I am new to TrainerRoad but have been cycling competitively for 5 years. Currently doing the Sweet Spot Base - Mid Volume 1 program. 5 Riders per week with roughly 6 hours of training. While I love the program and already feel improved fitness I miss my longer rides outside on the weekend. Currently, Friday and Sunday are my 2 weekly rides with the highest TSS.
My question: If I want to add a long endurance ride on the weekend how should I structure that and will it hinder performance to steer from the plan a bit?
Should I move the harder workouts to earlier in the week and sub in a 3-4 hour weekend endurance ride?
I currently have 2 rest days - should I sub out one of those for the long outdoor endurance ride?
Should I complete the training ride on Sunday and follow it up with an endurance ride?
Consider searching around the forum because there is a lot of information here that will help you.
How to structure is largely going to be dictated by how much recovery you need and how much the combination of TR and additional riding compares with the hours you were training before.
My best suggestion is to try for yourself and see what works. It’s different for everyone.
Short answer, if you want to keep your 2 rest days then sub out one of the endurance rides for your longer outdoor ride. If you want to reduce to 1 rest day then consider adding your outside ride in addition to the plan
Hey there! You should take a look at the weekly notes. Coach Chad usually suggests to sub the Sunday workout (usually sweet spot) with a longer zone 2 workout. That’s what I tend to do as well, weather permitting.
My plan is set up for Tues,Wed,Thu, Sat & Sun. With Monday and Friday as rest days. I’ve not had to tweak it, but it fits well with the weekend and if that c thing allows (currently no) I swap the weekend session for group rides; currently if the weather permits I make my Sat/Sun sessions the out door version and do them solo.
If you decide to move your harder workouts towards the beginning of the week, be mindful of fatigue. Stacking hard workouts can be productive but your body does need to be able to deal with the fatigue. Coach Chad often reminds us that we’re after quality, not quantity.
Should you notice a drop in your ability to complete intervals/workouts or a willingness to train, I would review the stacking of workouts.
I would consider LV, which will give you 3 harder days to work around, then add 2-3 days of lower intensity. For you, could keep you fri/sun asking rides, with tues, thurs and sat as the LV days