did 8hrs last week, mainly easy sub90min stuff, but Sat I went out for the first time since Dec for 3hrs, it was chilly in the low 40s but was good. But many regrets not riding yesterday afternoon, it ended up being mid 60s and sunny despite a forecast of rain throughout the day.

starting a threshold block this week, so the key workouts will be 3x10 and 2x15 ftp and progress from there, should be 12hrs overall for the week

Shorter hours last couple weeks (12, 11) so I'm trying to pile on some volume this week and aiming for 17-18. Starting next week there will be much more racing and intensity to hours will go down.

Today will be a quadruple ride file kind of day:

30 min warmup on trainer
1.75 hrs on the TT bike, 2x25' SST and 1x10' at race pace, ending at home
30 min commute to work on the road bike
30 min commute home later

5 sets of 5 x 1' vo2max on/offs (Bluebell +2 for you TrainerRoad folks.) That was a killer, but I am more and more impressed with TrainerRoad's AI. It seems to pick workouts that are just on the side of doable without completely failing.

Rode the Tacx Neo 2 on Saturday and Sunday in erg mode and used one of my coaches routines for an endurance workout. I punched in the power changes required on my iPhone over time - not that convenient.

Monday was a strength training session with personal trainer. Using my body weight as force in strength workouts designed to build functional strength is horrid. I did single arm high rows kneeling using a cable. It destroyed my trapezius / deltoids - DOMS plus it feels like someone used me as a punching bag. As large part of the workout is form which of course makes the effort a lot harder.

Tuesday was TTT on Fiesta with wife - warmup and four laps plus cool down.

I love those efforts after 3k KJs. I'm focussing this year on when I do the work as much as how much work I do, which is something I wish I'd thought more about in the past.

Yeah, my perception is they're useful, especially if done when you've already got a few days of fatigue in your legs. I've also started doing two Zwift races on some days, which really twists the knife if you do an hour or two of riding between events.

Training crits have started in NEBRA but I probably won't be racing outside until April as it is hard to justify driving 2hrs each direction for 50min training crits. In the meantime, Zwift races are giving me the kind of 30sec-1min punch I do not usually have until late May or June. I still can't sprint at all indoors though.

2x20' sweet spot intervals this morning. I'm in the office 3 days a week now and this morning I tried to resurrect my old routine, which is to ride to the office, drop off my backpack and head across the river to do my interval set. And I was reminded what a pain in the butt it is: it involves locking up my bike in the bike cage, walking through the garage, taking an elevator to the lobby, taking another elevator to the gym, putting my bag in a locker, and reversing the process. If I hadn't been carrying my laptop, I probably would have just done the intervals with my backpack on. Or what I had been doing, which is hop on the trainer which is already set up in my garage, knock out my intervals on TrainerRoad, and shower and change in my own bathroom. I'd still ride to work, but on my commuter. Oh well, first world problems.

I vote trainer and then commute to work lightly on the other bike. That's what I do often. That elevator/gym fiasco sounds like too much hassle haha,

Yeah, I think you're right. Looking at Strava, it took me 16 minutes to ride to the office, another 16 minutes to drop the backpack, and 10 minutes to ride to the start of the road where I do my intervals. So 42 minutes before even starting my workout, and a bunch more clothes (warmers, vest, gloves, etc., v. bibs and shoes).

It's funny, years ago I started bike commuting for training reasons. At the time I was doing workouts after work and I figured it would be more efficient to have my bike with me at the end of the work day rather than taking the bus home first. Then I started meeting a buddy for early morning rides before work so I started doing this backpack drop routine. Of course, this was all before smart trainers, TrainerRoad, Zwift, etc

I don't know how we all survived and got along back then lol. Love my smart trainer.

On that note, I took advantage of the early daylight before DST this weekend and did my 3 hour pre-work ride outside, starting at 5:45. Ordinarily it would be Zwift for 2.5 than a commute.

I felt pretty good, and kept it at a nice high Z2 AP the whole ride. Tomorrow off (strength routine), 6 hour spirit quest endurance ride Saturday, then a couple hours with some more TT work to put the nail in the coffin of this week and this training block.

It really is amazing how much things have progressed since like 2015. Riding inside is sometimes, dare I say, fun.

I hit the Zwift workouts I had been doing by raising over a month and a half thru 275, then 280, 285, and now 290 baseline ftp for the workouts.

I do the Le Col workouts under overs by Wiggins and Kristen Armstrong.

I start out a week doing just one each in the same workout, like 38min total work in zones. The next week I try to add a set to them and accomplish this workout I found that is 30min straight of the under/over stuff. Then, based off how it's looking, decide to up the power when the 3rd week hits. Then, after a month or so, off week of some easier volume. Then repeat.

I'm gaining something. I'm hoping maybe to do these workouts at 300w baseline by TT season. It would be wicked to go from a 265w TT bike FTP for a 40 to 280w for this year paired with aero gains.

My progress is coming along well enough. FTP is going up steadily, albeit slowly but that's fine. I'm getting consistent at holding 1000w+ for 10s now in my sprint intervals so if that remains the same at 64kg I'll be happy with that for my age.

First race this year in just under a month, MTB XC and then a Gran Fondo in May.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa6b361ea2.png

Warmup and 9min of under overs at 290w ftp setting in Zwift. Tried the +/- thing in companion app and got the next 2 sets of 9min at 296w ftp. Those two were tougher. Day before did 30min under over at the 290w ftp that was tough. As that's one nonstop set with 6min built in at vo2 power.

