Looking for some advice - I plugged in a 16 week plan, High Volume, that started in the first week of June. The focus is to build for a 4 day Climbing road race on October 10th. Having completed the first 3 weeks of SS base (Alongside a few weekend VR races) I decided to take an easy ‘adaption week’ instead of continuing for a further 2 weeks after quite a high and focused workload. With life/work and such, I pretty much had a further 5 days off for a 12 day break, with only zone 1 rides up to 90 minutes.
Did the Kolie Moore FTP Test on Saturday, gave me an FTP bump of circa ~20watts (326 watts for 30 minutes, pulled a few watts off and set FTP at 320 going forward, now at 4.7w/kg)
My question is, with such great a great gain from 3 weeks of focused sweetspot training, should I complete the final 2 weeks that were scheduled, before moving on to the build phase? Should i move down to a mid volume plan now that I have local TT’s every Tuesday, and an online race Sat/Sunday which will count as one SS/Threshold session of hard intensity.
I’m also in talks with a team, part of the requirement is to hit 1 min at 665w, and 2 min at 550. Current bests are 620w for 1’ and 453 for 2’. I have 12 weeks to develop these, but I know Anaerobic gains go against your Aerobic gains (Or so most of the up to date scientific literature goes at the moment) so trying to work all of this out!
If high volume is working for you then I would stick with that and adjust the workouts to fit around the races. Perhaps lower the intensity if needs be or replace a hard workout with an easy endurance ride depending on how you feel. Of course, if you feel it’s all too much then changing the plan or making an even bigger change to your hours would be recommended.
I would continue following that plan before moving on to the next stage.
You’re right in what you’ve said, as when you raise one part of the curve, another part dips.
I really don’t like it when teams specify numbers like that as there’s so much more to it. You could have the strongest engine in the world, but if you sit in the wind all day, you’ll get dropped at the end. I often find that those that quote numbers like that, don’t often have a clue what they’re talking about. Of course, you could argue it with someone but it won’t make a great start to a new team.
If your aim is to hit those numbers, then a focused block working in that area will be required. Your 1 minute power is almost there but the 2 min will take some work.
Just out of interest, did you measure those numbers inside or outside?
Those numbers sound pretty high, especially for a lighter rider to hit. 4 or 5 weeks from when it’s needed, I’d start doing a load of anaerobic work. Do they have a requirement for any other durations? I always hit best power numbers on a climb and startting all-out, but I’m sure you have something in mind already for pacing and location…
Yeah, seemed pretty random numbers and I agree wholeheartedly that hitting those alone does not make you a better bike racer. I did the 620watts on the way to a 1.37 KOM effort outside. In hindsight I’ve never actually tested for a full 2 minutes, so the 1.37 that brought the KOM was at 505 watts for that diration. This was with no focused sprint/anaerobic training so I’m sure there is room for improvement.
Thanks, that looks good. Yes, I should maybe introduce more neuromuscular work into my z2 rides and save the anaerobic repeats for the icing on the cake a few weeks before race day.
Maybe I should look closer at working with a coach. The presumption is that once one works the Anaerobic system, and Vlamax, Vo2 max and FTP take a hit, so it’s a delicate balancing act that I wouldn’t be confident trying to work out my self.