I have just created my first training plan for a 245km gravel race using the custom plan builder.
I expected the TR software to build a plan that was event specific. The longest ride in the 19 week plan is 2hrs!? Weird.
I input the expected race duration to be 11 hrs at tempo effort. So a very big very hard day.
Anyone one else had the same experience?
This has been a years long debate on TrainerRoad. Back in the day, TR were hard āyou donāt need longer ridesā proponents but there have been a cadre of posters on this forum (myself definitely included) that say you need some longer efforts for longer races.
You find out things after 4 or 5 hours on the bike that you just donāt get in 2hrs on the trainer. Riding position things. Chafing things. Shoe hot spot things. Definitely, nutrition things. Itās not as big an issue as it used to beā¦but, you can find out battery things.
I would say that over the years, TR has come around to my way of thinking. For sure, you can ride a 150 mile event with intelligent training & pacing with nothing more than a 2hr ride. But if you want to maximize your chance of success and performance youāll do a couple of longer rides.
Thanks for the response Brennus.
That is bizarre. I know a world tour coach and the guys he coaches doing 100 to 200 mile gravel races all do 5+ hour training rides. Including his amateur riders. The high level guys are doing 7 to 8hr rides in prep for long gravel races.
I signed up for the 30 day TR trial. I guess Iāll just leave it at that.
Are you using plan builder? You can select availabilty and how long you want to train on given days.
@andrewjg if you are training 20 hours a week, TR is probably not the product for you. But if you only have 8, 10, 12 hours to train in a given week because of work/family/school, TrainerRoad is a very effective option.
I donāt think you need to do 5, 7, 8 hour rides on a weekly basis to be very competitive during a 150 mile gravel race. Actual race results have proven TR can produce results at such events. But I do advocate at least a couple 5hr rides as part of training for longer gravel events.
But, look, if world elite is your goal, if you have all the time you need to train, then a more āworld tourā style of training is probably a better option. Either way, let us know how your event goes.
As others have indicated, my experience with plan builder is that it limits training time to what you say you have available. I want to do a mixture of indoor structured workouts combined with outdoor longer unstructured rides. My plan builder inputs ignore my outside rides I tell it I want a low volume plan thatās riding three days a week and have 3-5 hours a week available. It generates my trainer rides for MWF, then I do what I want for the rest of the week depending on weather and how I feel. Iāve been very happy with the results and progression for 12+ hour ride prep.
headās up, @andrewjg !
@gshotts ā thatās a rider who really does know how to go on a 300km ride.
As already stated, TRās DNA is really built around the time crunched athlete. But itās still a useful training system for cyclists doing significant volume and training for long events. You can leverage TR to structure and progress your 2-3 days of intervals/intensity and then layer in additional low intensity work and longer rides. You just need to take a little ownership of managing your overall stress, but TR gives you a good way to keep on top of that. As a higher volume athlete who targets 8+ hour events, I find that it works pretty well. Iām not burdened with building/managing all the interval stuff from scratch and itās easy to layer on volume. But if you are looking for a system to just tee up a perfect training plan for long events, TR probably isnāt it (and Iām not sure it exists unless you are just looking for a static plan). I like the fluid nature of the TR system and the deep workout library, a good trade off with the minimal support for canned high volume training.
Iām personally a big believer in incorporating long rides when training for longer events. While you can absolutely build the required aerobic fitness while limited to 2 hour training rides, there are still significant performance benefits to be gained with longer rides.
As @FrankTuna said, you can customise Plan Builder to generate up to 24h/week plan: 2x 2h interval days + 4x 5h endurance days.
While it is possible, at this volume you might be better off with LV plan and add your own Z2 progression on top of that at lower intensity than TR usually suggests.
Welcome to the forums 
Youāve got some good advice already, Iāll just support that and add that plans will also adapt as you progress. Overall hours is one important part of volume, intensity is the other so you may find efficiencies that allow you to reduce your 20 hr weeks a touch.
