I consider myself to have a very smooth pedal stroke with a higher then avg cadence. Tempo 95, sweet spot upper 90’s to 100, threshold 105-110 and so on. On the road I don’t pay attention to my pedaling, it is what it is and I never have any issues. But on the trainer on longer sweet spot and threshold intervals I tend to focus on it too much and I end up with slightly sore calves after a hard ride. I know it helps because when I focus on it my rpe goes down, but after my calves are a little sore.
Never had sore calves. Unless it’s the first rides after being off for a while.
Sometimes tired but not sore. Last night was the first time that my Tibialis anterior was noticeably tired.
Some of the workout text on certain rides talks about this, but try to relax your calves while spinning that fast. It’s a mental struggle to pay just enough attention to your pedal stroke to make sure your form doesn’t slip, but also not too much attention that you end up going too hard.
My best advice for you would be (pulled from workout text) to relax everything below the knees, starting with your toes, foot, ankle, and then calves. Focus on your quads instead of your calves when riding at a high cadence, and think of your lower legs as the pistons you move with your upper legs. Also, try applying some of those pedaling drills here, switch the quadrants you’re working in from the up/down to the forward/back movement like you’re on a ski machine. Lastly, be sure to stretch before and after your ride, and even try standing and stretching while riding. Hope this helps!
