Baseline FTP test in aerobars on TT bike

After a few days of rest and easy pedaling (and a two-day hiatus from coffee!) I was ready for my baseline functional threshold power test. I've always done these about once ever 4-6 weeks to see how I'm progressing and where my form is at. Since I usually care most about these numbers for a time trial, I try to do them consistently on the TT bike and reduce as many variables as I can.

There's a great road for this that doesn't have bad traffic in the middle of the day and is quite flat with good wind protection. The road is a bit crappy in places and there are a couple of four-way-stops, but overall it's not too bad an option for threshold testing. After ripping off my derailleur hanger yesterday, the road bike is out of commission and I figured it would be a perfect time to go out and do a baseline. I knew it would feel pretty awkward going 100% in a super-low TT position on a bike I haven't ridden for three months, much less doing 100% threshold in early December when it's barely above freezing, but what's a college-kid-racer to do?

Here are my TrainingPeaks results:


Not too bad, all things considered! When I won Nationals in 2007, my average power for 30 minutes (not much difference between 20 and 30 minutes, just more of the same suffering) was 351 watts. I was a few kilos lighter at that point, so the power to weight was probably the same, but I know I've come a long way in 1.5 years. I just hope I can beat my baseline when the season starts! ;-)

Only five more days of class before I'm heading out to Colorado for some skiing at Copper Mountain with my dad!!! After three days on the slopes, I'm going to make the trek up to Ft. Collins to meet up with the Legacy Energy boys for some snowshoeing and yurt camping! It should be great to meet the guys I don't know, catch up with the ones I do, and just have some good old-fashioned team bonding up in the mountains.

I've also recently caught up with my old training buddy and sick triathlete JJ Bailey--we're going to be doing some good rides back in Iowa with the old group and braving the insanely terrible weather. If it's just too bad to ride, I'll probably spin inside a bit and just relax, do some off-roading in the Jeep, catch up with friends, etc. At this point, life is too short to go out in treacherous weather and get sick or depressed!

I'm already looking forward to toeing a start line, even though that is three months away! However, I'm more looking forward to Winter Formals this weekend--I had a blast last year, and it should be even better this time around!