Changed my training a bit recently - a lot more Z2/Tempo and only two harder workouts per week. At the moment it looks like working - I am a lot fresher, but harder efforts are way easier. My overall volume went up to 6 days/wk and around 650-700 TSS/wk but overall intensity is way lower. So more pyramidal approach.
Gutted at how 2020 went down. I was absolutely flying after a winter of really consistent indoor training and then a training camp in Mallorca right before lockdown. 2021 for me is going to be all about sportive challenges. I don’t want to spend all Winter prepping for a race season that might not happen, but even if organised sportives are called off I can still ride the intended routes unsupported.
I’ve never ridden a 100 miles in one ride before, despite buying my first ride bike 5 years ago now. My plan is to build a good base over winter with a LV plan, supplemented with a long endurance ride at the weekend when the weather allows.
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I think I may do the same thing. I’m just assuming there will not be any racing in 2021. I’m already looking at purchasing a set of bike camping kit, and focusing on longer distance stuff; bike camping and brevets. Going to take a stab at a 200k ride in the spring. Will see how that goes…
The 2021 season well underway for me. I picked up a 300lb olympic weight set and built myself a squat rack. My home gym is in a great spot.
I’m 3 weeks into a 12-week FasCat strength program and have just started the meat of it. It’s shocking to see how under-utilized my posterior chain is. The weight I’m moving is laughable, but I can see a LOT of low hanging fruit–and I’m hungry. This was by-far the biggest misstep I took in 2020, avoiding weights.
I cannot wait to see how a few months of dedicated strength training translates to on-the-bike gains. My CTL is taking a nosedive right now, and fitness will surely drop, but I have a great feeling about how the added lower body strength will help with FTP, muscle endurance, and overall long-term health.
I have an A-race on the calendar for late May, it’s a 60ish mile gravel race that I have finished in the top 5 on two separate occasions. I really want to win it and I’m hoping that 2021 is the year. Like @trpnhntr said, I’m sort of going into the new season with low expectations event-wise, but I will be ready should we be fortunate.
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under-utilized or under-developed? I definitely needed time to develop mine back to normal - took me all of my 2020 season to fix my posterior chain and related muscle imbalances but its done and I’m moving on. Are you doing the 12 minute Foundations yet? Can’t remember when those start.
I would say both. I was alarmed that my 1RM is ~165lb (I weigh 185lb). I was expecting more, but I’m not bothered…just woke to the fact that riding lots of miles on the bike doesn’t create functional strength. You have to move weights… It was just an affirmation that riding a bike really doesn’t make you that much stronger off the bike.
Just did the routine this morning. It’s awesome once you realize how to activate the low back, glutes, hips. Really dig it.
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I’m doing foundations about 4 times a week, loving it.
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What went well
A good winter of structured training
Because of covid impacting my target events I refocused away from structured training ( or lost focus) to numerous short hard rides in the week and a long ride at the weekend
Alcohol and poor quality calories were consumed which which triggered some hard rides to balance out my lack of discipline but I really enjoyed hammering around the lanes.
The roads were quiet and the summer was long for once in the UK
I’m restarting my subscription next week and entering the winter fitter than I’ve ever been and I’m really looking forward to a winter of TrainerRoad
This is my last weekend of alcohol consumption until Christmas and my focus shifts back towards quality calorie intake and recovery.
I’ve got a winters structured training behind me and another winter to come and with that I know I’ll be inhabiting the pain cave soon with a grimace on my face but smiling with the knowledge that the hard work during the winter will mean more speed, strength and endurance for next summer and if by chance my target event is back on the calendar, May 7th, next year than that will be great. If not, that’s great too as I’ve got a little 170mile coast to coast ride I want to do in a day which will be a worthy replacement.
With reflection this years made me press the reset button on my values on what’s really important to me and what’s superficial.
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for me, any lack of motivation usually means i need a break. It’s been a long season, lots of PRs, lots of hard work. Why not take a week or two doing unstructured activities that you enjoy. I bet you will start feeling antsy and ready to train again before you know it.
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2020 - What went well…
Honestly, pretty much everything.
Started with an early crit series in February and got points in all four races. Then COVID really hit and racing stopped.
I took Ambers approach and experimented. Longer intervals, longer solo rides and more exploration of the roads and countryside. I’d never trained like this and the experience really opened my mind.
From April to September, I added 2+ hours a week to my schedule. Learnt to listen to my body and acknowledge when it was time to knock things back a notch or two.
Then I went on holiday…
2020 - 2021 moving forward…
I had a great time off the bike but something wasn’t right. I didn’t have that itch to get back at it. To be honest, I still don’t. It has been a month now and I’m using my training as a mental crutch, rather than a way to prepare for any possible events.
Did I push too hard in early 2020? I don’t think so. I think COVID has hit me mentally, rather than physically.
I’m off to get smashed up by my team mates in 30 minutes. I used to buzz about Saturday mornings on the bike. Right now, it’s a routine. I think I’ll give this mind fog a month or so to clear. If it doesn’t, I’ll need to give serious consideration to how I move forward into 2021.
Sorry for being such a downer. Wishing you all a great 2021 
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I feel you need to add,
And The Ugly:
lol.
On a serious note amazing increase in FTP, from reading your posts I get the impression you’ve worked hard and intelligently for it. What was your starting point?
