Hi all,
I’ve been going back and forth what my training should look like in the next few months, maybe you’d like to share your opinion.
I feel like I made a lot of progress:
- can actually hold FTP for 45min-60min now
- can complete threshold and SS intervals with appropriate RPE
- complete HV plans with FTP based on ~60min tests
- increased resilience, e.g. 7 day vacation with 1,000km
- 500h cycling in 2019 and 2020 respectively (TR HV). 2018 MV and little consistency, before that unstructured ~6,000km/year.
But I also feel stuck:
- continuous submax efforts (I feel that high Z2 - SS is fatiguing me more than the people I ride with, who seem to be more triathlete types, although generally on a similar level)
- looking back, my ramp test results were just as strong if not stronger already in 2019 and early 2020.
Goal events: For the sake of planning: Gran Fondo in the low mountains end of July.
Generally, I want to be a pain for people on the flats
Very little racing, mostly weekend road rides with friends (occasionally ripping each other’s legs off), Gran Fondos or 10-40k TTs, flirting with XC MTB.
I really enjoy structured training and ride solo on weekdays.
Have focused on TR Traditional Base and Sustained Power Build High Volume (+ occasionally Century Specialty). Sounded rather boring to me (“ride kind of hard for long”), but suits my actual riding. My preferred riding would be less steady-state, somewhere between XCO/Rolling Road Race and XC Marathon/Climbing Road Race.
Which brings me to my questions:
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Am I spinning my wheels with HV, putting in a lot of effort but getting less real-world results in terms of speed?
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What is my limiter?
- since reading about Vlamax, I suspect that it might be too high for my type of riding
- maybe even VO2max, judging from ramp tests, it hasn’t moved since 2019
- How should I proceed?
Open for suggestions.
My deliberations:
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to get a better picture of my rider characteristics, planning on doing at least the Coggan Power Profile test after the current Build plan
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maybe even INSCYD testing (cons: tied to individual coaching >100€/month, which I’m not willing to spend. Also not sure what to think about this example of following a seemingly prototypical decrease-vlamax-block of tempo/SS/high torque, resulting in increased fatmax and FTP, but constant vlamax.)
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Experimental approach:
4 weeks of VO2 block training, see if MAP increases - if not, might not be the parameter that offers the most bang for my buck.
That could be lowering Vlamax then, and would then be my focus (while maintaining VO2 with classic, long VO2 intervals). Ideally on TR - which plan(s)?
Personal background: Lifelong recreational athlete, 36y, m, 80kg/1.90m (176 lbs/6’2"). Feeling too skinny already, so losing weight is not an option. It’s flat here, anyway. 313W FTP with 50min TTE.
Hope I managed to structure that wall of text well enough for you to stay interested
I’d appreciate constructive feedback!