So, today about 10 people from the Pitt cycling team (self included) did FTP testing at an indoor studio with cyclops spin bikes with power wheels!
I haven't ridden with a power-meter before so it was really interesting to see how even slight changes can have a huge impact on how many watts you are putting out. Besides cadence and resistance, slight changes in form made my watts jump or fall. I can see how useful riding with a power meter would be for refining my budgetting of energy, setting goals, and working on making my pedaling more efficient.
I do confess to having been nervous about seeing my first numbers... and failing in front of the other guys in the group.
The results were unimpressive, but not terrible terrible terrible either. My max watts were somewhere in the mid 240's. And, I was able to sustain ~200 watts for an 8 minute interval riding just below threshold, at a fairly reasonable 8/10 on a scale of perceived effort.
This puts my current max watts (the unofficial numbers) at around 4.06 watts/kilogram. And, 200 watts puts my effort during the SSI (sustained effort at ) 85-95 cadence) at 3.39 watts/kilogram. This puts me in "not terrible, but not great" territory.
We are retesting in 2 weeks, and I'm hoping for better numbers. I'm going to ask our coach about changing around my training block schedule so that I'm not testing on the third of a series of 3 consecutive training days. And, I will make sure I am better rested and adequately hydrated before next time - both things that were lacking today.
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