Hello! My name is Sol, and I’m an addict. To TrainerRoad, fortunately. I was a big cyclist and marathon runner up until early COVID. Then went downhill there for a bit, and now I am using your newly discovered tool, religiously for the most part, to ramp back up.
My question is, I had planned out a training plan for a few semi official events this summer, and i followed it quite well! Buuut then took 5 weeks in Mexico.
Just back, and my first event is mid June, 300km down from Montreal around the tristate area; 100km a day. But until then, everything is more 1.5 to 3-4 hour Rolling Race style. Definite hills.
My ftp hasn’t dropped, but vo2max has. Do you have advice how to prep for two slightly contradictory goals? Can I just do rolling race and endurance right after?
Love your podcast btw, you’re all the kind of people it’d be fun to a have beer with and shoot the bike gossip.
They aren’t necessarily contradictory goals. If you were looking at doing a track sprint competition one week and then an Ironman the next they seem more polarised goals.
From my point of view, I’d prioritise. Which is the most important event? Aim to peak for that event, if you have a couple of high priority events see if you can get the peak in the middle and use the earlier events as training and to shape your nutrition and pacing plan. So if the hilly races are your priority use the Montreal days to build up your endurance miles.
If the first event is your priority, I’d plan to peak for that and then kick into maintenance to try and ride the wave of that peak for as long as possible.
Then plug it into plan builder and see what it says!
Other than the back-to- back aspect of the event in Montreal, these are not conflicting event types. In fact, they are likely complimentary. You earlier efents will serve as solid training for the 300km event.
And since they are only “semi official” events, I wouldn’t worry too much about peaking for any of them. Just continue to build your fitness and enjoy!