So all this talk about the Selle Anatomica, I thought I'd throw my saddle question out there.

I'm 49, have recently returned to cycling after a couple of decades away from it. I started up in April and have done about 1,300 miles since then--am now at about 80-90 miles a week. I'm 6'4", 195 pounds. Not overweight, but still planning to lose about 10 pounds before the spring season.

My down & front usually goes numb after about 60 minutes in the saddle (the Selle Italia that came stock on my 1986 Bianchi Premio), so I recently upgraded to a Specialized Body Geometry Toupe Expert Gel Saddle. I purchased one with a Padding Level 2 (on a 1-3 scale).

So I put it on my bike at the same time I took my bike indoors to ride on a trainer through the winter. I've ridden on it for about 2 weeks now. I really like the feeling of sitting on my two "sit-bones" and feel like that is the right way to go. So I want to HTFU and get more comfortable on a real saddle, because I'm planning to aim for 150-200 miles a week in 2018.

So here's the problem: my backside has been getting uncomfortably sore around the sit-bones after about 25-30 minutes. If I move around and stand up etc. it helps, but the idea of sitting in that saddle for 120 minutes+ really makes me nervous. I don't know if the problem is worse because I'm using it indoors, so more stationary position etc., or if I'm just not ready yet for a saddle this advanced.

My dilemma is I need to decide now whether to keep the saddle, because my return window to the LBS closes Dec 10. I don't really feel like exchanging it for a padding level 3--I'd prefer to tough it out until the 2 is a good fit.

I'm willing to put up with the soreness for the next couple of months if I come out on the other side with stronger sit-bones. A friend of mine has basically given me his 2007 Cervelo Soloist, which has a Selle Italia seat that looks/feels a lot like my Specialized seat, so toughening my sit bones is probably a good thing.

So my question: should I "tough it out" over the winter to get hardened? Or swap out the saddle and find something more friendly to my sitter?

Many thanks for any perspective you can share!