April FTP Test

Looking back at my TrainerRoad history it was November that I did my last FTP Test. Since then I have gone through the CX Training Plan and since the new year both of the Sweet Spot High Volume Base Plans. With hindsight I should have tested my FTP at the beginning of the year but I didn’t. Deep down inside I probably thought it was higher than I was riding at. I was coming off some long endurance months with Dirty Kanza in the Summer and my second Everesting in the Fall. Neither of these are ideal for working up to CX season where races last 45 minutes and you are in Zone 5 for most of it!

So in reality my FTP of 258 was too high through the Winter but I stuck with it through the Spring with the expectation that I would ride “up” to it during the base phases.

As I closed out the first 6 weeks of the Sweet Spot Plan Sweet Spot plan, TrainerRoad announced that they had revised the plans and had added more Sweet Spot rides that are shorter duration vs Endurance rides at the weekend. This didn’t really impact me as most of my weekend rides are outside, at least the Sunday one is. This is weather not withstanding and there have been a few weeks that the week has been sunny and the come the weekend it’s been raining. Not that I am a fair weather rider per se but I am all for making the best use of my time and 2 hours of quality on the trainer far outweighs 3 or even 4 hours in the rain!

So with all that said it was at the start of the next Phase; Build, specifically the Sustained Power Build plan that I sat down and geared up for a FTP test.

I have done enough of these to know what I need to do to make it as successful as possible. I was a couple of days past the Mulholland Challenge and I felt that I had recovered enough. I have a pretty stedy routine for days like this and the key to it to try and make sure every variable is accounted for; time of day, tire pressure, drivetrain cleaned, fluids and so on are all the same as the last time…or as close as I can get.

I use the TrainerRoad 20 Minute FTP test but I front it with my own designed warm up ride. This is simply a 15 minute ride with increasing power that is designed to get the legs spinning and get me, well…warmed up!

I completed my warm up and rode through the first 30 minutes of the test which is in itself a warm up. started the test. I break the actual test into 5 minute sections. I am pretty sure most people do this as thinking about the entire 20 minutes can be a bit overwhelming.

The target power, per TR was 265, I was aiming for 275 which was slightly over but based on recent rides I thought was achievable.

The first 5 minutes went well. I settled in nicely and was having no issues. In the second 5 minutes my only concern was my cadence which was up in the mid to high 90s, faster than I typically ride, I momentarily changed gear and my cadence dropped to 85 and my power shot up over 300 watts. I knew I wouldn’t able to hold that for the remainder of the ride and so I switched back. The net effect of fussing about with the gears was to unbalance the 5 minutes of target vs actual and so I was slightly down. The third 5 minutes is usually the trickiest. You’re past the halfway point and you’re counting down to the end but it’s such a long way to go. That said with the earlier fussing I focused my mind and cruised through. The final 5 minutes is a count down and during the last minute I dialed it up and increased the power. The last section of the ride is the cool down and this was something I needed. My HR had topped out at 170 which is high for me on the bike! 

The calculation post ride is almost instant and TrainerRoad spent no time in telling me I had increased my FTP 2 points up to 260. I was a little disappointed but the extra 1 or 2 points I was hoping for were no doubt lost during the second 5 minutes’ interval and in future I need to look at the gearing to find something that lets me sit at the 90 rpm cadence. There is always something for the future.

So with all that said my new FTP is the highest it’s ever been. I do think that I was correct in my assumption that I have ridden back up to the prior 258 during the last 8 weeks.

The next step on the plan is the Sustained Power Build, this is an eight week cycle. L’etape and BWR will land on weekends during but that’s the way the plans roll out and it can’t be helped.

Five ways to spend your Christmas Cash!

Christmas is behind us, it’s the downswing waiting for the new year to roll around. Chances are you may have a bit of cash to spend. That good old stand by Christmas gift that is always King! Here are a few suggestions for things that you could spend some of your Christmas loot on. This is in no way a review of each option but more of a “hey I didn’t know about that” teaser post.

