Reflecting on a year of training

I got my new bike almost exactly a year ago. It’s the Canyon Endurace.

I chose this bike because I wanted a comfortable bike to put in some serious miles on. It was pretty, it wasn’t super expensive, it was carbon, it had a lot of good hardware, and it looked hella cool. Plus, it was made for smaller women, and that was really appealing to me. Smaller 650B wheels, a more comfortable reach … Being a short girl, that was important to me. I liked the look of it. Our options here in town are limited, and to be honest, I am sick of seeing Specalized bikes everywhere.

So, I placed my order, I got my delivery, and I set up the new bike that would ultimately make me fall in love with cycling!

And what a year it’s been. I’ve put in over 2,000 miles in the last 12 months, a combination of trainer riding and studio riding and outdoor riding. I also acquired two more bikes, some new friends, some VO2 max gains, lots of FTP gains, and a whole new perspective on life.

I also purchased a Wahoo Kickr Core trainer when the REI 20% off coupons came out. Then we set up together in our new training room! Zwift was the first training program I used. My first ramp test gave me an FTP of 181. My second FTP test measured 183 after the beginner FTP training program on Zwift. My VO2 max started somewhere in the mid-40s (I believe around 45 or 47, up from 37 in December 2018).

I started using TrainerRoad around December. My plan was supposed to get me ready for the Denver Century in June. I wanted to participate in an event every month of 2020. Naturally, 2020 had other plans. But I had lofty goals of ending the “season” with my big BikeMS rise (185 miles over two days, woo! My first century was in August 2019, and so those 185 miles seemed like a lot at that time).

I got sick a lot in the cold months of 2019-2020. I totally restarted my training plan in mid-February after getting the flu. That wiped me out for a good solid month, but I took the time to rest up and to get better.

My final FTP test of this training journey left me at 204 watts (3.87 w/kg), and my VO2 jumped up to 53 (it’s hovered at 51-54 for a long while).

I’m going to rest up, and relax, just do some base training and have fun, and then hit training hard again around December.

So, here’s what the last 12 months of bike riding and training has looked like. Enjoy!

VO2 boost

My VO2 max has steadily risen over the last year. It’s crazy to think I’m in the “excellent” category after having basically destroyed my body for the last decade. Just goes to show you that it’s never too late.

Ah. Love.

It’s always a fun time when you’re riding the fatty.

Last FTP test

204! I was stoked to hit 200, as that was a long-term goal of mine, but never imagined I’d get to 204. Guess all that outdoor riding and Sprint training really did improve my muscular endurance and power.

Bummer

I made it home, though.

Those weird rocks

Never seen ‘em, so I decided to bike to ‘em! Kinda weird, hot and sweaty, and then it ended with the nail in the tire. Boo!

Friends!!

So much fun going on group rides instead of training! This was with Laura and Leslie.

Winding down

Chill ride, only a couple weeks out from the big ABC event.

Spring 20 training

We did a soft launch for Sprint 20, and it was a monster! I love it, though, there’s nothing quite like Sprint.

Ride for Sight/BikeMS

My quads were hurting really bad here, and I did 75 miles this day. Wanted to do the century, but I knew I shouldn’t. Still had a run time riding with Heidi and co. for a good portion of the first half!

Hey. It's me

Face gains? I definitely notice ‘em.

My favorite goats

Yep, I hung out with these guys for 10 minutes. They were way cool. Gravel rides are the best.

719 Ride

Proof, or something.

719 Ride

(Photo courtesy of 719 Ride)
9,000 feet of climbing — can I do it? Absolutely. And my boyfriend destroyed over 10,000, so it was a good day.

Getting quicker

I was super stoked to see that this was my fastest time on my old 30 mile route that I did so many times last summer. I hadn’t done it in a very long time.

Sunset over North Park

Nobody showed up for my class, so I took this bike out to North Park to watch the sunset.

Gravel ride

This is a road? Yep! We rode it! Heidi is fun to adventure with.

First MTB ride

Technically, my first mountain bike ride, even though it was on a fat bike! It was a beautiful day and the trails weren’t difficult. So it was pretty fun.

ABC kit

I kind of became obsessed with matching kits, and this was the second one I ordered when the ABC kit store opened!

Self-supported century

Are y’all mad? I guess! We did the Tour de Prairie ride, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had. The wind sucked all the way up, and then we flew back at like 30+ mph. We had to loop around to finish out the full 100, but we did it, and it was amazing.

Llamas!

Always love seeing these cute things out on Powderhouse.

Gravel ride to Buford

This was my first legit gravel ride. I was not prepared. I brought what I would usually bring for a 30 mile road ride, and I totally underestimated the difficulty. I hit a hard wall and struggled for the entire thing. Finished it and promised myself that I’d always overpack on food for any gravel ride I do.

Bee sting

The dreaded bee sting. This sucked. Part of the process?

Getting outside more

The gravel bike gave me a nice outlet, away from the road, where I could go places I’d not been able to go before. It really made me fall in love with riding again.

Woah, FTP boost!

This was the biggest FTP boost I’ve ever had. A whole 8 watts! But this was when my training kind of fell apart. The gym opened back up, so I went back to teaching two classes, and my schedule was just a mess. I was entering the build phase for the first time, and I couldn’t figure out when I was going to get all these sessions in. Mentally, physically, I was in a bad place.

Gravel bike arrives

The Liv Brava I won in March finally arrived in May. It was something I was looking forward to, even though I felt guilty for doing so. I couldn’t wait to get this thing put together! Except … it was factory boxed, and it was a process figuring everything out with no instructions.

New pain cave

Moved the trainers down into this weird concrete basement closet. We were trying to figure out a solution to our space problems.

