Originally Posted by race newbie
Davey, we are the same height and similar weight (I'm a few pounds lighter), and I'm a year younger than you and female. I too follow Friel's training program. I had my VO2 max tested at the beginning on Dec. and my LTHR is 160, max heart rate 190. I rode a lot last year but really had to push to keep up with fellow riders. My results showed that I am very anaerobically strong, most likely due to aleays pushing hard while riding and 3 days a week of lifting. My tester prescribed that I do a lot of base miles keeping my heart rate between 153-160 to push my LT out farther so I last longer for racing. She recommmended retesting in a few months and guaranteed my LT would be higher if I did what she said. Good luck!
the first time i did an LTHR test (doing the functional test on the road) i was around 156 or so. after my first season of racing i was about 165. now, i just did the same test a couple of weeks ago (right before starting base training) and i was at 168.
so, yeah, you can definitely improve it. and, as i've seen, by quite a bit too. i'd be curious to see how your LT has changed over the next few weeks\months.