I’m curious how much time everyone is taking (or took) off between seasons? I just used the calendar to plan out 2019 and was surprised that a base/build/specialty plan progression would have me starting base phase in three weeks! I am now debating if I should take a couple weeks off to reset before diving in.
Curious what others are doing. I know the mental/physical break would be good for me but I hate to “lose” fitness…
I usually take 2 weeks completely off the bike, and then an additional 1-2 weeks of completely unstructured riding.
My “A” race for the season was the 1st Saturday of November. FWIW my coach had me take 8 days fully off the bike. She then had me ride 6 days a week for the next two weeks with my choice of Endurance type rides. After that we started a base phase.
I basically sat on my arse from end September to the end of November. But I’ll be training flatvout from now until my A race in April
I think message in this is stronger the more consistent you train:
have you trained every week to schedule all year so far? If so, definitely put two weeks down time in.
has your training been constantly interrupted through work, life, holidays, etc? If so, either back off a touch or wait for the next inevitable interruption.