Hey @Dostring, thanks for the reply.
I also will typically focus on Z2 efforts in the winter…well actually I’d normally be doing CX until Nov, then take a break and start Z2 efforts in Dec. I try and work around the upper Z2 HR and look for efficiency gains, extending times out, looking at HR drift, then progressing on, raising watts slightly, etc. The watts would start at 190 or so and be at 220 by end of a 4 -6 week block, depending on how much time I can spend in the zone. This worked for several years, especially when I could do 5hr or longer rides every 2 weeks or so. The last few years though I haven’t seen the benefits.
While I’ve done some 700+TSS weeks in past, even up to 900ish, I can’t imagine doing this for very long. I would use the big weeks as overload and then taper into a big race.
I like the easier riding but wanted to take a different approach this year and since there is no racing for me coming up, it seemed like a good time to try something new. I plan to finish out SSB HV by end of year, go into 8 wk build and then be pretty ready for some mountain bike racing by Mar/April. I have an extra 4 week block to play with, for either a setback/reset/specialization or whatever else might happen.
It just doesn’t seem like many people are doing SSBHV and some of the results I’m seeing from people that are on the MV plan look really good in comparison. Makes me wonder if I would do better on lower volume. I guess in the end I’ll just have to wait and see how things go. 