Hi there O’great forum! Been a keen reader of the treads here for a month+ now and learned a lot. Going in to my first year of structured training with TR and seek som advice from all you seasoned riders.
I would be happy for your advice. Please tear my plan apparat, so I can learn.
I’m going into 2019 with 3 races in mind:
- XCM race - 65km primary on single track - May 25.
- L’etappe du Tour - 130km road with lots of climbing - June 21.
- XCM race - 112km mix og singletrack and fire road/gravel - August 31.
All three resulting in 5h+ days in the saddle. If I have to prioritize dem, it would be A race, B race, A race.
Being a parent of three small ones, I only have time for the low volume plans. But I can use my commute to get some endurance/recovery rides in (~35 min one way) during the week. So the plan I have made is as follows:
Before first race:
SSB II & II followed by General Build and XC Marathon Specialty. This brings me perfectly to my first event, with the Specialty Phase ending the week I race.
I have switched the workouts around so my longest workout is on the Tuesdays. Works best with the family.
This is my first year of structured training like this and use of TR, but I have owned a powermeter for a year already. The Low Volume plans doesn’t give me that mutch TSS, but I can see from my commuting during the fall that I can handle around 350 TSS weekly. I therefore play with the idea of doing +1 workouts to bump up the TSS 30ish on a weekly basis.
Question: Is this +1 plan a smart move? Or just add more TSS with recovery commuting (only possible from late March)? Or make the weekend ride longer, adding extra endurance when possible (won’t be often).
After first race, the messy part:
- Between first and second race there are 8 weeks.
- Between second and third race there are 6 weeks.
This is the part of the plan I’m unsure of, but here is my suggestion:
After first race:
1 week recovery
5 weeks rebuild with start of Sustained Power Build
2 last weeks of the Climbing Road Race Specialty as a taper.
Question: Do I need a full week after first A race to recover? I estimate that the race will give me 300 TSS (data from last time). Do I reallyneed two weeks of tapering before second race?
Question: Smarter to do the later part of the build plan to get the TSS since I’m on low volume anyway?
After second race:
1 week recovery (of the bike and on holiday with family, no bike available)
6 last weeks of the XC Marathon Specialty + a ramp test at the start
The general idea here is that I re-build and re-specialize for my last A race, but throw in a taper to race L’etappe in the middle.
I’m not sure if this is the best way to re-build after my first race to get a good season overall. Alternatives and criticism are welcome!