tell me before I go crank this out? Im mainly worried about the Garmin not recording something vital or something like that.
Again, I know this has been covered, but as I havent had power before, I just kind of skipped over those topics. Thanks for the help.
Greg
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For me the big thing is not having my watts update on the CPU every second. I prefer every 3 seconds, some prefer every 5 seconds. I use the Saris yellow CPU to go with my Powertap so I don't know how Garmin calibrates the readouts. Otherwise your watts can look like they're jumping all over the place and it can really be annoying when you're trying to find a steady rhythm during your test. Other than that just give yourself a good warm-up and don't go out too hard the first few minutes. I find a little caffeine before the test really helps too.
I'm sure you'll crush it. Looking forward to reading the results. Good luck!!!
-Chris
Thanks! Dont get too excited though. I suck most at the bike. My CDA time was a little over seven hours. But, got to start somewhere.
Get it done, input the numbers so you have some zones for training, and move forward as you get stronger and faster.
That works for me anyway.
So, it should basically feel like sitting through Pluto Nash with Eddy Murphy?
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/adventures_of_pluto_nash/
Greg,
If you know you max HR and you are decently rested then you can use this as guidance for pusing the first test and not blow up. I had not done any rides when I received my PT and used HR to get a okay first test. If you've been training with HR I'd try to use that and PE to dial in the test and the watt be what they may.
The one mistake I made was thinking that my HR should be higher in the last 5' of the first interval so I dropped a gear and increased 20-30 watts or so for 3 minutes. This came back to get me in on the second interval as I just could not keep pushing the watts. I believe I went 188 and 174. My max HR is around 189 and I hit 185 for the test. For reference I was in the low high 160's when I dropped the hammer in the first interval and quickly hit the mid 170's.
Gordon
Wow. That totally sucked. Anyhow, here is the information from WKO after I created a range for the entire 42 minutes. Did the test unrested, after dinner, on the indoor trainer.
Duration: 42:00:00
Work: 400kj
TSS: 50.5 (.854)
Norm Power: 161
VI: 1.02
PwHR: 8.36%
PaHR: 4.22%
Distance 15.825mi
PowerMax: 200
HRmin: 113
HRmax: 171
SPEEDmax: 24.5
SPEEDavg: 22.6
PACEavg: 2:39.
Does this make sense? Before you say, Gee Ironman, your PNorm should be higher, remember I truly stink at the bike. And Ive only had a chance to ride about 15 times since Summer 09. I can accept 161 and move onward.
Bring on the suggestions? Im really loving the power feedback. If these are legit measurements today, I have totally been underachieving during bike training prior to this. It will be nice to have such good feedback.
Greg
PS: Can someone tell me how to copy that data and paste it into here? Or do I have to type it each time? Thanks!
Way to go, Greg! You now have a test under your belt and numbers for your training zones. You will only continue to improve at doing the tests and get stronger on the bike. Don't worry about your FTP number in relation to anyone else's. It's a useless comparison. Just work the plan and hit your target numbers and the progress will come!
-Chris
Did you see the last Transformers sequel? It was kind of like the last 42 minutes of that movie. Squared.
Thanks for the feedback!
GV
Concerning how to cut and paste from WKO+ :
Just open up the specific training event in WKO+, and then scroll down to training summary. Then find the portion that you want to cut, highlight that portion by dragging your cursor with the right mouse button depressed, press control c, head over to the EN forum reply you are creating, place the cursor where you want to insert your numbers, press control v, and it should be there.
as someone fairly new to power himself, 12 weeks, I would say just listen to what these folks have to say. My initial test sucked too but you will get better. You cannot compare yourself to other people. We have some animals here in the house pushing 300+ watts and that is just not for everyone. That being said I hope to be there next season.
That being said, you have your number and maybe are not happy with it. Use that as a guide for your workouts. If you are like me maybe the first teat didn't go so well. Well you will find out fairly soon when you start doing some long intervals in the 12-15' range. You may find that you are now pushing 105-110% of what you tested at. Keep doing that and wait till your second test. You will have a better idea of how to test and will have improved fitness. I jumped 10% from my first test.
Congrats on the first test. Welcome to the world of power.
And I take it you really like movies/TV?
Greg,
Great job getting it done. Regardless of the number, you've now got it to train from. Do you workouts based on that number. You'll be testing again soon enough. It's all new and getting used to training with power is half the battle. I, like you got my PM last year at about the same time. I was several weeks into the OS, did the first test, and went from there. Almost a year later, I'm still learning and still hating the tests.
Dave
Having numbers to work with you will push yourself harder than you ever thought possible and you will get stronger so the number will go up. Also [and its a bigger factor] you will learn to do the test better and your number will go up.
As has been said many times but is still hard to accept comparing numbers with others is not a very useful exercise. What is important is that the number keeps going up as you work harder and you teach yourself to use the numbers to your advantage on race day. Comparing finish times with those around you is a much better way to compare numbers
Welcome to the power club...it can be a painful place on occasion
"Go harder than you think is possible and then hold on for dear life. Feeling like you might actually die and being convinced that there is no way you are going to manage holding it together are signs that you are going it right. When you get done with the first 20 you should feel like there is no way that you can do another 3 let alone 20. The 2 minutes will help and then go back at it. Don't quit no matter how bad you want to or how convinced you are that you have blown it and it is not worth continuing. It is. You need the data for a starting point. You may bugger it but so what. Go hard and keep going. It can be an enlightening experience. I look forward to reading about it :-)"