Correlating Watts with HR Training Zones

[Gadget]

I just got my iPro!

I recently took a Conconi Test where I rode the Computrainer, with 25W more resistance each minute, until I collapsed. The results of the test produced the following training zones:

Long Endurance: Heart Rate 143 - 162
Medium Endurance: 169 - 181
Anaerobic Threshold on the Flats: 186-192
Anaerobic Threshold on the Climb: 190 -197
Lactic: 192
Max HR: 202

The test didn't directly measure power, but they estimated the following:
Peak of Power Output: 325W, or 4.31 W/kg
AnT. Power Output: 225W, or 2.98W/kg (I'm not sure what AnT. means)

I have the following questions:
1. Using the above info, can someone take a stab at mapping a Wattage to each of my HR zones? For example, does 325W correlate with 202HR? And does "AnT." mean my anaerobic threshold is 225W, so that might correlate to 186HR?
2. I'm riding in a century next weekend. Where should I keep my Wattage to keep me going for 6-7 hours?

[racerfern]

I don't think you should correlate the two. The average wattage is affected quite a bit by the downhills so it's not such a good barometer. Normalized Power might be a better indicator. Definitely don't kill it starting off. In fact a common suggestion is to ride the second half of the century faster than the first half. That alone will force you to conserve. A big part of the final number is determined by how much climbing vs how much fast descending and also how well you can tuck into a group and save watts. After all the goal isn't to average as high watts as possible, it's to average as low watts as possible all the while being fast.

I'm 58yo and here's how my numbers line up. I just completed a difficult century and averaged 138 watts with an average HR of 140. My HR maxed at 181 during a couple of the climbs. My Normalized Power for the event was 178watts. I have my HR threshold at 148 and my FTP at 210watts.

hr_watts.png (5.73 KiB) Viewed 9172 times

Hope this helps. YMMV

[Gadget]

Thanks Fernando.

I'm not so much intent on drawing a direct correlation between HR and Watts as I am in having some Watt Ranges in mind as I'm riding, so I can have a feel for how hard I am working.

I'm planning on doing my first iPro Fitness Test on Tuesday morning, so I'll know whether I'm rated by the iPro as a 2, 3, 4, whatever. Can anyone suggest Watt Ranges (or Watt/kg ranges) that might correlate to the iPro fitness numbers?

Should I stop asking questions and just buy a copy of "Training and Racing with a Power Meter"? Any other recommendations?

[Gadget]

Here's a free excerpt from the Hunter Allen / Andy Coggan book:
http://www.peakscoachinggroup.com/Archi ... hapter.pdf

[coachboyd]

When doing a century, a good target is actually going to be your intensity factor. This is your ratio of normalized power to threshold power, so if you are dong the fitness test you will know your threshold power.

If you start off your century and you are at .94 intensity factor after the first hour, you are probably going to end up cracking at some point because you can't maintain that pace. For a good century, checking your IF and making sure it's around .83-.85 throughout the event will give you an overall faster time because you'll feel like you are conserving a bit at the start, and really pushing at the end.

Let us know how it goes.

[racerfern]

Thanks for that excellent pointer Coachboyd. You just made me feel better about how I thought I did on my century, Levi's Gran Fondo. My IF was .853 and I was pretty much done at the end. I was one of the slowest but for me it just set the bar for next year's event.

[arkiejon]

If you start off your century and you are at .94 intensity factor after the first hour, you are probably going to end up cracking at some point because you can't maintain that pace. For a good century, checking your IF and making sure it's around .83-.85

I read about "IF" in the manual and even printed it out. Then I had to read this posting a couple of times before it sunk in my thick head. If I want to ride longer use an IF under .85. I took a quick look back at my rides and found that I have been riding .91 and above.

Why is the "IF" four clicks away from the main screen being it is so useful?

[arkiejon]

Should I stop asking questions and just buy a copy of "Training and Racing with a Power Meter"? Any other recommendations?

This book is a manual for their website and should be given away free to their paid users. I found very little use for it.

[coachboyd]

If you start off your century and you are at .94 intensity factor after the first hour, you are probably going to end up cracking at some point because you can't maintain that pace. For a good century, checking your IF and making sure it's around .83-.85

I read about "IF" in the manual and even printed it out. Then I had to read this posting a couple of times before it sunk in my thick head. If I want to ride longer use an IF under .85. I took a quick look back at my rides and found that I have been riding .91 and above.

Why is the "IF" four clicks away from the main screen being it is so useful?

It's a useful number, but not something that you need to be focusing on throughout your ride. I find it something similar to temperature. It's something useful and nice to know, but you don't want to do your whole ride looking at that number.

When you are riding, looking at current speed, power, and heart rate is the most useful information. Unless you are doing intervals, then watts and average watts on the same screen is very important (user intervals)

[heith]

I know that I can ride for 2+ hours in HR zone2 and keep my HR:Power ratio coupled below a 5% cardiac drift. But if I ride the same 2.5 hours in zones 3 or partially in 4 my drift would be a lot higher. So I think it would be best to try and correlate the two to their respective times.(endurance HR for hours,threshold HR for less than an hour)
So if you were doing a century and you were riding at endurance/tempo and crossed the threshold line a few times your HR would probably drift upwards causing you to slow down when you really don't have too. So I guess, I agree, use avg.watts and NP on long rides not HR.

I also notice on WKO+ if I use pie charts in both HR and Power trainings zones they never match up when looking at both charts side by side after a ride. Especially when doing short intervals as HR lag leaves you in one zone while power is in another.