How to plan peaking for the major event

Training
#1

Hi,

I’m new to TrainerRoad, new to structured training, new to training with power meter,…
I’m an old fart. 49 years, going on 50 and I can feel it in my bones…
I have been cycling for ~30 years. Initially just recreational MTB touring in the Alps. Live in Munich, Germany. i.e. have some very nice cycling terrain fairly close to me.

7 years ago, I started also road cycling. I have participated to Maratona dles Dolomites (138km, >4000m vertical climbing) 6 times now. Have not done any training apart of jumping on my bike during the normal cycling season and trying to get as much mileage on the bike as time permits. Initially flats around where I live and then as my form allows, long road bike tours in the mountains.

Now, end of October I got Wahoo Kickr Core and started using TrainerRoad.
So far I have done Sweet Spot Base, mid Volume I.
Had a Christmas / New Year break from training and now on the 2nd week of Sweet Spot Base, mid Volume II.

My current plan has 8 weeks Sustained Power Build, mid volume, immediately after the SSB II.
This 8 weeks is interrupted after the first 4 weeks by;
1 week Ski Touring in Austrian Alps.
And after that (early April) 10 days road bike training camp in Mallorca. Individual training rides (smooth/moderate) added to the TR Calendar.
…and after the camp at Mallorca, the next 4 weeks of that Sustained Power Build plan.

After the Sustained Power Build plan, I have a 8 weeks Climbing Road Race specialty plan.

After that 1 week of rest (no work outs at all) and the following Sunday my main event, Maratona dles Dolomites 2019.

My goal is to achieve my personal best at the Maratona.

Is this the right way to plan this? i.e.
Sweet Spot Base I
Sweet Spot Base II
Sustained Power Build plan (interrupted by training camp for more endurance related workouts, but much larger training volume, long endurance rides)
Climbing Road Race specialty plan

1 week of rest/recovery before main event

Especially, as I know I will not do all the workouts in the Sustained Power Build and Climbing Road Race plans, but will replace a considerable amount of workouts with long rides outdoors.
Will most likely end up with much higher TSS than planned when going out for long rides outdoors.

Is one week rest/recovery sufficient before the main event? especially considering my age (almost 50).

Are there some other factors that I should consider for the plan towards my main event?
Should I be concerned about doing long endurance rides outdoors with higher TSS, instead of planned workouts during specialty plan?

I’m planning to follow simple healthy nutrition plan to keep my weight during winter months and slowly loose just a few kg during the summer months towards my main event.

Cheers,

Kassu

#2

It sounds like you are competing with yourself at the Maratona, so I wonder whether RRR is the right specialty for you? You might consider the Century specialty instead. As I recall the RRR plan is designed to give you the power to respond to surges and make race-winning moves.

Bear in mind that the specialty plans have a taper built into the end of them anyway, so you might not need that extra week off the bike before the event, or maybe you will. Only you will know - you know your body best.

If you decide that you don’t need the extra week off before the Maratona maybe you could put that as a recovery week after your Mallorca camp, before you resume the build plan?

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#3

+1 to Neil’s suggestion of century plan. I would also suggest you add a new FTP test in after your interruptions to the sustained power build plan to ensure your workouts are still based off an accurate reference point.

I would do some active work during the taper week rather than just taking a week off, and consider a primer workout before the event.

#4

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I’m competing with myself at the Maratona.

For me it is really a long endurance ride with a lot of climbing to do, where I my main goal is to beat my previous efforts, hopefully with a good margin, despite of getting older year by year.

If the Climbing Road Race specialty plan really is designed to give you the power to respond to surges and make race-winning moves, I might not really need it.
I think what I really need is road climbing endurance. Just picked that plan in absence of better knowledge and understanding as it has “Climbing” in the plan name :wink:

#5

Thanks. Yes, I have FTP test included after the interruption to the sustained power build plan.

In previous years, without any structured training, I have had the last hard long climbing ride about two weeks before the event. Then been almost completely off the bike for two weeks, with perhaps one or two short easy rides and one short 1 hour Cappucino ride (perhaps 800m of climbing) the day before the event.

So, yes, I’ll consider some easy active work during the taper week and will do a easy workout (Cappucino ride) the day before the event.
Or what do you mean “a primer workout before the event”? Should that be a bit more than about 1 hour relatively easy climbing?

#6

A primer is a moderate to tough workout designed to get you physically and mentally rev’d up for your event.

It’s a personal thing whether you use one or not. I have the one below in my calendar for the day before my A race

https://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/workouts/89111-truuli

#7

Thanks, I will consider this.
I have some time left, so perhaps I’ll try Truuli or something very similar after end of my current base builder or after the power builder, day before the FTP test for the following plan to see how I respond to it.

Within my circle of Maratona cycling buddies, I have some persons that like the take just a easy ride the day before (like myself) and some that like to do something considerable more, but I have never tried that myself.

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#8

Look at the energy demands for the event. If there is long climbs it’s very similar to that of sustained sub or threshold efforts. The body doesn’t know if it’s going up or down hill. It just recognise the demand of the effort.

It’s for this reason the century may be a better option. It’s designed for the longer fondo rides in mind. This contains a lot of sustained efforts at sweet spot and over under threshold efforts.
I’d also recommend the sustained power build also to complement this.

Good luck.

#9

Thanks.
The event definitely has long climbs. It pretty much is either climbing or descending.

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I will look in to the description of the training plans again, but perhaps the century plan would really be the way to go instead of the Climbing Road Race specialty plan.

#10

I’d like to know how good is aweekly 2-4 hour session of Skimo for cycling, and if it’s really some useful stress.

I do 1 or 2 sessions per week with the aim of adding some volume, but trying not to skip TR workouts. If so, I feel like it’s counterproductive.

#11

Sorry I got the specialty plan wrong - Climbing Road Race not Rolling Road Race.

In fact I am in a very similar position to you - I’m 46, have cycled recreationally for 20+ years abut am onlly just starting out with proper structured training.

My A race is L’Etape du Tour which, this year, is 135km and 4500m of ascending. My original plan was to do Sweet Spot Base I & II, Sustained Power Build and Climbjng Road Race. But I changed my mind after listening to the guys discussion about plan selection on one of the podcast episodes.

The great thing is, you don’t actually need to decide which specialty plan you actually follow until you start it, so you have plenty of time to make up your mind.

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#12

I’d like to know that too.
I imagine it is a good cardio vascular training session. At least the stuff that I do is a good 2-3 hour hike up the mountain, so it should be good for something. Not necessarily for cycling specific power but at least for endurance.

Thanks. Yes, your situation and main event actually looks very similar (perhaps even a bit harder) than mine.
I’ll give it some time and review weather I should go with Climbing Road Race or Century plan in the end, but everything seems to suggest Century at the moment :slight_smile:

#13

Hi,

Came across this thread which answers some of my questions. Can you confirm which specialty build phase you decided to go with, and if you felt it was the right one.

I’ve used TR for over 2 seasons but this is the first time I plan to go through the 3 phases for my A target (Etape du Tour).

In preparation for my A races last year (#mdd33 and Etape), I ran out of training days and was only able to complete the sustained build before I did the 2 events. Even though I finished both, I felt I could have done better if I had the chance to finish the plan.

I plan to go away to Mallorca - I like the idea of the recovery week before continuing with my TR plan. I also like the suggestions on activities for the taper weeks. Quite useful.