Hello,
I am training for a 300km Gran Fondo with 5,000 meters of climbing, which is coming up in about 8 weeks. Last year, I finished the Ötztaler Radmarathon in 11 hours.
I started my structured training last November using a TrainerRoad Mid Volume plan. To strengthen my aerobic base for this long event, should I switch to a High Volume Masters plan now, or stick with my current setup?
Kind regards
John 1982
Welcome to the forum, John! 
How are you handling your current training load?
I wouldn’t recommend increasing your volume unless you’re confident that you’ll be able to absorb the extra training stress and recover enough between sessions. Otherwise, your training may become unproductive, and you could enter your event with a bunch of unnecessary fatigue.
Hi Eddi,
If I accept the AI FTP detection, I can barely complete the 3 hard intervals and unfortunately can hardly manage any additional Zone 2 sessions. However, I am wondering whether I should reduce to two hard days instead, increase my overall volume, and incorporate more longer Zone 2 rides in order to build sufficient fatigue resistance for the 300km marathon with 5000m of elevation gain.
Many thanks for the quick response
John 1982
@John82 for what it’s worth, the best century I’ve ever ridden was when I followed a structured training plan but progressively increased the time/distance of my weekend long ride (Z2). If you can barely complete the three hard interval sessions I would drop to a Master’s Plan (two interval sessions) and steadily increase your weekend long ride. I would not bother trying to increase volume during the week but save it for that one weekend long ride … basically treating it like the third hard day, which it is.
Also, 300km is a huge day on the bike. You’ll need the weekend long ride to ensure your fit, nutrition, hydration, electrolytes, kit, etc all work for you.