Bike Test # 4
Its been quite some time since I have tested my threshold on the bike. Actually the last time was 3/10/12 which was prior to getting sick and during a period of solid training. With less than two months of training left before Miamiman it is very important that I'm as efficient as possible while training which made testing on the bike pertinent.
Standard procedure for the threshold test; a solid 40min warm up then an all-out effort for 20 minutes. There were mixed emotions heading into this test. I was excited to test so that I could get my threshold number and get on with my training. With only 6 weeks of training after 2 months off I was apprehensive. How would I stack up to my former self? Would I be any where close to those numbers?
I went back and forth about going back into my blog and training logs to dig up the stats on my last test. I decided not to in order to avoid any undo stress. This was a new me, a healthy me, a new test, a new starting point.
After a solid warm up I took a quick minute to refocus. I set the music, turned up the volume, reset my Garmin, took my last sip of water and hit start. The initial 3 minutes felt amazing, I was cranking out a surprising number of watts, 275+, with minimal effort. WOW, I'm going to crush this test. At the 5 minute mark I came to the quick realization that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to hold that effort for the next 15 minutes so I dialed it back. As the clock progressed from 5 to 10 minutes the watts slowly, steadily, painstakingly dropped despite a sustained effort. At the ten minute mark I remembered how these tests work, the first ten minutes are all good, mostly do to adrenaline, and the last 10 minutes are an absolute sufferfest. I did my best to maintain the wattage but it continued to drop. As it dropped I began to feel slightly frustrated and lost a bit of hope. I then got pissed about thinking that way, settled back in, did my best to dial in my form and to manage my effort appropriately. The 20 minute mark came and I had gone as hard as I could have. I immediately reached for my Garmin to see what I averaged.
Test #3 Test #4
3/10/12 9/15/12
AVG WATTS: 222 AVG WATTS: 230
AVG CADENCE: 96 AVG CADENCE: 95
Despite making progress I'm not pleased with how I tested. I certainly should have managed my effort entirely better. Although this might have not made a tremendous difference it would probably have given me a peace of mind (and maybe a couple more watts).
I need to realize and appreciate the progress I have made in this short window of time after feeling like absolute dog $hit for 2 months. I was able to bounce back in 6 weeks and produce my best results on the bike to date.
The wattage is still rookie status but I vow to make huge strides in this area.
Standard procedure for the threshold test; a solid 40min warm up then an all-out effort for 20 minutes. There were mixed emotions heading into this test. I was excited to test so that I could get my threshold number and get on with my training. With only 6 weeks of training after 2 months off I was apprehensive. How would I stack up to my former self? Would I be any where close to those numbers?
I went back and forth about going back into my blog and training logs to dig up the stats on my last test. I decided not to in order to avoid any undo stress. This was a new me, a healthy me, a new test, a new starting point.
After a solid warm up I took a quick minute to refocus. I set the music, turned up the volume, reset my Garmin, took my last sip of water and hit start. The initial 3 minutes felt amazing, I was cranking out a surprising number of watts, 275+, with minimal effort. WOW, I'm going to crush this test. At the 5 minute mark I came to the quick realization that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to hold that effort for the next 15 minutes so I dialed it back. As the clock progressed from 5 to 10 minutes the watts slowly, steadily, painstakingly dropped despite a sustained effort. At the ten minute mark I remembered how these tests work, the first ten minutes are all good, mostly do to adrenaline, and the last 10 minutes are an absolute sufferfest. I did my best to maintain the wattage but it continued to drop. As it dropped I began to feel slightly frustrated and lost a bit of hope. I then got pissed about thinking that way, settled back in, did my best to dial in my form and to manage my effort appropriately. The 20 minute mark came and I had gone as hard as I could have. I immediately reached for my Garmin to see what I averaged.
Test #3 Test #4
3/10/12 9/15/12
AVG WATTS: 222 AVG WATTS: 230
AVG CADENCE: 96 AVG CADENCE: 95
Despite making progress I'm not pleased with how I tested. I certainly should have managed my effort entirely better. Although this might have not made a tremendous difference it would probably have given me a peace of mind (and maybe a couple more watts).
I need to realize and appreciate the progress I have made in this short window of time after feeling like absolute dog $hit for 2 months. I was able to bounce back in 6 weeks and produce my best results on the bike to date.
The wattage is still rookie status but I vow to make huge strides in this area.
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