FTP test

Just a quick post. It is 4am and it seems to be the only time of the day when I am free these days. Not that I get up at 4am to write blog posts but I had to call my bank in France and since I am up I am writing. Btw, you know that bank account that I was trying to close since July? I was in the bank, I called them, I sent them letters... They finally closed it at the end of January. It only took them 6 months! French....

So FTP test. 2x20min with 10min spin between.

240W, cad 78, HR 174
240W, cad 78, HR 178
weight ~140lb

Can we say a major improvement?
My very first FTP test in Oct 2011 was 236W for 1x20min at 150lb, HR 181, cad 85. I did one more test afterwards in Dec but that one was around 225W.
And the one I did this past Nov...I do not know what the hell it was but my average power was 206 and 195 so let's forget that one.

So basically now I am able to hold slightly higher power for TWO 20' segments than I was able for only one 20' before. And I am ~10 pounds lighter now. And my HR is lower now.
But cadence is lower two, maybe if I pedaled faster my power would have been slightly lower since I would have to be in easier gear I guess.

I went conservatively on the first one, meaning I did not try to kill myself in the last 5min because that would have definitely killed me before the second interval. (I was at 237W at 10')
Then I went pretty steady on the second one for the first half and started building it more aggressively in the last 5-7min with the all-out the last minute at my avg power ended up being the same as for the first interval (at 234W at 10').

I am not sure how exactly you are supposed to do this. Held back the first one so you do not die completely on the second one. Or go all out the first one and just hang on for the second one?
But I guess that I might have been little too conservative on the first one since it would make sense to produce lower power on the second one if first one is done hard too. Right? I do not know.


Ok, it is 4:30am so I guess I am going to try to sleep for an hour before I have to get up again to go to work.