Here are the key pieces of information that you the athlete need to know about power and how we are going to use it to maximize your potential on the bike.
What is Power and how is measured?
Power, on the bike is the amount of force that the athlete can apply to the pedals in a given amount of time, usually measured in watts.
Power is measured by a power meter on the bike. The most common power meters on the market are Cycleops Power Tap, SRM and Ergomo. They essentially measure the number of watts generated by the rider while he/she is applying force to the pedals.
So why is power important to me at a triathlete?
There are many different tools that can be used as an analytical tool when determining how a ride is going or how one went.
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1.Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)- Using the standard RPE scale, the intensity levels are set by how the athlete feels while they are riding. As athletes, we have all had our good days and bad days on the bike, been hydrated and dehydrated, been tired and rested, etc... There are too many variables that can determine RPE on any given day.
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2.Speed (mph)- There are too many variables such as terrain and wind that can vary the current speed and average speed during a ride, therefore, it’s not a reliable method to base or judge training zones or workouts on.
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3.Cadence (rpm)- Again, like using speed, there are too many variable such as wind and terrain that can alter an athletes cadence, therefore, it’s not a reliable method to base or judge training zones or workouts on.
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4.Heart Rate- Heart rate is the second best tool that ca be used to base or judge training zones or the quality of a workout on if you don’t have power. Using average HR is a great tool for longer workouts and rides. The draw backs to HR are variable such as hydration levels and nutrition. The largest draw back to HR is when an athlete is doing high intensity intervals, especially ones that are less than 3-4 minutes. This is due to the fact that it can take the human heart 2-3 minutes to catch up to the effort that is being put forth. For example, if a rider is doing a 60 second interval at an all out pace, the interval will be over long before the heart rate can catch up.
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5.Power (watts)- Watts are the most accurate way to measure the current level of effort that is being put forth by the athlete. It is an instantaneous reading of the force being applied to the pedals while the athlete is working. Below is a more in-depth explanation of how to set training zones and judge the quality of workouts is below!
Key Terms:
FTP = Functional Threshold Power (essentially your power at your lactate or power threshold). This is the power (in watts) that you can maintain at an all out pace, for 1 hour.
IF = Intensity Factor (this means what % of your FTP are you riding at).
TSS = Training Stress Score (points accumulated by the intensity and duration of your ride).
Your FTP is going to be one of the most essential pieces of information that we have for developing your program. The practical applications of your FTP works like this: Your FTP is the point at which your body starts producing lactic acid faster than it can clear it. This leads to the burning sensation in your muscles you feel when sprinting on the bike. Every time that you hit your FTP or go above it for more than around 30-45 seconds (this varies for each athlete), we refer to that as “burning a match.” On race day, you only have so many matches in your book. The more of them you burn on the bike, the more difficult the run becomes, especially if you are at the ½ IM distance or longer.
The graph below is a pretty good illustration of this. The rider below would have an FTP around 220 (the point that is labeled “LT” on the graph). This is the point where the production of “Blood Lactate” or lactic acid is produced at such a rate that it accumulates too fast for the body to remove it.
This table is from “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, by Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan
Whenever you are riding you want to make sure you are within the days prescribed power zone – just like running at the right pace/HR and swimming at the correct pace. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU DO THIS! If you ride higher wattage then I ask, then you may be ok, or you may be blown to pieces for a day or week or month. So, it's important to pay attention to detail.
On the longer rides, we'll have specific targets I'll need you to hit - these are the workouts that are going to make you FIT beyond imagination.
Sample workout:
2 hour ride on a flat to rolling course. Your preferred wattage for this ride is .65-.80 and TSS points in the 120-150 range.
Rider Johnny has an FTP of 200 watts. This means he can hold 200 watts for an hour. That's as hard as he can go before he blows up.
Since his FTP is 100% of an all out 1 hour effort it has a value of 100 TSS points. Once again, a 1 hour ride as hard as you can go = 100 points.
If we were to look at Johnny's IF (Intensity Factor) of that ride it would be 1.0.
Now if Johnny were to ride for 1 hour at IF .65 he would ride at 130 watts (200 x .65), and he would have 65 TSS points.
If Johnny were to ride 2 hours at .65 IF he would accumulate about 130 points.
In this example workout Johnny has to ride 2 hours at .65 to .80 IF – this means he wants to keep his wattage in the range of 130-160.
Wattage Ranges:
.65 and less: recovery workouts, warm up and cool down
.65-.75: IM effort – this is your 'all day pace' – of course the harder you go, the closer to blowing up you get
.75-.85: HALF IM effort – a pretty hard effort but sustainable for a few hours – it won't cook you but you'll know you were riding when you are done
.85-1.0: this is Olympic Distance effort – just about everything you have that will still allow you to run well off the bike
1.0-1.05: Sprint distance race – everything you have PLUS some more.
