I think it was Einstein who stated that the definition of madness is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.
So New Year is the time for new ambitions and we all focus on setting objectives for the 12 months ahead.
My question is - what are you going to change this year.
I will throw i n a couple of things
Firstly as discussed in this thread I have binned my coach of 18 months and I will be following TR plans with some slight amendments.
I have been doing base (sweetspot with a smattering of VO2 in) since October so I will be starting Sweetspot Base 2 Mid- volume next week then moving into Sustained Power build and then the TT speciality plan. That takes me up to May and the start of the TT season in the UK.
Along the way I will be doing the Tour of Sufferlandia Feb 2-10 and also fitting in a Fulgaz Kona Ironman ride at 5:00 hours (if I ride along to the video). I also might attempt the same ride but at my own pace which might be between 5 and 5:30 hours.
New to me will be a sportive (I think they are referred to as Gran Fondos in the US) in June - 100 miles - flattish course.
I will be measuring my time in hours rather than distance and I will be trying to do more outdoor rides. I normally do about 1500 miles out of my annual 5000 outside.
I will be also attempting to improve my mFTP in WKO4 by occasionally trying to improve my weakest points on the PDC curve.
I was kidding. I do want to reduce alcohol consumption a bit. Become a little leaner. All the other metrics sort of just come together with training. Iād be happy with just moving the curve to the right.
More structured training on the trainer, even when the weather is better (which is hard to resist here in So Cal).
Iām also not going to care about those silly numbers on training peaks (ctl, atlā¦) and may just ditch TP all together.
Stop letting all hell loose on the weekend with food intake, then try all week just to get back to where I was the last Friday, so I can finally shave off a few lbs.
Iāve already been practicing two of these. You can guess which one Iāve been avoiding with the holidays, heh!
Iād like to get better at racing performance outside of my peaks. To do this I will be doing less intensity during the race season to attempt to avoid burnout (both physical and mental) and hopefully allow my body more recovery time
My intention is to train with more focus and purpose in order to get from āfast B groupā rider to āsolid A groupā rider. In math terms I think that means a power to weight improvement from 3.2 w/kg to more like 3.7 or 3.8.
I started working on all this in Sept. Have dropped 5kg so far with room to drop 5 kg more. Beer left my life and my diet is vastly improved overall. I am weight training consistently as well. I intend to transition to more cycling specific core and weight routine as I exit base and enter sustained power build in a couple weeks. Low volume feels too low but mid is hard to do consistently with the other calls on my time. I might modify mid and see how it goes.
Seasonwise I will race for the first time in a few years and hopefully with better results. But it is really about the climbing. I have my eye on the Bike Up Mountains Point Series (BUMPS) in New England. I would love to make a top 20 overall showing in that series.
Increase my ability to ride all day during an enduro race, but retain my snap for the timed stages
To get there, Iām working on doing everything more intentionally. Iām scheduling a specific time-slot into my Google Calendar for each workout to ensure that my training is a primary consideration rather than an afterthought. I am planning, preparing, and cooking most of my meals for the week on Sundays so that there is never an excuse to eat out, or to snack excessively.
Another big change is that I will be doing a full 12 weeks of Base this year. I tend to be a bit lazy about Base sometimes, but it really is a huge part of your fitness, especially for long days in the saddle.
And now that Iāve written these goals and objectives down, I really have to follow through
Switching from cat 4 road races/circuit races to triathlon.
Hopefully allowing for less time racing (bigger individual race goals) and more family time, but also making the most of training and implementing two other disciplines.
Realistically preventing myself from the possibility of crashing out with injury. 4 crashes in one season with one fairly serious road rash incident seemed a bit much for a hobbyā¦
The main thing Iāll be doing differently as of now is to focus more on my general nutrition. On the bike seems dialed, off the bike is where I stand to improve.
Snacking is where I struggle with quality so I want to find a few good options that will keep me on track throughout the day.
With this, I want to get rid of more unproductive weight and drop my fat percentage from ~13% to single digits. And with better quality food I think this will work itself out well.
My A race includes a lot of sustained climbing so less of that unproductive weight will keep me right on track for a good performance there.
Iām trying to switch from being a track racer to more of a roadie this year, so Iām going to be looking to extend my āsnapā into more of a prolonged power. Iāll be spending far more time on long sweet spot work. Iām also finally embracing weight workā¦Iāve always been ignorant about gym work and this winter Iām changing all that. Really enjoying it, so far.
Oh, and losing 10kg, which is going really really badly right nowā¦
Last year was my first year of using TrainerRoad and I did well during the SSB1 Mid Volume, even though when I look back, I see that I was taking a lot breaks during the āunderā part of over/under intervals. I started to fall off the plan during SSB2, and then moved apartments, which then caused me to miss about 4 weeks of training. I got back on the bike after a bit, did an FTP test, which showed that my FTP had dropped, but my vanity obsessed brain didnāt accept that and I kept my old FTP which was about 20 watts higher. I started short power build, was forced to reduce intensity on lots of workouts, failed lots of workouts, and ended up skipping entire weekends of riding. I also didnāt race nearly as much as I wanted to last year, and got dropped and pulled very early into my A race.
At the end of last yearās season, I started to listen to the podcast which really illuminated HOW I should be using TrainerRoad. One of the first ones I listened to, I think @Nate_Pearson talked about how he had to miss training time and reassessed and saw that his FTP went down, he bit the bullet and accepted that lower power number because he had learned the hard way just like I did. I really took that to heart, and so far Iāve been far more honest with my training. Iām wrapping up SSB1 Mid Volume, and so far have only had to miss 1 workout, and Iām consistently nailing the workout goals. Iāve stopped taking breaks mid intervals and really have a better understanding of the workouts themselves. I know thereās a good chance of the unexpected happening again this year, sickness, extra trips, whatever they may be, but I feel far better equipped to roll with those punches this year.
I want to train hard, listen to my body, take the rest when I need it, and leverage that training into race results and fun. Iād rather finish dead last after going on a failed solo break than get pulled because I wasnāt willing to hold onto the first surge because it āhurtā.
