Events during Base Phase

Training
1

Hello there.

I’m currently ending the High Volume AT plan (Base, Build, Specialty), one month left before my A event. Then I’m going on vacations and after that I want to start all over, but I want to work on my base, so I want to make a good base phase (thinking about a Traditional Base before starting a new AT Plan (With SS Base and then build and specialty).

I’ve been reading in the forum experiences about this TBHV + SSBHV combination, giving great result (but with a lot of time investmen that I’m willing to make), but they described an initial lost on power before the gainings kick in.

If I do that I’m worried that I’ve got like a B event planned for around the last month of that long base phase (not that important for me, not a race, but a personal challenge I’ve been invited to) that will be hard (~180km, ~3200m of continous and exponential elevation gain, with a time cut at 120km, so like moderate to strong pace at the first 120 km to achive that time limit) and I don’t know if it will be possible to do it only with such a long base phase without build and specialty.

I’m no expert, far away from that realy… may be that long base will be more helpful for that specific event that build and specialty phases, but I don’t know and thats why I came here for help. May be I should keep conventional SSB training or skip that challenge for now.

Thanks!

2

People might experience a drop off in FTP (and above) during Trad Base largely because they aren’t working those systems very often, and ‘use it or lose it applies’. Last year from early summer onwards I ditched intevral training and rode pretty much the rest of the year without any focus on high intensity - lost about 20w FTP over the year BUT gained a LOT of other things. Adding a period with some focused intensity brought it back again soon after.

So, if you’re worried about losing a little ‘high end’ during TBHV just throw in the occasional FTP/vo2 session or perhaps one of the TR ‘combo’ workouts that does a little of both. Just pick something from TrainNow every couple of weeks or do a Zwift race or hard group ride etc. It takes very little to maintain FTP.

SSBHV will have enough intensity that it builds (maintains worst case) FTP anyway, so if you plan to do TBHV>SSBHV then I really dont think you’ll have an issue at all.