In light of my feelings about what's going on with my riding, I decided to do some trainer testing today. It's not the most fun thing, but it gets you some numbers to work with, which is good for us engineers!
The first test I did was a 5 minute critical power test. It was hard, but I crushed it compared to the test I did in March! I improved 14%! (That's the nice thing about testing infrequently, and comparing to an early Spring number.)
Then I did my 20 minute / LT field test. Doing it shortly after the CP5 test is a change to my typical test protocol, but my result wasn't so different. I had a good improvement here also, but not as much as I was hoping for.
The tests sort of confirmed what I've been feeling, that I can make good power over short periods, but I have trouble holding it. So, I'm going to try to focus on improving that over the next month and see how things go.
The other interesting thing I noticed in the 20 minute test was how I was using my gears. Since I can watch my speed / power on the trainer computer, I can see how my speed is influenced by gear selection. I find that I end up using a slightly harder gear on the trainer than I probably would on the road or trail. When I do switch to that easier gear, if my legs need a break, my speed drops off immediately and my heart rate starts climbing. I'd mentioned some time ago that I'd noticed my HR was getting lower for these tests, and I'm pretty sure that this gearing thing is why.
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