Originally Posted by
Drew Eckhardt
Add 10% riding time per week on the days you do ride, except one week in 3 or 4 when you need reduced load for adaptations to occur.
When total time divided by one day more allows a pleasant ride length, revert to your previous mileage and add a day.
Stop adding time when you're happy.
Note you should limit intensity most days. You're not fresh enough to ride hard and force training adaptations in your fast twitch muscles, but are going hard enough to recruit them and unload your slow twitch fibers so they're not getting better either.
I like VO2max Mondays (3-4x10 minutes as hard as possible, over 110% of FTP), Threshold Thursdays (ride at 90-95% of FTP for 1-1.5 hours), and Not Short Saturdays (at least double the weekday time) with pleasant endurance rides except Sunday which is for rest.
Thanks everyone. I think that might actually be the main thing. I went from never riding to straight into hour long rides and ramping up the intensity. I was assuming that the FTP profile was keeping it in check, but I think my body just isn't really used to cycling yet. Especially since I've been tweaking my bike setup the past month. I actually had to drop down the resistance in one of the climbing sessions I did because I could not keep up with the wattage.