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Did loads of zone 2 in lockdown - started TT in July in the UK - did 8 opens and 6 club races - went pretty well although my FTP was down from my March value when I had just finished SPB - will focus on structured training in the winter and hope that TT runs at least in the same way in 2021 as it did late this year. Hopefully back to normal but I can cope with the Covid secure racing if I have to.
First of all - thank you very much for your kind words:)
My first ramp test was something 3 weeks after I have started to ride a bike and it was 201 W (at this moment it was 3W/kg). It was off the couch or I should rather say off the desk where I have spent most of my adult life.
Started with SSB LV and gained 32W in I phase, after that 18W in SSB2. Started SPB LV and it almost killed me. Thanks to many helpful people here and abundance of training knowledge available in the different podcast and articles (especially Kolie Moore’s) I have reorganized my training - introduced a lot of threshold with progressions (3x week) and removed all vo2 max workouts (I have done 1 VO2 max block and combined with followed weeks of threshold it was the block with most gains but I was trashed and suprathreshold workouts (the most useless thing in my personal opinion ever). The results were quite amazing (every 4 weeks was like 15W increase). My sustainability of power and TTE improved tremendously.
Currently trying to focus on sustainability and stamina in lower zones (so Z2, Z3) as part of the aerobic base, because apparently having your FTP high does not mean that you can deliver this FTP at the end of the ride. And of course, many other things I lack - currently I could be a slow TTer 
Overall training volume went from 200-250 TSS/wk in SSB LV to 600-700 TSS/wk currently without any significant problems with the recovery (ok with 3x threshold it was quite hard but manageable). Like I said - if I could dial my nutrition more, I believe that this would be extremely helpful as this is the hardest part of the training and life schedule.
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I’ve decided to go with a coach. Really liking the approach they’ve laid out, something new for me. Actually feeling super motivated now 
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The Good:
- after a medically-induced “no go” 2019, I was fully cleared to let ‘er rip. So I did, big time;
- due to some weird global lockdown scenario, I got to ride more than any other time in my life;
- loved not having the stress of training being defined the workweek;
- experimented with Polarized training;
- raised and extended my entire power curve, including a bunch of new all-time PRs;
- highest ever FTP;
- increased HRmax by 1bpm;
- snagged a KOM from a PanAm medalist more than half my age.
The Bad (& Ugly):
- fully realised I love riding my bike waaay more than I do going to work (going back really hurt);
- getting to ride so much, without prepping for it, has given me a lingering back issue (aka old);
- zero time spent in TT position;
- zero time spent on core exercises;
- no Hell of the North;
- everything else that’s happened in 2020.
- much more volume, mostly Endurance;
- block training;
- not burning out with constant intensity rides;
- perspective.
- work on my core strength & stability;
- work on my TT position early & often;
- better nutrition;
- work on my movement/flexibility;
- train for 2022 because 2021 could also be a bust.
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Ha! Up here we call it Junuary.
Give us summer already! 
Overall this was a good season, despite everything.
- went on some fun rides
- got some PRs in the PMAX to 10 min range (including 5 min all time PR of 386, despite that my old PRs were on a smart trainer before i knew that it needed to be calibrated)
- Grabbed a few KOMs (including some road KOM hunting on my MTB that did not go amazingly but also not nearly as badly as i expected lol)
- lower FTP but more robust than last year, but i think in past years i overestimated it so maybe it wasn’t lower at all
- way better durability and repeatability than prior years
- finally learned how to carve dope turns on my MTB (and so got much faster and am having a lot more fun, as it’s letting me finally enjoy the downhills)
- finally figured out how to do vo2max intervals correctly
- finally figured out how to balance intensity and volume by not trying to do everything at once
- actually learned some good ways to leverage testing to direct training priorities
I don’t think there really was any “bad” because everything that didn’t work was a good learning experience in a low-consequence environment.
For next year I am going to do the following:
- more strength training and more mobility
- more activation drills before i hit the trails on the MTB
- more focus on skillz during the winter (specifics on my list: getting more comfortable with bigger drops, taking tight hairpin switchbacks faster and more confidently)
- more focus on the diesel early in the season
- leverage the learnings from last year to time the build. i.e., time the ramp up based on past experience and not some one-size-fits-all training plan.
overall my plan will be:
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take two months just doing cross training, occasional long rides and MTB, but no structured workouts (I’ll be staying with family for two months and won’t really have room for my turbo trainer anyway). Goals during this time are to do yoga at least 4 times per week, do strength training at least 3 times per week, and work up to being able to do 10 pistol squats on each leg.
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January 1st I will consider the “start” of the season, and the first priority will be building endurance with longer rides, zone 2, tempo, SS if i am time crunched, and every once in a while threshold. I am not going to do a ramp test or any other FTP test but rather push up from the bottom by feel. (I may do a testing week to feed WKO5 and get some estimate).
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Each month i will test the short power, and throw in a vo2block (short, hard, intense) if the short power is lacking, then after that block, go back to the diesel and long rides
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I will train through the early season races (start May 1st) without any specific “build”
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i will start doing my version of a “build” (i.e., slamming interval including anaerobic) exactly 2 months before my big objective for next year, the high cascades 100 in july
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