How do I train to reverse a downward trend during a ride or race?

Below is a screen shot of my results on a recent Zwift race. I was pretty much flat out for the whole thing. As you can see, heart rate and duration go up on each lap, and everything else goes down. What are some good workouts in TR to address this kind of trend and maybe even reverse it when riding at this TT pace? BTW, I’m 2-weeks into SSB low-volume I, which is being supplemented w/ other activities like outdoor rides, Zwift, etc. @chad? Thanks (P.S. - would also add I was pretty well rested and hydrated for the session below)

Hey @Double-A. Sounds like a simple matter of riding a bit above your sustainable pace, assuming you kept your effort pretty even and avoided a lot of variability during each lap. You can actually address this in a couple of ways: 1 - target increases in FTP or 2 - work toward increasing your stamina, a.k.a., muscle endurance (ME).

Raising FTP is pretty much the aim of any Build plan while the Sweet Spot Base plans (and really any Sweet Spot work) is aimed at increasing your ME (though FTP can see improvement here too).

I recommend simply staying the course and continuing to plug away at the SSB plans where you’re likely to see some healthy bumps in FTP (especially in SSB II when the VO2max work enters the picture) and then expect more FTP-related movement during your Build training.

Unless you’re an old hand at structured, power-based training, learn to trust the training for a while, then you can make more informed changes–if necessary–once you have some weeks of consistency in your legs.

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Much appreciated, @chad. Makes sense. I will say that although I am only a couple weeks into the plan, I have seen / felt gains overall from session to session. Faster cadence has already improved because of the drills. So everything is trending in the right direction overall. Very interested to see where I’m at mid-winter (in New England - yeech!!). I’ve returned to TR after a 3-year absence - I missed the structure and love what you guys are doing w/ the program - the analytics, calendar, forum, etc - huge value-adds. Thanks for a great platform. Cheers!