How do I pivot/change goals within the TR progression

So I’ve been training for the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR) at the beginning of May. I was actually able to complete the race last year (on 1 days notice as a substitute) on nothing more than pretty good overall fitness. It did take me 12 hours…but I finished. This year my partner and I have been training for specifically for PMBAR. But as I get fitter and stronger I want to put my newfound fitness to use in other places. I’m a mountain biker and as I’ve been training, I’ve been watching old XCO races on my computer and have decided that I want to race 4 XCO races from June to August. These 2, PMBAR and beginner XCO races couldn’t be more different in terms of duration and intensity. I’m relatively confident in my ability to complete PMBAR on the vastly improved fitness I already have from my training so far. My question is how do I pivot from one goal to another.

I’ve gone through SSB 1&2, I’m almost done with Sustained Power Build. I feel great. Really strong. Once I got some fueling/nutrition issues ironed out, I’ve been able to complete all my workouts in Sustained Power. And was planning on XC Marathon for the specialty phase. But with a new or changed priority what would be best for me to do next?

  1. Complete training as I’ve planned out and do XC marathon and just do my best at XCO races?
    -Chill out I’m a beginner
  2. Just do the XCO specialty plan after I finish sustained power
  3. Double up on the build phase and do short power this time…I know this is probably the hardest and maybe most dangerous option. I think I would do 2 week cycle (2 weeks and then a recovery week) instead of the normal 3 weeks and 1 week recovery. (this was given as an option on the podcast a while back)
  4. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help

I would do this, or I would do “General Build” – this is an uneducated opinion, but would be what I’d do if I was steering myself. Also, let’s tag @Bryce here…he’s good at giving an official TR POV on this type of things.

What I think you’re aiming for – when you take the specific races out of the conversation – is to maintain your muscular endurance, while also building some punchiness into your overall fitness – does that sound correct?

If so, I like General Build for this.

As an aside – I really do think that Short Power Build is the biggest motherf#cker plan on all of TrainerRoad. Everyone should do it once :fire::metal:

Hey there!

Based on how you’ve been successfully crushing your Sustained Power Build Plan, I think this could be a very good approach. As you correctly assessed, this is the most physically demanding option, however, back to back Build Phases can be great tools as long as you listen carefully to your body and rest when your body needs it.

The 2:1 work/ recovery ratio is an excellent way to reduce the potential for overtraining if you feel that that back to back Builds will be a bit of a reach. It’s always better to stay “on top” of your training than to let your training overwhelm you :slight_smile:

Best of luck with your training this season!