Cycling program v4.0 2011-2012 (Page 9)

You re-test every month and adljust accordingly.  I followed HR plan last year,  my HR never really changed much  test to test but performance at the given HR seemed to improve. 

HR 30min test done!

There is a distinct possibility that I died at around the 25min mark and my body hasn't noticed yet!

I had reached week 13 of v3 of the cycling plan before v4 started so I have done the test twice before. Last time I did the test I averaged 20.85mph for the whole session with a HR of 178 for the 30mins. Today - 21.97mph with a HR of 173!

Good gravy my legs are cooked.  My avg. HR went up one beat from 158 at my last test to 159, avg. speed  19.7, cadence 73.

Here's my question.  I ride the trainer with a lot of tension and for these tests I usually push the big ring to make it hurt more.  Should I be doing this test at a higher cadence since I ride at a much higher cadence, or does it matter?  On the rode I usually ride at 90-95rpms.

73 seems too low if you ave 90-95 on the road.   Just tighten it to were there is zero slippage.    You can always do some bigger gear work on your hard intervals.

There are 2 numbers the spreadsheet needs: the "short" interval (interval 1), and the "long interval" (interval 2).

Jorge's test last year was 3 min. for interval 1, this year it's 5 min. (whimper).

The long interval (interval 2) is 20 min., but it looks like the spreadsheet will allow for a 12-20 min. range.

Just input the average power for entire 5 min test in one field, and the average power for the entire 20 min test in another field, and you'll get your CP.

be careful and follow your MD/PT advice in order to get your knee back to normal. even if you need to start the program later on, is better to let the leg heal 100% 1st and then get back at it. Good luck!

yes. once you have your avg HR you can use it to define your training zones and follow the workouts. Since your LTHR won't change much over the course of the plan I suggested a way to track improvements is by setting up your trainer in the very same way every time you test. That includes, the same resistance, tire pressure, cooling/ventilation, etc. that way, you'll see even when your LTHR remain fairly the same what improves is: 1) your speed at the same effort level and 2) your ability to go longer!

while newer trainer models are of better quality allowing for a better ride indoors resembling an outdoors effort, still, there is difference between one and the other. I find it more challenging to sustain power indoors and usually I am a bit lower. in terms of my cadence, I tend to decrease it a bit in order to maintain power, while outdoors I tend to increase it while decreasing torque. I do this naturally without thinking much about it.

That said, I would advice you to choose the cadence that 'feels' easier at a given power whether it is higher or lower. Still, be careful with forcing a lower cadence via a greater torque. On the trainer we tend to place more strain on our knees since we are not balancing ourselves on the the bike and since the trainer is static, it doesn't allows for a natural movement for the legs. So be careful and adjust accordingly!

I did the 20 min test this morning and basically broke it out like this

1st 10min: at a pace I thought was agressive, but still something I believed I could hold for the duration

Next 5 minutes: Up the pace if I could

Last 5 minutes: Hold on, or up it again if I could.

Basically my 20 minute test looks like a ramp, increasing power the entire time. At the end I was certainly done and don't think I could have given more.

I was reviewing my logs on Trainerroad this morning and I noticed someone else did the test this morning and nearly held the exact same power the entire 20 minutes. Their graph looks like a square wave...

Is there a preferred way to ride this? I chose to ride this slightly less aggressively at the beginning so that I knew I would have enough for the duration, and continued to increase when I thought I could spare the extra wattage. Or would it be better to shoot for something I think I may not be able to hold and if necessary let the power fall if I can't indeed hold it for the full 20 min?

I have a similar question to that posted before.  Does my graph below show that I should have been going harder throughout??

It was 97% of your average for the whole of the 30mins in v3, so I assume it's the same now.