Power.
For my second winter under the sadistic control of coach Janice Tower, I made a huge investment in my cycling and bought a power meter. All too often, I (like pretty much every other cyclist) try to "buy speed", paying way too much for way too little. The latest aerodynamic/lightweight/whatever gadget that is supposed to revolutionize cycling rarely does. In this case, it was a tool to help me train more efficiently. It was between a new frameset or the powermeter, and when I thought about it, the powermeter was the option that had the greatest potential to make me a better cyclist.
Up to that point, I was training with a heart rate meter, which essentially measures your body's response to an effort. A big problem with this method is that it also measures your body's response to hydration, nutrition, sleep, illness, and a host of other things- all which can skew your results and cause you to work too little or too much for an intended workout. Another problem is that your body's response to an effort lags a bit, causing you to work extra hard at the start to achieve a certain heart rate, then taper off to maintain it. In essence, you work too hard at the start and too easy at the end, which can blunt the effectiveness of a workout.
Powermeters measure the effort itself, in the form of watts. If you're cranking out a certain intensity, the power meter shows immediately how hard you're working. It doesn't matter if you're dehydrated, sleep deprived, underfed, or suffering from malaria, the results are not skewed by external factors. What you put in is what is displayed. It's a brutal honestly, and I actually prefer it. That immediate, honest feedback tells you if you're meeting a goal or not, so you're more likely to perform a given workout within the designed parameters. It's awesome, and it can be painful.
The most common (and not surprisingly, cheapest) powermeters are rear wheel based. Unfortunately, my much-loved Lemond Revolution trainer requires you to remove the rear wheel, which killed this option. Crank-based powermeters are generally more expensive, but have the advantage of allowing you to change wheels without having multiple powermeters. I chose a Quarq, which was the cheaper of the two available at the time and the one that had the cooler name. Never underestimate the power of marketing.
So, throughout the winter, I became a slave to the uncompromising world of power. The workouts became harder, partly because Janice didn't have to rely on my whining and possibly skewed data from the heart rate monitor files to plan the next round of pain. I'm convinced I improved faster, which wasn't that hard, as I also learned that I have the functional threshold power of a 6 year old girl.
It wasn't a magic pill. I still over trained, trying to chase bigger numbers at the wrong times. I also under trained, forsaking planned workouts to "just ride". After all, I am human. I paid for it, and Janice could always point to the data to explain why I was fatigued or getting stomped on by people that I used to ride away from.
Brutal honesty. I appreciate that.
Up to that point, I was training with a heart rate meter, which essentially measures your body's response to an effort. A big problem with this method is that it also measures your body's response to hydration, nutrition, sleep, illness, and a host of other things- all which can skew your results and cause you to work too little or too much for an intended workout. Another problem is that your body's response to an effort lags a bit, causing you to work extra hard at the start to achieve a certain heart rate, then taper off to maintain it. In essence, you work too hard at the start and too easy at the end, which can blunt the effectiveness of a workout.
Powermeters measure the effort itself, in the form of watts. If you're cranking out a certain intensity, the power meter shows immediately how hard you're working. It doesn't matter if you're dehydrated, sleep deprived, underfed, or suffering from malaria, the results are not skewed by external factors. What you put in is what is displayed. It's a brutal honestly, and I actually prefer it. That immediate, honest feedback tells you if you're meeting a goal or not, so you're more likely to perform a given workout within the designed parameters. It's awesome, and it can be painful.
The most common (and not surprisingly, cheapest) powermeters are rear wheel based. Unfortunately, my much-loved Lemond Revolution trainer requires you to remove the rear wheel, which killed this option. Crank-based powermeters are generally more expensive, but have the advantage of allowing you to change wheels without having multiple powermeters. I chose a Quarq, which was the cheaper of the two available at the time and the one that had the cooler name. Never underestimate the power of marketing.
It wasn't a magic pill. I still over trained, trying to chase bigger numbers at the wrong times. I also under trained, forsaking planned workouts to "just ride". After all, I am human. I paid for it, and Janice could always point to the data to explain why I was fatigued or getting stomped on by people that I used to ride away from.
Brutal honesty. I appreciate that.
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