Advice on Speciality Phase, please

Training
1

Hi,
I am a 60 year old cyclist, relatively new, and am chasing an FTP/kg of above 2, which is around the peak of the bell curve that Nate showed some while ago in a different thread. I’ve done Sweet Spot 1 and 2, and am doing Sustained Power Build now, all Low Volume. Things are going well.

My goal is to be able to complete a Century. I live in Washington state, USA, which is generally very hilly. Here for example is the RideWithGPS route of a typical Century in this area:

image

Now I was considering the Century Specialty phase as its the natural choice, but I’ve also just been thinking about the Rolling and the Climbing Road Race plans. I don’t plan on being a racer, but I do want to be able to take hills with gusto. Any thoughts on these alternative plans? All advice gratefully received.

mcalista 2

The Century plan is the appropriate one for your goals.

The RRR and CRR plans include over-threshold efforts that are required to deal with attacks during races. As a century rider, you are seeking to always keep it below threshold, even on climbs, so SPB > Century is the appropriate plan progression.

2 Likes
3

Check out the latest podcast. I believe Jonathan mentioned that XCM (XC Marathon MTB) Specialty was close to Century but with shorter hard efforts needed by MTB, so could be an option.

Definitely recommend having a watch/listen! 17 minutes in.
Edit: Actually it’s exactly what the guys said, for a spikey Fondo it could be a better fit.

4

Thanks guys!