First ride(Race!) with Power

[dmotoguy]

I'm addicted.. ive been looking at the graphs for over an hour so far..

I didnt do too well in the race, it was hard for a 4/5.. here are the quick stats.. once i figure out how to post more I will.. lap after lap of 1100-1200+ sprints to stay with the pack.. ouch. My legs arent in bad shape.. but my aerobic capabilities could get some work..

The averages are off, I didnt know how to do seperate intervals.. or rides.. for warmup and standing around..

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1382 166
Heart Rate: 98 200 159
Cadence: 29 141 100
Speed: 2.2 32.5 18.5

[Snicklefritz]

a power meter + cyclingpeaks is definitely addictive. I don't think I slept much the first week after I bought those.

[Lithuania]

1382 max power is pretty awesome

[Snuffleupagus]

1382 max power is pretty awesome

Seriously, that's a big sprint number unless you're well over 200lbs.

I'm 185ish, and haven't cracked 1300 since my knee surgery. Even then, I didn't ever do more than ~1360.

Also...I think the powertap defaults at 141 for a high cadence. All of my races and hard training rides have 141 for a max cadence, and I've seen a lot of race reports guys have posted here - and almost to a man (or woman) they have the same high.

[Lithuania]

my high cadence goes a lot higher then that

[bdcheung]

OP: how long were you able to sustain the 1382?

[zimbo]

I'm assuming you have a copy of CyclingPeaks. If so, from the graph view you can use your mouse to select just the race portion of the ride. This will create a "Selection" in the Ranges portion of the screen. You can right-click on the word "Selection" and rename it to something like "ACTUAL RACE."

That way, you can post the averages on this forum for just the race and we won't laugh at you for only averaging 18.5 mph and 166 watts for a crit.

But seriously, I hope that helps.

--Steve

[Squint]

Are you using a PowerTap?

[dmotoguy]

yea, powertap sl..
I'm trying to just select the race right now..
I weigh 170lbs.

[markman]

Glad to see you are enjoying your powertap:)

Looks like you have a very strong sprint. 1300+ watts from 170 lbs, thats pretty solid!

Like you I am a recent "convert" to training with power. I got my SL just over a month ago. I've been riding seriously for 4 years and I think I've learned more about my fitness and abilities in the last month than in the previous 4 years.

Spend some time just doing your normal rides and get used to using the software. Also, if you don't have the book "Training and Racing With A Power Meter" by Allen and Coggen, get it! It is a great resource. Once you are used to it test yourself using the method in "the book" and establish a baseline. I just did my 1st official test this morning and my FTP is a little better than I thought. I've got a ways to go to match up to some of the others here but as long as I improve I'm happy.

Enjoy the new powertap and keep us informed of your progress.

[dmotoguy]

OP: how long were you able to sustain the 1382?
Just a second or so.. and I just looked and it was during my warmup.. :(

Here is the graph for the race.. notice I only made it 15minutes of the 25 plus 5laps.. The pace was too high, and once again I let myself fade to the back of the pack and couldnt do the yo-yo thing. I have another crit on sunday with a similar course, flat w/ no sharp corners, so I'll see if I can improve.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/dylancivic/Race_watts.jpg

[jrennie]

It may have been a false reading. When I had a powertap it would read a 1700w sprint every now and again but alas my max is around 1300. Why did you have to sprint so hard to stay on with the group? When did you loose ground, accelerations, corners? Looking at how much you power dropped off in 14 minutes it looks like you were wasting to much energy sprinting back on. You are doing a full sprint once or twice a minute :eek:

[dmotoguy]

It was a fast pace.. but there were a few corners where people would get scared and get on the brakes hard and I was continually getting behind riders that were falling off the back so I had to bridge up to the main pack.. it was just me ridding horribly.. I should have tried harder to keep near the front.

[Squint]

The reason I asked is because whenever you see huge sprint numbers, it's from a PT. They have a well-known aliasing effect so that short duration measurements aren't really trustworthy (they can read up to a few hundred watts high).

[Snicklefritz]

The reason I asked is because whenever you see huge sprint numbers, it's from a PT. They have a well-known aliasing effect so that short duration measurements aren't really trustworthy (they can read up to a few hundred watts high).


If that's the case, then I'm really in trouble. :(