Yesterday I took my 3rd FTP test on the bike. This is the final week of a 6-week Peloton challenge via the Power Zone Pack and I have really enjoyed it. I have seen a decent uptick in my total mileage as well as improvement in a variety of areas. There are certain zones that I am not efficient working in just yet, but overall, I feel better on the bike than I did.
This is the 3rd FTP test ride that I have done and they never get any easier or come with less anxiety. I wish this ride was not as mental as it was, but then again, it probably wouldn’t be the same test. Going in, I really had a singular goal of setting a new PR. If that was by a single point, then I would be fine with that. I just wanted to look back over the six weeks and the FTP test and know that all the work helped push me further along.
The first time I took the FTP test, all I knew was that it was hard. I hadn’t really been doing many power zone rides so I was not sure what to even expect. The second time I took the FTP ride, I had more power zone rides under my belt, enough so that I was expecting a big increase just from being more focused on those types of rides. With this third test, I just tried to settle in and not stress out mentally over it. It is what it is. I wanted to push, drag the average output upward the entire ride, and have enough left in the tank to go as hard as possible in the end. I did not look too much at the FTP test from 11/02/20. I figured I would have those numbers in my head and might game it more than I should. I clipped in, put my head down, and just tried to work as hard as I could.
I was happy with the end result. I had nothing left at the end, so I can’t look back and think of how I could have done this differently and gotten a higher result. Side by side, it is great to see the progress. Moving forward, I am going to continue to take these with the same instructor to keep as many variables out of the picture as possible. Since September, I have been able to really push my numbers here higher and higher.
I knew that the gap between the 2nd and 3rd test would not be as great as the 1st and 2nd. Part of me feels like the more of these rides you have done, the smaller the increase unless you are waiting much longer to test. The queue to retest is when you are able to routinely ride in the top of your zones or when you feel your fitness level has changed.
Also of interest to me is the power/weight ratio. I am never going to be a small cyclist dude. I enjoy the barbell work too much to focus full time on cycling. That being said, I still want to increase this number, if for any reason than to just show additional progress.
