This is part three in the series. Read part one / part two

Hi, I’m Elliot, and I’m here to improve my cycling skills. To achieve this, I’m embarking on a project I call FTP Builder, inspired by the Build My FTP workout I’ll be taking on in Rouvy. This series will be told in five parts. This is Part 3, entitled: The Workout

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Rouvy’s Build My FTP workout is a structured training plan designed to boost your FTP over 4 weeks. It includes various intervals that target different aspects of your fitness like endurance, strength, and power. 

During each workout, I can expect a warm-up to get my muscles ready and my heart rate up. This usually means starting at a moderate pace and gradually increasing the intensity.

Then there’s the intervals. This is the heart of the workout. I’ll do several high-intensity intervals where I’ll push myself to hold a specific wattage for a set amount of time. These intervals are tough but this is where the gains happen.

Some segments of the workout require me to maintain a consistent power output for longer periods. These are called steady efforts and they simulate the sustained effort I’ll need during a race or a long ride, helping me build the stamina to keep up high wattages over time.

Finally, each session wraps up with a cool-down phase. This helps lower my heart rate and start the recovery process for my muscles.

Now, let’s find out how I did:

Week 1: Getting Used to It

I was excited to get started on this workout, but that feeling didn’t last long. The first one was rather short, but the next two were not. 

This week was all about adapting to longer, high-intensity workouts. Anything over 40 minutes felt like a grind. I’m used to more frequent, but shorter rides on the indoor bike. Holding the required power for that duration wasn’t easy. I was pretty tired by the end of the week, especially since I was also doing some high-intensity run training at the same time.

I’m not too sure what I’ve gotten myself into trying to fit this project inside my training for an upcoming sprint distance triathlon. I guess I’ll find out.

Week 2: Squeezing It In

With three long workouts this week, I had to alter my schedule to fit it all in. I had to do them early in the morning, after work, or after another workout. They were tough, and most of the time, I couldn’t even hold the required power. By the end of the week, I was pretty exhausted.

Any excitement I had for this project was gone… these workouts are painful. But I knew that the hard work will pay off when I’m at the start line and I’m confident that I’ll have the strength to climb those hills. So I stayed positive and committed to the process. 

Then, something unexpected happened. 

Week 3: The Crash

Maybe I was doing too much and the universe decided I needed a break. I started this week by crashing my bike while riding to work.  

While going down a hill just outside of my place, I was fidgeting with my jacket with my right hand and I accidentally pulled too hard on the front brakes with my left. My momentum sent me over the handlebars and I literally tackled the pavement at 20 km/hr with my right arm. It happened so fast that I was genuinely confused when I picked myself up from the road. 

My elbow hurt a lot and was completely swollen. It took a couple of days before the bruise even appeared. I didn’t have much mobility, but at the time, I didn’t think it was that bad and that it would only set me back a few days. I was wrong. This week ended up being a complete write-off.

Week 4: Recovery and Return

After a few days off, I went to the physio for an assessment to see how much I should push myself in preparation for my triathlon race in three weeks. He assured me I’d be fine, but my elbow might take 4-6 weeks to heal completely. The only way I could injure it further was if I fell off my bike again, so all my exercises would be done indoors, which was the plan with the whole Rouvy thing.

Returning to workouts was a bit of a struggle while trying to deal with the lingering pain in my arm. You don’t realize how much you rely on it sometimes. Simple turning motions and loading bearing were the toughest. However, my legs felt fresh, which was a good sign that the project was having some positive results before I got injured. 

While the workouts were still long and holding the watts was tough, I surprisingly managed to get through them. Holding myself up with my arm for over an hour was a bit challenging, but it actually helped get the blood flowing, and my arm felt better after the workouts. Though getting injured never feels good, this one came at a good time to help me regroup.

Week 5: Another Setback

Although my right arm was still stiff and achy, I was grateful that the injury wasn’t worse, considering how unpredictable a crash can be, and that I still had the ability to train from home. Yes, the workouts on Rouvy were still tough — maybe even harder now that I was in recovery mode. Holding the watts for long durations was so painful it dulled everything else. But a short burst of power, such as sprinting felt good, and I could tell I was getting stronger, but the week 4 workouts were a doozy. But I was conquering them. I was so close to finishing.

But then… with only two more workouts left to go —just as I was wrapping up the last bit of training in preparation for my triathlon, I crashed again during a practice ride outside.

That’s two crashes in under three weeks. This time, it just felt like a lapse in focus. I was doing laps on a local hill, and on the third lap of a decent that day, I got distracted for a moment, and when I came to, I was heading towards the curb. I don’t know how that happened, but I put a lot of blame on the fact that my arm wasn’t healthy enough to return, at least not strong enough to take the risk that I took. If I was in full strength I think I could have steered myself away, but my right arm just couldn’t respond in time. 

This time I scratched up my road bike and the other side of my body. More critically, this crash really affected my mental state. I started this project wanting to improve my cycling skills and in the end, I feel like I regressed. 

If you recall, after visiting the physio for the first time, the only concern was getting into another crash. It goes to show that if you tell me not to do something, you can almost guarantee I’ll do it. If my right arm was 80% recovered, the fall probably took me back to 65%.

Overall, I’m okay, and my bike is okay, but my confidence took a hit. I worked so hard through this training block, wanting to do well in this race, set a new personal best for my time trial, and build up my FTP. I keep replaying my two crashes in my head, even though the memories are all foggy and fragmented. It sucks, because I feel like I’d be in better shape mentally and physically if I hadn’t done this project at all. But, that’s the wrong way to think of it — accidents happen, and it’s a lesson that is probably more valuable than improving my FTP. 

Reflecting on everything now. 

I don’t want to blame my indoor training for my hubris, but over the last few months, due to various circumstances including weather, I made a lot of progress in my indoor cycling fitness and strength and improved my FTP. However, I haven’t done enough training handling the bike outside. Maybe that’s the cause of my two crashes. My comfort on the bike indoors hasn’t translated to my abilities outdoors. Or maybe I just lost focus at critical moments. My race is next week. I have a couple more workouts left in Rouvy, and then we’ll see what happens.

To be continued… 

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