CP12 Test

I rode my CP12 test last night. I decided not to do it on Sunday since my legs were still a little fatigued from the long ride on Saturday. My shoulders were also really tight on Sunday. I think it was a combination of the long ride, my strength workout (lots of pullups, for me anyway), and hunching my shoulders in the cold ice rink the day before.

Anyway, I was able to complete the CP12 test to my satisfaction in one attempt. I followed Friel's advice and tried to hold a slightly lower power value than I thought I should; it ended up being a good strategy. My hunch was that my CP12 power would be around 240W, so I tried to hold 230W. With about 2 minutes to go, I was really starting to struggle, but I held 230 through to the end; I don't think I could have done much more.

I'm not particularly thrilled with the number itself (since I held 240W last year for half an hour), but it's early in the season and this CP12 test has a strong anaerobic component. So, this is just telling me that my anaerobic fitness has declined over the winter. That's to be expected.

One more test to go, CP6. I'll try to knock this one off tonight. I think I performed the tests in a pretty good order, saving the two that I didn't have a good feel for (CP12 and CP6) for last. Based on the test last night, I think I have a better idea of what my CP6 power should be.