Increase your Cycling Power over the winter = Faster times on 2009 (Page 27)

DB - 2009-01-28 12:06 PM Well my re-test was a mixed bag. I saw no improvement but I'm battling a cold and felt exhausted before I even started the work out. My mph avg was basicallyunchanged (18.7 to 18.8) but my avg HR went from 172 to 178. The fact that I was able to maintain the same speed as last time while sick and exhausted could be viewed as a positive, I guess, but it really would have been nice to see some improvement. I'll have to re-test once I'm feeling better.

Gaarryy - 2009-01-27 7:21 PM

well I either improved or just tested poorly the last time..

I don't think I paced myself well since my last ten min was an avg of 227 and my total avg for the twenty was 203/4?.  what's nice is that is a big jump from before which was 182 avg and my 5 min power test from before was 227ish so I basically avg more than that for ten minutes today.. 

Rencor - 2009-01-28 6:01 AM

My 20 min test a couple weeks ago was a bad day for me (average 203)..so I've been using my old test for my training sessions(average 210).  

My test yesterday was average 225 so it's still about a 7% increase! I maintained that power rate pretty much the whole way with a slight lower in the first 5 and a slight higher in the last 5.  I'm pretty happy with my effort! 

Now if I can nail my 5 min test...

Micawber - 2009-01-28 12:03 PM I did the 20 minute test this morning. Last time I averaged 291 watts and this test averaged 296 at the end, but it was a much steadier power output since I had some idea where to start out. It was holding at 299-300 for the first 10 minutes, slipped to 298 and then at about 15' to 297. The cadence was getting shaky at the end and the average came down to 296. HR just barely poked up to 180 in the final minutes again. No push at the end this time though, just hanging on and trying to keep the pedals turning. Not a big increase but, as I mentioned before, I was well rested for the first test and that may have skewed it higher. Thanks Jorge (I think).

Gregkl - 2009-01-29 11:09 AM

Did my test today. 

WU: 146/165
Test: 30 mins. 161/165,MPH; 15.8
CD:131/164
Ave. Cad:97

Not sure what happened here.  I hurt as much or more than the last test, my quads were burning starting at mile 1, and I could only average 161bpm for the test. The last time I tested, I averaged 171bpm.  I was about 1 mph faster today, I kept everything the same as the last test...except for one thing...I put a new tire on the back and cranked the knob the same amount of turns that I had on my old tire. Could I be producing more power and not know it since I don't have a power meter?  Or have I gone backwards in the last 5 weeks or so?  I have started running a lot more lately prepping for a spring mary.  Could that have done it?

GoFaster - 2009-01-29 8:50 PM Request for Jorge - could you please post week 12 a little earlier this weekend?  I won't be around to get it late on Sunday, and plan to ride Q1 Monday morning.  Just asking.

GoFaster - 2009-01-31 2:41 PM

5min test completed this morning, 338 watt average, which is up just under 5% from last time.  I had thought the 5min test improvement would be better than the 20min since we've been focused on shorter intervals lately.  Either way, I'm pleased with the results.

New FTP/CP60 (still get confused about the difference in terms) is now at 276 watts vs 261 watts, and W/kg has gone from 3.7 to 3.9.  Now to get it above 4!!

KOM - 2009-01-29 9:38 PM

Hi Jorge,  did the 20 min TT in class tonight. Haven't figured the numbers but probably close to a 10% improvement.  Plan to do the 5 min next Thursday and put in this week's Q3 on Monday since my class only meets twice a week.  That way we will just be off 1 week from your posts.  Several folks saw improvements.  A lot of it is learning how to time trial. It is hard to push to the max but not go over the edge.  I think it is a great experience for all of us.  Many of the women in my class have NEVER pushed themselves athletically so just seeing them sweat is something.  As the word spreads I am picking up a few more tri guys as well.  Thanks so much for your efforts.  I am learning alot from your posts and everyone's comments and questions.

Have a great weekend.

mgilliland - 2009-02-02 11:43 PM

Greetings,

It had been a bit since I have posted. I am still hitting the sessions, but after that December head and chest cold thing I am a bit behind. Once I got over being sick I just continued where I left off and still going strong. I am not to the point of the latest re-test but I have noticed changes from the training.

When I started I was happy to spin 65 to 70 rpms. Over the course of the training my cadence and pace consistency has greatly improved. My cadence was quite erratic before, but now when I view the graphs after each workout my cadence is steady in each of the phases of the workout. Besides better consistency and my rpms have increased into the 90 range. Much easier to keep that rpm range and consistent through each phase of the workout.

Also, my average speed has increased. When I started this program my average speed was 16.25 mph. As of today my average speed is in the 18.45 to 18.79 mph.

I look forward to catching up and getting the second test in to get a better idea of improvement. But for now the small improvement in the items I have mentioned above are wonderful. Just small improvements, but nice to see. 

Thanks so much for all of this Jorge! 

Michael

JorgeM - 2009-01-29 10:26 PM awesome job! how did the 5 min go?

BTW...this mornings week 12 Q1 was *cough* fun with the new numbers!!

TheSchwamm - 2009-02-04 1:26 PM i have been quite the slacker lately.

TheSchwamm - 2009-02-04 2:26 PM i have been quite the slacker lately.

GoFaster - 2009-02-06 8:29 AM

Not sure what happened to me this week, but I've now fallen into this trap.  I'd been so consistent up until now.  I did the Q1 session this week, and tried to do Q2 but popped my inner tube 15 minutes into the session.  Since then, I've just not been able to motivate myself to get going.  The weekend is already a write off since I'll be visiting the inlaws....blah blah blah. 

Just needed to get that out of my system.

JorgeM - 2009-02-06 8:45 AM