after having COVID which forced me off the bike for a while, I came back trained a bit freely to get my legs going again, then just did a FF test, which gave new numbers, no real comment came from the app except this: " your 20 min max. power started at (5:27) which is not during the 20 min test"
What does this actually mean? should I discard and do a new test? or should I just follow the training plan I just selected and retest when my plan suggests? looking forward to your comments. regards, JC
interesting. would you mind posting what your power graph looks like for the test overall? You can redact or crop the absolute wattage numbers if you prefer, thatâs not important for this purpose. but it might be helpful to try to suss out whatâs happening here.
In my opinion, what I see is at the beginning of the 20min I push a bit harder as I didnât know whereabouts my power would be, but it looks quite stable. Hence my not understanding what the comment means. Note analyzing the effort in detail the âhigher powerâ lasted only 2min46s
It looks like you overshot the power targets significantly on some parts that were supposed to be ârestingâ during the first 20minutes.
Combine that with being under target on the 20 minute test (not a bad thing, the whole point of testing is to find out where you are) means that it looks like your average power between ~5-25mins is higher than during the actual 20 minute test.
Personally, iâd extract the power vaules from the âlapsâ using either strava or intervals.icu and update my 4dp profile accordingly
It means that between 05:47 and 25:47 your average power was higher than during the actual 20m test.
This would also suggest that the targets during warm up and recovery were too high based on your current FTP which would lead to you being too fatigued to hit your best during the rest of the test, this could mean that your NM and MAP are higher than tested.
Iâd take a couple of days off and do a HM instead.
I have a smart trainer so I use ERG mode to help keep the power at or below the targets during the warm up and recovery periods. I also have a Bluetooth keyboard next to my trainer bike so that I can quickly switch in and out of ERG mode using the âEscâ key and the â0-9â keys to set the level in level mode.
Thanks, interesting, indeed targets were high, as I am coming back after long COVID recovery, and FF targets are based on my previous ftp, so I really struggled to pace, also having a compact crankset always makes it tough to find right gear e.g for sprinting, I have to switch from small ring to big ring otherwise canât hit targets, it was an interesting test though, my sprint power (NM) was actually better! And first trainings after the test seem ok. Interestingly though, no HM in the middle of the training plan! Will try to add it somewhere in few weeks (maybe last session of a recovery weekj
imo the key to pacing is to ignore the numbers and ride to RPE when doing this type of testing.
By trying to follow the numbers you run the risk of blowing up when your current level is down a bit. Or alternatively, when you have improved you run the risk of being too safe and not getting it all out.
For testing, I do the 1 week test plan that has a HM on day three and uses it to set the targets for the FF on day 7. Itâs a great week of workouts and I believe it yields very reliable test results.
In level mode (FF), shifting between rings is common with either compact or standard cranksets. You can choose to change the shift point by adjust the level. Increasing it will make a compact crank behave like a standard crank, and vice versa.
Hey @JC2020
Sorry for the confusion on the Peak 20 minutes. But just to confirm AndyPâs comment is correct and your highest 20 minute power occurred from 5:27 going forward.
If you want more info about why this type of thing can happen drop a question to to the help center and they can give you the full details. As for your numbers I would stick with what you have at the moment and consider retesting with half Monty in the near future. Within a week or two. This will give you a good retest without having to do the full frontal again. Unless youâre into that sort of thing and you like to suffer. Then make sure you rest it and go for it.
Cheers!
