Hi all,
This year has been a really good year for me from a training perspective (pretty dire in all other respects, but every cloud etc…). I’ve been able to be consistent with my training and because I am not at work, and not with my work mates, my calorie consumption fell dramatically and I’m now 66kgs (from 74kgs) and hovering around 3.8w/kg. My FTP was low at the start of the year for me, at about 228w and I managed to peak at 253w during my last FTP test (I used Kolie Moore’s Baseline). My main takeaway though from this years’ training was a much more improved aerobic engine and I smashed a number of my PRs on climbs as I was able to hold higher power for longer.
I’m 50yo, 51 in a few months. This year I did SSB - Gen Build - Century Speciality all at MV. After Century I did the first 4 weeks of SSB MV again, then went into Sustained Power Build.
My issue is that I’m now being crushed by the interval sessions in SPB MV, to the point where I have to take short back pedal breaks during intervals. This week was the last hard week of the plan and I’ve basically folded like a cheap table napkin and have missed one session just through mental fatigue and my session today, Stromlo +4, I had to quit after the 4th interval (I followed up with 30 mins of endurance to compensate).
Is it just time to call it a day and leave the bike alone for a week or two? Was trying to squeeze two builds into a year a bit much at my age?
This time of year I do like to go back to doing some running, walking and gym work. Mentally I also find it tough being on the bike indoors as there’s nothing really to train for and I know my FTP is going to drop.
My plan now is to do very little cycling for the next two weeks, then spend 10 weeks doing low vloume training while mixing in running and gym work. My plan for next year is to start with Trad Base MV - Sustained Power Build and then Century Spec again as I am heading to the Alps in August (covid dependent).
Does that make sense? Anything I should be taking into consideration? Thanks in advance.
Jack