Just finished my first TR block. New to structured training.
Background for better context:
Rode a lot of MTB when younger (90s, early 00s). Got older, fatter (peaked ~220 lb @ 5’9"), far too sedentary (software eng, lots of time on my ass thinking and typing). Started casually riding my mtb a little bit a couple years ago after a job change (fair number of cyclists at the new company).
At some point, converted my old M2 stumpjumper into a pedal assist ebike, started using it for commutes here and there. Commute was 15 miles each way and I wasn’t fit enough to do it in reasonable time unassisted.
Got first road bike Dec 2017 from a friend/coworker who was upgrading, figured I’d use it to get in better shape for the trails. Started riding a lot more for fitness since I didn’t need to drive to trailheads. Had some ups and downs including a messed up knee due to improper fit, and a crash that resulted in some nasty road rash that took about a month to recover from.
Anyway - In 2017 I rode 450mi, 6k ft climbing. 2018 that grew to 2100 mi, 80k ft of climbing.
Been trying to be a little more consistent in my riding for about the last 4 months, and a lot of the weight has come off over the last year from very minor dietary changes + more riding, which is cool. Started TR with the new year (wife got me a kickr for xmas).
Just finished SSB1MV and just today I started SSB2MV with the ramp test. Here are the changes over the last 6 weeks:
FTP 205w → 230w
Watts/kg 2.34 → 2.75
Weight 192 → 185
Overall, pretty happy with just 6 weeks of work. Going to continue the same loose plan for SSB2, though I might cut the calories just a tad to get my down to ~175 by the end of it, so I can try to just maintain there during build phase so I can maintain closer neutral calorie balance.
I do think I under-assessed a tad during my first ramp, due to asthma flare up. Doctor put me on singular a few weeks ago which has hugely helped my breathing under exertion, so the more recent test felt a lot more balanced (read: legs were burning pretty good) instead of just running out of air. I bumped some of the workouts +1-4% over the last couple weeks, and swapped a couple endurance rides for longer ones to bump the tss a couple times too.
Realize this rate of change isn’t sustainable for too long, but digging it right now.