64 yo, on TR since 2017.
Last year–All of January lost to recovery from rib fractures/lung injury, February/March exclusively easy. Old AI FTP 1/27/25: 237. Used Master’s, set to demanding, 2 hard days, 2 long Z2, 2 short Z2. Added 15 minutes low Z2 to every work out. Increased total time to 8-9 hours/week.
Last AI FTP 9/30/2025 (right before start of main cross season): 255
All through Oct/Nov/December, 1-3 races/weekend, a VO2 max or anaerobic session on Tuesdays. No threshold work at all since July.
My finishes got better as the season progressed (something I’ve noticed every year with the TR cross plans).
After the last race in early December, took 10 days off completely
AIFTP (old system) 12/23: 241
Made it through the first week OK, but struggled with both the sweet spot and over-unders the second week
Got into the beta, new AIFTP 227 with prediction of 233. Played around with settings, decided to just go for it. Now 4 days/week. Still adding on 15 minutes (5 minute extended warm up, 10 minutes at end).
Nailed all the workouts, accepted the 233 and had Cloudripper -2 yesterday as first work, predicted “Hard”, rated “Hard”. Now with 4 week prediction of 243.
So well on track to be at least where I was last year at the start of the season (a win at my age), and probably better, with less hours.
I so far like the new AI model. The intervalls feel quite right. I even tampered with the plan: Removed sweet spot, added threshold and Vo2Max workouts. I‘m honest in the surveys.
I do additional training (gym, running and other) and I need to make sure to recover enough.
But I‘m only in week four, I need to test it another 1-2 months. Too bad the weather is just starting to get better.
Serious question, is 9 minutes at 100 +/- 5% of FTP supposed to be as hard as everyone’s making it out to be? I thought FTP was supposed to represent your 60 minute power, if you’re blowing up at an extra 10-15 watts for a less than a minute at a time, something doesn’t seem right.
I have mine set to aggressive, hoping for more intensity. I have yet to get any hard workouts prescribed since the update (I was not in the beta). I’m not manually manipulating FTP.
I had another O/U a week later and it was also pretty easy. That’s my last one for a while though, and future threshold work is mixed intervals through April. I’ll see what’s to come, I guess.
I have found it to be reasonable but haven’t experienced the major sways as others. I’m also doing a TR program vs self training for the first time in maybe a year? Hard to say how that may also sway things. I was having acceptable and moderate progress on the self training which I was fine with. I played around with my self programming some on the new AI FTP prediction and I did feel like the software almost seemed to not give non-TR program specified workouts reasonable credit because a program which had be building me to 290 FTP showed it would’ve been a major crash in predicted FTP vs what I had been successfully doing for 3-4 months.
Not the end of the world for now. The new plan builder gave me great flexibility and aside from the weak (typical for TR) weekend long rides, I’m much more impressed in my assigned program than I had been in the past. I wanted 4 rides per week, 2 intensity, and a long weekend ride (about 8 hrs total per week) and it took minimal modification to get it where I want, aside from me making my weekend rides longer despite saying I had 5 hrs available.
My next predicted AI FTP prediction is 308 in around 27 days.
Easy is like you forgot you were exercising at times and got distracted by other things.
Threshold always feels hard. It is at the inflexion point where you rapidly start to fatigue. It’s not “60min power” - and that discussion can be done elsewhere.
I don’t think you are doing yourself any favors in the long term manipulating your RPE response to try to trigger harder workouts.
I think the AI will just learn that your RPE responses are not to be trusted.
You would be better served by using the chad chart… it does look to me like your FTP is set too low though if level 4.5 threshold workouts are not noticeably hard.
Not really. But 3 of those intervals should be harder than easy. Unless your FTP is set too low. And all the over/unders you’re doing rated easy says your FTP is sett too low. Which is fine. Just seems like you’re setting yourself up for not getting stronger.
Like you said, you rate them Easy and hope to get harder workouts but they aren’t hard. Probably because your FTP is set too low. Thats why they’re not hard. Bump up your FTP a little and train harder.
O/u are supposed to be harder than normal threshold efforts. Hence the over part. TR o/u’s have always been a little weird in that most of them start at 95 and go up from there whereas I personally would prefer longer intervals starting at 90 and go up to maybe 110 but that’s just a preference.
You can average the wattage of the interval and say they don’t look like they should be that hard, but once you cross the mlss threshold, you’re on borrowed time.
I’ve never done an O/U interval in TR that was “easy” unless my ftp was way off.
I’m jealous you guys get cloudripper -3, I’m always given the -2 version that is 90m. I have it scheduled for this Friday - have others noted when looking ahead in your calendar, the scheduled workout is actually Not Recommended? Seems strange - maybe this is why is changes so much for people. I’m thinking the ML may want to see how I do on my SS workout today first.
I’ve been in since the Jan 1 beta group. AIFTP bumped me down to 283 (from 300) which I accepted.
The next 4 weeks of training were bang on. I stretched out my Sweet Spot and Threshold Workouts to 2 hours. I found I had to turn down the slider for Endurance from Demanding to Balanced because it was running me into the ground with .77 IF rides the day after SS workouts. I think I misinterpreted what that was going to do. Dynamic endurance has me at 2.5 hours so far. I believe it only dropped down to 2 for the recovery week.
First Threshold workout after my latest bump back to 300 was hard. Had 1 bobble but got through it. Tomorrow is a SS 6.3 workout (+0.1) from current level. Looks do-able but difficult which has been my general feel for every workout it’s thrown my way since the update. I feel super productive compared to prior year training.
I have Cloudripper -2 scheduled soon after AI FTP day. My plan is to replace it with a 20 minute FTP test to see if the predicted +3.6% gains are real or not …
Personally, I would not try too hard to compare the AI FTP to your “real” FTP. I say that because whatever format we each followed in the past is not going to be the model the AI is trained on. I’m going to focus instead on whether my power at various time intervals is improving.
I completely agree. The plan is to see if the 3.6% improvement predicted by TR AI materializes in my standard FTP. So I will be comparing my 20 minute FTP test from next week with the previous 20 minute FTP from just before the start of the first TR AI training block. That’s an apples to apples comparison. I am skeptical but willing to give it everything to make it so.
So cometh my meeting with CR-2 tomorrow (Saturday).
Failed antelope +1 on Thursday so Vennacher-1 was replaced with CR2.
I always seem to severely struggle with Thursday la hard workout. Felt ok on Geiger+2 on Tuesday but antelope+1 felt like 10min v02 blocks.
I have been trying to do my leg workout on the same day as the hard workouts (Tuesday in this case).
Today (Friday) I’m Feeling like pretty poor. Did a a recovery spin (Recess) but not feeling great about cloudripper-2 tomorrow
Its coming to the end of another 3week block of solid work. Understandable to be tired.
Been getting really up and down hunger cues. And struggling with staying asleep.
Please send help, advice and prayers…asking for a friend
