So a bit background info I’m 34 yo.
61kg ftp around 300.
5th year of racing crits and grandfondo’s
Very consistent training 10-15 hours a week since November (2or3 hard days rest Z2) and I’m taking enough rest days and sleeping over 8 hours a night.
My first race starts Saturday.
I’m also going on trainings camp in 2 weeks.
Last 2 weeks I cannot complete any workouts.
My legs explode as soon as I go over 230watt…
I had a group ride with mates I drop them on the climbs normally. But my upper legs just explode as soon as I wanne go hard.
I can stay in zone 2 for ever that’s not a problem.
I’m eating clean fuelling good.
I have no answer on this as my training was super had my rest days and weeks.
Yeah definitely tough. I’ve got a similar thing where I’m moving and have am traveling to a wedding in the two weeks before my first race. But better to miss one race than to perform poorly in all the upcoming events because you don’t get on top of the recovery.
If possible, try to not only recover on the bike but also recover off and make it enjoyable. Make sure you plan something fun with the new free time. More fun = less stress = more recovery. It also takes your mind off missing the race.
I don’t think you necessarily have to skip the race…see how you feel Friday after you have 2 days of complete rest. You can always race with adjusted expectations, as well.
I’ve just taken a look at your calendar, and it’s been almost 20 weeks since your last true recovery week.
There are a couple of weeks where you’re taking it pretty easy, but they still contain Sweet Spot workouts, which I don’t consider recovery.
You need to take recovery weeks every fourth week or so to give your body time to adapt to the stress it’s accrued. Otherwise, you’re just digging yourself into a hole. Check out the articles below for a good explanation of this.
I’d highly recommend getting on a custom training plan so that you have some good training structure in place, which will help to get you challenging workouts when you need them and rest when it’s necessary.
Before that, though, as others have mentioned, take some time off. I’d recommend at least a week or two either completely off the bike or in Zone 1 only.
Once you feel recovered and ready to get on a plan, focus on fueling properly. With your current training load and weight, I’d recommend trying to get at least 500-600g of carbs each day.
The thing is I feel super fresh. I sleep amazing I feel super ready to go full gaz.
But the legs are so off. I’m used to a lot of volume I cannot explain this…
