I was familiar with the concept, but not necessarily the terminology. Interesting.
OP- I think that you would be better served going with a more conventional
periodized training program, as you are essentially an untrained cyclist (one that has followed a structured training program). Friel pretty much says the same thing in the
article:
Intermediate and the less experienced of the advanced athletes may make great gains by training with the THR group’s method—lots of time at about AnT. This way is somewhat similar to what Coggan proposes with his “sweetspot” training methodology with 2 x 20-minute intervals at 88-93% of FTP with 5-minute recoveries. I’ve seen a lot of athletes improve by training that way.
THR Group. The focus of this group was training at AnT. They also trained in three-week blocks with two weeks of high volume including four interval sessions at AnT (such as 5 x 6 minutes, 6 x 7 minutes and 6 x 8 minutes each with 2-minute recoveries) followed by a recovery week. In the two hard weeks of each block they also did a weekly AnT session with longer intervals (3 x 15 minutes and 3 x 20 minutes with 3-minute recoveries). This way of training is similar to what many athletes do in their late Base or Build periods.
As he mentions, variety is the spice of life when it comes to training- you have to mix it up or you will burn out. There is a lot of information out there to digest.
This time of year I am exclusively on the trainer, and I alternate harder and easier days. The first week starts off at a certain level. The next week gets a little harder. Maybe the intervals get longer or the ranges get higher, but it still alternates between harder and easier days. The next week gets even harder. The 4th week is a recovery week, where I back off and do less intense efforts and shorter intervals. Then I start all over again. Each week has a rest day, where I don't get on the bike and instead ski. The easier days are usually at an Endurance pace. A harder day could be long intervals at lactic threshold, shorter VO2max intervals, or maybe extended grinds at a high Tempo pace. Usually the week slowly builds in intensity leading up to the rest day.
When I follow the training program my coach lays out during the winter, the numbers in WKO generally trend slowly upwards until just before the road season. When I don't stick to it, I either stagnate or have a lot of peaks and valleys. One day I'll feel great and push it, and the next I'll crash and barely get out of bed. I've done that more times than I care to remember, because I'm an idiot.
A lot depends on what you're training for, and what you have time for. I will say that a training plan that is not sustainable is not a good training plan.