Week 5 of SSBMV2 fatigue is setting in and I have a C race coming up... What to do?

Training
1

Hi all, I have a bit of a multi pronged question but before I begin I thought i’d offer a brief introduction. I have the TL;DR down the bottom for those who would prefer to skip the incoming wall of text.

I have been riding for around 2 - 2.5 years, no real structure just local group rides 4 - 5 days a week averaging around 6 - 9 hours a week for the past few years with the odd sportive and stage race event thrown in. When covid first hit a few months back and all the group riding stopped I decided to take the plunge with Trainerroad and hit off with a SSBMV plan, I used the plan builder to set up the plan as I have a three day stage race event coming up in November. The only modification I have done to the plan is move everything a day forward so my off days are Thursday and Sunday.

Anyway, long story short, I started off SSBMV1 at 263 ftp (75kg) and finished the plan without a hitch, to my surprise my ftp jumped up to 288 on my first ramp test into SSBMV2. The big jump in ftp could have also been that I did SSBMV1 all in the small front ring and then I decided to change to the big ring for SSBMV2 and the preceding ramp test. I have read on the forum that the big ring can also give an increase in ftp (I have remained in the big ring since.)

I have stuck pretty religiously to the plan and only ever substituting one ride a week for an outdoor group ride (usually the last ride of the week, which may have added to the accumulated fatigue.) I noticed I started feeling quite fatigued at the end of week 4 and my mood had started to decline pretty badly, thought I was either getting sick or was a little under slept but come the Monday of week 5 I felt better so I pressed on.

Starting week 5 of SSBMV2 I felt pretty good, maybe a little tired but capable, but I failed miserably at Spencer +2, I did the first 3 intervals pretty well and then faded hard and was not even able to turn the pedals for the final 2 intervals even at a 15% drop, I figured I may need a little extra recovery as work had been really hectic for the past couple of weeks so I skipped Pettit ready to hit Lamarck hard on the Wednesday.

I nailed Lamarck without a hitch but that last 10 minute interval was a real grind, I gave it everything I had to finish it (not sure if this is the intended feeling.) So I took the scheduled Thursday off and then attempted Leconte tonight and I pulled the pin after the first 10 minute set, my legs were like lead and my heart rate just wouldn’t rise. I was struggling to keep my cadence above 85 and my heart rate wouldn’t go above 160 even in the threshold/vo2max sections of the over-unders which is unusual for me (max HR of 193) and is a usually a sign of fatigue, so I guess my initial intuition was right and either work related or other fatigue has begun to set in.

So TL;DR

  1. Should I even attempt Wright Peak -1 tomorrow, should I substitute it for a recovery/z2 ride, should I start my recovery week early or should I take a day or 2 off completely and begin the recovery week next week as planned?

  2. I have a C race scheduled for next Saturday which actually coincides with the final ride of the recovery week and will land on the day I have Boarstone scheduled, should I do the preceding recovery rides that week as normal or should I opt for a leg opener ride on the Friday before the race instead of ‘Andrews’?

  3. The Monday after the C race with be the start of the build phase, should I just take the scheduled Sunday off (the day after the race) and then start the ramp test on the Monday as normal or is the race likely to skew the results of my ramp test heading into the build phase?

Sorry for the long winded post and I appreciate any and all feedback, Thanks.

2

So I ended up skipping Wright Peak -1 entirely and just took a full day off the bike. I still just have to work out how to best tackle this C race on Saturday.

I’m thinking I’ll start my recovery week a day early and begin the recovery workouts today.

3

Sounds like you’ve worn yourself down somewhat. I’d suggest you use the time from now until your C race as recovery. The week after, continue with your current plan BUT push everything back two weeks so that you do the workouts that were intended for this week, after your C race.

Once you’ve done the recovery and the C race, reevaluate your condition, fitness and form (freshness). Remember, it’s FAR better to be a little undertrained than to go overboard and overtrain.

4

Hi
The additional stress in life counts, You hear about it on the Podcast from Jonathan doing house move and stuff.
One day early starting recovery will not hurt your training. It will certainly help with the recovery. I know you are saying its a C event. TR does not take C events into account in training plans. It does not taper you like it would an A event.
If you want to do the C event well? And its a MV plan there will be five, 60-75% training sessions planned including some 90 min efforts Friday and Saturday…These are continuous efforts and will take a lot more out legs than you think. I would drop the 90min efforts. On the fFiday copy one of the 45- 60min session earlier in the week, Have the Sat for recovery and prepping for your race.
And i agree with the other feedback is after your race, push the next week out by a week and put in a relatively easy recovery week. Then Ramp test and start from there.

5

Thanks to you both for your replies, so the C race is in 2 days time, it’s only a 50k road race so it’s not going to be extremely taxing. I’m just trying to work out what workout to do the day before the race (tomorrow.)

I was thinking of exchanging the 90 minute endurance workout (Andrews) that I have scheduled for tomorrow for either an opener or a ramp test, do you think a ramp test the day before the race is a better idea than attempting it the week after? I’ll have over 24hours of recovery before the race.

With regards to pushing everything back a week after my race, it may not be necessary. I started my recovery week 2 days early last week and so I’ve pretty much had a full week of recovery and I’ve also thrown in a few extra days off the bike than scheduled so I think I should be fine.

So I was thinking of doing the ramp test tomorrow, race the day after, have the day after the race off, then I’m ready to hit the build phase next week and instead of starting with the ramp I could exchange it for an endurance ride if I do the ramp tomorrow instead, that way I have a little more recovery after the race before the first block of build. Thoughts?

6

The ramp test is designed to work you to failure. It’s not a ton of TSS but it is high-stress! For tomorrow, I’d either rest completely or do an opener. Leave the ramp test for the first week of build, it’s designed that way so you always take it consistently (similar days, levels of rest/fatigue, etc).