I discovered the value of structured high intensity cycling workouts about five years into my triathlon career. Prior to that, I did not know what “work” was – I simply went out and commuted by bike, went for rides on the weekend, and took periodic multi-day cycling tours. I was fit, and did fairly well at races.
Around 2005, I stopped getting my training plans out of books and magazine articles, and signed up for a coaching service. First thing they wanted from me was to “test”. Then use the results of that test to guide intervals on a “turbo” trainer. Within a year, I’d qualified for Kona, and won my first IM AG trophy. Figuring if a little is good, a lot would be better, so I bought a CompuTrainer and learned how to control it via ERG mode.Found a power meter, joined EN, and got hooked on the OutSeason, with its progression of 2 or 3 x/week training sessions focused on several different effort levels. My performance continued to improve. The addition of Trainer Road and a Wahoo KICKR made the set-up of training sessions easier than with the CompuTrainer, and less boring as well.
After about 5 years of that, I stagnated. Luckily, Zwift came along. After six months getting comfortable with the platform, I began racing during times when I did not have a specific event guiding my training plan.
Zwift has grown and evolved, with races of all lengths and terrain available. I just checked, and there are 18 races on Zwift in the next 4 hours, 10-60 km long. At other times, races of up to 200 km appear.
After two decades of structured training, I no longer find any motivation or enjoyment in riding by myself on a trainer (or IRL, for that matter). But put me in a group, real or virtual, and I can’t help myself – I work harder than I ever might alone.
Right now, I’m in the Race Prep phase for a 70.3 six weeks away. The plane calls for an FTP workout every week. Example from this week: “6′ (3′) @ 105% FTP, then 2 x 14′ (3′) @ FTP.” In the past, I would have struggled to finish, and felt like collapsing at the end. This week, I entered a race with a dozen other ENers (WTRL racing league) which ended up being 112% for 6 minutes, then varying between 85 and 105% for the next 52 minutes.
Then, on Sunday, the Plan called for 2.5 hours of “FTP + Steady State” – 8′ out of every 30 @ FTP, the rest @ 75-80%. I found a race on 3 Sisters (30 miles) which took me 1:40 @ 0.89 IF, totaling 2 hrs 15′ @ 0.84 with warm-up and cool down.
If you enjoy playing chess with yourself, this strategy may not be for you. But for those who can find something extra on race day, or want to learn that skill, then racing online is usually harder and more fun than slogging thru another trainer session.