hi y’all
So in January i started my plan which i finished when i completed my A event last weekend.
I want to continue improvement to get back to and exceed where i was in terms of ftp 18 months ago.
I have no major events left for the rest of the year now to work towards - just ongoing improvement as an objective
Should i use ‘train now’ go back to base build or set myself up with a new plan?
Thanks !
This is what I would do. Take a look at what you think your A race next year would be. Biggest question is is it at the beginning of the year or the end of the year. If you know the date, you can put a plan in now and plan builder might handle it okay, but I think what you are looking for is do you need to peak at the beginning of the year or not. If not, then I’d create a plan that gets through October/November. You can work to peak for the end of the season and then go into an offseason. Do a more traditional base. Take it easy, do some long slow rides through the winter. Once you get closer to 2024 and know what your events will be, use Plan builder to work your way backwards from the event. One key piece of advice is don’t keep building year round. Take a break. And don’t try to start build training too soon. It’s very difficult to keep it up and peaking too soon will be a big bummer.
I’d go into maintenance mode for how ever many weeks you need. Everyone needs a break from training. Take a few weeks to have some fun , then maybe get back on it come early autumn.
I’m in a similar position to you.
I plan to use train now / ride as I feel / cross train for 6 weeks and start a new plan Sept 1st (in fact I’ve already done it 
)
Previous years I’ve tried starting a plan straight away and by Dec I’m feeling mentally burnt out.
Either I’ve completely lost the thread of your post or you’ve stolen 2023 - do you know something that you’re not telling us? 
I’m planning on taking 3 weeks completely off the bike (more or less) and restarting base on Nov 14th, so that the first recovery week falls in the week before Christmas, when other life stuff will be really busy.
Thanks everyone - I think you are right.
Have a few weeks and just enjoy it … tbh I was getting a bit fed up of 9 months regimented structure… bit of time off, maybe throw in some mtb for a change and then put in a plan to give me Xmas off… my next A event will be April/may next year so plenty of time to continue the build.
Thanks again, it’s nice to be in a forum that genuinely helps each other
6/7 months of structured training takes its toll whether we notice it or not. A few weeks of unstructured riding can be good for the soul, then pick another plan or TrainNow would be my advice.