Doubting my Training path

[Cory.Rood]

@cartsman

How long are your long outdoor rides?

Minimum of 6 hours, will build them up to 12 hours over the next 16 weeks.

@cartsman

And what has made you drop to the 150 mile course in previous years? Is that a decision you have to make beforehand or you just drop down on the day if you’re halfway through and don’t feel like you can handle it?

lack of fitness and weather. Both years happened in the rain making the gravel soft and sucking watts, I just didn’t have the power to make the cut off for the 200 mile distance(both distances shared the same route up until ~100 miles) It’s a mid race decision.

@cartsman

I think you’re on the right training plan but have a pacing issue on your outdoor rides. Those VIs are very high for solo efforts. For context I typically have a VI of 1.2-1.25 on fast group rides and road races with a big pack where there’s a lot of easy cruising in the peloton interspersed with some very hard efforts on hills, when on the front, when somebody is attacking, etc. Those are hard days, I can cope with that kind of variability up to about 4 hours/100 miles, but no way could I do it for 200 miles and 10+ hours. For a long solo ride my VI is typically below 1.1, if there’s nothing too steep then it would be below 1.05. But those VIs are a function of pacing not fitness. I can ride at 1.4 or I can ride at 1.01, it’s a choice. To get to 1.4 you must be hammering it and then taking it easy. Don’t!

The terrain forces that kind of VI. Most climbs require solid 90%+ efforts. Then on the backside, you end up out of gear going 40+mph. No doubt I can do a better job at pacing but I don’t see a path to a VI below 1.2. Here is a link to this last Sunday’s ride:

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@cartsman

And yes, for a race that long you don’t need to go above threshold so it is all about raising FTP and increasing endurance. But working above FTP is also a great way of raising it, so don’t make the mistake of thinking you should only train below threshold.

Both the SusPB and Century plan have their fair share of over threshold work.