I’m in my second week of Sweet Spot Base Low Volume One. Sunday I went out and I rode the local bike path for 3.5 hours and I over did it. I took Monday off work to rest, Tues I didn’t feel any stress or pain maybe a little bit of tired legs but I still couldn’t make it past the first interval of Ericsson so I backpedaled the last half of the interval and even the recovery felt like I was straining. What is my best recourse when this happens? Try a recovery ride at light spinning or just stop the workout have a beer and try again on Thursday? Any other recommendations?
How long have you been riding indoors and/or using TrainerRoad?
I have just started back up after a few months off of riding, some light rides here and there but started riding indoors again last week. I have been using TR for a couple of years.
It happens to everyone. Listen to your body, drop the intensity a bit to finish but do NOT make a habit of it or you’ll end up doing it all the time. Is the pain physical or mental, if the latter, think about something else and press on.
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Personally, I’ve had a few of these workouts lately where my power just isn’t where it should be so the workout isn’t productive.
In these cases I just free ride/mess around the rest of the workout and play it by ear. Some light spinning for a few minutes and see what it feels like when I reach an endurance pace. If I’m feeling OK, I might try a few 10 second sprints, or if I’m still just feeling really off I’ll stop the workout.
If I was at the tail end of a training block I might opt more towards the straight up recovery route, but since you’re at the beginning of SSB I think you have some flexibility to keep riding but with some lower stress efforts.
To each their own in this case, but you just have to listen to your body.
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Chad would say “pack it up and go home”. If you’re too tired (that’s different than an interval being too intense) you’re getting over worked.
Time to take a day or two off and see your freshness come back. It could also be a sign that you’re getting sick, so even more reason to rest.
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Just checking @RLucky82 you did an FTP test when you started the plan last week, right? And feel pretty good about how it went? Basically I’m just making sure you weren’t having problems finishing a 1st sweet spot interval because the target was off.
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Yes, my FTP is pretty low so I am certain I didn’t over achieve on the test 
Thanks, I was able to successfully finish today’s scheduled workout.
Note: I asked this question on the facebook page and wanted to move it here so I could bookmark it for future reference. here is a reply from an unknown tr person.
TrainerRoad TrainerRoad and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for TrainerRoad’s Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast Group. Hey there Rodney! Once you hit that interval and couldn’t finish it, I would recommend stopping that workout and depending how you feel either decrease the intensity of the workout or stop that workout and do an easy, endurance ride instead to allow your body to fully recover.
What I will try next time is pedaling for the remainder of the workout at a low / easy wattage.
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