# Training with Watts



## Samba (Feb 21, 2008)

Finally made the transition to a PT after years of training with a HR monitor. I have to pick up some literature on training with power and then look into WKO+1 or something. Yesterday I did a "test" to see if the power was similiar to HR on a 20 minute interval. It was close but with the HR there seems to be more variables.
I did a 20 minute interval and went into it with a LT interval mindset. 

I averaged 270 for a 20 minute interval after a good 10 minute warm up onto a rolling road. 
I have also (a couple of days ago) did hill repeats. 3 minute intervals with the intention of keeping them all over 320 watts. My first interval was avg. @ 355 and by the 5th, 298 watt avg.

So, will the books and WKO help me target zones? I bought the PT impulsively because it was a deal from a friend and I would not be getting an opportunity like this so I took advantage of it an dhope to really use it to improve training over the winter months. I have used Friel as a guide when trainin gwith HR. My Max, is 194 (I have seen 199 once...once) but 194 is a max that I hit full on spriniting all out effort. LT is around 178 approx.

Other info.

5'9'' and 153lbs
Cat 4 racer in the NE, race in PA and NJ mostly.
3rd season of racing and training.

Any insight, guidance or direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.


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## I am The Edge (Jul 27, 2004)

yes, wko and "training and racing with a power meter" by allen and coggan will open up the world of any powermeter and training with power to you. i use mine with wko to track my stats from my pt while using the pre-built training plans in training peaks, and ive read the book which is very informative on how to interpret your data.


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## TurboTurtle (Feb 4, 2004)

Samba said:


> Finally made the transition to a PT after years of training with a HR monitor. I have to pick up some literature on training with power and then look into WKO+1 or something. Yesterday I did a "test" to see if the power was similiar to HR on a 20 minute interval. It was close but with the HR there seems to be more variables.
> I did a 20 minute interval and went into it with a LT interval mindset.
> 
> I averaged 270 for a 20 minute interval after a good 10 minute warm up onto a rolling road.
> ...


Caveat - I am not a coach.

It sounds to me like your initial problem is going to be figuring out that power and HR do not correlate. I would recommend dumping the HR strap for the time being. 

2nd the "Training With Power"

Good site. Most, but not all of this, is in the book. http://www.cyclingpeaks.com/power411/

Good blog on testing - very important! http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/2008/05/seven-deadly-sins.html

An FAQ - http://midweekclub.ca/powerFAQ.htm

Another good site (keep in mind that these 'systems' are not all the same and do not define the zones the same) - http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=112

TF


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

I would lean toward sticking with Coggan's defined zones. If you mention L3, L4, L5, etc, almost everyone in tune with power training will know exactly what you are talking about. Tell them you are training in zone 4 and you have 10 different zones from 10 different people.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

To me, the biggest plus of power is the WKO software. Learn about it and play with customizing the graphs. Learn how to add maximal power at various durations to the performance manager (good way to look for changes in fitness etc), look at power distribution in terms of training zones, and definitely learn the details of the performance manager - TSS is a much better way to think about how hard a ride was than other measures. Learn to use change in CTL to see if you're adding to much load over time, getting adequate recovery etc. 

re the heart monitor comment, I know a lot is made about variance in heart rate but I find it useful to wear one with my powertap; it's not like there's NO correlation (I suspect that in fact it's likely highly correlated, particularly over durations of 5 min). Like you I used to train with a heart monitor for years- as you transition to power you can refer to heart rate to get a sense of what power production looks like (I also find it useful to look at heart rate to measure recovery on the bike between efforts etc)


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