I've probably spent more time looking at ride data in the now almost three months since my back surgery than I have in my entire cycling history. All of the bikes I've been using post surgery now have power meters. This includes the power meter on the trainer(s) and crank, pedal or wheel based power meters on bikes I ride outside. I've been doing this for a number of reasons:
- To make sure I don't overdo it. I monitor the power levels while I'm riding and have set "not to exceed" limits based on my most recent rides.
- To monitor progress. As I've said previously, I'm trying to regain fitness from a fairly low point and it's gratifying to see that there's improvement even though it often doesn't feel like it.
- Because I can ;-) I'm analytic by nature so doing post ride analysis appeals to my natural inclination.
As I said a couple of posts back, the things I'm choosing to monitor are average and max heart rate, average and max power, 5 minute power and 20 minute power. In the last 3 day cycle I've done two extended climbs: the "Epic KOM" and "Mount Zwift full reverse". My PR's on those climbs are 19:53 and 40:52, respectively. But I wasn't going for PR's and in fact on the most recent ride I wasn't really going for anything at all. In both rides I was a good ways off of my PR but I did notice something interesting when contrasting my last two extended climbs.
A couple of days ago on the Epic KOM, I was TRYING to set a good 20 minute average power baseline so I felt like I was making a good effort for the entire climb. By contrast, today I was NOT trying to do anything really, just riding steady so I was surprised when I'd set a new benchmark. What was even more surprising (and gratifying) is that my average heart rate was lower despite the fact that I was putting out more power.
Here's the full data with the Mount Zwift Full on the left and the Epic KOM on the right..
It should be noted that this was NOT an FTP test. An FTP test, if done properly, is the absolute hardest you can go for an hour. An approximation is as hard as you can go for 20 minutes which is extrapolated to a 60 minute test and that's all I've ever done - I've never done the full one hour test. Having said that, when I've done the 20 minute test it REALLY hurts. I've barely been able to get off the bike when I'm done, we're talking "flat out, slobber on the top tube" level of effort and both of these were a long way from that. In fact, if the above were an FTP test it'd yield an FTP roughly in the 190 range and my FTP the last time I took the test was 263.
Nevertheless, the results are gratifying. In particular, one thing stands out:
- The 20 minute average for the most recent effort on Mount Zwift Full was 196 with an average heart rate of 122.
- The 20 minute average for the Epic KOM was 187 with an average heart rate of 133.
- 11 BPM less while making 9 more watts.
It should be noted that the average of the 20 minute power numbers for my first week of riding post surgery was 156 so progress is being made.
And if you're a "glass half empty" kind of person, I should also point out that on my PR on the Epic KOM my average watts were 244 with an average heart rate of 126 so I still have a way to go.
Stay tuned!
