Originally Posted by
Hermes
It is interesting to watch VO2 go up and down on my Garmin. And it says I have a VO2 of a 20 year old. I put the Garmin VO2 calculator into the amusement category..
Here is my take on devices and apps offered to us as training tools. I think accuracy matters. If I think the knowing VO2max will aid my training and increase my speed then I will go to a lab that has a track record and proven accuracy, put on the mask and do a proper VO2max test and pay up. I would then wait for a period of time and go back and take the test again and reset training if required. IMO, I suspect my accurately measured VO2 max with a proper test will be difficult to increase.
I have an SRM power meter on my road bike and I find it very difficult to improve my average power on climbs that I do a lot. It is very difficult to improve my time trial times on a course that I train on and race on. Average power for the TT always is about the same.
I find that improving a power metric by 5 watts difficult and a 10 watt gain over a season is massive for me. Maybe I am just too old or weak. My point is small changes in power matter and require accurate measurement to detect them. I suspect changes in VO2 will be similar. And a VO2 test in a lab is going to be brutal. One has to ride like a rabid dog and push beyond what one thinks is possible.
Terry may be able to relate to this anecdote. When I lived in NorCal, each Thanksgiving morning, I would race up Mount Hamilton with the Low Key Hill Climb series. We were lined up by Old La Honda climb times. Generally, that put me toward the back of the peloton. One year, I decided to ride with the 20 minute climb time group.
We took off and I stayed with them for the first 5 miles of the climb with 13 miles and two climbs to go. I looked at my power and I was riding way over my capability. But was I? My brain took over and decided if I kept up this pace / power I may not make it up the final 7 mile section. I let them go and it was like someone let the wind out of my sails. I finished with my usual time to the top. But I set the world on fire for the lower section.
I think we are all a lot more capable than we possibly imagine.
Reminds me of when I set my best 20 minute power this season. It wasn't set during an FTP test, but just from me riding up a 30 minute long, steep gravel climb...where I was only trying to not let my cadence fall too low. It blew my actual FTP tests out of the water, even though I was arguably more fatigued during that ride, and I actually held the power over 30 minutes instead of 20.
At first, I thought maybe something was wrong with my power meter. Once I determined that the data was likely correct, my perceived effort level seemed to drop in comparison to power, on subsequent rides. My takeaway from it, is that our brains can be both helpful and a hindrance to our performance.