Nice insights to the climbing involved in the AGR… I already did the 125 km version twice now. The 125 km does not include the Eyserbosweg and the Keutenberg, so no experience with those two climbs.
For 2020, we plan on doing the 150 km which will include both those climbs… so thanks for the tips!
As for preparation for the climbing I want to try to get up Alpe Du Zwift (sorry TR) as often as possible to get used to low cadence climbing and it will also be a good test as to measure my progress. My current PR is about 90 minutes. Will look to greatly improve that of course.
As far as the current training plan goes: I am still on track and really getting used to the consistency! It is a great feeling when you notice your body getting used to the training load. I am already thinking about raising my FTP as the current 170W seems to get me through the sweet spot workouts without real suffering.
My current plan is to complete SSB LV I and then just do the Ramp Test… for now just getting the habit down and not make it to challenging so I can keep it going.
Good job with being consistent. The hardest part is getting in the habit.
I ride in the mornings as well. I get up at 4:30am, have two pieces of wheat toast with a small amount of jam and I am good for any ride 90 minutes or under and then I will eat 700-1000 calories right after getting of of the bike.
My macros are higher protein than most cyclist, but I have always been a weight lifter and it’s just hard to get away from it. But I don’t want to loose any muscle and the higher protein helps with this. I make sure that I get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and I usually end up closer to 1-1/2 grams and then I make sure that I get at least 50 grams of fat. The rest I try to get good quality carbs, mainly from vegetables.
Everyone is different, but just like the training, eating is all about getting into a habit.
People talk about “cheat days”. I simply don’t eat junk and don’t want it. If you are eating whole foods and burning a lot of calories training, you get to eat a lot of food. So I always feel really satisfied with what I get to eat.
I feel like I am eating all of the time and more times than not, I find myself at night eating just to make sure that I get all of my calories in, not because I am hungry.
If you are eating whole foods and cut out all of the processed stuff, the weight you want to loose will fall off.
I guess the 125km route goes North out if Valkenburg. 150km will be the south route. It’s noticeably more undulating on the southern loop.
I’d be tempted to go back for a long weekend and do a handful of routes as training.
One of the things I noticed was just how much time you’d spend after a climb still going uphill. Some good vo2 and threshold intervals will help for sure! I’d aim to focus on that within the TR plans.