I been training for Amstel Gold Race Tour Version 150km. I know it’s not a race, but I got to train for something, so that’s is my A race.
I’m using low volume plan from plan builder, and I’m now in a specialty phase. But it seems like my workout intensity just a week before the plan has increased. And I’m already been feeling a bit tired from previous workouts.
My question is should I ignore my training plan and take do a rest week, or stick with it and just see how I feel?
As a note, I was a bit naughty and did my Z2 rides outside, mainly because I wanted to get used to my new bike. I tried to be good with keeping power target, but bridges are a thing even in the flat Netherlands. Plus I think my power meter is reading about 10W less then my indoor setup.
You are unlikely to get much in the way of gains from going hard this week, so if you are fatigued, I would reduce the duration of your two sessions and look to feel fresh for the weekend.
Honestly, that is perfectly fine and I wouldn’t worry about any bridges! You get way more out of riding outdoors, even if your power varies a bit, then keeping it perfectly on target indoors.
Zone 2 is wide, and I can’t believe the body really knows the difference between a few W more or less at that intensity effort. Better to enjoy the ride!
Sure, some deviation when riding outside is fine and to be expected. The larger issue stems from people straying frequently, for longer durations and much further than dabbles in Z3-Tempo. The examples on the most recent podcast are something like 20-40% of the workout well out of Z2, which is a problem if the goal of the workout is Z2-Endurance loading.
People need to take a closer look at their rides with respect to AP/NP, time in zones and such to see how well (or poorly) they are actually doing for these types of rides, and then adjust if needed.
Just for reference, here are two outside Z2 rides I did solo. The outside ones take attention along with generous use of gearing & cadence to hold the power range both up AND down (note the minimal coasting for 3.5 hours rides). This is NOT something that is achievable in a group setting, even when I do it with a small group that actually knows the objective and generally sticks to that vs the typical “group ride” that is a smorgasbord by comparison.
That said, I actually do better with this kind of “taper.” I usually feel flat during a recovery week where I back off. I have found that taking it easy the week before, then getting back on the gas (slightly, not full throttle) get me to the line feeling good. A day off two days before is the week of the race taper that helps with any extra fatigue.
Tapers are so individual… since it is not a race it might be worth to experiment and see what works for you (if you haven’t already).
Hey there! Looks like this case was a bug that we are now looking into.
For anyone else who runs into similar troubles in the meantime, we’d recommend using Workout Alternates and filtering for shorter duration (30-45min) Achievable workouts to make sure you taper into your goal event properly.
We should have this bug fixed shortly – we understand how important the taper phase is!
Follow up on this.
Support helped, but that meant that the plan builder plan that I had was deleted in the process. I was in the middle of my specialty phase.
Now I wonder should I just add a new specialty phase directly and do that?
Should I create a new plan? But that’s going to suggest that I do a lot of base building, should I skip that and go directly to build?
For now I have been doing “train now” workouts.
Additionally, I want to start increasing the volume, but some of it I want to add some unstructured workouts (like group rides). Should I keep the low volume plan and whenever I don’t go for group ride just use Train Now feature or should I go up in volume when generating the plan?
I just took a look at your account to scope things out. Since it looks like you just had your A event (nice work, by the way!), I’d say it would be best to start a new plan.
The phase you jump into will depend on when your next A event is. If it’s not for a while, more base building is what we would advise!
As for training hours, I think your idea of sticking with Low Volume and then adding in additional rides and/or TrainNow sessions is a good plan. Low Volume will give you 2-3 “core” workouts you can build your week around. If one of your group rides happens to be high-intensity, we’d recommend replacing one of your weekly workouts with that group ride so you don’t build up too much intensity, which could grind you down.
The following article has more useful tips on adding volume to your training plan:
