Set-up

Mid-session data view.

I use Golden Cheetah v3 when I'm doing my workouts giving a live readout of key parameters. It's completely customisable and is great for post-session analysis too. Here's a screenprint taken at the end of today's session, showing the HR, power, cadence and speed traces in the main graph, short-term power and HR in the smaller graph, as well as target power, instantaneous power, cadence, HR and elapsed time in the smaller windows. The data is gathered from a Garmin HR strap (£32) and a Powertap G2 Pro+ hub (£loads). This data is recorded on the Garmin 800 (£250 ish) as well as straight onto my laptop via a Garmin ANT+ dongle (£25).

Success!

After a disappointing session yesterday I thought I'd repeat it with exactly the same set up.

Black line = power. Red line = HR.

 

As you can see, I managed to compete it and quite easily too. My heart rate was significantly lower than yesterday, with a peak HR of 167 compared to 175 which I think has something to do with my lower cadence (around 14 rpm lower than yesterday). I even managed a 480W blast at the end, just for fun.

 

So what have I learned? From day to day my performance varies a lot for no apparent reason. I just wish I knew why.