I’m fairly new to the world of cycling. I cycled for 11-12 hours high intensity rides a week this summer, but as winter came it slowed down, also I felt exhausted. I commute around 40 minutes on my bike 5 days a week and just got into trainerroad.
I chose the sweet spot base low volume II for my buildup aiming at being faster by late march, but seems I could do more hours as I have the time, should I change my plan now to the medium volume one? Or continue with the 3,5 hrs.
I want to get into cyclocross so my rides are always in the 1-2 hour range.
You mention that you felt exhausted. If you’re through this period and feeling energised, I would say up your training to a medium plan and see how you go.
It sounds like you’d be able to handle the workload although you might need to watch the level of effort you put into your commuting rides.
I believe that TR has a specialty block for cross riders too, so I’d check that out once you’ve completed the base and build phases.
I added in 1 90 minute ride and 1 low TSS (Clarke) from the Medium Sweet spot base II program, since I didn’t want to start the whole 6 weeks over and remove all the scheduled workouts. Seems the TSS comes out the same, around 390ish.
Although the Low sweet spot base program has more VO2Max, the medium seems to have only workouts around FTP, is this something I need to pay attention to?
Personally, I would be looking to introduce a variation in efforts, including VO2. Doing so will give you more tools, come race day. You’ll have the ability to respond to surges and tackle short, sharp banks effectively.