DaveLeeNC

I am historically either a marathon runner or (more often than I care to admit) a fat couch potato. Over the past year I have decided that my 65 year old knees and other joints can no longer handle running (and my health cannot handle continued inactivity) so I have done some serious cycling training over the past year (by mere mortal standards). I did a short stint of a couple years of serious cycling (on a Cat IV basis) back in the 90's. For reference "back in the day" (age in the 30's - early 1980's) I was a 2:40 marathon runner so call that a Cat III cyclist level, assuming adequate cycling skills (not something to be taken for granted).

So here I am at age 65 and am back in 'not horrible' cycling condition. I recently did a Coggan style 20 minute TT (indoors on a spinner bike with Garmin Vector pedals) at 225W average (it was a relatively constant effort - I pretty much 'nailed' the effort level). That would generate a 213W FTP per Coggan. And at 160 pounds I get a FTP/weight ratio (0.95 factor to scale from a 20 min to 1 hour FTP power level) of 3.09. And, per the Coggan table, that puts this in the 'low CatIV category'. I'm 65 years old so can accept that without hesitation.

But when I look at the best that I can generate over 5 seconds (or longer, but let's chose 5 seconds for this thread) at 700W I end up in the "untrained" category! I'm not sure what to think about that. I have always been a distance, vs. speed, kind of guy. But even at age 65, holey/moley! Bring on the Doritos and Netflix TV!

dave

Carbonfiberboy 

Well, for that effort you are untrained. Simple. Training works. Takes a lot of skills practice, too.

DaveLeeNC

Sobering, none the less. Or maybe sober is a bad way to deal with this reality :-)

dave

Roarau

Dave you are doing great.

In my experience with running vs. cycling, running endurance translates well to FTP/holding endurance watts. Sprinting (5secs) power does not translate well.

I ride with some amazing runners (<2:20 marathons) and they do great on climbs or consistent power, but don't have cycling sprint quads. It just takes time, lucky for you it sounds like you have a decent base endurance and will be able to build up quickly compared to many at your age.

DaveLeeNC

Thanks for the encouraging comments, Roarau. BTW, the only 'real cycling' that I have done prior to last year was in the Bay Area (both in the Livermore area and south San Jose). My area in NC has some nice cycling areas, but NOTHING like the Bay Area with a multitude of choices for some serious climbs.

dave