Hi all, I am following a custom adaptive TR plan from October 2023 (mid volume). I set some races as targets (due to some issues, like a broken frame, I had to skip several of them), next one is on August 6th. I had to skip a complete week of training due to a business trip, no particular adaptation have been suggested. That’s OK, I tought, even though in my opinion it could have been useful to increase the load before and after the stop, but it might follow a strategy that at the end could be correct. What I don’t understand and therefore agree, I that after one week a reast period is suggested, with only shorter endurance rides. Wouldn’t it be better to consider the skipped week as a recovery one and adapt the plan accordingly? I guess that it might compromise the pattern of the mesocycles, but with some minor adaptations it could be adapter.
Should I stock with the proposed workouts or there is a way to adapt the plan to the modified schedule?
It’s hard for Adaptive Training to tell whether or not time away from the bike is going to be restful or not. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so we have you jump back in as though it’s not a week of complete rest. You start a new phase of your Training Plan next week, and before each new phase, we typically schedule a rest week so that you go into each new phase ready for the work ahead.
While I suggest you follow the Training Plan as prescribed, you do have the option to use TrainNow if you feel like yor week off has left you feeling recharged. We want you to feel ready to tackle the new training block . TrainNow usually suggests one Endurance, one Threshold, and one VO2 Workout to choose from.
HOWEVER, I looked at your Calendar and saw that you were sick last week after your week of travel. So I suggest you err on the side of caution.
I hope this clears things up for you, @pdg. Let us know if you have any other questions .
Hi Sarah! Thank you very much for your considerations (and sorry for the many typos in my first message…).
I see the point in keeping the plan as it was and, for this specific case, I admit that my trip has been very stressful and it has left me quite tired and with a cold (due to the abuse of the air conditioning where I was working), so it probably was the best approach. For this reason, I have skipped some workouts and started with a kind of ramp in intensity, avoiding structured training in the first week. So basically I “missed” two weeks of interval training and now I find myself in a recovery week.
Clearly adaptive training doesn’t know all these details, but it could base a plan adaptation on the TSS decrease and missed workouts and the results of the first ones after the stop (rating, if bailed, etc).
If this is not possible, is there a way for the “user” to force a plan adaptation? For example, what if I deleted the existing plan and created a new one, with the same races goals, starting from when I felt ready to push again with the intervals?
Hey! No need to apologise for the typos! I understood perfectly well .
I alwaaaaaays get sick after traveling, so I understand your frustration . This is why it’s better for us to assume that traveling is not a true “rest week”.
Looking at your Calendar, I can see that you ended up with a Red day on Sunday. Unstructured rides can still put a lot of stress on your body, especially if you are still recovering from sickness.
Given all of that information together, I suggest keeping the recovery week as is and allow your body to fully recover from the travel and sickness. This way, you’ll be able to get the most out of the next block .
We keep recovery weeks as recovery weeks. It’s more impportant that you go into the next block fresh than it is to squeeze an extra bit of fitness out of yourself during this period .
As I mentioned above, you can use TrainNow if you feel like you want to do more during your recovery week.
TrainNow uses our Adaptive Training system to suggest workouts based on your recent training history and current fitness level, so that you can quickly select a workout that matches the duration and workout type you’d like to do.
You can do this if you wish. But the Training Plan you have now is working with all the information it has to create a Training Plan that is most likely to make you faster. .
I guess that you are rigth, Sarah. An additional rest week in any case won’t hurt and won’t affect the training gained so far.
To support this, today I have tried a ramp test, which gave a decrease from 252 to 235W in FTP: I don’t believe this is a real indication that the fitness is worse, rather a sign that some more recovery is needed.
Thank you, Sarah!
I’d guess so too . Sometimes, we just need someone else/ AT to point out that a little more rest is required . It’s hard to make that call for oursleves.
Lots of rest, good food and sleep this week, and I’m sure you’ll be ready to go next week . Let us know if anything else comes up. Take care .
. TrainNow usually suggests one Endurance, one Threshold, and one VO2 Workout to choose from.
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. This is why it’s better for us to assume that traveling is not a true “rest week”.
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. Sometimes, we just need someone else/ AT to point out that a little more rest is required 
. It’s hard to make that call for oursleves.
. Let us know if anything else comes up. Take care 
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