I know the answer is “don’t ovethink it”… But I need to at least get some input on how people approach this as I assume I’m not the only one wanting to combine mtb riding with TR structure.
I’ve been using TR for years, including the outside wo’s, so I’m familiar with the overall concept. However this will be my first year focusing on mtb. I’ll be doing my local XCO series for fun/training/learning, while I have 2 (or perhaps 3) XCM races that are my A-races.
Spring is on it’s way so I’m prepping to make the move out from the pain cave, as the same time as I am approaching the build phase.
I like the structure of TR
I like the playfullness and freedom of mtb
I have a failryset schdule for my training
Due to life I have pretty much a set schedule:
Mon: Day off
Tue: 2+hrs available
Wed: XCO series
Thu: Day Off
Fri: 60-90 min morning wo on the road bike
Sat/syn: 2-3 hours availalble in the morning, but this may vary a lot
My mtb terrain is basically endless XCO I.e. no long climbs (max 10 min, but most are 2-5 min climbs). Thus I find it hard to do “endurance” while on the trails.
I need to increase my shorter power so I’ve gone for short power build. An I’m trying to fit the TR plan into my schedule to include mtb riding.
I know the typical advise is LV+Z2, but as stated I’m struggling a bit to keep the intensity low enough. So MV and subbing either the SS or Threshold with a longer mtb ride could also be a possibiliy as this volume increases PL somewhat slower.
AND, even if the XCO racing is for fun/training, I still would like to avoid having a too intense day the day before.
So I’ve basically boiled it down to a couple of options:
LV + extra
I like the your LV + extra schedule. This gives you flexibility to what you want to do the day before the race. You can go a bit longer or go an easy hour with some openers depending how you’re feeling and how hard you want to take the race.
Actually, the more I look at this, the difference is very limited… And I’m going to “break” the plan by doing some wos on my mtb with no PM regardless.
So details aside, how does people normally combine TR plans and mtb? Especially with no PM…
I do LV during the week with a 2-4 hour MTB ride on a Sunday. It doesnt factor into my plans really. Sometimes if it was a hard one I’ll be pretty tired the following day and so bump the planned trainer ride for an endurance or bump it to the following day. OR (shock horror) sometimes I skip it entirely!
If you consistently rate your indoor workouts based on how you’re feeling including the outdoor fatigue, I’ve found AT works really well.
RPE when trying to do shorter intervals, heartrate for endurance rides.
However, I’m pretty bad at MTBing skills-wise, so I tend to plan routes that do challenging trails rather than planning around TR intervals to try and keep my hand in. For me that’s just as valuable as a targetted physical training session.
I also find it very difficult to manage effort on our local trails - lots of short, rocky, rooty ups and downs which need a large proportion of the power I can produce and a lot of full body thrashing around. Which means that I couldn’t do either of your options above - LV+ would have me too tired from the tues ride to perform on weds, and MV with XCM only would not give me enough time on the kind of terrain I’d be racing on (and it’s be pretty hard to find a decent route). So I’d do your modified MV with a shorter, technical Sunday ride.
I.e. no long climbs (max 10 min, but most are 2-5 min climbs). Thus I find it hard to do “endurance” while on the trails.
