I’m beginning to enjoy my running again, but keep the bikes for when the inevitable niggles come from running!
After a few years 100% bike, I started running again this year. Doing a masters plan on the bike, and running to feel (i.e. not structured training) is working for me so far.
I think as cyclists (and perhaps especially road cycling) FTP increases are so brutally hard-fought for that the idea of voluntarily giving them away is almost unthinkable.
If I’m honest, I have had fairly lengthy periods of my life where I’ve worked pretty hard at cycling, often mostly indoors, purely to avoid my FTP dropping even when I’ve had no real reason to maintain it. I don’t really regret that as its good for you and I kind of enjoy it anyway (even the indoor trainer) but over a long time this can definitely stop you exploring other activities which is a shame.
For most of us who are just mortals, it’s a moot point whether we’re really strong or a little less strong on the bike at any given time. My serious cycling friends know exactly how fast or not I have been in the past (and am generally) and my non-cycling friends all seem to think I’m tour de france material just because I cycle up hills occasionally. In both cases, I guess neither of their opinions of me will change if I lose 10 watts over winter.
I agree with the last bit and relate it to my weightlifting days. Now i lift as much as i can, balanced with work and riding and running and it all lets me “enjoy the process” a lot more. I might even get back to as strong as i was if i zone out and keep doing it for enjoyment.
Takes a special mindset to just focus on one sport forever, I always thought i would but its easier said than done.
For what it’s worth, what I’d add to what’s already been said in this thread, that worked in my case . Your mileage may vary
Going from 3 to 2 intense days per week (masters plan). Structured training is draining physically and mentally. 2 gives a decent training stress and you can reap the benefits of z2 for the rest
Switching to rollers. A big part of what makes riding outside so much is the cognitive engagement. Having to balance yourself on the rollers you can’t just zone out entirely. At the beginning it can be annoying for some peeps I guess, but if you get used to it after a couple of sessions it gives you a baseline cognitive distraction. Z2 on a trainer is so boring. Long Z2 on rollers is fun !
Full time job w/ kids. How about just efficiently riding the bike (or running) for cardiovascular fitness and stress relief and spending more time w/ your kids? They’ll be grown up and gone soon, and you’ll regret not giving them more time.
It’s not too hard to get quite a few hours in simply while the kids are sleeping/before work. During my off season right now I can easily do 1.5 hr rides in the morning before anyone is up. On the weekends I usually have an off day and the other day I can be done pretty dang early if it’s a trainer ride, and usually by 11-12 for outdoor rides. During race season I’ll pick it up a bit more but other than my one weekend ride, usually done before lunch, training can have no impact on family life.
During race season I’ll swap some 1.5 hr rides to 2 hrs, likely add another week day, and extend my weekend ride another 1-2 hrs. Fortunately this also coincides with the sun coming up early, so I can be home around the same time during the 1 weekend ride.
I totally agree.
Within the last couple of years, I’ve accepted that my fitness and FTP are just numbers that really don’t matter. What matters to me is getting out on a run or a ride and putting out a good effort that feels like I’m doing some work with my body.
I want to stay healthy, but it doesn’t take much aerobic activity to achieve that goal.
Unfortunately, I think that putting a number on one part of our fitness through FTP has created a world of comparison, and we’re always pushing to stay in or get to the next milestone to tell the world that we’re enough of an enthusiast. Getting your FTP from 250-300-350, or 3-4-5 w/kg, is always top of mind for many of us, and while those are great goals that I’ve used as motivation in the past, it’s a slippery slope in terms of the shifting of why you’re reaching for those goals, and what they mean to you.
At the end of the day, if you don’t need X fitness to win a race, I think cycling can be much more enjoyable when you chase feelings through mental engagement in the form of riding a bicycle through a terrain, or an effort through RPE, than trying to focus on numbers that can then be used to determine where we stack up in the world.
As I always say, it’s a balance, and I’m all for using both, but it’s important to have a pulse on your relationship with cycling, overall health, and why you’re getting on your bike each day.
Yeah, duh. That why I said “I”.
Reduce indoor riding time and combine with running outdoors. For example, instead of 1.5 hrs on the trainer do 1 hour then hop off, switch shoes and throw on a sweatshirt, then head out for 30 minutes. You got 90 minutes. Once you get accustomed to running go 45 and 45 or whatever you want. You’ll probably find that the riding gets your legs warmed up for running so you avoid the initial 10 minute slog from running on “cold” knees/muscles.
In triathlon those bike/run workouts are called Brick workouts. Great idea if you want to train run and bike fitness and are time challenged.
Yeah, I find running off the bike much easier than just going running, (even in a 70.3), for the reason you mention, you get warmed up.
Usually when there is a loss of sense, artificial goals matter more than the experience. We probably all started cycling because it was fun, no matter how far or fast we went.
I don‘t want to repeat what has been said, just saying that it seems experience itself has lost its value.
I myself for example like Zwift racing (ZRL) in winter. Not because I could win (I did sometimes), but the story unfolding during the race captivates me.
In the summer I like climbing hills, just being on hill x again, doing it every year, then sometimes the views. It‘s like hiking. I like being there.
I don‘t get the FTP chase (maybe because I‘m in lost territory anyway 
), what do people do with their FTP? It sounds fatigueing to me. I mean if it‘s a number for someones health or fitness - I can understand that. I also get fast rides, they are fun. But imagine someone would buy a bike to „improve my FTP“.
Most tips mentioned so far help with this.
You have a full time job, kids, wife, and likely 1-2 hours of downtime per day max, and you spend it staring at a TV or wall doing intervals? It’s pretty easy to see why you’re burned out…