TR is and a lot of the training world is about minimum effective dose, and may be able to help you find the right volume for you rather than simply increasing until breaking point.
As mentioned already, when making your plan you can select how long you want to ride that day. I believe it maxes out at 5 but nothing stopping you from going further. I have attached an image for you to get a visual.
If your plan is already set up I believe you can change time availability and not have to restart your plan as well. Hope this helps.
Hi @andrewjg Welcome to the Forum!
As @Jolyzara mentioned, you can pick custom durations when creating your training plan. The endurance rides cap out at 5 hours and the interval training at 2 hours.
If youāve already applied your training plan you can adjust them through the Calendar Annotations:
Many cyclists assume that the best way to train for these types of events is to complete long endurance rides. While this approach can work, it requires a lot of timeā12-20 hours per week.
As mentioned, we believe that you donāt have to do extremely long training rides to prepare for a 245k gravel race. The most efficient and effective way to train for these type of events is to complete high-quality structured workouts strengthening the energy systems needed for such a long ride.
However, we do recommend that itās a good idea to throw in a few long rides before your event to check your bike fit and nutrition strategy.
Personally speaking, Iāve done multiple gravel / 100+ milers and never really trained by volume. If I had endurance training it never tipped over 4-5 hours on the saddle, but these were great rides to test my nutrition and hydration.
yes, and maybe moreso in racing, but i will say. If you have experience with these things, you really donāt need 5hr endurance rides to prepare for a 100km+ fondo. With an IF you know proper feeding/nutrition especially.
Last year I had only 1/2 3h+ rides in prep for Amstel Gold Race 125km fondo. Most other endurance rides were 1h30/2h, even before using TR. It went fine. As long as I drank my 90g+ carbs an hour and proper fed myself before the ride it was fine. I maybe had a bit less power available in the last hour or so but thatās just a bit of adjustment.
I now do follow a TR plan because I just donāt have 8-12 hours. And longest rides are 2h on sunday and I do plan maybe another 1/2 3h rides manually. But Iām confident itās enough to prepare me for AGR 150km this year.
Iām puzzled with what TR is giving me for my taper week - a 90 minute hard ride one day before a grueling 4 hour gravel race in the mountains. That just seems wrong. Full disclosure, I am doing all of my TR workouts outside at this point (itās almost summer, why would I ride indoors), but TR does take that into account when adapting my training.
Hey @Spresso,
Welcome to the forum! 
Thatās because those rides before your A race are āSolo Rides,ā not structured workouts.
If you open up your TR calendar on the web, you can right-click on them and switch them to TR workouts, and they should respect the taper thatās in place.
I do think we should still adjust the duration of those solo/group rides to respect taper logic, so Iāll pass that along to the team, but for now, weād recommend following structured workouts during a taper.
Thank you for your response. So would that mean I would be given an indoor workout instead?
Indoor or outdoor. Whatever you choose.
Let me know if this helps. 
Thank you, yes, that really helps!
Hi @andrewjg ,
I had the same doubt a while ago bc was preparing a GF race and a max of 2h endurance were scheduled. My decision was to add Z2 time in most of my rides (I try to train outdoor the most if weather and life allows). For instance:
Tuesday/Thursday I have 1hr structured so I go out, warm-up for 20 min more EZ, and then do the structure part of the workout. After, If possible, I do 1hr more of Z2. Total can be 2h or 2h30.
For Saturday I usually have 1h30 of threshold and add +1.5h to +2.5h of endurance.
Sunday is long endurance ride where TR usually schedule 1.5 to 2h, so I add 1h,2h or 3h more depending on my legs and YellowL Red Light advice.
Usually my monday is a rest day and YLRL usually gets Y or Red for that day as expected.
Thatās been working for me as also I like to go out and endure for +3h. Just keep the recovery in place to avoid overtraining and follow YLRL advice and the most important thing: Enjoy your ride.
Lucas
I also increase the duration of my weekend rides. Like you, I ride bikes because I like to ride bikes. I want to do long rides outside to prepare for my events.
