my first power test on the bike

Training with power on the bike is no joke. There is no slacking, ever. Let your mind wander to la-la land, and your watts fall into is-your-heart-rate-even-above-100 range.

I’ve had my Quarq Elsa for about a month and have just been riding, with no number goal, and getting used to how 150 watts feels, how 200 watts feels, how 250 watts feels. But, after last week’s two power tests, that’s about to change.

First up, the three-minute test last Tuesday. Don’t let a mere 180 seconds fool you. This one hurts.

Following a 30-minute warm-up (including three 15-second spin-ups at 21, 24 + 27 minutes), it’s all out, as hard as you can pedal for three minutes. The first 30 seconds are bearable as you settle in. The next 30 seconds your heart rate starts to catch up to your effort and you start to think… two more minutes of this?! That’s an eternity! Minute two… minute one times 57. And, minute three… ohmygoshthishurts… howmuchmoretimemythroatithinkmyheartmayexplodeandmylegsmayfalloffthishurtsthishurtsthishurtsowwwww!

And, then you’re done. And, you can barely pedal and your watts fall to is-your-heart-rate-even-above-100 range even though your heart rate is still well above 150 (mine didn’t go back down for my entire 25-minute cool down, either).

Power is fairly new to me, so I had no expectations for this test. Coach Andy said to make it hurt, and I think I succeeded. Compared to the first and only time I did this test (August 6, 19 days out from Ironman Canada), this one was much better executed. A bit too much of a spike at the start – if only I could hold 300+… someday maybe? – but overall, at 261 watts, I averaged about 15 watts higher than in August. Pretty happy with that, especially considering I was tip-top shape for Canada four months ago.

Test two on Black Friday was 20 minutes (I’d way rather be biking than participating the ridiculous shopping madness). Following the same warm-up as Tuesday – 30 minutes with 15-second spin-ups at 21, 24 + 27 minutes – it’s all out as hard as you can pedal for 20 minutes. It wasn’t so bad the first five minutes as I settled in, but by 10 minutes, sweat was pouring off my nose and pooling on the yoga mat below. With five minutes to go, roasting and a bit dizzy, I was fighting for every pedal stroke. But, then, just like that, it was over, and I wanted to lay on the floor and… holy sh*t, that was hard.

Pretty pleased with this one. I averaged 201 watts and stayed fairly consistent throughout (for comparison, I averaged around 183 when I did this test on August 15.) My left / right power balance was spot-on at 50 / 50, and normalized power was close to my average power. I know little about power, but from my understanding, you want those two numbers to be close. (Check out this TrainingPeaks article about normalized power and intensity factor.)

Based on my body weight (195 watts / 55 kg), it equals 3.54 watts per kilo (w/kg). For comparison, pro Meredith Kessler held 213 watts, or 3.6 w/kg, for 112 miles at Kona this year. My test was 20 minutes; I have some work to do 🙂

So, what do the tests determine? Overall, my critical power, which is 195 watts. (Coach determined this with some fancy equations I know nothing about.)

And, critical power is…? It’s what you should be able to sustain all-out for 60 minutes. To last 112 miles in the saddle this means you want to stay below your critical power. Going above it is doable – i.e. during interval training – but it’s not sustainable before you have to lower intensity or stop completely. (This article explains the science.)

All my time on the bike going forward will be based on these two tests (at least until my next test). For example, Sunday and Monday rides were super easy recovery rides around 110 watts. Other rides will include intervals at varying power; on Wednesday, it included five, two-minute intervals at 220 watts.

Like I said, I’m not too knowledgeable about power (yet), so am just doing exactly what coach tells me 🙂 I’ll report progress as the season progresses!

Happy cycling, friends!