Should I just do lots of Zone 2?

Training
1

My A event is in seven and a bit weeks and is a 3 day road event with lots of climbing (Mount Ventoux).

After mid-season slump my training has been going ok, although a bit broken by life getting in the way.

1no VO2
1no Threshold

Added Z2

A weekend group ride.

All adds up to about 12 hours a week.

This weekend I’m off on the family holiday, when I get back, I have 5 weeks of specialty.

I’ve got the all clear to take my bike with me on this trip and the plan will be to head out around 6.30/7.00am and be back by 9.00/9.30am, although might be able to sprinkle in a couple of longer days if I’m good.

I will be able to ride approximately every other day.

Temp high is 35C/95F and already 25C/77F by 7am.

I can ride out and back along the coast road, it looks pretty, although might get a bit boring after 2 weeks and will have traffic on it, or I can disappear off into the hills on very quiet roads and very easily rack up a lot of climbing.

If it wasn’t for the heat and worrying about digging a hole before specialty, I would definitely be off into the hills, it looks amazing.

What I’m unsure of it what to do with my A event not too far away. Should I keep it zone 2 and stick to the coast road, or could I treat this a bit more like a training camp and put in some climbing days, have a recovery week when I get back and then a 4-week specialty.

I’ve got so used to just doing what plan builder tells me, I don’t seem to be able to come up with a plan on my own.

Hopefully some of you can help.

2

Its worth doing a lot of Zone 2, but don’t skip the high intensity. I’ve done a lot of zone 2 this year and its been very helpful. But, I haven’t done much high intensity (threshold / VO2 max) as I should have done, and I really felt I’d lost top end until recently when I stepped up the intensity and what a difference it’s made.

I’m about 20 watts more at the same heart rate as 8 months ago, which is quite remarkable.

There is also a lot to be said for training at high temperatures, subject to safety / health considerations as this will increase your plasma volume.

3

your top end is kind of fleeting, so giving it up at the end, probably means it will diminish somewhat. How much you need that top end is unclear, but doing some amount of intensity will help maintain that and the z2 will keep you fresh.

4

This is what I lean toward. Your A event is a road event going up Mt Ventoux. I’m not sure what’s more event specific than lots of riding with lots of climbing. I would probably do a day or two with threshold intervals up some climbs to keep the training intensity up. If you feel like you need to get the VO2 in then do it earlier in the week.

Don’t dig yourself a massive whole though. If you normally do 12 hrs and don’t have experience doing huge weeks then be careful doing more than like 16 or 18. And make sure you have low enough gearing on your bike so you can still do the scenic climbs but you’re not forced to go super hard.

Idk how often you go on trips like this but I wouldn’t want to feel like I wasted it but riding up and down a busy coastal road when you could have gone and done something much more enjoyable.