Hello guys
I am 54, first year / winter on TR.
I say winter because here in Quebec winter is 5 month-ish.
My last winters were on Zwift and i did 3 winters on Wahoo Systm was fun the first 2 years, the 3rd wasn’t fun and not productive.
I started TR end of November 2024.
And today i am proud, i am tired of this 3rd week but the result is here.
30 novembre : 217
28 décembre : 225 (+3.7%)
25 janvier : 236 (+4.9%)
Cheers
- What you’ve accomplished and what made it meaningful to you:
I completed the Attakwas Extreme MTB Race in 10 hours and 20 minutes, riding time about 9.5 hours. Race, AKA “The Hell of the South” is regarded as one of the toughest one-day MTB races in South Africa. Held in the Western Cape in the middle of summer, on terrain similar to harder stages of the Cape Epic, and with temperatures that can reach 45 degrees Celsius - the race is 125km with more than 2500m of elevation. It is tough. Some years less than half the field finish the race. I finished on my first attempt, largely thanks to TR as I just didn’t find the time to do the outdoor training required to ride that distance and acclimatize to the heat. - How you used TrainerRoad to achieve your success:
I used mostly TR Polarized Base, Polarized Build and XCM training plans on the IDT, with almost all of my workouts done without a fan. This may sound extreme, but it was my only way of getting in some heat acclimatization. Much of the training was in the cooler months of the year. Cape Town winters are pretty chilly. I did ride outdoors (mostly less than 50kms on MTB) most weekends, but my intensity training was on TR. - Any tips or insights that could help others on their journey:
I think you can definitely use TR to prepare for very long MTB races on hard terrain. But I would advise doing some longer rides in the conditions you will ride in the race (temperature and terrain), not the full distance, but maybe build up 70 to 80% distance in the months leading up to the event and do a few of these. And, definitely TAPER from at least 10 days out from a race of this kind. I’m fairly new to endurance riding of this type (did enduro racing - more for fun than actual competing - and shorter races around the 50km mark) so it was a major achievement for me to complete The Hell of the South. Not sure I’ll be rushing to do it again. It is brutal.
I was heavily in to cycling when I was in my 20’s. Mostly commuting and riding with friends, fixing bikes at a local kids non-for-profit bike shop (I met and married my wife in the shop ). In my late 20s I got married, had a kid, got a job that squashed my commute, fell out of shape, and stayed that way through my 30’s.
Fast forward to my late 30’s, I was 214 lbs (for context I was 160lbs throughout my 20’s). I had a health emergency that ended up being a false alarm, but it was 100% a wake up call that I needed to pay more attention to my health. I started watching my diet, walking, running, and strength training. After a bit I remembered how much I hated running and how much I LOVED cycling. I got back into a routine of riding which made the work way easier. I dropped back down to 185lbs which is about where I hover now.
All of that happened before I started trainerroad. After getting back into shape I decided I wanted to start bike racing both for fun and to use as a constant goal that would help me stay interested and dedicated to being healthy. We have a velodrome in town, Penrose Park in Saint Louis, MO, that has a fantastic and friendly community that organize races. I started racing in 2023 and did fairly well As I was learning about bike racing I came across the TR podcast which was a massive treasure trove of information and scientific study application. I followed the nutrition advice and it made a massive difference when racing.
I signed up for Trainerroad and used it to train for the 2024 season. I had to do low volume (we had twins which required a lot more dad time than bike time), but I saw progress. The first half of the season I’d gained weight again (partially my genetics packing on weight very easily, partially leaning too hard on carb loading while not monitoring my weight), and I’d gone back up to 206 again and had to pull it back down. Luckily the second time around it was way easier because I already knew I could do it and understood how.
After the 2024 season I bumped up to a mid volume plan. I do training rides over lunch which helps with time requirements. I’ve been tracking my weight using a smart scale since my original attempt to get healthy again and recently I pulled my weight history and combined it with my FTP history scraped from the TR app to graph out my watt per kg ratio over time (blue line):
(Not so fun fact: that drastic dip in weight towards the end of november 2024 was me getting appendicitis and dropping 7 lbs in 4 days )
It’s been cool seeing quantifiable proof of my two goals working together: increase my cycling power and maintain a healthy weight/body composition.
I’m looking forward to the 2025 race season and I’m hoping to hop up to cat B and to try some crit races. Fingers crossed
Started using TR in 2023, I had previously done Manchester to London the previous year, and finished around around 20th of 80 riders.
Used TrainerRoad to train in the lead up to it, also doing the Fred Whitton Challenge as a sort of warm-up, finished in 7hrs14 minutes ish (Just shy of the elite classification - still hurts).
