After my first winter of TrainerRoad, the guys on the local Saturday ride commented today that I seem to be going a leeeetle beet faster this year than last, and by leetle they mean why are you in front of me when you used to be behind me.
Kinda the same thing with me. More along the line of âyouâre keeping up with us even though weâve been out in this crappy weather all winter?!â
Since I donât ride outside much and very rarely ride with other people, I always enjoy that feeling of noticing a fitness gain when doing my monthly drop-ride. Reminds me of when I was racing cars and had a horsepower centered build over aero and tire-size points.
Haha, same for me after my first race this year. I went from fighting for the front pack of my age group last year in Cat 2 XCO, to winning 1st in my age group and 2nd overall in all of Cat 2 with 168 racers. The guys were, dude, you improved so much .
I do the 20-minute FTP test. My first test was Oct. 1. I came in at 210 watts (3.42 w/kg). My latest test, taken today, was 228 watts (3.58 w/kg). Iâve put on five pounds since Oct.
The Oct. 1 test was taken after a month off the bike. My Nov. 19 FTP test result was 226 watts. Iâve tested four times since then, about every 4 to 6 weeks and all the results have been in the 223 to 228 watts range.
The overall power hasnât rocketed up but how long I can sustain the power has increased dramatically, as to be expected after 24 weeks of base training. I did the full 12-week Traditional Base program followed by Sweet Spot Base 1 and 2. I just entered the fifth week of Sustained Power Build.
My hill climbing is way improved after this winterâs training. Someone called me a natural climber on last Saturdayâs ride Natural as in the âI trained all winter for thisâ sense of the wordâŚ