I am beginning to suspect that I am over trained/fatigued. Recent workouts have felt harder than they usually do even when fueling and sleeping well. I also dont feel like I can dig deep on the harder intervals and my legs are feeling lethargic. I dont think I am doing too much volume as I have been able to comfortably complete similar or more TSS trainerroad plans without feeling like I am digging myself a hole.
Looking back while I have had easier weeks I have not had any real time off the bike for over a year or so (I think the longest period was something like 3 days). My FTP has also been static or declining for a while whereas I was improving with the same training load and very similar FTP and training plan around this time last year.
Checking my most recent workout my HR is elevated by ~7 beats compared to when I last did the workout.
Typing this all out it very much seems to me like I need to take a couple weeks off and reset, I dont have any events planned until later in the year so I can easily take some time off the bike and reset.
Mostly want to get someone other than myself to give some input/tell me im being an idiot and need to take some time off. I have made my profile public as well if anyone wants to take a quick glance at my training.
My current thinking is to take 2 weeks completely off the bike before restarting my plan with a goal of peaking near august/sept this year.
It looks like you were going along nicely until the end of December. Great consistency. The thing that struck me was the block you did in November. There are some solid sessions throughout that month. Mostly high end SS, touching Threshold. You took a rest week and then got straight back into a challenging December block.
So, first question. Was November and December based on a TR Plan or from Plan Builder?
You also mentioned that you’d completed a 'similar’ plan last year. Could your FTP improvements have stalled due to the fact that you’re body is now used to this type of work?
How did your January 2021 Ramp Test go? Have you changed anything in your training set up?
From personal experience in December 2020, I would say that you need a break. Three days off the bike over a year is nothing. If you have to ride (for your mental wellbeing), I’d be doing easy Z2 for an hour but more likely Lazy Mountain -2.
I hit a wall in December and if I’m honest, I didn’t even see it coming. My body just said no! I took three days off and it took me the better part of three weeks to feel anything like normal on the bike. I Ramp Tested and took an FTP hit but, figured I’d do what was needed to move forward.
You’re not being an idiot, this is part of the learning process we all go through. Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve done a lot of quality work.
Hi,
i’m going to skip the analysis of your previous workouts and get straight to what is to me the main point:
some athetes seem to rely so much on all the metrics these days and neglect the most crucial aspect of training and general well-being: listening to your body.
That said, you state you are
That is the first clue that somehing might be off, especially if you don’t get this kind of feeling often.
This is your body telling you you need a break for a while. How long and what would this break look like? Depends on you, your life and your feeling. But definitely listen to your body and step off the gas a bit. Winter is a great time to do this and you definitely won’t lose all the fitness you gained. Take some time off and do the things you enjoy doing. Relax and reload. Not only will your body recover, you’ll be even more motivated once you come back.
Good luck
A week off isn’t going to have any detrimental effect on your physiology, whereas a week of R&R would undoubtedly be positive. Viewed on an annual basis, this equates to nothing.
Sounds like you’re a bit cooked. Take an easy week to sort the surface level of fatigue and then look at how hard you really need to be riding at this time of year anyway, and maybe treat yourself to a bit of a down season rest.
I was quite gung how earlier in the winter/ autumn about wanting to carry on training. I ended up just taking a break from structure, doing a bit of zwifting/ on-line Festive 500 in the run up and over Christmas.
Plan builder has given me quite an easy ramp back up too (2 weeks SSB1, recovery week, 3 weeks SSB2, recovery week) before Build and Speciality for my mid-June A event (if it happens).
Yes the Nov-Dec part was from plan builder but also very similar to my previous season of base and general build. The January ramp test basically kept my FTP the same which was disappointing seeing as previously I was going up ~10w with the same plan and general fitness level.
My bike and training setup have all been the same so it seems like I will be taking a bit of a break and coming back into it hopefully mentally and physically refreshed.
Yep, I have been looking back through my stuff and I think I have been flat for a bit now. Like you say I will lose some fitness but nothing that wont come back fairly quickly. Looking at my schedule I think I can take a week or 2 off and then have a good base build specialty block leading into any events that do happen later this season. Thanks!
Hi I felt the same and I’m now half way through my first rest week in 7 months. Take the rest you’ll feel better and remember what you do in 51 weeks is far more important than what you do in 1.
For sure, its not like there is much to train for right now anyways so hitting the reset button makes sense right now. Hope your training goes well post rest week
