I’ve done a few years of structured training that were basically free. Like the suggested workouts on Garmin watches, the free plans on Tacx, and the gym. But this is the first time I’ve done Trainer Road with the AI.
When I joined it was after a recovery week, and first up was the ramp test, which I did not do well at. I was 20% less than a 20 minute outdoor test and disapointed. I seemed to get through the first week easily and considered redoing the ramp. But the AI bot kept upgrading me, and by week 3 I was right on the edge, even though the total upgrade was only about 5% more than the ramp. NOTE: I did reject about 25% of suggested adaptations.
On the second 3 week set I could really feel the AI was correctly calculating my limits on unders and overs and even the sweet spots. And I loved the hints on getting aero, pedal kicking and pulling, cadence etc. Those really made indoor training a bit more interesting and rewarding.
At the end of this set I did a 100km Gran Fondo. I could feel the difference but by the end of it realised I had not tried hard enough and had too much left in the tank.
Starting the third set after a break is where I really noticed it though. The AI bot increased my FTP again and I was right on the edge. I failed a sweet spot 30 minutes in and failed my first unders and overs. Despite this, I can see I was fatigued and was not eating right. I have a long endurance ride tomorrow and I am confident I will be back to it next week.
Anyways, I can actually see where it is improving me, and looking forward to being so much better in October when my goal 100km Gran Fondo is on.
