First Power Test Results: 09/12/08

Did my first accurate power testing today. Thanks to Ben Buxton, I changed the way I viewed the data while on the bike, which allowed for better tracking of output and effort.

The first test was a ramp to determine Critical Power. Start at 100 watts and increase wattage by 10 every minute. Track power versus HR until you can no longer increase wattage. I topped out at 340 watts for about 50 seconds. Effectively, my critical power is around 338 watts, but I rounded it up to 340.

The second test, after about 15 minutes of easy pedaling, is to hold your Critical Power for as long as possible. The normal range for this is anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. I was able to hold 340 watts for 2:30. This is one painful test. The legs are on fire, the chest is thumping and towards the end you're fighting to keep your output up. It starts to dip and you fight to bring it back up, then it dips again and you claw your way back up, and then it dips again and you finally relent.

So, now I have a baseline from which to work. I really don't know what the numbers actually mean just yet. Sure, I understand power and HR and power:weight ratios and all that. But, I don't know what my numbers actually mean in terms of actual performance. This will come with time.

While I do not have the time or the interest to post all my training, I'll do my best to keep an updated progress report of how the training is coming along. I've got some pretty aggressive goals with regards to improving my Critical Power performances. Not sure how realistic or unrealistic those goals are just yet. But, I should start getting a clue when I re-test in another 4-5 weeks.

Looking forward to doing some climbing tomorrow. Thank goodness the clouds have finally broken and the sun is now out. Dry roads will be nice.

Ride safe,
Nate

Summer's End RR: 09/06/08

Not sure what was going on "behind the scenes", but this road race was pretty much sprung on us just a short couple of weeks ago. Given I was completing a complete month off the bike - and not doing any exercise at all - getting 2 weeks in the saddle before this challenging race was not going to foster a good experience. But, it had to be done. This was tagged as a BAR/BAT race and, so, we had to try to defend our BAT lead against a highly motivated Spine & Sport team which would be fielding 10-11 riders.

Unfortunately, the turnout from our team was less than stellar. Five of us were scheduled to race, but 2 pulled up sick the day of the race. Given your top 3 riders are eligible for BAT points, we had no room for error. Deer Trail is in the middle of nowhere, but the wind and steep rollers make for a challenging course. I knew my fitness was completely lacking, so I went in expecting little and hoping for the best.

Given the small field sizes, the P/1/2 category was lumped in with us. To say that those guys got really frustrated with Spine & Sports blocking at the front of the peloton as a couple of their guys mosied up the the road is an understatement. When the blockers turned a deaf ear to Jon Tarkington's "let me through" requests, he took the matter into his own hands by grabbing the rear pocket of one rider and yanking him back. I don't blame him. It was the shot in the arm the race needed. From that point forward, the rest of the race was one big paceline, which then splintered into various smaller groups and pacelines as cyclists hit their redlines and fell off the back of the leading group.

The end for me came about 1/3 of the way through the race. The lack of fitness caught up with me on one particularly steep and long roller and I lost contact with the front group with 2 other guys. The three of us worked well together and were eventually caught by a larger group of around 8. We essentially stayed together until the final miles. When the final attacks occured with about a mile to go, I had absolutely nothing in my legs or in the tank. I couldn't even try to respond. So, I just sat up and rolled to the finish line. The next group was over 3 minutes behind me, so I knew there was no threat of being caught. 12th place on the day. I'll consider that a (small) victory.

Andrew Bag-o-nuts did great. He held on for 9th. Remember that thing about BAT scoring your top 3 guys? Well, Jeremy Miller ended up flatting out of the race. Given we only scored 2 guys, Spine & Sport was able to overtake us for the BAT title by a slim 9 points. Hats off to them for a strong season-end performance.

A week later, as I now reflect back on my own season, I view it as utterly and completely sub-par. There is only one time that I felt I "had it" - the Longmont Crit. The legs were fantastic that day and, were it not for the bee sting halfway through the race, the result would have been more favorable. A slew of top 5 performances means very little to me. When the hammer got dropped by the top climbers, instead of being able to go with them, I had to fall back. I tried some new stuff in my training plan - always trying to tweak and bend and find ways to do things better. Unfortunately, this also opens me up to the risk that I'll try something which fails miserably. That was the case in 2008.

So, now on to 2009. To say that it will be a better season of racing is an understatement.

Ride safe,
Nate