Lots Of Watts
I just got done with a workout on the old Kurt Kinetic trainer in the basement that I was planning on doing all of this last week. It looked like the weather was going to be cold/snowy today so I decided I’d test my fitness by doing a hard 60 minute interval to see if I could set a new power benchmark. My goal was to do better than 279 watts average for the entire hour. I warmed up for 20 minutes and then turned on some techno/trance music (it does a good job of keeping me focused) and started pounding out the watts. Here’s the results:
Powertap file from February 14, 2010
What This Means
The final number was 282 watts which is 3 better than I was hoping to do. Basically, this number will become my “New” FTP (functional threshold power) number that will serve as the basis of future workouts. My average heart rate was right where I expected it to be. The 155 is right at my anaerobic threshold that was verified with testing I had done back in October. I’m very happy with the result because it shows that I am fairly fit and making progress over the Winter. I should have a good base in place coming into the Spring/Summer to build from. I’m just also happy that I’ve been able to maintain or even raise my fitness as I get older (so far). The last time I officially tested my FTP was back in January of 2009 so it had been a long time. This was also the first time in a couple of years that I did the test by doing an actual 60 minutes instead of extrapolating a number from a hard 20 minute effort. Sixty minutes pedaling pretty much all out on a trainer in the basement isn’t exactly the most exciting thing but I was motivated to do well (and fairly rested) which is key to a good performance.
As for my training coming up, I’m going to focus on building the aerobic base by doing 30-60 minute rides in the area of 250-260 watts while balancing those out with longer rides on the weekends at lower effort to help with recovery. As warmer weather comes (hopefully) I’ll start riding longer on the weekends to get my body used to peddling longer distances. I might do a century at the end of March to see where I’m at.
How Is Everyone Else Doing
I’m wondering how all of you are doing in your training. Leave a comment with a summary of how things are going, no matter if you are just starting out or have been working out for years. You don’t have to be a cyclist either: runners, walkers, weight lifters, and anyone else who is trying to get into/stay in shape are all invited to share their experiences.
