Great work on the weight loss - Bet you feel much better for it 
Personally, if you’re struggling to keep up with the Mid vol plan, go Low and add in rides as and when you can.
Mentally, it’ll be less taxing to add in rides when you’re feeling good rather than seeing that you skipped some, or that you don’t feel up to doing the prescribed one that day due to back to back days.
Ease into it, don’t burn yourself out - It’s all about the hare and the tortoise story - Or whatever it was called 
So, this is going to seem very ‘snowflake’ but I do believe that it’s important mentally and in terms of motivation.
#2 I’ve failed my last 2 workouts similarly and wonder if it’s just lack of rest or if I’m doing something wrong or just so untrained I should expect the failure.
Don’t look at this as failure. Try to find the thing(s) you learnt and don’t make those mistakes again. If you want to race, you have to accept that you almost certainly won’t win every time. If you don’t win, will you have failed? Not in my opinion.
In your not-too-distant TR future, you’ll come back to these sessions, employ everything you’ve learnt and when you get off that trainer, you’ll be proud of yourself.
Failing is turning TR off and never facing up to the fact that we can all be just a little bit faster, stronger or efficient.
@Grasschopper For what it’s worth, here’s my two cents;
All great answers & I echo them. It’s much easier to do low volume & add workouts, especially when you are riding outdoors as well.
I started TR back in 2011 at 252 lbs & a 125 FTP. I’m not in the low 180 lbs with an FTP of 252. I’m just an avid rider who likes not being dropped anymore & one of the first to the top of a climb.
Follow the program & the direction & you’ll see fast improvements.
In my 3rd season of TR structured training, biggest lesson was learning to listen to my body. One of the toughest skills to learn is recognising the difference between the need to HTFU and get it done, and physical/mental cracks starting to appear and the beginning of a hole.
Looks to me like the you are slavishly following the plan and starting to spiral down. A few days proper rest could be all you body needs to arrest the decline.
If your serious about your training and its a life style change, which it sounds like you are, it’s a multi year journey. Don’t be afraid to add a few days extra rest in if your mind or body needs it, pay dividends in the long run.
Here was my experience as a quick anecdote that seems relevant. I recently started structured training for the first time, having ridden relatively consistently outside for much of the year. I started mid volume sweet spot base, because I had the time to devote to training and to proper recovery, plus the motivation. But after the last workout of the first week, I was feeling a ton of mental fatigue and much more irritable than usual. I was also worried with how to swap prescribed workouts for outdoor rides, something I wanted to continue, without effecting the plan much.
After much deliberation and putting my ego in check, decided to drop down to low volume after two extra rest days going into week two, and feel much much better. I feel more motivated going into the workout, have more energy to incorporate strength work on the training days, and don’t have to worry about adding an outdoor endurance ride without ruining or cancelling a workout. Good job on the huge weight loss btw!
Ok so a lot of responses, thanks for that. Many are saying cut back to low volume and I’m considering doing just that. Now help me plan that out if you would while adding in 1 night of Zwift racing and one other day of either added workout or free riding.
So currently my calendar has TR Tues, Wed, Thurs and then Sat and Sun with rest days on Mon and Fri. If I wanted to do Zwift races one night a week and a longer free ride on say Sat or Sun, how would you lay out the week?
Rest day on Mon seems logical. How about TR workouts on Tues, Wed and Sun with planned racing on Thursday and free ride/added TR workout on Sat?
Thoughts on how to plan out my week would be great.
Like where you’re heading but consider that back-to-back workouts, especially further in the training cycle when the intensity rises in sweet spot then VO2 Max in SSB 2, then a race on top of that could lead to the same frustration you’re sensing now. Give this schedule a little thought…
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - TR
Wednesday - Rest or Easy TR, i.e. Petit, Taku, etc.
Thursday - TR
Friday - Zwift
Saturday - Open / Rest
Sunday - TR
If you have to stick to what you’re thinking due to time constraints / having a life, then you can always choose a variation for the scheduled workout that dials back the intensity (-1, etc.)
Best of luck!
See I feel like Saturday is a day I have the most time to ride even with other things going on. Plus it also is the day I’m most likely to ride outdoors (along with Sunday) be it free riding or in an event. That’s why I was thinking rest day on Monday. And I really do want to be doing this sort of load…yesterday was a rest day and while it was nice to get some other things done I was feeling a bit like I should be working out.
One question for you…After you do a high intensity workout how are you the next day?
Your plan is to go to low volume…which typically is ride rest ride rest ride…The rides dont tend to be strung together back to back. Some of the rides are definitely more taxing.
Your plan is Ride TR Tuesday Wed Thurs-Race Doing two days of a structured plan before a race day doesnt set you up to do well for your race If Thursday is Race day I would tend to have Wed be either a light day or a rest date.
I think the whole issue is what is your focus to be. If its to train then set yourself up to get some rest/lighter rides inbetween. Your weight loss has definitely been impacting your muscle strength. While I understand the push for weight loss something has to give. I did as you did and lost 30 lbs in 15 weeks. Took me a long time to get the muscle strength back at the new weight. If I did it again I would drop the weight slower.
What’s your definition of a high intensity workout? I don’t really think I’ve done any on TR yet…that is to say since I’ve only done SSB. Yes I get fatigued during the longer SST sort of workouts but feel pretty good later. Yesterday after 5 days in a row of TR workouts (see calendar posted above) my legs felt pretty tired but within an hour after a workout I generally feel pretty good.
