As I have mentioned before, I was fortunate enough to win a ‘Triathlon Experience’ at the C26 Hub.  Today was Day 1 of that experience.

Myself and two other C26 teammates arrived at the Hub late morning.  I had been at the June Triathlon Camp with both these athletes, so it was good to see them again. After a few minutes spent catching up, Coach Robbie informed us that our first workout would be a bike FTP test.  If you don’t know about FTP tests, you can read about them here.

This was a very different FTP test for me.  I normally do them alone in my basement at home.  Today however, I had two teammates accompanying me and Coach Robbie was there, to help guide our pacing and effort.  It was Robbie’s coaching that made all the difference.  He helped us pace our twenty minute test, using perceived effort.  I was doing the test ‘blind’ in terms of power output, so I had no idea if I was improving on previous tests until after the test was finished.

The key difference, under Robbie’s guidance, was that I started the test a little easier than I typically would have done on my own.  This meant I was able to gradually increase effort throughout the test and still have enough energy to completely empty the tank at the end.  The end result… a significant improvement in my FTP !! 

Note that, as usual, I have disguised my actual numbers in the photo because they are my numbers and I don’t believe in comparing numbers to other athletes.  There is little or nothing to be gain by making comparisons.  I can say That I am very pleased with my new number.

After relaxing for a while and grabbing lunch, we took part in the second workout – a swim analysis in the endless pool.  Swimming is my weakest discipline in triathlon, so this session was extremely valuable to me. Coach Robbie gave me lots of excellent advice on how to improve and I also benefitted from watching him coach the other athletes.  It was another fantastic session.

At dinner, we decided that tomorrow, we would begin the day with an early morning, long bike ride.  Hopefully, the weather cooperates, and we get off to a great start for Day 2.