>>1022170>Still, unless you're a Cat-1 pro at the top of your game, I don't think you're averaging 90% of your VO2max for 3 hours. Your training zones must be off. What testing method are you using, and how often do you re-test yourself?This is my most eminent question: I was on a nationally-renowned junior squad many years ago, but that was my last time racing, seven years ago. I've been cycling thousands of miles since then, and only now that I have a proper race bike am I trying to see "where I stand" categorically (again, determined pretty much only by W/Kg and training volume); Cat 2? Cat 1? I have no way of knowing until the spring racing season of course, so all I would like to know is a rough estimate of "where I am" before racing season. But what makes you believe that my numbers are "off"?
>Still, unless you're a Cat-1 pro at the top of your game, I don't think you're averaging 90% of your VO2max for 3 hoursMy training zones are based off of a 285 FTP setting (I am 5'9, 129.5 lbs), which is corroborated by Strava estimates, GoldenCheetah readouts and my maximum 1-hour Normalized Power extracted from a recent ride. Additionally, I am only particularly good at 25-75 mile rides or Gran Fondos: this is a picture of me, which clearly shows I don't have the frame or legs of a sprinter or a crit racer. For additional reference, all my shirts are XS that I often have to tailor-in to make less baggy, and I'm a 29 waist
