Am I getting nowhere? Power flat, speed up...

[flapsupcleanup]

Personally, I use NP because the rolling terrain around here creates no opportunity for a 15+ minute interval at a steady power. If I were doing my workouts on an indoor trainer or flat road then I would probably use average power, but then avg pwr would equal NP under those conditions.

Actually, sometimes I pull numbers off my Cycling Peaks mean-maximal power vs. time graph (on the athlete home page), and I'm not sure if that graph uses avg pwr or NP. Hmmm.... anyone know?

CP uses avg power for that graph, but you can change it to NP by going into it's options. All the riding around here is rolling terrain also, so changing it to NP is much more impressive!

 

[RapDaddyo]

I'm curious, when you guys use numbers for 30 minute LT power and 15 minute LT power are you using average power or NP?

I can't think of a good argument for using AP over NP, assuming LT is accurate. NP represents the constant power equivalent of a variable power ride and all rides (even on a trainer) are variable power, although some would have a very small standard deviation (e.g., trainer). I don't understand the terms "30 minute LT power" and "15 minute LT power." I assume the poster means 30 minute max power and 15 minute max power. LT power is one number, often confused with FT power but not the same. I almost never look at AP unless it is to get an idea of how variable my power was on a given ride segment (e.g., large difference between NP and AP).

 

[frenchyge]

CP uses avg power for that graph, but you can change it to NP by going into it's options. All the riding around here is rolling terrain also, so changing it to NP is much more impressive!

Whoo-hoo! I'll just change the settings and take another month off before getting back to the grind.

Hmmm.... I hope I haven't already changed that setting at some point.

 

[jws]

I almost never look at AP unless it is to get an idea of how variable my power was on a given ride segment (e.g., large difference between NP and AP).

I used to be the same, RD, but my new approach is to really pay attention to AP more. NP is useful for flagging a change in FT (to be verified by other means, though), and for deriving TSS (done by CPS) and therefore managing training over the longer term.

In terms of training, I prefer to do more LT and high Tempo work which means close to LT for as long as practical; this means higher AP. LT is the basis for aerobic fitness, and higher AP means more quality work.

This reflects the terrain I live in, I guess, which is very hilly. My VI (NP/AP) is about 1.3 for the year; e.g., NP=260, AP=200 W.

I think it's good to do some highly variable rides, but it's hard to get otherwise here. I often wish I had flats to train on, especially base miles and LT building. Maybe a couple trips to FL or AZ next Spring will be on tap.

Ciao, Jimmy

 

[BlueJersey]

I race for Kissena. I would also think that racing for CRCA is slightly better given that they have weekly club races. Since I live in Brooklyn and the races are in CP, it is impossible for me to get there on time. They start their club races around 6am or 6:30am. I am some hour and 15 minutes away by bike. The bulk of my training hours are from commuting. 3 hours commuting round trip each day. I commute maybe 3 to 4 days a week and added 2 hard days on my off days. Or 1 hard day and 1 race day. On my hard day, I do these TT interval 2x20 or 1x30. If I am not racing, I will spend the second day working on hill repeats.

For other posters, I meant max power for 30 minutes and 15 minutes. I use NP because I do these tests in CP which is a rolling course. My AP is around 227. In any given rolling sections, my power can easily exceed 400w.

That is good stuff. When do you fit it in, out of interest? eg typical hours on week days vs week-ends? You do the Century Road Club (CRCA) races? Also, would you win in/place in CRCA Cat 5?