# Training Plan In-Week Endurance Sessions - Intended Purpose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Training\ **Created:** [February 21, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153 "2024-02-21T14:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Textuality](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/textuality/32/72636_2.png) [@Textuality](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Textuality)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153/1 "2024-02-21T14:30:31Z")
I’ve got a quick question about the in-week (Wednesday / Friday for me) endurance sessions in the Sustained Power High Volume (General Base?) plan. Are these rides largely intended as recovery sessions? In the last phase of my plan I made them considerably harder / longer with no adverse effects (I actually got a fairly reasonable FTP boost from that period), but I don’t know if I’m potentially screwing things up going forward. I’m fine with keeping them shorter / easier as I wanted to try and fit in some gentle weight training… but if there’s possibly an advantage to making them more challenging either in terms of time / intensity then it’s worth consideration. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![svens](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/svens/32/118037_2.png) [@svens](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/svens)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153/2 "2024-02-21T15:10:33Z")
Not meant directly as recovery days, more like low-stress endurance days to increase volume. As long as you can recover for key workouts (hard days Tue/Thu/Sat), you can make them longer or push intensity little bit, but keep it still within Z2. For myself, I know from experience that while I can recover and keep up for 2-3 months, it will eventually catch up and breaks consistency/motivation. So, now I may extend easy days duration to 2-3h but definitely keep intensity low (57-63% of FTP, or more precisely, capping to ~80% of LTHR). It helps to reset HRV between hard days. ---
**Author:** ![MI-XC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/mi-xc/32/12993_2.png) [@MI-XC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/MI-XC)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153/3 "2024-02-21T15:24:11Z")
> [@Textuality](#): > > I’m fine with keeping them shorter / easier as I wanted to try and fit in some gentle weight training… but if there’s possibly an advantage to making them more challenging either in terms of time / intensity then it’s worth consideration. A couple of things. If you’re not regularly doing longer or harder z2 workouts then your z2 PL will be artificially low. Particularly if you’re doing z2 outside and not associating them with a TR workout. Your Wednesday and Friday rides are partially related to your PL in z2. Secondly, I’d recommend going off of feel and knowing thy self. I’m on “Xtra High Volume” plans and I do 2 hours on Wednesdays and Fridays. However, I adjust IF based on how my legs feel. When it starts to feel like work, I back down. When I feel good I go up a bit. That variance is between 65-75% FTP. Typically I’ll have a place holder workout and ride in Resistance mode, starting off low z2 and increasing as I feel better. For example, this morning… ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/original/3X/8/a/8a4a8b7f10723d12a0bcb4b8ec41c648f0cfe847.png) ---
**Author:** ![Textuality](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/textuality/32/72636_2.png) [@Textuality](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Textuality)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153/4 "2024-02-21T15:28:47Z")
Thanks both. Even when I make them longer they still feel like a break from the scary sessions, so I guess I’ll go with it as long as it remains that way. @MI-XC Would be nice to have an endurance session at nearly 220w. That’s a decent sweet spot interval power for me, lol. ---
**Author:** ![roleypup](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/roleypup/32/145848_2.png) [@roleypup](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/roleypup)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/training-plan-in-week-endurance-sessions-intended-purpose/91153/5 "2024-02-22T00:32:57Z")
I made a few tables up for selecting from the longer endurance workouts based upon duration, IF, & range of power targets rather than PL. Maybe this helps. > [@Trainer Road didn't build any rides longer than 2 hours for the 4 events I am doing, all of which will be longer than 6-7 hours. Should I be concerned?](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/trainer-road-didnt-build-any-rides-longer-than-2-hours-for-the-4-events-i-am-doing-all-of-which-will-be-longer-than-6-7-hours-should-i-be-concerned/49015/27): > > I did up some cheat sheets for myself for when I want to do an endurance ride based upon target power & type of work rather than workout level. In the context of this conversation they may be handy for others. Feel free to use & abuse. There’s a few oddball workouts in the catalog but I’ve specifically excluded the ones with hard starts, sprints, etc. For the ones I’ve included I categorise their profiles as being flat, a wave, or a “castle”, like the cartoon image of the top of a castle where …