Hi Folks
I’m a newbie to Trainerroad and, to be honest, have done very little structured training in my past, and the last time was years ago.
I’ve been a Trainerroad user since the end of September as I was on a waiting list for a 24 hr race in January (I am UK based so it’s a toughie with the weather). I was already ‘training’ at this point - as in, going out to ride longer, hilly miles alongside social stuff and did an 8hr B race just about the time the Wahoo Kickr arrived. I didn’t have a break after the B race and got sick not that long after. Now I am feeling pretty good aerobically, albeit with really tired legs but I am not sure for how long.
My questions really stem around what indoor rides to replace with external mountain bike rides. I understand that structure needs to take priority to a point, but there are massive training benefits to being outside on the mountainbike.
- Riding position adaption (the mountainbike is not going on the wahoo - I don’t have time for the faff of changing bikes over so the roadie is on there at the moment)
- Equipment checks/testing
- Remaining part of the mountainbike community
- Most importantly, maintenance of technical skills, especially on the shorter travel bike with scary XC tyres
Initially I started on a mid volume plan but didn’t know what to swap out, then I went to a low volume plan that I am now on, and I am doing that alongside my usually very intense (way more intense than anything the TR software has given me so far) Wednesday evening ride (varies between 1.5 and 3 hrs of tough hills and tough descents) and a social weekend ride - varies a lot with intensity but is normally around 3 to 4 hours.
As I was only on the waiting list for the event, and didn’t think I’d get in, I just thought stuff it, I’ll see what level of stress I can handle and if I start to blow, I’ll back off, have a break and restart base for a big event in the summer next year. So far I have been handling it, but I am not sure how long for or whether I would benefit from more rest, My FTP was underestimated initially by the ramp I think too - first time on a kickr with no fan was probably not the best test but Adapative Training has just bumped it up a little.
More importantly…I got an invite to the event so now I am committed and there is no room for error as it’s only a few months away. I need to focus on sustained power and will be pacing slow and then slower. My goal for this one is a solid 24 hrs of riding - I have unfinished business there.
My concerns are
- I am not really doing any Z2/endurance kind of stuff, other than what the plan has in for me on the recovery week next week
- Which workouts do I swap out to make sure I don’t get overtrained/blow up. I can rejig the calendar, but the build phase coming up has Vo2 stuff, threshold, sweetspot etc - do I just pick a different one each week to replace? The next block is mid volume - should I drop it down again to low volume and continue trying to cram everything in/use alternatives, or leave as mid volume and just swap out workouts for outside stuff?
Like 99% of us, I have very little time to train and both my job and homelife are very active physically so resting is a rare treat. As the training ramps up with the FTP increase and moving to the build phase, I think something will have to give, I just don’t know what!
EDIT: Oh and I’m also a 46 yr old female well past my prime and have the joys of untameable hormones to cope with.
I’m hoping all you highly experienced and super fit people can give me some pointers