# Weight vs. Power, Failed Workouts, Junk Miles and More – Ask a Cycling Coach 291 **URL:** \ **Category:** Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast\ **Tags:** podcast\ **Created:** [December 30, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753 "2020-12-30T23:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bbarrera](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/bbarrera/32/14734_2.png) [@bbarrera](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/bbarrera)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/21 "2021-01-04T19:23:41Z")
For me during focused training the beer goes down to one or two, once a week (usually Friday night). ---
**Author:** ![Scheherazade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/scheherazade/32/18857_2.png) [@Scheherazade](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Scheherazade)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/22 "2021-01-04T19:26:43Z")
> [@IvyAudrain](#): > > Tricky. Totally! I haven’t figured it out yet. I had a two month stretch in 2019 leading up to my A-race where I didn’t not drink, but I didn’t drink either. If I felt I wanted a drink I’d have a sip of my husband’s g&t or beer and usually that was enough. It’s easier to stick to it when there’s an A race in sight though! I also found a role for NA alternatives - so if I know I’m happy to have wine with dinner but don’t want the pre-dinner cocktail then a seedlip and tonic lets me join in without joining in. My new tactic for 2021 is joining a wine club and giving myself that monthly shipment as an “allowance”. Let’s see how that works out! ---
**Author:** ![IvyAudrain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/ivyaudrain/32/47471_2.png) [@IvyAudrain](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/IvyAudrain)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/23 "2021-01-04T19:39:38Z")
Thats awesome!!! Thanks for the tips, I think its time to explore some ‘mocktail’ options! 😜 ---
**Author:** ![bbarrera](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/bbarrera/32/14734_2.png) [@bbarrera](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/bbarrera)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/24 "2021-01-04T19:40:27Z")
> [@Scheherazade](#): > > also found a role for NA alternatives For me that is the ‘interesting’ Kombuchas, because I like IPA beers. One of those in the afternoon will quench my desire for a beer. We are going thru a lot of Kombucha right now 😂 ---
**Author:** ![SDBrennan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/sdbrennan/32/7721_2.png) [@SDBrennan](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/SDBrennan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:08pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/25 "2021-01-05T12:08:18Z")
Hey Guys - great podcast as usual, thanks… @Jonathan what constitutes a key workout, and is it more or less obvious if higher volumes. I’m on a low vol, getting back into prep for Letape. Like a lot of others on the forum in various threads I have tended to get destroyed in the build phase and I need to drop one workout, or some times work travel gets in the way. LV has given me 2 x 60 min and 1 x 90 min workouts a week, and some times I’ll find a minus variant if I know I’m already taxed - but at the start of the week can I tell which of the three plan builder has put up are “key” or more important? Cheers Steve ---
**Author:** ![kentvoss](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/kentvoss/32/12908_2.png) [@kentvoss](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/kentvoss)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/26 "2021-01-06T18:05:24Z")
I’ve really been pleasantly surprised by some of the Athletic Brewing NA options ([https://athleticbrewing.com](https://athleticbrewing.com)), also good old Clausthaler is a pretty widely available option ([Clausthaler - Brew a new way of life](https://www.clausthaler.com/brew/)) or I also enjoy a refreshing shandy on a summer day and this is a great Gluten Free option ([https://www.damm.com/en/beers/daura-shandy](https://www.damm.com/en/beers/daura-shandy)). Hope that helps! ---
**Author:** ![IvyAudrain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/ivyaudrain/32/47471_2.png) [@IvyAudrain](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/IvyAudrain)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/27 "2021-01-06T18:10:32Z")
OOoooh nice, I’ve tried Athletic Brewing options but haven’t tried those other ones! THANKS! Stoked to check it out!!! ✨ ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/jonathan/32/15_2.png) [@Jonathan](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Jonathan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/28 "2021-01-06T18:39:38Z")
Hey Steve! A Key Workout focuses on the main energy system and context that serves as the focus of your current training plan. Here are some examples: Sweet Spot Base: A Sweet Spot workout that builds on the interval durations you did the previous week. Short Power Build: VO2 workouts that either add more intervals than what you did the week before, or shrink the rest incrementally from last week. Rolling Road Race: This plan focuses on building VO2 and Threshold, so in this case you would want to prioritize the workouts that are more specific to the demands you will face on the day of your event. IOW, if you plan to race with a breakaway strategy, Threshold will likely be more key to your performance than VO2, so I would make sure I do all I can to not sacrifice those threshold workouts. Hopefully that makes sense, and hopefully that also explains why we don’t mark things as “Key” and “Not Important”, because it’s contextually dependent. ---
**Author:** ![AlexWild](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/alexwild/32/48555_2.png) [@AlexWild](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/AlexWild)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/29 "2021-01-11T17:04:53Z")
@mailman USAC enters me into the World Cup but my UCI points (world ranking) that get me in the door. I will be racing for Orange Seal ---
**Author:** ![mailman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/mailman/32/101794_2.png) [@mailman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/mailman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/30 "2021-01-11T17:09:46Z")
Awesome! Good luck, I am super keen to follow your journey! It would be amazing to have an insight into World Cup (and hopefully Olympic🤞) racing! ---
**Author:** ![AlexWild](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/alexwild/32/48555_2.png) [@AlexWild](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/AlexWild)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/31 "2021-01-11T17:11:32Z")
Definitely @mailman - @Jonathan and I are working together to get some sort of coverage through race/course analysis ---
**Author:** ![Rhys](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/rhys/32/12908_2.png) [@Rhys](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Rhys)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/32 "2021-03-25T22:10:14Z")
@mcneese.chad appreciate that you posted this a while ago - but this is exactly what I need to read this evening after several recent ‘failed’, bailed and down rated workouts and being fixated on a 100% completion expectation. Thanks for posting (albeit in Jan). Therapy from the Forum! ---
**Author:** ![mcneese.chad](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/mcneese.chad/32/15056_2.png) [@mcneese.chad](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/mcneese.chad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753/33 "2021-03-25T22:13:10Z")
Yeah, it’s a great article and always worth a bump. Not everyone has seen it, and it offers some ideas that can be really helpful. 😃 [Previous page](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/weight-vs-power-failed-workouts-junk-miles-and-more-ask-a-cycling-coach-291/49753.md?page=1)