I live in UK chiltrens range and we do 300 TSS easily on a weekend, which is done at 30kph (group A) in steep rolling hills course, in about 3 to 4 hours - I have done longer as well until i bonk that is.
On TR I generally do 3 to 4 workouts a week, or if i skip a endurance workout then i go for running for 30 to 60mins instead. Every ride is at least one hour except the weekend one which i try to push towards 90mins at least.
The problem is the weather in UK has been shite recently for last 2 months and I am wondering what can I do to simulate those missed weekend rides, given i have morning free on weekends. I have been improving in power recently, so intensity is not the issue but I want to keep the aerobic base maintained until the weather takes the turn for the better for the race season.
I don’t want to necessarily ride 3 hours inside as I don’t have the mental fortitude for that as I ride interactive rollers. A strategy I have employed to make my workouts more enjoyable is to use rouvy alongside TR but max I have done until now is about 90mins.
What is the minimum Z2 or sweet spot workout you would recommend I do over the weekend as a replacement for missing out on long weekend rides due to crap weather? Our weekend rides are generally 3hours in length on average but tough due to steep hills.
Note, I am not losing fitness but improving but I am conscious I could do more over the weekends to progress more like SS or Z2 at least.
There are a few zwift group rides that motivate me to do 3-4+ hours on the rollers. They have many of the same dynamics as a hard club ride on the road(good and bad) and you can find a group of any ability. With the coffee break feature, you can also step away for a few minutes periodically for a nature break or to refill bottles. My favorite is the Saturday am bmtr century, not sure if there is a similar ride that works better for your time zone.
Welcome to the forums. Missing that weekend ride could give you fitness gains.
What is the structure a TR plan recommends?
Can you share screen shots from your recent month calendar?
300tss in 3hrs is going to be too much stimulus for adaptations, and require too long a recovery.
I would likely use what I have now which is an Endurance ride set to Dynamic so that TR can recommend the length. I get bored at 1.5hrs at the moment so set that as the max duration. I’ve altered it to With Bursts on occasion to get some switch up.
When I’m training triathlon I’d use a steady tempo ride like Pioneer, or for high endurance/Ironman Putuo.