It's threshold test day once again!
I kind of did a test about 4 weeks ago, just to get a vague idea of where I was at, but the last "real" test I did was in April of 2018... it's been a while.
In concept, it's simple: I took the week easy in training, and today I did 20 minutes as hard as I could.
Given my performance on the bike over the last week, I was sure I could hit 220 watts, I was hoping maybe I could hit 225 watts, and as a dream I wanted to hit 230 watts.
20 minutes really isn't that long, but it's long enough to really hurt and long enough that you need to think about pacing.
I'm really happy with how I did today. I paced it well, starting out at a safe pace, and increasing the power output a little but for each five minutes.
At 5 minutes I was averaging 218 watts. At 10 minutes, 223 watts. At 15 minutes, I was at 226 watts, and gave it all I had left, finishing at 228 watts average.
When the clock hit 20:00, I felt like I really did do the best I could today.
To put that number in perspective... my last test in April 2018 was 223 watts, so I'm in better shape than then! My best was in April of 2013 when I averaged a stunning 309 watts (and was 30 pounds lighter).
Here are the results:
Avg Power: 228 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 154 bpm
Current weight: 194 pounds (88.2 kg)
Ratio: 2.58 w/kg (I want to get over 4.0)
My Training Graphic EQ is filling in nicely. I've started doing longer rides, hitting the 2-hour mark. My next big goal will be to start losing weight as I slowly increase my training volume.
