Hi all. New to TR and just wondering if people could share some guidance on where to put my efforts in regard to a plan.
I usually ride outside however, with the COVID environment I am inside working from home and thought I would give the world of structured training a go rather than just slogging it out up Alpe du Zwift with no real goal in mind! I have heard great things about TR so really looking forward to the experience.
My goals? Over Summer I head down the coast and I ride with some pretty fast guys out on the road down there. I have always managed to ‘hold the wheel’ in those bunches but never really have the ability to pull a meaningful turn at the front. Those rides generally last anywhere from 1-3 hours and range from 30 - 90km in length - with the shorter rides being a lot quicker and a lot more intense than the 3 hour rides AKA ‘smash fests’. Looking to be able to hold my own in the bunch and also take turns to help the group out rather than just sticking deep left and hanging on. I would also like to better some of my PR’s on the local Strava segments down there. Most of the segments are flat, however, there are a few short punchy climb sections that I love doing as well.
Ideally I would like to increase my FTP to be above or around 4.2w/kg - 4.5w/kg and to also be able to rock up to those coastal rides over Summer (assuming we are allowed to travel to the coast by then!) and join the ‘faster’ bunches and be able to take rolling turns in the group, as well as longer sustained turns at the front pushing higher watts at threshold or above threshold for up to 5 minutes.
Would welcome any feedback or thoughts on which program to do?