Bike FTP test

It is worse than I thought.

It went like this, w/up 15min, 5x1min hard w/ 1 min easy, 20min hard FTP, 10min easy, 20min hard FTP, 5min c/d.

Here are my stats:
1st interval:
Avg power 206
Avg HR 167
Avg cadence 84

2nd interval:
Avg power195
Avg HR 165
Avg cadence 83

Yes, I am 30watts down from where I were this time last year. Which is understandable since that's what 10 months with very little biking does to you.


But let me analyze this test for you:
My power was low.
My HR was low. Avg HR in mid-160? And my max was around 175. Last year my avg HR was low 180 in these tests, max around 190.
My cadence was low. Last year during efforts like this one my cadence would be 90+. Gear I was in today was little to hard to push, but in lower gear I could not get the power over 180.

This all means that I do not have bike specific muscles. I have no strength to push the pedals, that would allow for higher HR and of course lack of strength means that my watts are low.
Actually I have no muscles at all, I see this also in running.I could not do big gear work or run hills because of my ITB and I am weak as a fly.

I think that that's it - lack of bike muscles. It is that simple. I have done 5-6 faster workouts in last 10 months, one of them was hills, one was short 1min intervals, rest was 4-6min intervals. Last time I did these intervals was sometimes in early August. Rest of my rides were easy. And there was not even that many rides....
I am sure that Michelle did not expect me to me in such a pitoyable bike shape.

In addition, yesterday was the first time I was on a tri bike since Sept 30 and it was the first time on a trainer since mid-Feb.
Maybe my numbers would be little bit higher if we waited 1-2 weeks until I get used to biking and being on trainer again, because seriously, this test was probably a huge shock to my body. (This does not mean that I want to do this again in 1-2 weeks!) These are not excuses. This is reality that explains why I have zero bike fitness and why this test was so incredibly pathetic.

So one positive is that I know I need to work on my strength and build bike specific muscles. Other positive is that I have steel bottom parts since I was able to spend 80min in aero on a trainer no problem without easing into it.

Honestly, I am not concerned about this. Although I am concerned that I am not concerned. Maybe I should be. But it was so pathetic that I want to laught at me instead of beating myself up for this.

PS: And I was totally prepared for this test. I bought bricks in Lowe's (to put under my front wheel), I printed a manual for my new Joule (to know what to press to get avegare power for each interval), I did not eat as many 50% off Halloween sweets yesterday as I would love to (I only ate 12 Halloween-themed cupcakes. I was a responsible athlete keeping this FTP test in mind and constrained myself) and I did not bike to work (to keep fresh legs).