Traditional plans were apparently updated. They look so much better than when I did them 3 years ago. They actually look like a viable alternative to SSB. This is Traditional Base HV 2 and 3:
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They have changed, but note that they are also displayed based on your current PLs now–harder to direct compare and everyone’s will look different. However, TB II and III were always not just straight Endurance like TB I was.
Here’s what shows for me by comparison (the theme is the same, but some workouts are different):
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interesting to see. I’ve mentioned it around here before, but lately I’ve been doing a bit of a hybrid z2/ss base, this is from SSB1 (currently in week 2 of SSB2)
Basically doing longer z2 tues and sun, adding 15mins to each session each week. 90min z2 wed, 60min z2 Friday, and 2hr sweet spot Thurs and Sat. Basically going with a 12-14hr ramp up each block. Is it a better approach? Dunno lol Maybe better than doing this:
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Do you just swap out your workouts, or do you do SSB and the rest of the days you do Z2 workouts from the library?
Yeah, I just select z2 stuff on the days I’m doing them and ignore the plan, which always triggers stuff. I also modify Thurs because by default it’s 90mins so I use alternates the day of to switch to a 2hr session of comparable progression level and usually Saturday doesn’t need any changes. This may change this week because I’m currently at 8.4 sweet spot, I don’t really want to jump into 9 stuff just yet so I may do a 8.7 session on Thurs
Yup…I went back and looked at my calendar from last year and TB II & III had similar structure, not just endurance work like TB I.
Which is kinda weird because my recollection is doing a bunch of Z2 stuff, but apparently I am wrong! 
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I think once you saw and/or did the old TB I plans the monotony was forever burned in your memory. 
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I actually liked the longer endurance stuff…I would just zone out and catch up on the various Netflix / streaming series.
First year I did it, I did it on my tri bike since that is my most comfortable bike…I can stay in my aerobars forever and not think twice about it.
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Helps to do them outside! Unfortunately the first time around I did TB 1 HV inside, in my garage on the trainer.
TB 1 HV back in 2018 and 2019 started with a ramp test and 3 Warrens, followed by these weeks:
@MI-XC what’s your AT customized TB 1 look like?
My brain and bum were so numb that I couldn’t handle that 4th workout 
Mental challenge. Years later I can safely say there is no reason in my season to do all endurance at .65 IF. One exception - after a long break do all endurance for a week or two or three until basic cardio fitness returns.
Otherwise my vote is more endurance, good; all endurance, not good. YMMV.
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I’ve been doing TB indoors for a few weeks leading up to a SS base plan. 4-5 days a week of 2-2.5 hours a day on the trainer. I bought a Romin Mirror and re-introduced myself to chamois cream. My Normatec boots are getting a lot of use too! Very thankful that I had all this planned out and took advantage of Black Friday discounts.
I know this might sound weird but chamois cream had the opposite effect and caused more problems! What has worked the best for me - turning off erg, and even better, using RGT/Zwift/etc to require modulating cadence and torque to keep steady pressure on the pedals. That plus a trainer with some motion.
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Yes, I should have mentioned, I brought Zwift back into my life and turn off Erg for this very reason. I’m doing all workouts as “outdoors” with my Garmin so I can see the goals, but letting the Zwift terrain “control” so I have to shift to stay within the targets. The only downside (for me) is that I tend to watch TV during these rides, and without Erg, I can find myself 10% up or down on my goals if I don’t pay close attention when something exciting happens on Netflix.
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the struggle is real! (FWIW I’m a believer that short excursions outside the zone are just fine)
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Yes! You’d do it outside too. Your friends speed up or slow down a bit, the group surges on a hill, etc. It might night adhere to the goal exactly, but it’s more realistic.
Side note: today I accidentally double tapped the “start the interval” on my Garmin and it skipped an entire interval (like 15 minutes) on me. I didn’t realize until the very end of the ride, so be careful how you click!
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For encouraging cadence work, Coach Tim Cusick’s masters full season plan is pure gold. For example compare the 3rd week of his base 1:
to week 3 of TR traditional base 1 hv. There is roughly 80 minutes of tempo already in the 3rd week of base. Includes a lot of cadence work and notes like “CADENCE: 85-105 RPM. Vary cadence throughout ride and work on pedaling form. TERRAIN: Flat to rolling” That’s how you do a “traditional” base IMHO.
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Agree the workouts look a bit more varied in intensity.
H owever, looking at IF, not much has changed. I did TB MV last year outside and it was actually not that different.
Not super exiting, but better than it was in the past. At least I wouldn’t be doing the same workouts in a row over and over again.
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Good to see some IF progression on specific days.
I did TB for 1 month (Dec) last year as a way to kick off the rest of winter training. High vol. Those long rides on a trainer. Ouch. But knowing it was for only 4-weeks helped me get through it. No regrets but I’m not doing it this year 
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Yep. I’ve found it doable, but 2.5 hours a day on the trainer really starts to feel like all you do is sleep, ride, recover, and sleep again.
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