I just signed up to TrainerRoad after cycling on and off this year, but I’ve been consistent for the last 4 weeks—around 5 hours a week—using a different AI-based plan alongside Zwift.
I’ve got a big event in 15 weeks that includes a lot of climbing and, based on my current fitness, will take me around 7 hours to complete.
TrainerRoad has given me a plan with about 4 hours and 45 minutes per week, and the longest ride in the plan is just 2 hours, once a week. My concern is: if I’m never riding more than 2 hours, how will I be able to complete a 7-hour event?
Is this normal with TR’s approach and something I should trust will build me up enough in time? Or should I be adding longer endurance rides on top of the plan?
TR tends to pick a relatively steady training volume based on the number of hours you currently ride and your training age. Is not really based on the duration of your event. Though you can make it give you more volume during the initial steps of plan builder.
Are two hours rides enough to train for a seven hour ride? Yes and no. They can give you enough fitness to do OK if you pace carefully. Some longer rides are better to find that pace as well as provide more event specific training.
The bigger issue is everything else. Fueling, hydration, saddle sores, neck/back pain, hand numbness, hot feet, etc that are typically only encountered on rides that are 4+ hours.
So generally it’s a good idea to do a few 4 hour rides to work things out and help your fitness adapt as well. There’s no downside as long as you don’t over do your training. Many people do a big ride once a week.
For the most part you probably could complete it if you are relatively gifted. But you may get hurt and/or be extremely sore for days after. I’d personally recommend weekly volume at least equal to the goal event as a minimum. At least one or two rides 4+hr would be very helpful.
This question gets asked quite a lot.
There is physical fitness and mental fitness/strength. I think a 4.5-hour/week plan will give you more than enough physical fitness to finish a 7-hour ride/race. No question.
However, I don’t know whether you have the mental stamina to spend 7 hours in the saddle.
In terms of training, if your goal is to complete the event, then you should have enough fitness to finish.
However, if you have never, ever ridden for 7 hours, it might be mentally very challenging. E. g. before structured training, I have spent many weekends in the Bavarian alps and pre alps on my mountain bike. I know I can do an 8-hour ride with any level of fitness.
In addition, you might make e. g. beginner’s mistakes when it comes to your nutrition, etc.
I’d just try it. Then you will know. And there is no shame in failure, you are trying something that most people cannot fathom. Slow marathoners will spend less time on the road, running, that you in the saddle. Keep that in mind.
This is a really commonly asked question, so you’re not alone here.
The short answer is, yes, you can build up really solid fitness with ~5 hours of training a week.
Your current training plan is a highly focused and extremely efficient form of training. You’ve got three hard workouts and one long ride scheduled each week, which is pretty much textbook in terms of structured training.
At some point, you could add in short recovery rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays to add some more time in the saddle, but I would get acclimated to your new training load first. There is a “Check Volume” button that you could use every week or two to see how TR thinks you’re adapting to the load, but I do think that the plan you’re curretly on is a good one, and adding more volume won’t help if you don’t have the extra time/energy for it throughout your week.
You’ll certainly be aerobically fit come race day, but if you’re looking to get in some longer rides before race day, I’d recommend simply bumping out that weekend long ride a bit longer around mid-September, as long as you’re able to recover from them and still hit your key workouts.
Those long rides aren’t about building fitness (your regular training plan will do that) but are more about simply getting long periods of time in the saddle, pedaling, and fueling well. Training your gut to take in fuel for several hours as well as staying mentally engaged when you’re tired, can be important. Additionally, those long rides will likely shine a light on any issues you might have with your bike fit/equipment.
Let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions about this.
Having just finished my A event for the year (6 hours) after following the TR plan for the past 5 months (in which my longest ride each week was 3 hours), I have to say that I am in agreement with @huges84 that doing a few rides of close to your expected event length would be good. I don’t think these have to be hard rides, but spending only a short amount of time on the bike each week just won’t prepare you for being out for a long event with regard to all of the things mentioned (hands, feet, butt, food, hydration). I would be sure to plan these longer rides carefully (like before an already planned rest day), and to stop them at least 3 weeks prior to the event in order to allow a full recovery before the event.
Over the weekend I finished my goal event in 8.5 hours of riding time. I did that on a TR training plan that called for 2.5 hours per week. I sometimes added a little volume when I had extra time, and I also missed some workouts. The big thing I did was add four or five long outdoor rides, working up to a five-hour ride, for the reasons @huges84 identifies. The plan was not some kind of miracle-worker: I was pretty solidly BOP, the day of my goal event was long and difficult, and I was uncertain if I would finish on the day. But I did finish. I have no doubt that more training would have made me faster and would’ve made the day-of experience more pleasant. I would also absolutely recommend at least a couple of bigger outdoor rides with circumstances emulating your goal event (ride the bike you’ll be riding, eat what you’ll be eating, do as much proportional climbing, etc.). But it is possible to do some pretty big rides on pretty low volume.
