I currently have the Mid-Volume 1/2 Distance tri plan on the calendar, starting in two weeks. I don’t like that the Saturday rides are all 90 minutes, except one at 105. I’d like to do the High-Volume, but those long rides are 4+ hours. Knowing that Coach Chad has put a lot of thought into the total plan structure, it does not seem to make sense to just do Mid-Vol and swap out the Saturday rides with 3-4 hour rides, because I’d be giving up the specific stimulus he’s prescribing in the Mid-Vol Saturday rides and how those interplay with the other days. Anyone else had this dilemma? Any suggestions? My only thought right now is to do High-Vol, but do 3-4 hour rides in place of the 4+ hour rides. Any thoughts are much appreciated.
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I quickly glanced over the two and it looks like the only real differences between the two plans is the weekend ride. With the weekday rides looking to be similar I would go ahead and just swap the Saturday rides out. Another option is to do the shorter more intense ride then finish it out with some aerobic riding for the remaining time. You could do a shorter 3-4 hour ride, but I would keep the IF in the range of the high volume rides (6.7-7.2) and not to bump it up to the .75+ range.
Could you tell us a little more about your tri background and goals for your race? Why do you feel you need the longer rides?
The specialty phase (mid volume) has rides up to 120. If you’re following the tri plan for swim and run as well, remember that they will also increase in volume in the high-vol.
I’m on the plan myself, HV. The major difference between MV and HV is really in the swim and run and less with the bike. I switch the Saturday bike sometimes for the MV one. It works fine, and - although I have understood that you are concerned about it - I don’t see why it should not work the other way around.
If you prefer an aerobic day with 3-4h, that’s probably fine.