Increasing power threshold over the winter (Page 3)

Just to show how ignorant of power I am.  What does FTP stand for?  I understand it's purpose, but the acronym (sp) is killing me.

Thanks.

Functional Threshold Power.... 

Haven't you ordered that book yet?

Functional Threshold Power.  Sort of the equivalent of LT.

Try this until Santa comes:  http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/

I have a Power Meter. I've mostly used it for interval levels. Such as 5x2 min 180 watts or something. My FTP is currently 196. (Or was a couple weeks ago) I want to try to train smarter now. (I got the train with power book but haven't read it yet)

I do have a lot of questions. 1 question is...Is it normal for your watts to rise as your going in the same gear over a long period of time? Last night I started at 110 and 40 minutes later is was close to 140 and I didn't switch gears. Should I have "downshifted" if I wanted to maintain 110?

Power has nothing to do with gearing.  If you wanted to maintain 110, you should have eased up.  If you wanted to maintain 110 AND keep the same cadence, then you should have changed gears.  On fluid traininers, the resistance tends to increase after about 5 minutes or so as the fluid warms-up.

I would try to do much longer intervals most of the time.  The 90% of FT is a good level, but look to do at least 10' stretches.  20' is probably better.  If you do shorter intervals, they should generally be harder.

Kathy – I’ll let you new soon about my FT drop! I haven’t touched my bike over 30 days and counting. I’ll test in a few weeks. % of improvement will come depending on how much you are working/riding. For triatheltes we have to equate swim and run as well so it get a bit tougher but with the right periodization you could expect 8-12% over 8-12 weeks. In your case you could work on the hard part now by riding at least 2x a week (hard sessions of course) and later on as the weather cooperate you can do your IM specific training. Finally I use avg watts for FT if I test on the trainer and prob NP on the road as we tend to coast more due to hills, traffic etc. I would have to consider how hard I rode and terrain.  

Dan – you don’t need to train with power (You are to fast already )

Rencor – what JK said in particular about intervals

Here's my rough plan over the next few months--at least until weather makes consistent outdoor riding more practical.  Feel free to critique or suggest some alternatives.

3 sessions per week. 

One weekday trainer session includes 30'-45' ~FT (say 98-102%), e.g. 2 x 20', 3 x 15', 4 x 10', etc.  Rest intervals of ~2'-5'.  Total time 60'-90'.

Second weekday trainer session of 60'-75'.  Interval durations similar to above, but ~88-92% of FT.  30'-40' steady run off the bike.

One weekend ride.  Up to 180' if outside.  No more than 120' if indoors.  Long intervals (20'-40') at ~80-85%.  Throw in a 10-20' FT interval.  Finish ride at 75-80%.

Every 4-6 weeks, probably replace the FT session with 6 x 4' to guage VO2max cpability relative to FT.

Goal is to 1)get back to ~310 from wherever I'm at after my lay-off and 2) raise towards 325.  All while making sure I'm getting quality run volume done since goal #1 for 2008 is to improve my run--winter/spring goals of sub-40 10k and sub-1:30 half marry.  Willing to sacrifice/stagnate on the swim for next year if need be.

I bought a set of tubular Zipp 404's with powertap off ebay for race wheels this summer. They were a pretty good deal as no one bids on them typically. 

I wouldn't want to use my Zipps on a trainer or for my everyday wheels to be able to get power numbers.

I have the typical mavic wheel that comes as an option directly from Sarris as my training bomb proof wheel. I bought mine from Performance Bike with 20% coupon and 10% rebate as a performance member brings $1000 price down to $720.

My power took a huge hit last July when I took a huge hit by a Honda Civic while riding.  I'm finally back to just about where I was when I first got my PT a year ago: 239w FTP though my weight is down to ~150.   I can't say that I have a target wattage for my A race in May.  I just want to see what sort of improvements I can get by focusing on FTP this winter while dropping another 5 lbs. 

I'm just trying to maintain a steady diet of 2x20m SST intervals 3-4 times a week and then whatever long ride I can put together on the weekend.  I'm not particularly creative with my workouts and this sorta helps me schedule my day since I can wake up at the same time each morning, ride inside & finish up in time to go to work.  Any thoughts on whether it's problematic to do essentially the same workout over and over?  It doesn't particularly bore me partly b/c I can be done in a little over an hour and still get in some quality work, but I sometimes wonder if I should mix it up more.  

And as I wrote this I remembered a goal (of sorts) that I thought about.  I do all my indoor riding on rollers. My goal is to increase my FTP enough so that I run out of gearing for SST intervals on the rollers.  My high end is a 50x12 on 3" drums, and that should take me over 240-250 watts, I think.  My experience shows a  lower wattage at a given speed than kreitler publishes, I guess due to weight, tires, phase of the moon, etc.

Santa brought me: Training and Racing with a Power Meter!

Now when I get the Power Meter paid off, I will have the knowledge...

Most recent ride in HR zone 2-3 would not be an accurate ride or gauge of your FTP.

Read the book about how to test but is an all out effort that hurts. 

My testing is super tough and I do it after a rest week...as my kids call it is it s 5 dog panting type workout not a zone 2-3.  

I've probably read the book 10x and still have lots to absorb. But it is a great resource. I do wish there was more tri oriented material as we don't really train like road racers. 

ME.  Just as soon as I find my HR strap so I can do some testing.

Does anyone know where I put it?