"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - My FTP isn't 234 watts

It's 235 watts. Or something like that. Did a test and everything. Killed myself. My heart rate chart looked like the snake that ate the elephant. Or a hat. Right down to the slight taper towards the end of the hump.

http://www.peakoil.net/images/PetitPrince.jpg

And I did a massive 235 watts for 20 minutes. 226 watts for 30 minutes (that taper, remember?). 161 bpm for the entire period. Killer. Since I sat up after 30 minutes my 60 minute number looks a bit normal for me - 182 watts.

Ah well. I'm a Cat 3. What can I say.

cdr

how much do you weigh?

Yeah, but what's your 5s number? My FTP might be ~100 watts higher, but I gauran-damn-tee your 5s number is more than 100 watts higher than my earth shaking :( 1200 watts...plus you can position yourself in the right places to make up for the lack of threshold, race smart, and pull out results.

That's what matters, not e-wang FTP measurement.

By the way, your 20-minute e-wang isn't the same as your FTP e-wang.

By the way, your 20-minute e-wang isn't the same as your FTP e-wang.

he's right you know. take your 20 min number and multiply it by .92-.95. Your FTP should be in that range

i too would like to know your max, 5 and 10 second peak

I averaged 290 watts for 18.5 mins, I think that extrapolates into an FTP of 260-270 or so. In any event, as I have stated before, in my case FTP stands for Friggin Terrible Power. Now for Dr. W. it might stand for F The Peloton.

he's right you know. take your 20 min number and multiply it by .92-.95. Your FTP should be in that range

i too would like to know your max, 5 and 10 second peak

I'd go so far as to hazard a guess that the range goes from as far as .9 to .97 depending upon the type of athlete one is. A trackie might be able to make a demonic 20 minute number due to a huge AWC and VO2 capacity - but die shortly thereafter. Whereas a strong triathlete might not fade much at all from 20 to 60 minutes.

If you can win races with formulas and spreadsheets I would be Cat 0. It isn't like that.

If you can win races with formulas and spreadsheets I would be Cat 0. It isn't like that.

FTP is a big deal my little mollusk.

FTP is a big deal my little mollusk.

In a TT.

Not so much in a bunch sprint.

I averaged 290 watts for 18.5 mins, I think that extrapolates into an FTP of 260-270 or so. In any event, as I have stated before, in my case FTP stands for Friggin Terrible Power. Now for Dr. W. it might stand for F The Peloton.

Lmfao.

PCAD for bf comedian of the year.

FTP= F The Peloton.

Classic.

Edit: CDR. You could train a lot harder to get that up. Or you could just keep doing what you're doing and keep winning in the sprints where you set yourself up :)

I wish I had one jump right now, let alone 3 when trained.

It made me LOL all over my shirt.

My FTP number isn't too bad until you put in that pesky little /kg bit.

In Jacksonville TT's, I doubt it matters that much...

he's right you know. take your 20 min number and multiply it by .92-.95. Your FTP should be in that range

i too would like to know your max, 5 and 10 second peak

I go to dinner and come back to find this? So my FTP is more like 215-225? This is worse than I thought.

5s is something in the 1400w range (like 1420-1430). Max was low 1500w last year (1530w), this year I haven't gotten past 1450w, but I haven't actually done a real sprint either, not one I thought "man, that was good" afterwards. 10s I don't have a recollection and my laptop with my power stuff is packed away (see note at bottom). I know I've done about 800w for 30 seconds though, so it's between 800w and 1400w.

Note: I looked it up. Seems like 1250w is pretty consistent for 10 seconds.

I weigh 175 lbs, give or take. Maybe a couple pounds lighter but for any calculations 175 is good. 5'7" so I'm no redwood. I'm dense, as I told a nurse during a physical.


I averaged 290 watts for 18.5 mins, I think that extrapolates into an FTP of 260-270 or so.

I actually thought of you while I was doing my test, look down, see 250 or so, thinking "c'mon, pcad goes harder than this."

Now off to Vegas to undo whatever training I can undo in 5 days,
cdr

Now off to Vegas to undo whatever training I can undo in 5 days,
cdr

Have fun partying it up in Vegas. I'll be partying in my cave with the dozen or so papers I have to write.

WOOO CAFFEINE HIGH!!!

Have fun partying it up in Vegas. I'll be partying in my cave with the dozen or so papers I have to write.

WOOO CAFFEINE HIGH!!!

You should not be wasting your time with some silly liberal arts degree, they are useless. Unless you plan on going to get a doctorate, medical degree, law school, or become homeless.

The Power Meter is actually the greatest Pcad Cycling Zen Device of all time. Why? Because it is actually like a How Bad I Suckometer on my handlebars, which contributes massively to Self Loathing, which in effect feeds into the complex web of psyche and endorphins that results in Cyclng Zen, which so many of you Road Nazis clearly lack. Chipcom of course has it right: this does mean the facing the Ultimate Inner Black Hole for every Road Nazi: finding your Inner Fred, embracing him, leaving his legs unshaven even as you shave your own.

If you read the diatribe above, you may want to reach for these:

http://www.lractive.com/catalog/images/neoprene_hip_waders.jpg

You should not be wasting your time with some silly liberal arts degree, they are useless. Unless you plan on going to get a doctorate, medical degree, law school, or become homeless.

I'm okay with wasting my time and sticking to my silly Molecular biology and biochemistry + science in society (philosophy of science+ history of science+ social/cultural practices of science) majors.

