This morning I put my self through another session of intense pain that required massive amounts of determination. Each month I test my Functional Threshold Power on the bike. This test consists of an all-out 20 minutes test, then a 5 minutes easy spin, followed directly by another 20 minute all-out test. From this I average the two sessions and get my bike FTP.
Knowing your FTP can be extremely helpful. It does require that you have some sort of power meter (Quarq, SRM, PowerTap, Computrainer, or a few others), but it is well worth the investment. I can know my power-to-weight ratio, I create power zones that are more accurate than heart rate zones, I can plan training sessions and intervals, and I can more accurately estimate my performance at a future race.
I don’t mean for this to be a post about power meters. My test this morning was so tough that I almost passed out twice. No, I this does not mean that I passed out once and then almost a second time, it means that I almost passed out after the first 20-minute session and then almost passed out after the second one. I also came very close to vomiting the liquid nutrition I had taken this morning. The entire 20 minutes of each session brought a ton of pain to my legs. My heart rate was over 180 for the last 10 minutes first session and all of the second. I was over 190 for the last minute or so of each session. I wanted to stop and quit many times, but I told myself to just get through one more minute… and then another.
Was all this pain worth it? Heck yes! I increased my FTP 8 watts from last month! It is exciting to see real improvement. Sometimes when we race we compare our times across two courses and sometimes we only think we’ve improved, but can’t prove it because the terrain or even weather conditions, etc were different between the two races. This test however takes all that guessing out. I know that I improved 8 watts!!!
I guess I keep getting side tracked from my point. The pain that I pushed myself through to reach that improvement reminded me of an article that I read recently. It was very interesting because it essentially said that “fatigue is voluntary”. I wondering how this could be possible. I know that the body will fatigue over time – that is real! The article does actually say that we will fatigue over time, but how much of it is real. At what point do we give up when we can actually go further or harder? What makes some athletes push their bodies further than others? Is it only genetics or have they consistently pushed with more determination to get their bodies to a higher point?
Look at Mark Allen and Dave Scott at their epic battle in 1989. Because they both did not want to give up, they pushed past normal “fatigue” and obliterated the previous Kona records. I wont talk any longer, so please read the article here. To me it makes sense and now I know that my determination will push me beyond other’s limits.
This was very interesting and motivational at the same time. Thanks for helping us understand that we can all perform better, accomplish more, and rise to a higher level of excellence – if we are willing to pay the price to achieve great things! Thanks for being an example of one who “walks the talk!”
Thanks for the comments. I’m glad it helps you. I’m so proud of how well you did at your last triathlon. Thanks for being an example of living a healthy, active life… for your entire life!
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