Quite a specific question, not sure if anyone has dealt with similar. I’ve been following a Gran Fondo plan for a few months ahead of a trip starting this Sunday. Plan is 3 days in the mountains of 60-160km a day and a lot of climbing.
FTP has grown a lot. Plan had Sustained Power Specialty finishing into a rest week, then two taper weeks of low volume intensity (thresh/SS for 30-45 mins). This week is the second week of the taper.
Context: I got injured right at the end of the block, ahead of rest week. Knee started hurting and I’ve been trying to avoid aggravating it, so have been hardly riding (I walk several km a day to work etc). Maybe 3 rides of 30-60 mins in the past 2 weeks. Knee pain has receded a lot and in the past day or so it’s effectively a 1/10, down from a 3/10 on a ride on Saturday (4/10 at worst briefly when climbing at tempo wattage, because I couldn’t shift lower).
Question: rest vs mild training? Endurance vs priming?
The plan has a threshold session on Wednesday and an Opener on Saturday. Is it crazy to jump on and hit the threshold session if I have no pain? Is it best to stick to endurance? “Try threshold and switch to endurance/recovery if pain”?
Appreciate it’s not an easy question but keen to hear thoughts!
