Oh great! I didn’t realize that. Thanks.
Thanks. I didn’t realize that. I’ll give that a shot.
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I suppose I can use that approach as well. Come to think of it, I remember seeing a video of a club racer who I think was pretty fit showing how he struggled to do all of the efforts they gave him. He had a whole ton of workouts he didn’t finish but he said he still got quite a bit faster.
I wonder why Trainer Road does it this way?
The thing is there are all different types of athletes. Some need longer rides at a slower pace with only periodic speed training, others need to go hard everyday for a while. This is true even at the elite level. I guess it’s just not possible for any of these systems to substitute for a real coach.
Thank you for helping me see the light! This is all so true what you said.
Everyone on here is so great! Thanks.
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There are masters aged coaches with a lot of experience that offer masters plans. You don’t need a lot of intervals to get faster. Reading and listening to Coaches Frank Overton (coined “sweet spot”) and Tim Cusick (WKO project leader) the age you want to start designing in more recovery into a plan is 45-55 depending on a bunch of variables.
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Indeed plus when you have been using the platform for a bit you know what sessions you can do and those you can’t. In my case aged 52…McAdie, Fang Mountain+2, Avalanche spire+2, Dade+1, any Mills or Bluebell all good. McAdie+1, Mary Austin, Spencer+2, Carpathian peak+3, Leconte…Satan will go to work on a snow plough first! 
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Many of us using TR have been hoping for plans more suited to masters who don’t have the recovery of the younger riders. There was talk of plans for older riders/triathletes with possibly recovery weeks every 3rd week instead of every 4th, sadly however there seems to be little talk of that nowadays.
Us masters just have to try to fudge our plans a bit to be able to cope and not over-train.
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I started Trainer road after about 9 years off the bike. I struggled, but made it through LV SSB1 and 2. Thought I was fitter, but ended up feeling like I built a “house of cards”. I spent several months doing higher volume zone 2 after reading Seiler and Maffetone. I think regardless of where your FTP tested, you just don’t have the miles in your legs to benefit from TR interval plans. Especially as we age.
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You’re right. I can make it whatever I want it to be.
Think a problem with the FTP tests is that if you have the ability to go very deep, you can end up with a sort of one-off number - you can be that strong sometimes, but you can’t do it all the time (or several times a week).
I think one part of the overall training “problem” when following a TR plan, or indeed any plan, is that it’s easy to assume that everything is being done for you when in reality you have to provide some ongoing input and adjustments yourself. TR costs $20/month or so, a coach would be in the region of ten times that. A bit unrealistic to expect the benefits of the latter for the price of the former.
Training is both simple and complicated at the same time: simple because if you push yourself and allow recovery then you’ll get better; complicated because we’re all subtly different in our abilities to push ourselves, our recovery rates, our lifestyle. Why do we sail through a workout one week then a couple of weeks later fail miserably on it?
There’s nothing wrong with adjusting the intensity of a workout, or a whole class of workouts, by a couple of percent if it lets you complete that workout. The training zones are fuzzy and overlap rather than being discrete so knocking a 120% VO2max session down to 118% or even 115% still gives you some adaptations in the right areas, it just won’t be quite as effective a workout. Obviously if you drop the intensity by 20% you no longer have a VO2max session!
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FTP is there essentially to set the intensity of the workouts in the plans. If you aren’t completing the workouts then it’s not helping. So whilst a higher ftp is good for your ego. It’s no good if it means you aren’t completing the workouts. So I’d say always adjust your ftp to a number that means you get your training done consistently.
So you have a couple of options to look at. Try reducing the number of high intensity workouts a week and spread them out. Completing all the workouts, great leave the ftp alone. Still can’t complete them. Reduce the number again and / or lower your ftp.
An overinflated ftp is good for the ego but not for your training.
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I agree totally.