For all of those wondering, yes, this was with Robbie Ventura at his performance training center, Vision Quest. One may ask, was he one of the guys covering Le Tour in France for a certain cable TV station? Yes. And he came back from France on Monday just to administer my test on Tuesday. Not really, but I am very fortunate that he was scheduled to fly back so soon after the Tour and was able to give the test. Such feedback from a Tour de France veteran and former Pro rider for the US Postal Team was a privilege made possible by my coach, Todd Hancock.
I walk into the centre and wonder to the back by the office. A few people were working out in the gym but the only person I can see sitting in the office is Robbie...
I walk in and he says, hi, I am Robbie. Let me get to know a little more about you. Nice! After we get some background information out of the way, we set up the bike and get me spinning. First, was a pedal stroke analysis. Basically, we were seeing if I pedal in a circle or squares. And, I do not do either. I practically only pedal straight down. Robbie, in his sandals, makes it look easy. Too easy. He is nearly annoyed that I cannot, for the life of me, make it better. After the testing, we look at this variable as a fairly positive aspect even though it is terrible for me at the moment.
Second, the test. This is a graded intensity excercise test. Every two minutes or so the intensity increases. At every interval, my finger is pricked and a blood sample is taken for lactate concentration. I have a heart rate monitor on and my powertap is on to record my power data. All in all, the testing took about 22minutes. I probably had about 30sec to 60 more seconds in me but we stopped when we did. This test is tough to do but added to the previous four days of racing, I was feeling a bit flat. My heart rate was depressed and my muscles and mind not producing the intensity one would hope for but expected, considering. The test was still a good one and we got good data.
Third, I did a sprint test. Everything I had to see the maximun power I could produce. Given my weight, I did pretty darn good.
Conclusions: I am already in the 85-90 percentile of cyclists based on my current power numbers. Which can be drastically improved with proper coaching and training. The data collected gives specifics as to what training and at what intensity I should be doing it at. This is where the pedal stroke weighs in, with the correction of just my pedal stroke, I stand to increase my capabilities drastically and significantly. Added to proper coaching and motivation.... And, most importantly, tolerance. It is not all about how much lactate I produce but what I do with it when it begins to accumulate. How much can I suffer? Apparently, I can tolerate about twice what the normal rider can withstand. This is significant twofold. One, I can have/have a high top-end. Two, I can dig so deep and tolerate so much lactate that it actually becomes catabolic. Yes, catabolic. Therefore, training properly as well as resting properly is critical to me not undoing progress made.
Next up: Tour of Elk grove...starting tomorrow. Ready, GO!!
(fyi: the pic is post testing)
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