I have 2 unrelated questions. Firstly, i started training in january this year and rejoined trainer road in february. im training for a fondo that isnt until september next year, so over 1.5yrs away. im doing the custom plan builder medium volume. At what point should i take a scheduled week off during this 1.5yrs and how will it affect my schedule? eg: will it shift everything along a week or two or will it just remove the week/s so i would simply just miss a them from that particular block?
My second question is regarding how AI has been scheduling my rides recently. every month i review my volume and take the extra time in the saddle that is recommended. It was working just fine until recently. Its got to the point where if i do the prescribed friday ride then it replaces my saturday endurance with a short recovery. currently in specialty on fridays, i have a 1.5hr sweet spot ride which always results in a yellow day the following day. That day is supposed to be a 2.45hr zone 2. because of the demand of the SS ride, the endurance is reduced to a recovery meaning im missing out on over a 1/4 of my weekly volume which like i said, is the recommended volume. this has been happening for the last few weeks. ive tried reducing the SS intensity and thus the TSS but still my endurance ride is deleted. Why is AI making me do such a demanding sweetspot ride when it affects my scheduled volume so much? thanks for reading and your input in advance:)
For offseason I believe most do so in October/November. Typical offseason is 2-4 weeks, and I’ve seen it suggested to always do a Base phase after coming back from time off the bike as there is some fitness loss that takes time to regain. If you use the plan builder to rebuild your plan it should account for your past rides and rest period. My offseason starts around Thanksgiving and I’m hoping to keep it under 2 weeks!
As for your second question it would probably help for a TR staff to peek your calendar to give a better answer. When you add intensity or duration it could create behavior like that.
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Hey @Liammerrick 
Great question!
If the purpose of taking 1 week off is to do an “off season” kind of break, then I would recommend taking 2-3 weeks off the bike. This allows the body to reset a bit and start the year strong.
Since your event will be in September, then January/March may be good months to take this time off
As far as our fatigue management system making your Saturdays Yellow, there is definitely a pattern in how your training days are stacked up that is triggering them. I would recommend, if possible, moving your Saturday workout to Sunday and seeing how it goes.
I am, however, curious to see how the fatigue management system will mark this week. So we can see how this week goes and then adjust. The good thing is that as you train and get fitter, the Yellow/Red days change too.
Lastly, these are recommendations, so you are welcome to decline them and do your 2.5-hour ride. I would just make sure to listen to your body for fatigue signals.
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