End of the year/start of a new year is always a rough transition for a lot of people, so let’s talk about it. Is it going well? Are you behind on training? Generally discouraged? Let it out!
Personally, my body weight is up 3% and FTP is down 6% thanks to holiday food and lots of travel. Time for me to get back to work!
Training is flat but I feel good. Increased 2% this morning. Weight is steady and I’m thankful the junk food is behind me. Which is nice because I work in an auto dealership and that time of year is notorious for candies, cookies, etc. from banks, and, well, I don’t want to be rude…haha!
Some mornings when the alarm sounds at 0415 I think, ‘Why?’, but then I remember I have some pretty big goals for myself this year (two centuries - completed my 1st last year) and I turn half-a-century, so why not make it a year to remember?
The good. Finished build and about to start specialty:
The not so good:
Overall no complaints. I have a super awesome team for 2019 so the whole social aspect of this is rolling really well which is important to me.
Entered 2019 with my highest starting FTP and lowest starting weight. I’ve put about 1kg back on from doing strength and core workouts (my body is a fast responder it seems).
Haven’t done any testing since the beginning of December, but Season Match PRs are trending around 10% ahead of last year.
More important, I have 100% compliance on all of my process goals so I’m stoked about that.
Feeling like a January hero.
The good
The not so good
2019 is starting in the right direction … Finished SSB just after the new year. Came down with an unexpected cold / flu that I was afraid would derail my sweet spot base. Four days off the bike and ramp tested to begin build plan. To my surprise, a 6% FTP increase. Sustained Power HV in progress.
Diet is clean and weight is dropping … Overall, feeling positive.
Was doing great a week ago. Then flew back home for 5 days and feel like deep crap from the southern food I shoveled in my endless pie hole. I feel soft, love handle-y, and up probably 5lbs. To top it all off, first race is next weekend, and it’s a road race with about a 7 minute climb each lap 
for 3 laps!
Okay, done whining.
Sounds like me last year. I trained solid through the winter then basically took a 6 week taper - eating, drinking and hanging out with friends and family - coming into my first race of the season, haha.
Trying to avoid that urge this year!
Yeahhhhhh I won’t make that mistake again either, haha.
2019 is off to a pretty good start. FTP down 4w aka nothing BUT ability to go above FTP repeatedly so much better (think over under workouts). 2x A grade (cat 1/2) wins and have finished on the podium of every other race. w/kg down to 5.5 as I put on a 1.5kg but considering how good the race results are I’m not concerned. Looking forward to losing the extra weight and gaining a few watts in hopes of getting the FTP back to 5.7ish w/kg. which should help with my goals of doing well in hilly road races and maybe gravel nationals.
I never let up over the holidays and it’s paying off. I’m already fairly strong on the bike starting at 0.2w/kg higher than last season at the same weight and am feeling really good. I mean, SSB is still a lot of suffering, but I’m staying ahead of the curve. Also my running is much stronger than last year, I managed to maintain 25% higher weekly mileage during my off season and am now the strongest January runner I’ve ever been. Just compared my workout with a year ago, 2018 around this time my long run was 23k @5:40min/km, last sunday I did 29k @5:25min/km. I daren’t say it yet, but a BQ in early April might be just within reach.
Only downside, I haven’t been swimming for a while now and don’t see how I can fit it in rn, guess I’ll have to wait for the open water season to kick off.
2019
)Not going to lie, the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 are all good, and I’m thankful for that.
Raced last weekend and whilst I didn’t get points, I ticked all of my pre-race goals and surpassed a couple by notable margins, so I was a happy chappy.
I feel fit, I feel strong and I feel committed, both mentally and physically. That is in no small part to TR and this forum. So thank you.
The Good:
The Bad:
Finished 2018 getting sick right before leaving for a vacation and 1 week off the bike. After getting back from vacation in January I was participating in a study to test the effectiveness of a topical gel on sprint performance. So as soon as I got back, I was told to do 2 sessions of 6x30s sprints, with teh first lab test 1 week after I returned, and the previous sessions had to be at least 48 hours apart.
So:
The Bad:
FTP/Steady state ability seems to have suffered. I usually get back up to speed quicker than this, but I didn’t get to do my normal routine of ramping things back up with a few easier rides, up to a few easier sweet spot efforts. I’m eagerly awaiting the next recovery week to see if I rebound then.
Weight does not seem to want to go down much, but really hard to tell since I’m trying to lose only a little bit of weight and it is currently fluctuating a lot.
Good
I set PB for 15-30s power in the sprint study
Repeatable 30s power is up 90 watts from first solo sprint session, up 75 watts since first testing session in lab.
Weight is equal to or slightly under last year’s race weight
FTP setting is higher than last year’s PB, with build still to come (just about to finish last base block)
Love threads like these!
Let’s see: FTP is up, but I’m not putting much stock into that value right now.
*Feel pretty fit.
*muscle definition is starting to show earlier this year in my quads and legs.
*weight is around 150 (race weight is usually around 145)
I’m on week 11 of SSB MV I/II. Will restart SSB MV I and II next week then go into general build then a speciality plan
The bad:
Only one ride outside this year. Was dropped on a climb with a bunch of fast 1/2/3s during a fast group ride/mock race thing on our second lap of five. So, not sure how my 4-5 min power is right now. This was done after 90 mins of threshold/over under the day before soo.
Overall feeling pretty good.
It’s been a roller coaster.
The Good:
The Bad:
My 2019 planning and training has been mostly good, but has a few notable downsides thus far.
I’m currently just over three weeks out from my first A race and my FTP is about 10 watts lower than I want it to be, but my repeat-ability on 1-5 minute power is very good and I’m feeling very fit and race ready despite the lower FTP value
My weight is almost exactly following the plan I drew out for it back in October. I hit my goal weight pre-Thanksgiving, put on a few pounds over the holidays, and am now back to my goal weight about three weeks post-holidays. I have to maintain this weight for the next few weeks and then will let the diet slip a bit during my post-race cooldown days.
I’ve avoided sickness and injury thus far and have been very compliant on workouts. I’ve failed one interval (or more) on five workouts total from Base to week five of Specialty - which feels like a fairly good success rate.
As for my FTP being lower than desired - I’m still at 360 right now and have been able to hit 375ish during the season the past few years. Why I haven’t been able to progress during the off season is a bit of a mystery to me so somewhat frustrating.
So…feeling good right now, but ask me on President’s day and I’ll have a better answer for how the year is going
Terrible!
Really bad case of the flu 2 weeks ago which is still lingering mildly on my chest, added to that a stomach bug just for good measure. Oh and a hospital visit yesterday to have a gastroscopy which thankfully was all clear. So essentially lots of stress and illness, this after a solid 4 weeks from just before new year and the first week into it.
Did 45 minutes tonight at roughly 200W and it’s a bit more taxing than I remember! So the plan is to repeat again tomorrow (bald knob) and then a bit more over the weekend leading in to a ramp test on Tuesday for SSB mid volume 2.
Fingers crossed health will return and I can crack on, basically had 3 weeks off which I’ve never done before.
Awesome!
Finished SPBHV with a bang.
Took a super chill recovery/rest week.
Started SSBHV2 with a crash.
Now diving into a personalized SSBHV2 plan.
Good times!
With everyone in my different environments being sick, I’m still hyper vigilant against illness. 
Will soon build an alter to the God of Flats…best to have him/her on my side come race day. Can never start too early!