Managed to come 3rd in Manchester to London in 2023 behind 2 ex pros that summer, on the hottest day of the year, and 220 miles of headwind.
Still using TrainerRoad to train Triathlon, managed to complete my first Half-iron distance Triathlon last year, Outlaw Half in Nottingham, with a time of 5hrs, 16min, using my road bike with clip-on aero bars
Now using it to go for Outlaw Full this year.
TR has been an excellent tool to structure and organise training for me, there’s no way i’d be able to organise it as a self coached athlete as well, and it’s so much more affordable than some of the coaching options i’ve seen, and I imagine at my level, about 95-99% as effective.
I never get tired of sharing the joys of TrainerRoad with anyone that will listen!
I started in triathlon in my early 30s. For many years I was motivated by continuous improvement and the novelty of going longer, up to completing Ironman Canada in 2008. I settled into Olympic-distance racing and made slow but steady improvement, fighting my way to mid-pack. I was in my late 40s and sporting life was good.
Then my brain exploded.
I woke one morning to half of my face not working. Symptoms progressed through dizziness, leg numbness, increased facial paralysis and profound deafness in one ear. I was misdiagnosed twice until my very wise family doctor set me on a path to eventually discovering that I had a ruptured cavernous angioma near my brain stem which required immediate surgery. The pressure of the bleed was destroying critical nerves!
Post-surgery I had permanent physical deficits and one massive unanswered question - could I ever swim, run or cycle again? Enter TrainerRoad. After a few months of bed rest I signed up with TR, dedicating myself to systematic, consistent, structured training. TR became my trusted coach and through the years it evolved and grew into an AI powerhouse, delivering just the right training at just the right time. My body thrived with appropriate training volume, intensity and frequency! Not only did I return to racing the next year but my progress into my mid-50s has been on an ever-increasing trajectory and I have hit the podium in numerous events both locally (Canada) and internationally (USA).
I owe so much of my recovery and improved performance to the TR team and coaches. I’ve been spreading the word though sharing my story on my weekly podcast and take the opportunity to sing praises for TR every chance I get. Thank you, TR!
I started cycling for fun (not just commuting) in 2020. Each years I’ve progressed quite a bit and I’m the kind of person who finds it easy to obsess with things - cycling is very much one of those things, albeit a much more expensive one than most.
At the end of 2021 I bought some power meter pedals. In 2022 I completed my first 100miles, sprint triathlon and I bought a turbo trainer,.and have enjoyed doing some more structured training. I have spent time on Zwift (and I allowed to say that here?) and other platforms. However, in 2023 had a fairly significant kidney infection. I was out for over 2 months and came back with 3 weeks until a another 100 mile event. I ended 2023 fairly strong and had a good winter - although it was good,.I hadn’t strung any long rides together. The longest ride I had done before April was 50km. Watching Paris-Roubaix with a friend and we decided to join an audax the following weekend. It was 200km and we cycled to and from, making it over 220km. I was in pieces. I know then that I would need some serious training to get into shape for a 216km 3,600m Dragon Ride later in the year. So I signed up to TR.
I loved it. I needed the structure and I loved the red light green light. I went from an FTP of 220w (69kg) up to 260w in the space for a few months. By October I was up to 280w. I have since dropped TR, from a financial standing - but continue to listen to the podcast and join in the community forum. I am currently using ictrainer, because it’s so darn cheap, but do wish I could afford TR. For me it has the perfect balance of simplicity, challenging workouts and informative outputs. I love comparing all the data and the gameification of the levels for each aspect of my riding. You’re doing a great job here and long may it continue.
My story with Trainerroad began in 2010 or earlier, ride history start in Feb 2013 I cannot remember, at that time I was 100% focus in MTB that evolved to Triathlon and since 2014 solely focused in Ironman races, and using trainer road exclusively for my training with great results, I love it.
Since using a smart trainer and FTP detection my FTP has fluctuated from 220 to 245 for years with no mayor improvements, I train consistent the whole year with no major breaks other than vacations and some work trips, mixing all 3 disciplines but find difficult to continue developing my FTP, at 62 Y/O I am happy with it and remain competitive in my AG qualified (not roll down) to the IM world Championships 3 times.
@Jonathan I hope you can help me with this question, I know you receive hundreds; as I mentioned, at 62 Y/O 63Kg, My FT according to TR is 231W now, I can hold 175 avg.P, 185 NP for 5 hrs during Ironman races but I cannot do even a level 2 threshold workout without stopping for some seconds, or more… any ideas?