Barcelona Boiler - Testing on the Rollers

So time was up for a first test on the bike and the command was 30 minutes warm-up on the turbo trainer and then 20 minutes full throttle in what is known as the Functional Threshold Power Test (FTP). FTP is the highest mean average power or pace you can maintain for one hour. So basically this test is giving you an estimate of your maximal output during one hour at full gas, but for testing purposes you can estimate the same during 20 minutes and then subtract 5% of the power produces. Based on this test you can set your training zones and even estimate the power you optimally need to deliver for a successful Ironman Bike leg.

Have to admit I was still a bit tired after the London trip - not so much all the pints, but walking and standing up a lot made the legs feel heavy on Sunday & Monday. Further, testing with the power meter and uploading this to Trainingpeaks means full transparency on each darned little move you make on the bike. No way you can hide anything for Coach Aleks, even though he is 2000km away.This is intimidating in a nice way and works as motivation of course!  Will write a bit on Trainingpeaks.com (TP) one of these days.

Barcelona is still experiencing a warm Indian summer and I set the AC to blow cold wind onto the bike and my back. Off we go with some isotonic and a gel. Last time I tested around 290W on an uphill, so thought this must be around the level where I should start out. My heartrate quickly blew up to 175bpm and it was boiling hot. Kept the average around 280 for first 7-8 minutes and then ran into a crisis and had to lower expectations and power somewhat. Final averages were 254W and then 175bpm - check the graphs from TP below.



















Conclusions:
Testing on the trainer is definitely something you have to learn - managing and timing power over the test period. It is very precise and you can keep the output very stable as there are no external factors (wind, hills, etc). I need more ventilation - big blower to be purchased today. I am no big fan of indoor training, but once you actually have strong purpose, things get easier and time flies. Definitely room for improvements on the bike test here - will test again with a 2 weeks frequency and this is a great way to measure progress.