I have been using TR consistently for about two years now. Obviously most of my best progress has been made when I was able to get to ~10 hours/week. Right now I’m a little lower because my wife just gave birth so our second son (we have two under 2). So I’m about 7.5 hours/week - still doing 3 hard days.
The layout has been - 3 weeks on with the 4th week being the deload/taper/lower volume as I’m sure it probably is on most everyone’s plans.
I’m not perfect, but I have gotten a lot more disciplined at not pushing it in that taper week (if I do an outdoor ride for example).
Nevertheless I always find that following that lower volume week, the first “hard” session - whether it’s VO2 or SS is always awful.
Is that normal or a sign of some underlining rest/break needed?
IMO I find this pretty normal, its seems like a shock to the system after the de-load week.
I have been experimenting, I have been flip flopping the Tues/Wed workouts. I follow the masters plan and found having a upper level endurance workout (like Pioneer -3 ) the day before the interval helps me get back into the groove.
For me that’s a normal reaction. Even before there was a TrainerRoad. After an off week I do a short 15 minute spin the day before I start my intervals. Helps wake up my legs. They thought the work was over for the year. NOT….
Okay good to know - I figured it was probably that because looking back over the past several months it has been happening for quite some time AND the way my schedule has been based for a while now has Monday as a complete rest day and Tuesday has been a hard day (either VO2 or SS).
I think you’re right and what I will do is swap my Tues/Wed and make the first day back in a higher end Z2.
Rest weeks are always welcome, and that first hard workout is usually tough coming back.
It might help to remember how hard you were working in the weeks leading up to that rest week. Those workouts were never easy! Throwing yourself back into the thick of it after a week off is certainly shocking.
Not only normal but it feels even harder if you’ve had a few weeks break from training after an A event. I always distinguish between an underlying malaise, which is the fatigue that lingers, and the fatigue which is just short term after working hard. If you’ve got the former a longer rest is in order, for the latter then a shorter rest period does the job.
If you are hitting your targets and your heart rate recovery looks good, then crack on.
) the day before the interval helps me get back into the groove.