Yeah, but what's your 5s number? My FTP might be ~100 watts higher, but I gauran-damn-tee your 5s number is more than 100 watts higher than my earth shaking :( 1200 watts...plus you can position yourself in the right places to make up for the lack of threshold, race smart, and pull out results.

That's what matters, not e-wang FTP measurement.

I have zero endurance right now. I believe I could come close to 1,300 5s if I geared right but my FTP probably isn't even 200. I hit 1,102 during a sprint on my Kurt Kinetic Pro and that was not really all out, but very hard.

Yay biologists.

In a TT.

Not so much in a bunch sprint.

+1

I think I have run my first and last race on my powermeter setup training bike (the ancient Trek2100). After reviewing the Dolan race, there was nothing impressive at all about it for averages or even Normalized power. What it did show was i need to work on VO2 max and Sprints. Fortunately for me those workouts are coming up in my training program about now.

When I wasnt coasting (which was 30% of the race distance) I was making efforts at 120-140% (300+) of my FTP (250w) the rest of the time. Then there were the 900+ watt spikes from accelerating of the courses only corner. Nothing ever steady. Hammer and coast, hammer and coast. I got cooked but good in that race from those efforts.

The same thing goes for the team hammerfests. Those are harder than most of the races in this district. It's pretty bad when your confidence level is higher for a local crit than it is for a group ride. But like all things in life, practice practice practice. I get a little farther and faster every week. So its all good right?

I still havent had a proper sprint training workout yet. But I will have after Friday. Thats gonna hurt.

What's your weight?

I'm sitting at 4.1w/kg right now.

what's FTP anyway? I thought they were a florist.

cdr have you been trying to improve your ftp?

What's your weight?

I'm sitting at 4.1w/kg right now.

213

2.73w/kg.

I think that puts me at "barely trained"

Thats a bit of a laugh, cause I know I can at least hang in a 3/4 race. Which only goes to show that wattage aint everything. I had to use some brain power and self restraint, ie I didnt put my nose into the wind, ever.

And my weight is going down, and im 100% sure that my FTP will only go up. I have a long way to go to reach the point of diminishing returns.

Wattage is everything but that w/kg chart dosent mean much......

Unless you plan on doing TTs, uphill TTs, races in them thar hills or wish to be a solo break sort of guy, watts/kg don't mean much.

In a crit, the smartest, luckiest (often tied into the former) guy usually wins if it comes down to a bunch gallop. I'd sell my (as yet unborn...I hope) firstborn for CDRs race smarts.

^
I think the w/kg chart gives some misleading results for big guys, particularly in non climbing races.

To me the only use of the chart is your relative power for different type efforts. So for example if you're way up the chart on 5 sec power, and way down on FTP it gives you some idea of what to work on. (as if you can't figure it out without the chart.) It's my understanding that's the way it is intended to be used.

But using the chart to say I have Cat X power is pretty meaningless.

CDR I was in the same boat as you (5s around 1400 watts but FTP in the mid 200s). Worked really hard this winter and now my FTP is around 310 and my 5s is still around 1400 watts. Still pretty crappy as im at 170lbs but at least I come to the end sprint a lot fresher than last year....

what's FTP anyway? I thought they were a florist.

File Transfer Protocol. You're thinking of FTD (Florists' Transworld Delivery).

File Transfer Protocol. You're thinking of FTD (Florists' Transworld Delivery).

Incorrect.

FTP= F The Peloton

According to Pcad anyway.

I actually thought of you while I was doing my test, look down, see 250 or so, thinking "c'mon, pcad goes harder than this."
Classic!

-bullseye

CDM -- you going to do the bike rental in Vegas? Can't recommend it enough.

And thank you for making me feel better about my power -- I'm about your size, just a bit lighter. Unfortunately, my trip to New York has wrecked havoc with my limited food consumption rule (Panacotta and Tiramisu tonight). If the stationary bikes at the gym are to be believed, I am somewhere around your power output as well.

I decided not to bring shoes, pedals, etc for a 6 day trip to Vegas. Not fair to the missus. I have running shoes and a heart rate belt/watch. That's about it.

I have a hard time mentally preparing for efforts over a minute long, more realistically about 30-40 seconds long. The only way to do it for me is to race or chase trucks or do some long, long climbs.

My 20 min power, when I first got a power meter, was well under 200 watts. I had moved to an area where I could do a road that took 8-9 minutes for the first bit of "hill", then continues for another 20+ minutes of steady climbing. I was psyched when I could do that first bit in under 8 minutes. Now, without trying to kill myself, I've done it in under 7 minutes. I rode it with a non-BF guy and his ride profile is in his post:
http://suitcaseofcourage.typepad.com/the_suitcase_of_courage/2008/04/mountain-road-r.html
Incidentally I went super hard for some reason on that ride and did a 234w 20 min stint with him. I did the same loop and could only do 235w on my own, going as hard as I could.

In another "test", I could climb Palomar Mountain without going insane with fatigue. It's about 1.5 hours to do the 14 or 15 miles (7 mile "climb" plus 7-8 miles climbing to get to the climb - I don't start at the very bottom). A few years ago I was weaving in a 39x25 for most of the climb. This year I wasn't happy but I wasn't weaving and I was disappointed when I got to the top without putting in a "final sprint" effort - I had a lot left when I got there and I'd been slowly increasing gears, trying to figure out when I could make my big effort.

Finally, my 20 min max power was at an avg of 161 bpm. I've done many rides where my avg HR is 155-158 for 1-3 hours. So I'm not going easy.

So, yes, I think I work on my FTP.

cdr