Watts and Training
Please tell me my stationary bike watts meter isn't working right! I have been training VERY, VERY hard for my first races (20 mile and 50 mile) and have been looking on the web for the best measurements to use to check training progress. I found a lot about watts but am very concerned because the watts levels that they are showing are well above what I am producing on my bike.
I'm 45, 145 pounds. I've been building my training up for 7 months riding, running (infrequently due to a bad knee) and lifting weights (focusing on upper body). The past few months I've been stuck trainig inside due to the snow. I have my stationary bike set to its highest level (16) on crosstraining. So, there are extended times at the highest level, intervals between mid-level and highest level, as well as other variations but none going below the mid-level. Over 30 minutes I am averaging 10 miles and only 130 watts which is low even for a casual rider from what I've read! My average heart rate is 140-145 which, according to what I saw on Wikipedia, is on the lower end of hardcore training.
So, am I doing something wrong or does it seem like my watts reading is just off?