Originally Posted by
topflightpro
A couple more thoughts.
You could also downgrade to a 3. You were having fun then. Nothing wrong with going back to where you were having fun.
And are you following a training plan? It seems like you've always sort of trained haphazardly without a real plan. Maybe a more focused plan with established goals would make things less miserable?
Lastly, I'll reiterate this point, you don't have to race, and you don't have to race road bikes. There are other disciplines that you might enjoy more. Track's been mentioned a few times - that would certainly fit with your lifting. I'm currently in the gym every other day. (Sometimes I'm on the bike on those days too, and in-between days.) Or, if the community and camaraderie is what you're after, maybe find more social road rides or try gravel or mtb, which I've found to be more relaxed.
Oh I've debated the downgrade. But then I'd probably just make it my mission to upgrade again lol. Too competitive if given the opportunity.
The training plan thing is complicated. I've done different things every year. Most of them had intervals, rest days, rest weeks. I never was able to "peak" though. Too busy keeping fitness all year. Never got a coach though, nor created more than a couple months plan at once. Aerobic stuff is really weird in that everything seems to lag (I was whining about in the training status thread last week when I was due for recovery week and did that huge ride and felt like ***** for 10 days).
Heart rate data might help with that but I really hate all the putzing with equipment already and would not deal with it well. I already hate that I have to put on a ridiculous looking skin tight uniform in like 12 steps.
I do think a good training plan could help, but I don't think I could trust a coach to know my particular issues. I've had too many people tell me too many dumb things. I mean most of the internet said getting 160mm cranks was a scam/fad and/or stupid and after I got them they were the best thing ever and I was mad I didn't listen to my own rational thinking and do it years ago.
I did totally eff up my training the past year as I mentioned in an effort to not put so much effort into it. Too many late night beer rides (IOW hanging with friends) wreaking havoc on recovery. Throws off workout plans for the next morning also. Which comes back to the thing about aerobic work lagging. You don't feel the recovery happening. I think the gym actually helps me with recovery cuz it's so in-my-face about it. I get tired and I've even napped mid day on the weekend. The legs feel thrashed the day after deadlifts and I ride at ~40 watts.
The casual ride I did on Sunday after recovery week-and-a-half was like I had a motor in my legs. Threshold effort was up 50 watts from pre-recovery week. Still super low, but interesting to notice how a day of rest in the gym is like a whole week of rest on a bike.
Originally Posted by
spectastic
why not just train for fun? makes life considerably simpler
I would probably not train if I had zero plans on racing. I'm training now I guess, but it's more of an experiment. See where I get. If I don't get somewhere good I don't need to race.
Originally Posted by
furiousferret
Many of us don't have the talent to just have to fun and be competitive. While I enjoy training, I'd much rather veg out at zone 1 either solo or with a group.
Vegging in zone 1 is nice. Riding hard is nice when I'm rested, and as long as I stop when it's not nice anymore. Being fit makes riding at 200 or 250 watts a lot easier than it is after 6 months of not riding, which is also nice.