Starting as I mean to go on

Every Friday at Junior school we used to have two tests. The first, times tables, the second spelling, usually ten words given to us the night before. I remember Thursday nights in bed, frantically trying to remember how to spell tricky words like ‘recipe’ and that 7 8′s were 56. Now I’m an ‘age-grouper’ the tests continue and the trepidation still simmers.

I was away from cycling for some 13 years. When I did finally return I quickly vowed that I didn’t want to ever get into the position of ‘plateauing’, putting significant time in but seeing no real gains. With science and technology having moved on significantly since 1995 the geeks were out there just waiting to help me. A friend of a friend put me onto The Endurance Coach (then based in St. Helens) who do Sports Testing and Coaching, I figured if I was going to spend money anywhere it may as well be something scientific that might help me improve, rather than putting my faith in shiny, ever more expensive components that wouldn’t address the underlying facts – engine good, go fast, engine bad, go nowhere!

Tonight was my quarterly ramp test. It’s a simple set up – a Wattbike is connected to a computer and display screen so the subject (victim) can see power output, cadence and some other key metrics, the subject also wears a heart rate monitor and a face mask hooked up to a gas analyser. Those three elements combined allow you to observe (in real time) some essential metrics such as heart rate, fat and carbohydrate burning rates, and VO2. Ramp the efforts up over the duration of the test (hence ramp test) and you can determine your VO2 max, maximum aerobic power and overall power to weight ratio. A final forced power test confirms the maximum available force and maximum 30 second power (in essence, sprint).

It was good news tonight even in the ‘submaximal’ warm up, which consisted of 4 minutes at 150 watts, 4 minutes at 170 watts and 4 minutes at 190 watts, I saw results. During the whole of the 12 minute session the data showed that I was just burning fat. This was the first time I’d ever achieved this – my weeks of carefully planned slow rides, fasting before and during rides and sensible eating had paid off.

The ramp test proper began (‘peak aerobic / VO2 max’), 1 minute intervals starting at 150 watts rising in 20 watt increments. This sounds easy, but believe me it isn’t. As the effort increases so does your heart rate and the intensity of your breathing. I was doing well up to 310 watts sailing through the minute, imagining routes I ride, remembering houses and junctions as I slogged on trying my hardest not to focus on the clock. Into 330 watt territory, I felt fine and carried on pushing through even though my legs were starting to feel it. In previous tests I’d really started to struggle at this point, whilst the minute seemed to last longer than ever it was soon into the 350 watt minute. This was hard going, near maximum heart rate, but where I’d struggled to finish this minute previously, I ploughed on, stronger than before, even managing to put in what felt like a big push at the end. There was no way I’d make it through a minute at 370 watts this time so that was that, but there was strength left in the legs and a little gas in the tank. My heart rate had topped out at 192, not bad for a 44 year old!

After some gentle spinning and tinkering with the computer it was time for the ‘peak force’ test. Hardest setting on the Wattbike, sat firmly in the saddle (no standing), the dreaded instruction came once again, “Sprint as hard as you can and keep going for 30 seconds”. I’m sure that time slows down doing this, the harder I pushed the longer the seconds lasted, 10, 15, 20 then the countdown 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, “You’re almost done”, 3, 2, 1. Finished!

I’d planned out the last quarter meticulously. Weights work from October to December, hard single gear riding Christmas until the end of January, intervals, speed and cadence work in the run up to the season start. Would my efforts have paid off, where would I be compared to this time last year?

Here’s the full SP, figures in brackets (March 2011);

Weight: 69.3kg (68.3kg)
Max. Aerobic Power: 350 watts (350 watts)
Power to Weight: 5.02 (5.12)
Maximum Force: 914 watts (726 watts)
Max. Force Power to Weight: 13.19 (10.63)
Max. 30 second Power: 592 (523)
30 second Power to Weight: 8.54 (7.66)
Fat burning threshold: 170bpm (122bpm)

Whilst I didn’t make it into the next maximum aerobic power band of 370 watts, I now feel that it’s possible next time. Power to weight is down slightly but I am a kilo heavier than a year ago, so that’s hardly surprising. I’ve shifted my fat burning to where it should be meaning that for most of the time I’m burning my fat reserves and not using carbohydrate meaning I can go longer and faster before starting to fade. But, the biggest thing is that I’ve made significant gains in power – maximum force being up a whopping 26% on last year. Couple these key metrics with some good solid training before the season starts and I should be going for longer, stronger, faster and more efficiently than I’ve done before.

So, the test is over and just like when I was in Mrs. Lowe’s class, I need to see where I went wrong and plan for the next one. Lose and few kilos, focus on building leg strength, carry on with the intervals and watch what I eat. All sounds so simple…

Cake of the day: home made custard creams (link here)