Hi all, I am doing SSLV and am ending my first training block and on a recovery week. My question is that have been adding endurance rides to my training week consistently riding 5x per week vs. the plan prescribed 3 rides. Now that I am on a recovery week, I would think that I should continue with 5 rides and keep them all endurance vs. the 3 rides prescribed.
For reference I am new to TR but not structured training. I have been riding on average 5x per week for the last 10 years and doing structured training for the last 3. One of the main reasons for switching to TR is the adaptive training managing the progressive overload without overtraining. I am basically doing a mid volume plan but keeping it low volume for the flexibility and the fact that I commute semi-regularly. When I look at the mid volume plan for reference, it does prescribe 5 endurance rides during recovery week. So that is the basis of my thought of adding two additional endurance rides this week.
On my next week of recovery, I’m subbing 2 of the 5 easy trainer rides with long outdoor ones. I’ll just delete the scheduled ones. This will work for me.
Im just starting a recovery week and I’ll tend to keep my 2 weekend group rides with the 3 TR trainer rides. Although I may substitute a 45min commute one of them and if the weather allows take the others outside.
My dilemma on recovery weeks will be when the midweek chaingang (Paceline) starts. Its Its not chilled enough to be a recovery ride (unlike the weekend rides).
My understanding is one should reduce volume to about 50-60% of your training volume to facilitate maximum recovery from the block and prep you for the next one. Easy rides may seem easy but fatigue will still add up when doing too much…even easy rides.
So 64% of your other weeks average. It could be lower but it sounds reasonable. If you don’t feel refreshed by the end of the recovery week you’ll know you’ve done too much this time and you’ll drop it further in your next recovery week.
I’m in the same position as far as 5-6 rides per week and low volume + commutes, and just hit a rest week. For whatever it’s worth, I intend to keep my regular commute for 8-9 hours of pure zone 2 this week.
The big challenge for me when commuting is to keep the rides in zone 1-2. There are a couple steep hills so when I got serious about structured training I changed up my gearing. Now I have a 46/30 front and 11-42 in the back. I still have to alter my route home to minimize the hills at a cost of a couple miles. as it is I can barely keep the ride squarely zone 2.