Saturday 19 April 2014

Disrupting my digital self

Disaster. On my way to perform a FTP test, my power meter failed. What? A power meter measures how much power you generate whilst pedalling a bike. A Functional Threshold Test (FTP) tells you how much power you should generate when exercising (when doing intervals for example). An FTP test involves cycling as hard as possible for 20 mins - not exactly a pleasant experience.

Powerless, I still did the 20min effort - you can see it here:



But dataless, my digital self is disrupted.

No data means I don't know how fit I am compared to the last time I did the test. No data means I don't know what sort of power I need to aim for when out cycling, when riding up hills or doing intervals. Disruption means that my training diary which calculates levels of fitness, recovery and form is now inaccurate, incomparable.

But data can be felt too. Controlling power is hard: knowing the numbers doesn't mean they can be rigorously managed: worked towards in a more or less kind of way.

So maybe it doesn't matter after all. But Im still annoyed: when I finished the test, miraculously, the power meter started working again. Technology...




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