Journey to the 300w hour continues. Pretty sure with an off day or so, I could probably do a 290w hour right now.

I'll stick another week at the 290w setting on the 30min workout and go with 295w for the other under/overs. Then reassess.

I feel like in 2021 I got turned off to so many intervals routinely over weeks after trying and missing the first few workouts. Then realizing, train at the power you have, not the one you dream of and trust the zones. Trust them as the pain WILL come. It may take time in the workout, but it's coming. 2021 I just did a bunch of tempo and sweetspot and the needle didn't move a lot. I've also found a trio of workouts I really feel fits my personality and goals.

2021 I think I barely did 260w for an honest hour. This year I've already done it for right at 2 hours, 2:15 if going by nominal power.

One thing coming probably next week though, is I need another week into vo2. I've come to dislike vo2 weeks. Just nothing about 400w for a few min at a time interests me.

I am having a particularly groggy end of rest week. HR is 10-15 beats low for any given effort and legs are feeling pretty unresponsive. I am thinking I perhaps took it too easy. But also, this is my first rest week with such a high training load in years, and I recall that in the past it took a week to feel normal again after some R&R. CTL is 87 with positive tsb.

Tried for a 40min FTP test yesterday but my legs just feel too funky for a long effort and I pulled the plug around minute 20. Spinning easy today and will see what tomorrow is like!

Tonight is the TT club group ride. Then we chat over beer plans for the TT route and rides for this year.

I'm by far the strongest rider so will ride the cross bike tonight and try not to lose too much of a gap. That's worth probably 10w of aero and 30w of tires. So more workout, but sticking with the group better. Plus, 38mm tires are just so cush. Lol.

Ski week. Two days in the bag. My biggest improvement is altitude adaptation. I no longer have significant altitude symptoms such as headache. I climbed 4 flights of stairs to avoid a crowded elevator and it felt similar to climbing stairs at sea level although, I felt the lack of O2 in recovery. My SPO2 readings and HR are typical for sea level and a couple of years ago, my HR was elevated and SPO2 depressed and I did not feel great in general.

New 1min PR - best ever by 30 watts!

Tease. No numbers? :)

Did a nominal power busting ride with the TT club group Tues night. Rode the cross bike on 38mm treaded. It cost some watts for sure. But I guess if the delta on watts and weight is big enough it doesn't matter. I still could pull away pretty easily. 280w NP for the 1:15 ride. Felt good. When they push the start time back I'll just get in a 40min workout of intervals or something before the ride, then go on the ride and play sweeper in the future. Even with those tires and the cross bike it was too much a difference.

Garmin claims bike and run VO2max are up. 63 bike and 55 run. It's still a "novelty" number, but makes you feel good for work you've put into it.

lol. 689 - not huge but good number for me.

I've held off, as in never, riding the 30 mile long MUP by the river on the TT bike. Ian Boswell showed up to town recently while in the region and on a joy ride killed (while probably just chilling in Z2) a ton of the crowns in that area.

I'm guessing early AM on a work week day I could get away with it and probably destroy the whole 30 miles as nobody would be out there.

Hmmmmm. I'm tempted.

Dude, that's pretty strong. That's a duration I almost never go for max efforts on. Do you start standing and just drive as long as you can before maybe sitting at the end?

Got some new wheels today just in time for my first race of the season on Saturday. Feeling pretty fit and as excited to start as I can remember. I think a big part of it is the warm, dry forecast. Cold and rainy doesn't help with the motivation.

Nah I wasn't actually testing, there just happens to be a hill around here that takes slightly over a minute at the pace I was going. I stood for the whole effort. Zwift races have helped a bunch I think, I am not a particularly punchy rider.

Today was a big ol' nothingburger. Aimed for the tour de zwift tour of fire and ice and gave up about 7 minutes into the alpe du zwift part of the ride My HR is just entirely unresponsive, so I'm gonna take a couple more easy days and get back to it.

What wheels?! I just picked up a set of Winspace Hyper 50s myself!

I feel my run volume has helped with gaps in time in regards to building some ftp this year. But I swear I'm holding onto some weight from training stress anytime I run a decent amount in a week. As soon as I drop that volume in a week and go just bike, a couple pounds come off. Random comment of the day after being mad at the scale.

That's probably because you can't maintain the same volume running as you can cycling. For a fit cyclist, a 4-5 hour ride is no big deal. For a fit runner, a 4-5 hour run is damned hard, we're talking 20-30 miles on the road. IME, calorie burn per hour is similar between the two. OTOH, running helps with bone density, which is a historical weakness among folks who are strictly cyclists.

That's most likely it. I've built just enough cross-training durability to be able to do pretty respectable 5k/10k runs routinely, but not enough volume for my body to really adapt to the stress.

So probably each week when the runs get inserted, the body is like "wtf you doing to me, mate?" Even though the runs "feel good" as in no pain at all and you feel you can give it some gas if you want to.

I'm doing this to myself because they haven't posted or permitted the local TT series and if they don't soon I'll sign up for a local duathlon instead in April. TT regionals is around same time in May as last year. For that I'll cut the run volume out after the duathlon and only do TT work.

Bought the fixie to vert dropout adapter and once that is in hand will order from Amazon a spare chain and a basic single speed spacer kit for the Wahoo Kickr. Then will start doing my indoor workouts on the track bike in aero. That way I don't put a ton of gallons of sweat onto basically a time trial "superbike" setup. Also that way I can still toss the roadie on there off and on. I didn't buy the fixed gear Kickr kit. Don't care to do that.