Just out for a ride

In the past, I would’ve had to plan so hard for this. But I was out and about and decided why not go for more miles? This was my first time saying screw it, let’s just keep riding, and I had a blast.

First real cycling kit

I was obsessed (and still am) with this kit. Look at how everything matches. Insane!

Rist Canyon

My second time up Rist Canyon, and I basically beat my old time by 30 minutes. I could totally tell that I had gotten stronger, faster and fitter!

New Rokas

Sweet shades, yo! These are my new Roka sunglasses. Love them so much.

Ah! Victory!

Don’t look like I just biked 4 hours on the trainer, do I?

Four Horsemen

Decided to get an achievement on Zwift. Four Horsemen was tough with a lot of climbing (the four “tallest climbs” in Zwift). I had nothing to do that day, so why not? Finally crossed that off the achievement list.

Silly selfie

I dunno why I look so pale here, but I’m going to go ahead and say it has something to do with our long, dark and extremely cold winters!

Ramp test!

Always kind of dread these, but I am always happy to see that little bump. I had a steady, albeit small, increase since my first. Hopping up 2-3 watts each time. The TrainerRoad podcast helped me put it in perspective that any gain is a good gain, and FTP isn’t tied to your self worth. So I walked away feeling really good with this one.

The dino

My first ride with Heidi. We made a dinosaur. Decided she was awesome and was so happy to have a new cycling friend!

Hmm.

This looks familiar. :P

Spanish Needle

Always heard about this workout, so I decided to add it on one weekend. I honestly thought it wasn’t too terrible, but it definitely wasn’t easy. Maybe Disaster Day gave me a new perspective, I dunno.

A fulfilling ride

Feels good to get the work done and finally take off that sweaty heart rate monitor. I love this Polar strap and the monitor itself. Incredibly accurate, battery’s easy to change, 100% waterproof.

Pups go wild

The dogs always hang out while I’m riding inside. They go nuts when you first clip in, but after a bit, they just chill right next to ya. It’s kind of sweet.

Carbon shoes!

Finally upgraded my cycling shoes. Carbon felt weird at first, but I’ve really grown to love these shoes.

Back at it

I missed a good chunk of my training after the flu, and I knew that I had lost fitness and power. So I decided to restart my training plan. I let go of all of that stress about worrying if I will ever get back to where I was and just hit the reset button. It was very relieving. So mid-February was when Base began again!

Fat biking @ Happy Jack

Still recovering from the flu. Those 8 miles were awful. I didn’t enjoy this. I am going to give it another shot this winter, though, hopefully when I’m feeling better.

The flu

And then the flu hit. I got super sick. High fever. Worst aches and pains. A deep cough. I took some time off to get better. I don’t know how anyone could workout through that anyway. I could barely get out of bed and was too tired to even sit at the computer and play games.

Coffee! 5 am workouts

I attempted to start training in the morning, getting up at 430 or 5 every day to hit the trainer or the gym. I hadn’t been a coffee drinker for a long while, but I definitely needed it to get going in the morning.

Another rough session

Not sure what I was thinking in this moment, other than I think I was glad I was finished.

First Fat Bike ride

After I got Hellga, we went around in the snow, cruising around Lion’s Park. It was then that I knew I was going to really love this fat bike!

Spinning studio

This is my favorite place in the gym. I love helping people get to places they don’t want to go. Real gains come from real hard work!

Running

I attempted to do a couch to 5K running plan in the beginning of 2020. It didn’t really work out very well, mostly because I kept getting sick. I give up, running just never works out for me!

Blah

One of those kind of training days!

Disaster Day 2019

Such a horrible idea. This was my “introduction” to TrainerRoad, haha! But it was actually really cool. Everyone hung out on Discord, cheered each other on. It’s gonna be full-on Disaster Day 2020 in a few months, y’all. Who’s with me?

Disaster Day 2019

The couple that suffers together, stays together? I remember being like 15 seconds ahead of my boyfriend, so I could warn him about how much each interval sucked.

Disaster Day 2019

Yeah, our training room was a disaster, too.

Zwift achievements

Ugh, achievement hunting on Zwift, talk about something that consumes you! I’ve enjoyed picking “routes” and trying to finish them over the last year.

Cycling studio

This was launch weekend. I spend almost every single Saturday at Gold’s to teach Sprint in the morning. Sprint’s been a part of my weekly training plan since I got certified to teach in September 2019. I love the program, and I love teaching it.

Oh snap!

More VO2 gains!

So many selfies

I took a ton of selfies, mostly with my tongue sticking out. I look goofy. I guess I just wanted to document my hard work, because I thought that was worthy of something.

Our pain cave

Side by side, we Zwifted together.

Zwift training

My first training plan was the beginner FTP builder on Zwift. My ramp test said I was 181, and then I boosted to 183 after the 6-week program was finished. Boy, was I mighty proud! I also got my first taste of sustained efforts at FTP.

Halloween on Zwift

Yeah, it’s too cold to ride outside, so we did some Halloween cycling on Zwift to earn our dinosaur costumes. Wish you could wear this year-round!

VO2 max gains

I am always so stoked to see my VO2 improve. I know it’s just a guess-timate from Garmin, but it’s still awesome. It’s one of those “it’s working” moments! Gives you more drive to keep going.

Don't forget to smile

Times can get tough, but it’s always good to remember that you’ve got goals you’re trying to achieve. Enjoy the process.

First time training

I wasn’t quite prepared for what cycling training was like. Pools of sweat, tired legs, “I don’t know if I can do this” talk … I knew I was in for some fun.

A better view

Gotta take pics of the new bike, right!? This is out on Horse Creek.