I’m going to need to take a few weeks at much lower volume due to some not injuries per say, but ‘niggles’ which i’d rather sort out before racing starts in 3 weeks or so. I’ve also been advised to ride outside rather than on the trainer for this time.
Fairly disheartened after finally getting to 5 wkg and needing to watch that disappear right before racing starts.
I’m going to need to dial back from my usual 15-16hrs (800-900 TSS), to 6-7.
Suggestions on ‘damage control’? Ditch most of the Z2 in favor of threshold and Vo2? Not currently following a TR plan, have been doing structured workouts to work on my weaknesses instead of a strict plan.
I’m not best educated to answer, but my gut feeling, previous experience, and everything I’ve read would suggest the opposite. In my past, when I’ve felt burned out or I’ve felt onset of injuries/sickness, maintaining intensity only made things worse. Anecdotally speaking yes, but I can trace majority of my injuries to high intensity (or too much too soon).
I don’t think there will be too much of a drop in fitness if it’s just for a few weeks and you’re still able to include a couple of structured sessions per week. It’s not uncommon to actually come back stronger after reducing volume for a couple of weeks, because you shed some of the accumulated fatigue from the last few months- kind of like a taper period.
In terms of sessions you could look at the TR maintenance plans for some ideas, or alternatively I’d pick a singular focus- you probably don’t have enough volume to see big gains in overall fitness, but there’s definitely enough to hone in on a single aspect. v02 would be a good candidate given you’ll see big gains relatively quickly (particularly if you’ve been leaning more on z2 previously), but I also find riding outdoors to be well suited to sprint work. Could also be a good time to focus on bike handling and skills work to make the most of all those watts!