Custom Training Plan versus Standard TR Plans

Training
1

My current A race goal is a 3.5 hour MTB race in early May. I just completed the SSB low-volume II series and have 16 weeks remaining… enough for the XC Marathon Build phase and Specialty phase blocks. What are the pros/cons to creating a custom training plan when I have enough time to complete two full blocks prior to my race? Which one will have me better prepared for my race?

Thanks in advance.
-Brad

2

Have you considered the recently release Plan Builder?

It is one way to allow TR to run the scheduling, and is more or less “custom” to fit your events and time table.

3

Chad,
I’m back again. This time I will have ~16 weeks training to a 100K mtb race in April. I am considering the Plan Builder instead of an 8 week build block and an 8 week specialty block. Here’s the question: can the Plan Builder incorporate the 3:1 3:1 4:1 rest weeks recommended for the +50 group? Or, is that change one I need to do manually?

Thanks again,
Brad

4

Plan Builder will follow the typical TR approach (5:1 for SSB 1&2, 3:1 for most other plans) unless the timeline and events on your calendar lead to PB altering that to “make things fit”.

There is no way to alter the default Work to Recovery week ratio, unfortunately. Any manipulation like that has to be done manually.

5

Thanks, Chad. I’ll give it a shot.

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6

I don’t know how it would work out but after running plan builder if it doesn’t give you the rest weeks you want you could maybe add ‘Time Off’ annotations for those weeks and see how the plan adapts round them :thinking:

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