FTP Test day

Today was that day, when you know you will go through some pain and desperation. It has been too long since my last FTP test, so I honestly was unsure what to expect. Something less than during summer but more than last year same time. Having had some time off the bike in October and mainly easier workouts lately, I knew this could be really painful.

Usually you should prepare for a such test as for a race. But I didn't quite do that this time. So I knew I would probably not have consistent and steady intervals. The 20 minute FTP (functional threshold power) test begins with  three 1 minute intervals and one 5 minute interval, pretty hard just to get some lactate going on in your body. And the actual measuring consists of a 20 minute interval that you should be able to do as hard and consistent as possible.

My preparation today

I started off with a decently good pace. Usually I begin a little easier and power up throughout the interval. This time I think I spotted pretty close to that 20 min max value and couldn't power up much at the end. Usually it is possible to hammer the last 3-5 minutes, this time I just tried to stay alive. And actually the end result was pretty okay. Slightly better than the test I did during summer and way better than last year. That combined with some weight loss adds up with a decent W/Kg number. An increase of 0,35 before summer and I am more than pleased.

Garmin Connect has a way to congratulate you, with neat graphics ;)

Of course it all sounds pain and suffering, so one needs to balance that. How do you do that. Well a good red wine is a good start.

I also prepared my Felt F65X Cyclocross, I think it could be time to kick off the CX season!

Still like the looks of my Felt

Have a nice weekend!