A complete guide to planning your training for the year, power vs. heart rate and indoor training tips and gear we’re loving right now. All of this and more in Episode 134 of the Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast!
Topics covered in this episode
- TrainerRoad CX Nationals Athlete Panel Event
- We’re hiring three software engineers! (Apply here)
- Why you should sync Strava and Garmin Connect to TrainerRoad
- How to plan your year of training
- How to set proper goals
- How to make sure you peak at the right time
- How to prioritize your races
- How to adjust your training plan
- Power vs. Heart Rate: Is heart rate still relevant?
- Tips and tricks for getting started with indoor training
- Are tubeless tires best for road too?
- What is “going into the red” and should you actually avoid it?
For more cycling training knowledge, listen to the Ask a Cycling Coach — the only podcast dedicated to making you a faster cyclist. New episodes are released weekly.
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Timely podcast for me. Developed a sinus infection at the beginning of week 3 of my current training plan and now that I’m on the road to recovery, I was wondering where to start back. I was happy to hear you guys discuss this on the podcast. I’ve been doing easy aerobic workouts the last few days and hope to start back on the plan again next week. Appreciate the advice on how to get going again.
Hello, my name is Daniela, I’m an age grouper triathlete, did my 1st Ironman in 2016, and have been doing my “winter maintenance” training in all 3 disciplines, with focus on the bike, since it’s my weak link on triathlon. My A race is Ironman Chattanooga in September.
First of all, this podcast is incredible. filled with such wealth of information!, I’ve learned a lot, and it’s very enjoyable to hear the enthusiasm you guys have towards all cycling sports!
Thank you so much for developing a platform so oriented for quality workouts without distractions! It is great to see the data, and like you said on podcast #134 (which is, by the way, pure gold) I get to choose my entertainment (or lack thereof).
I only have one question, in regards to training with power, since I’m new at it, having just bought the power tap P1 pedals. I use your program and it links seamlessly with the pedals, but I still use a “dumb” trainer. I did the long FTP test and I have a feeling my power may be still a bit inaccurate (it is at 129. no shame! but have a lot of work to do), as my muscular endurance workouts end up having the segments with the power difference of +8, +9, where I feel I’m doing work but not over doing it, otherwise, if I follow the target number, it feels easy. I’m assuming it may have something to do with the resistance or lack of? with the trainer. I have an older cycleops, and want to get a smart trainer, but since I “splurged” on the pedals, I have to wait a little. Any ideas? Thank you for reading.
I did my first season of racing (cyclocross) last year. I am now getting into road racing. Since this year is mainly about learning the tactics of racing rather than getting into absolute peak performance, my question is, what kind of plan structure should I follow if my goals are to just get as strong as I can over this next year and be competitive for the 2019 season? Is it best to go through the whole training plan and then just start over, or keep going back to the build phase once specialty phase is completed?
Hey Curtis!
Regardless of your aspirations for the season, you still want to get as fast as you possibly can during this season in order to be even stronger for next season. As such, you will follow a standard Base, Build, Specialty progression for the 2018 season. This includes Sweet Spot Base, General Build, and then either Rolling or Climbing Road Race. You will then likely roll into CX season by doing a re-build focused on Short Power, Short-Power Build and CX Specialty Plans. After this long season, you will likely want to take 2-3 weeks off the bike before jumping back into Base again in preparation for the 2019 season 🙂
I hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any further questions!