Strava Premium $7.99 a month or $59.99 annually. As a cyclist it’s almost a given that you have a Premium Account. The upper tier gives you access to more features including Coaching Programs. Online Analysis of your training/racing and Real Time Segments, you can red my post about that feature here. There are few other bells and whistles that are nice but these are the three key features that get unlocked. These extend across to your mobile device too so you get a little extra bang for your buck. If you’re considering this and you use Chrome as your browser try the Stravastix Plugin as that may give you the functionality that you want and then donate $20 to the Developer Thomas to keep him going!

Veloviewer Pro $15 annually or Pro+ $30 annually. If you like hills; ok nobody really likes hills, but we ride them, data and graphs and maps and more data this is for you. Veloviewer lets you dig deep into post ride analysis of your route, ride, effort, segment and so. It takes the data captured by your device from Strava via their API and slices and dices into various tables, graphs and images including rotational 3D images, some of which you have seen on this site. It’s now available as a Chrome Plugin too so with that little more extensibility it integrates into your Browser window. Essentially this fills the holes in Strava’s website on the presentation of data.

SportTracks Mobi $35 annually with a forever pricelock. SportTracks began life as a PC Desktop application. It became my de-facto container for all my Garmin data. Several PCs later and several years worth of data down the drain due to no one’s fault but my own I switched over to their Online version and have been using it every day since the end of 2013. All the graphs you see in my training posts come from this application. It gives the power to analyze your activities. I also use it as the main log for all my gear (post on this to follow) and as the repository for my HRV data that I collect using my iPhone. Don’t be fooled by the simple and clean UI, one of its strengths in my opinion. There are a lot of analysis tools available. You can also still get the Desktop version but I do not use that anymore so I can’t comment on it.

TrainerRoad $89 annually. Unless you have been hiding under a rock I am a huge fan and user of TrainerRoad. I have been using it since December 2011, to date I have over 850 rides totaling 5.2 weeks spent on my trainer! I have used it for multiple training cycles across various events including my Sufferfest Knighthood, multiple centuries, two Everestings and Dirty Kanza 200. If you want smart structured training that improves your cycling in the most time efficient manner, then this is for you. I am trying not to sound like a fanboy but the truth is that this works. It integrates across many other platforms including The Sufferfest, 3LC, RealRides, epicRIDES as others. There are many Training Plans that cater to different disciplines. Of course not baked into the price here is a trainer and all the trimmings that go with that but if you shop around you do not have to break the bank and you do not need a Power Meter to get started!

So far everything has been an online option, the next one is old school…

Books. Yes good old fashioned books. I am determined to get my book reading habit back on track for this coming year. One way you can stock on is to pick up slightly older titles from Amazon on the Used list. Here you can find titles heavily discounted. Some that are a year or so old can be had for less than a dollar if you don’t mind the odd dog ear. Often the shipping which is usually fixed can outweigh the cost of the book!

A couple of other options to consider are:

Zwift; I was a beta tester for this on the program that ended about this time last year and thought it was fun but could never see any real training benefit. No doubt it has iterated during the last year, they were just starting to bring in training plans when I was cut off. Given its success there it is obvious that it is appealing to the masses however that’s one mass that I am not part of. This is a personal thing as in general I am not into video games and that’s where I categorize this. I have no plans to go back to Zwift but if you are interested I would direct you to DCRainmaker for his review or just google it.

The Sufferfest App. The Sufferfest has moved its business model into an online format. The App is where you go now for all things ‘fest, unless, like me you have a library of downloaded content in which case you can use the videos with TrainerRoad. The downside of not having the App is that there is exclusive content being released there so you are missing out some. As a SF Knight I am privy to some of the development that is going on but so far I haven’t jumped in. This year’s Tour of Sufferandria will be App based so I will get to try it out then. Again DCRainmaker has a review of the App.

Ok so by no means a comprehensive list but just some food for thought into some ways you can spend that Christmas money! Many of these also have a Free Trial Period too so don’t feel the need to sign up straightaway!

What did I miss? Leave a comment below.