Not sure your age but you are essentially programming a two week recovery. I dont know if you need a full two week recovery, especially with the SST work. But if you are truly run down and need the additional time, might not be the end of the world to take it.
I am finding with this work that while the TSS is up there (600/wk) because the intensity is pretty moderate i’m not finding i need a ton of recovery between workouts.
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Oh believe me, properly long Z2 is definitely not a recovery 
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What are you hoping to accomplish with the two weeks of Z2? That’s too short a time to reap any major aerobic gains, probably will have a small detrimental effect on your muscular endurance gains from the SST, and won’t really serve as true recovery to allow for the adaptations you want.
It’s not the worst idea, but it’s probably not optimal. I just don’t know what you hope to get out of it.
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Thanks again for your input and also to the other guys (not sure how to reply to multiple users here with one post?!)
I’m just not sure whether to continue with SST for two reasons:
- do I want to continue training with longer, more monotonous workouts
- at some point I’ll have to or should also train other things that also ich have their benefit, right? For example, I have lots of steep climbs near me where even in the lowest gear I struggle with keeping the pedals turning - so I’m not sure how to train that strength endurance needed for these.
This is why I’m very uncertain currently how to train to get faster at long steady climbs and then also increasing strength endurance for those steep hills (20-30 min climbs).
The idea was mostly to break it up for some time and to allow for extended recovery. What I had in mind was about the same volume (hours) but only 400 TSS.
Though you made very valid points. I guess it’s not really needed. At least not for two weeks.
Use this: @ followed by their username
I read your latest post so I think you’re changing your mind anyway.
Regarding big zone 2 weeks, totally agree, but if you’re looking at doing that you’re then looking at moving to a more traditional style of training rather than sweet spot.
If you’re currently doing 10hrs/wk you’ll need to up those hours dramatically to make it worthwhile if you’re only going to be z2.
I completely agree about that - 10h Z2 only is not enogh as standalone. I was only saying that proper z2 ride (like 4h) is definitely not recovery ride. 2h z2 - works great as a filler between harder workouts. And my only observation (as true Threshold believer) is that I see many benefits from these longer Z2 rides, even if done once a week.
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My sundays as part of this block are 3-4hr progressive z2. So i hear you on that.
What does this mean? 55 → 75%? 
Basically, though I am not starting at 55%
Examples:
or this guy with some fatigued sprints at the end
Why?
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Yes, why?
Wouldn’t it be more benefficial doing reverse progression, i.e. 75 → 55% (taking into account HR drift)?
What’s the idea behind the page sprints?
You were right! Today i did outdoor 75min SST 95% FTP.
Never did this before. Really good feeling. I know that my FTP is right because i use WKO5 with a up to date powercurve.
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No. For one thing, pacing. Average power and therefore kJ burned etc will be higher/better in a progressive ride. This assumes you’re doing it RPE based and/or pushing up against duration limits. If you’re not pushing duration limits (e.g. a 1-2hr Z2 ride rather than 3, 4, 5+) it doesn’t really matter.
For another, fatigue resistance. If you continually train to go easier later in long rides, that’s what you’ll get good at. I’d rather be strong when others are tiring.
Finally, minimizing cardiac drift isn’t about keeping your HR stable alone. It’s a ratio of HR:Power. So if you taper your power to keep the same HR, you’re still fatiguing and experiencing cardiac drift.
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And I’m not sure why @TheFatSagan would propose that as an objective on a 3 hour z2 ride.
@kurt.braeckel and @Bbt67, I totally agree with you both. And based on your replies I noticed I could have been a bit more precise in my question. I more or less thought of it at this moment, i.e. early base period.
For me, this means total focus on my HR. However, the closer we get to race season, fatigue resistance will get more important.
So yeah, a bit lost in “translation”, sry about that.
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Early base it makes more sense to use HR targets, but even then I think you might find power has a time and place. And which HR zones you use (Coggan, Friel, USA Cycling, …) will also have an impact.
hit the nail on the head as to why i’ve programmed them like that.
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