My lactic threshold power number is 250 watts at 4.1 watts/kilo. Based on this info what should I aim for in my watts for an IM. This is for my 8th IM but first using power during race.
My lactic threshold power number is 250 watts at 4.1 watts/kilo. Based on this info what should I aim for in my watts for an IM. This is for my 8th IM but first using power during race.
How was your power at lactate threshold determined?
Also, how fast are you going at 250 watts in your race setup?
jaretj
Determined by 3 different 40min TT tests on Computrainer at training facility.
I’d only be able to guess what my pace is at 250 watts since I started riding with power meter in September and so have only had a coupel outdoor rides through the winter but I would estimate between 23-25mph.
So, does anyone have a formula or rule of thumb for watt average pacing for an IM based on watt output at LT?
I’ll get back later tonight. I just got really busy at work.
jaretj
Forzagto
Just so we are all speaking the same language, there is no such thing as lactic threshold power number. There is FTP or Functional Threshold Power. If you have properly identified this number then your watts for an IM distance race would be around 65-75% of this number. An Elite may hold a higher % of power, but for age groupers that I coach, we usually aim for about 75%. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Thank Mike, I appreciate your information. I was given a Lactate Threshold Power number of 250 watts. This was performed by a high profile coach and ex-USPS team member who you would know. Would the FTP number be based on a similair test as the 40min TT?
Just so we are all speaking the same language, there is no such thing as lactic threshold power number. There is FTP or Functional Threshold Power.
That’s an interesting remark. I have three questions, hopefully you can help me:
1 - Does a lactate threshold power exist?
2 - What would you call the intensity (power) for which lactate threshold occurs?
3 - Does the lactate threshold power correspond to FTP?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
what’s ‘FTP’??
A concept that Andrew Coggan got from one of the most well-known running book, claiming later that he had never read the book or heard of the concept before.
Thank Mike, I appreciate your information. I was given a Lactate Threshold Power number of 250 watts. This was performed by a high profile coach and ex-USPS team member who you would know. Would the FTP number be based on a similair test as the 40min TT?
What Mike is saying is that most of the power-users in the tri-world speak in the terms provided through WKO+. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the baseline number we use to make sense of all the other numbers. FTP = the power you can hold for a 60’ time trial. The 2 x 20’ (2’) that jaretj referenced above is a “good enough” test, as few of us are able to make a quality 60’ TT happen very often.
There are other methods but what is important is that they are a measurement of what you can DO, not what your blood chemistry, gas exchange, whatever says is going inside your body. Think “I can bench 250 lb” vs “I breath into a tube/get my finger pricked while I’m on the bench. SmartGuy sez that at chemistry/gas marker X I have 250lb on the bar.”
Sounds like you are using the later and depending on the test, the tester, definitions, etc, it’s possible for you to have a wide range of results. But the rest of the power-training tri-world is speaking from the perspective of “I don’t really care what’s going inside my body. All I know is I can bench 250lb and that’s the number I use as a frame of reference.”
Thank Mike, I appreciate your information. I was given a Lactate Threshold Power number of 250 watts. This was performed by a high profile coach and ex-USPS team member who you would know. Would the FTP number be based on a similair test as the 40min TT?
Like Rich says, ‘that’s good enough’ if you use the 40’ #.
What does the high profile coach say?
A concept that Andrew Coggan got from one of the most well-known running book, claiming later that he had never read the book or heard of the concept before.
Having now read Daniel’s book, I think that you are really reaching here. Yes, he does refer to 10 mi race pace as ‘T’ pace, but didn’t specifically build a system around it, nor does he do much to conceptually link T pace to, e.g., LT, OBLA, MLSS, critical power, etc. IOW, it is highly unlikely that someone would have gone down the path I have just as a result of reading Daniel’s book; they would need to have a significant understanding of the physiology of exercise as well (and in fact our similar backgrounds in that area are what explain our similar approaches).
Just so we are all speaking the same language, there is no such thing as lactic threshold power number. There is FTP or Functional Threshold Power.
That’s an interesting remark. I have three questions, hopefully you can help me:
1 - Does a lactate threshold power exist?
2 - What would you call the intensity (power) for which lactate threshold occurs?
3 - Does the lactate threshold power correspond to FTP?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
I know that you are just asking rhetorical questions, but for the benefit of others:
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Yes (although most would refer to it as “power at lactate threshold”).
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See #1.
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Power at LT would tend to be somewhat lower than functional threshold power, but the exact relationship would depend on precisely how the former is defined. For example, using the “first uptick” would put power at LT about 20% below functional threshold power, whereas using the Dmax method would yield a value very close to functional threshold power. OTOH, Coyle’s approach of “1 mmol/L above exercise baseline” results in a power at LT that is about halfway in between.
am i the only one who find it odd that his power at LT being 4.1 W/kg yet only manages to average 23-25mph at that power? i would have expected 4.1 W/kg to be able to go over 25mph regardless of the rider’s actual weight.
*"*There are other methods but what is important is that they are a measurement of what you can DO, not what your blood chemistry, gas exchange, whatever says is going inside your body. Think “I can bench 250 lb” vs “I breath into a tube/get my finger pricked while I’m on the bench. SmartGuy sez that at chemistry/gas marker X I have 250lb on the bar.” Rich Strauss
Rich, I really like this analogy. I get so frustrated by athletes I know that pray to the all powerful lactate scout. Have you ever written an article expanding on this theme? If so, please share the link.
A question regarding FTP vs power at LT. I have seen determination of aerobic threshold based on LT as being -15 to -20. Is there an accepted factor for determining aerobic threshold off of FTP?
like I said the 23-25mph was only a guess since I have not ridden outside since starting to use power.