What elevation do you live at? 4W/kg is what’s needed from sea level.
I live at 5300 feet. In the summer I will frequently train at >8000 feet.
I guess according to this chart I get about a 4-9% benefit compared to someone coming straight from sea level. I suppose then that 3.5 watts/kg is close.
My experiences coming from 5700ft. It’s possible for you but you’ll need to have a near perfect day and hopefully you have good corral placement.
Also, you’re doing a ton of volume for this time of year. I personally don’t think that’s necessary but if you have the time, enjoy it, and are recovering properly then more power to you.
At 3.5 w/Kg you’re probably 3.7-3.8 at Sea Level
I read a bunch of these threads, and while FTP isn’t the sole determinant, I think I came to the conclusion that while 4 w/Kg at sea level was certainly possible, I’d feel better at about 4.2 w/Kg. (Lots of factors will go into it: TTE / Endurance, Pacing & Strategy, Fueling and Hydration, Total System Weight & Efficiency, Weather & Luck, etc. )
Can’t remember if I posted it above, but there’s some good info in this thread about NP w/Kg and finishing times.
Yeah that was my thought. I am working on doing everything to optimize my equipment and nutrition too.
I am doing that amount of volume in an attempt to get my FTP up to closer to 4 watts/kg. I used to be an Ironman triathlete up until 2016 and my run and swim were always significantly better relative to my bike. I could swim 4000 meters in 55 minutes and run a 33-34 minute 10 km, but my FTP was never better than ~3.6 watts/kg.
Additionally when I was racing that distance one thing that was completely evident was that there was no replacement for volume.
You are doing lots of great things…lots of Z2 and then some harder threshold work. Given that you say it is longer and suprathreshold, you may be getting in some VO2 max slow component work as well.
As the weather gets better, hopefully you can get out on the weekends for a few longer rides. Also throwing in an occasional VO2 max workout like 40/20’s or 5 x 5min may be worthwhile. But otherwise sounds like you are on a really good track and ultimately just need to have faith in the training and see where the chips fall on the big day.
Obviously what your endurance training history is will also be a big factor. Remember this is a long game, so the work you are doing now will help in the years to come as well as you build season over season.
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Volume is a radioactive topic on these boards right now. My definitive position on it is that different people have different needs, so you do you.
Speaking only for me, I also came from a triathlon background and did that for about 10 years before I started MTB about 5 years ago. My volume was much higher when I did IM but due to the necessity of training for 3 sports concurrently. I have been able to do events like LT100 with moderate success (2 out of 3 attempts sub-9) with approximately 50% of my total IM volume at the peak. I rarely train more than 7-8 hours a week at my peak Leadville build.
My first attempt at Leadville was one where I had the highest volume and the worst result. I have no regrets for that race because after years of doing structure in IM training I wanted a big break from structure. Since then I’ve resumed structure, higher intensity, and less volume and have gone considerably faster for less training time.
In the future when my life allows me to do more Z2 training I plan to give that a shot too. I’m in no way arguing against that approach, just stating from my own personal experience that it is not necessary for me.
I wish I had a chance of hitting 4 watts/kg without doing the volume. Unfortunately I don’t think I can do it on 8-9 hours per week. I’m not sure why but I have tried sweet spot training, vo2max training, etc. I never get above ~3.5 watts/kg.
I know that there may be people who think that I don’t have the capacity to suffer or don’t train in structured way. However I they can be assured after doing 13 Ironman races half faster than 10 hours that isn’t the case.
Here’s to hoping that focused bike training and a slightly different approach yields results.
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My goal as well. I squeaked in by 10 minutes in 2020 and was 9:24 last year on similar fitness (even though the course was faster in 2022). What I discovered last year is that fitness isn’t enough for me to hit 9 hours. I need the stars to align with fitness, nutrition, some luck, and hyper focus/motivation. It takes a lot of motivation and mental strength to push that hard for 9 hours and I just didn’t have it last year. Definitely do some long events as prep if you can and work in some long weekend rides as well. Pushing calories down your throat after 7 hours can be just as unpleasant as keeping your power up.
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Hannah Otto said as much on her race recap from last year. It’s just another part of the work you MUST DO even if you’re not hungry and you don’t have anything with you that you want to eat. you just need to eat it, just like you need to keep turning cranks.
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