Dude, totally commend you on your weight loss, but looking from the outside you’re falling quickly into a case of over training because you simply are not at a level to sustain things.
You appear to have read all the very sound advice above and then just thrown it out the window.
You will have much much much MUCH better results by simply doing the prescribed TR low volume plan and that’s all. Tooling around on Zwift is absolutely not the same as completing TR workouts. Do not add rides, do not take away rides. Just do the three rides a week for eight weeks and YOU WILL HAVE NOTICEABLE GAINS.
Are you a coach? Can you prescribe your own training regime? Do you understand fatigue? Do you know that the most beneficial aspect to a training program is… REST?
Your body is simply not at a stage to handle three days of TR plus extra racedays.
You need to lay the foundations of your fitness first. I know it’s boring and seems like a waste of time and you can’t see a tangible result such as beating Harry, Larry, or Gary finally. But Harry, Larry, and Gary all put in the base, all put in the rest, and that is why they are ahead of you. Not because they are riding 8 hours plus a week. They can only ride 8 hours plus a week because they first put in structured riding over 3 or 4 hours a week.
You dig a ditch to pour concrete into to build a foundation. Then on top of that you build a wonderful home with an attic window looking over a mountain landscape. Your problem is that you are building a rickety ladder to try and attain the same view without digging that ditch.
Trust in the Trainer Road program. Trust in low volume. Don’t add rides; the intensity of TR is too high for your body to cope with currently when you do that.
Step back. Be realistic.
You will get there, but not by simply cramming in more riding and thinking if I ride more I will get better. That statement is simply not true when you follow a program like TR.
TR is all about quality, not quantity. Trust in the Chad. The programs work IF YOU FOLLOW THE PRESCRIBED VOLUME AND INTENSITY AND REST VOLUME.
I know the above sounds very blunt, and it seems like you’re mad keen, which is great! But also be realistic. I’m afraid that you simply are not currently.
TR is a different tool to Zwift. It’s even a different tool to riding outside. And as such, you have to use that tool differently.
You will still get fitness benefits on three days riding. Actually you will probably get much more than 3+1race+1freeride. No, strike that. You WILL get much more than 3+1+1.
Good luck.
I used the term high intensity for you to apply it to yourself. The rides all have a certain intensity factor to them. I said high intensity as I find rides with an IF of .9 are often challenging. Rides with an IF of .8 are fine but doing 5 of them in a row for me is just too much. Doing rides with an IF of .7 or lower I can do multiple days. All TR rides have an IF attached to them.
I know you say you feel pretty good…but how are your legs. Yes they feel fine but they are not necessarily ready for another workout. Rest does make a difference as does fueling your rides.
Your original post you discussing your failure with Tunemah. That is on day 4 of riding your muscles/aerobic engine couldnt keep up. The first two days SSB rides with an IF of .8 and then you did a lighter ride the next day. Day 4 Tunemah was too much. Your just doing too much too fast. Take it slower and you will progress.
Ok so man it would be nice if you could see the intensity factor on the calendar or even once you click on the workout on the calendar…but you’ve got to go one more level to see it…and I hadn’t ever looked at those. Right so the first two workouts at .8 were fine and as you say the 3rd is much lower and again non issue there.
I do understand that my initial schedule stacking was a bad plan and I won’t be doing that again. It really wasn’t until the 5th day that it was noticeable that I was fatigued. The text comments saying how you should feel weren’t matching how I was feeling and it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to finish the workout as prescribed.
I’m torn…on one hand I feel like with the rest days properly used and proper nutrition I could do these workouts. On the other I do want to do other things too.
So backing it down for sure.
Great advice. I did SSB low for my first structured training plan. I totally underestimated the fatigue factor. The two times I improvised and added workouts (because I felt good and was motivated) resulted in need for extended rest because of accumulated fatigue. Trust the program.
So it’s about a week later and here’s an update:
As stated I quit SSB Mid Vol 1 and started SSB Low Vol 1. Having already done a ramp test and having achieved a number only 2 watts higher than my previous high I trusted that number so I didn’t do the ramp test. This put my first ride on Thursday last week so I choose to do the SSB Mid Vol 1 workout that would have been on that day (this was last Tuesday). No problem there, or on Wednesday when I did Carter which would have been that day. Thursday I did Mount Field the first workout from SSB Low Vol 1 and no problem again. Next workout was to be Saturday.
now to give additional info: My girlfriend also started TrainerRoad the same day I did and had been able to get through all the workouts. Sooo…on Saturday I decided that the SSB Low Vol 1 workout wasn’t enough and I did the same workout as her, McAdie. That would have been my week but I wanted to see if I could do Sunday’s workout too, Antelope, again got it done. Tough? Yes Doable? Totally
So now I’ve canceled SSB Low Vol 1 and I’m just going to match the SSB Mid Vol 1 workouts prescribed to my girlfriend since we ride together. I’ll go with the advice I heard on the podcast several times this past week, if you feel tired take a rest day even if there’s a workout or turn down the intensity.
As several pointed out my biggest mistake was putting 5 workouts back to back. I should have just skipped one of those workouts.
Thanks for all the feedback.