Trainer Road Base Build Programs

I have, do it fairly regular (so does another in this discussion) and don't find it that difficult. Can't remember a couple hours at that effort being hard, really. The hard part is not being bored and keeping the seat from getting too sore. There is nothing that develops at the lower intensity that doesn't also develop at least as well a bit higher up. So when one has the opportunity, go ahead and ride harder. Do try to make the opportunities to balance out harder & easier work though. Riding easy all the time is more for someone just starting out with working out or possibly someone with massive amounts of time and wants to use it. This second part is kind of rare in age groupers. This does not mean that one will not improve by only riding easier, but they will improve more and do so more quickly with some more intensity.

Right, no one is suggesting 100% FTP for all of any amount ridden during the week. The point was to ride above Z2 at least some of the time. Maybe most, depending on how much time one has and how hard one wants to push. There is a good deal of space in between the 65-75% and 100% to ride at. And sure, doing loads of riding in that lower range can make one tired, but one can quickly advance beyond that when only riding a few times a week. Few age groupers are riding enough for a couple times a week for a couple hours at a time to be a substantial load. Just getting faster isn't necessarily the only objective, that would be making the best use of time. And to make better use of time it's quite often better to push the pace.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it won't matter as many would interpret that as "not at all". Generally everyone is saying to get a lot of TSS though.

Yes, if you have a high training load going on, rides like you're suggesting could feel a bit more difficult to do. But the amount of TSS you're suggesting is not that substantial. At first it might seem like that, but not for too long if values used are accurate. That's not to say one can't improve on that amount, however. Quite a few on the site would see some improvement if they could put in the suggested load every week for some time. Think everyone posting would agree to consistency over time.

Whether 6 hrs is a lot or a little to fit in depends on the person who has to do it. For many, that would mean 10 hrs of training a week or just over when considering the swim & run training as well. This higher than normal average throughout the year. And again, many would likely see gains by riding this much very consistently (which everyone likely agrees on), however, that does not mean one can not achieve more gains by riding harder in that time. I don't know why all intervals have to be FTP or bust. There are numerous ways to add more stress. Many have to add in more intensity as it's way more likely that their schedule will have something like 2 x 1 hr rides in the week plus 1.5-2 hrs on the weekend for more regular training. And to the bolded, well yeah, that's the idea! 

I rode 2:45 on the trainer this morning with 15', 20', 20' just over 90%, 8' just under 100%, and 45' right about 90%. Yes, I was certainly working quite well throughout this ride. TSS: 199. What are you considering to be an "FTP interval"? The 65-75% mentioned earlier is Ironman intensity. I know the trainer is a bit harder on you than the roads, but one expects to ride like 6 hrs in that range and then go run for awhile.

Yes, it was a hard ride, and that was the point of posting it. And that is it's quite possible to push hard later in a ride the size you have been suggesting. I put up that one too because there was harder riding throughout the ride. It wasn't just a single late effort.

A general guideline for IM TSS is actually up in the high 200's, a bit under 300. And that's regardless of ability. The pro men do so with a bit higher IF than an age grouper because they are done much sooner. Call it 4:30 or so as opposed to say 6 hrs or more, so they are riding higher up in the 70's for IF. This later rider is going to be more in the range that you suggested riding at. A faster age grouper may have an IF in the 70's. More average to slower will be more like 70, some may be entirely in the 60's. Your proposed ride time happens to be about the same size as an IM bike split and to split this into 2-3 rides over an entire week. The first few times might be a bit rough, sure, but it shouldn't take that long to get used to it. If this amount of riding at that intensity is hard to do, then something should be re-evaluated.

I see what you're saying and now it's just a matter of one's perspective on what constitutes "easy" vs "hard". About 100 or even just a bit over can be felt a bit, but to me it's much more of an easy ride than a hard one. I still feel rather good afterward and great not too long after stopping. The higher you go from there, sure, it gets more tiring and more noticeable. As should be expected.

The ride I posted about before is well up into "hard", not a minimum or even a typical hard ride. Lopping off several of those intervals would still have made it hard.

For VO2 intervals of 3-5' duration 110-115% is fairly common. Try to hit them all at a similar, yet strong power throughout each interval and for each interval. It's not necessarily bad if the last one(s) slip a little, but really try not to let it get too much under 110%. Recoveries for me are really easy and trying to keep things loose. For one like this, don't look much at overall ride power (AP or NP). The focus is very much on what you do for the intervals. Warm-up and recover between how you need to hit those strong. And yes, they're gonna hurt.