Have been following a program since November last year, training toward a cycling holiday in the Alps which happened last week. I had a great time and it went really well, covering 358 miles and climbing 52,300 feet over 6 days, hitting some iconic climbs along the way including Col De L’Iseran, Col Du Mont Cenis, Colle delle Finestre (brutal!), Col Du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Col de la Croiz de Fer and Col de la Madeleine to name a few.
First off, big thanks to TR as I was more than well prepared for the trip and felt good every day, performing just as well on the final day as the first despite having racked up just over 1,500 TSS by the end of the last day.
I’m scheduled for a recovery week this week, which is the last week of the original plan, but at a bit of a loss as to what to do after this week. Other than the spirited Saturday club rides I don’t race and have no more events this year to train for. Will likely be doing another Alps trip around this time next year but it’s a bit early to start training for that.
I’m thinking I’ll finish the current plan this week then take a break from training for a couple of weeks but not sure on where to go from there.
Second, just start another plan? You don’t need to put events/races in. I don’t race so TR usually gives me a very long plan with lengthy base and build phases. Then I decide to either keep or skip specialty when the time comes. You can always add in events later.
Nice trip. If you don’t have anything specific maybe you could set up a generic low volume plan (with an theoretical end date) just to keep ticking along.
If you use intervals.icu or WKO5, you could have a look at your power curve and see if there is a particular area that you would benefit from putting a bit of focus on for a couple of months.
Regardless of how a big event goes, I always have a bit of a hangover afterwards unless something else is coming. Consider signing up for something, even if it’s just a small local ride/race. I like just riding my bike, but it always motivates me a bit when I have something on the calendar. That doesn’t mean I train that seriously for a “C” event (or whatever you want to call it), but it’s enough to keep me from being too lazy, particularly with maintaining body comp, nutrition, etc… Everyone is wired differently, but having something on the calendar to think about works well for me. My final “target” race of the season is in early August and I’ll have some down time and vacation after that. But I’ve already got 2 “fun” events on the calendar for October and November. No pressure to do well, but enough to keep me from getting too fat and lazy. And that makes it so much easier when it’s time to start training for 2025 in December.
I don’t race but I create a fictitious A race or event (century ride, sportive, climbing road race, etc.) for whenever I have a week off work. TR puts a plan together for me, which includes a taper week just prior to my week off. Then, in decent shape (thanks to the plan having base, build and specialist phases), I just go out on the bike during my week off and have a blast. The plans also provide a nice mixture of workouts since each week off has a different type of ‘event’ I’ve been training for.
Glad TR could be part of that journey A little jelly too @rhine, haha.
Well, you have definitely earned a well-deserved break! Personally, I like to take a few weeks off to get the cycling itch going again. You can use the time off the bike for other things you enjoy doing as well.
As many have mentioned, you can create a plan with no event, or create a training plan with a specific discipline in mind you want to polish, or you can even use the TrainNow feature to train on the days you feel like it and still keep you fresh for your spirited Saturday club rides, which we all know to get competitive
A little jelly too 