js- Right now I am using the plan that I established through the Cyclist's Training Bible, which pretty much maps out my training for the next year. While looking at information from a WKO spreadsheet will not really change what type of training I will be doing, I am continuing to use the spreadsheet that Dave was so kind to send me. I don't have a PM, so I use my Garmin data and zones I have established through my HR to calculate a TSS, then manually input into the spreadsheet. While this may not seem like the most accurate way, and I will be the 1st to admit that it is not, it has been surprisingly accurate when comparing scores I have established for the same routes and similar intensities that I have done at different times (at the time of calculating I had no idea what I had previously calculated). Like I have maintained before, it does not matter what number you put into the sheet as long as you are consistent, visually it will still provide the data it is intended, regardless of if it says my CTL is 100 or 150, my ATL will also be skewed accordingly providing a good idea of TSB. What it will not show is a reflection of if I am over training and training at a lower power level than my HR and PE would indicate, but at the end of the day all I am using the WKO spreadsheet for is a visual for the plan that I have established, not a guide as to how I will train (for some reason it is more gratifying to visually see my work on a spreadsheet).
With regards to your question CLT is not really an indicator of how strong a cyclist is, but how hard they have trained according to their abilities. Although typically a newer cyclist will not be able to sustain a CLT that a Cat 1 cyclist can without either getting sick from continuously increasing volume, run out of time to train, or over training to the point where their CTL begins to drop. But yeah, it is possible that a 3 watt/kg cyclist will have the same CTL as a 5 watt/kg cyclist, but they will certainly not keep up. If you look deeper into it you could have 2 cyclists, say like a certain someone we all know to well on this forum who continuously does day in/day out 5hr rides establishing a high CTL as compared with someone who trains lower volume, but higher intensity to obtain the same CTL. These 2 cyclist could have similar watt/kg profiles, but I would not expect cyclist "A" to keep up with cyclist "B" under high intensity conditions that a race demands as I would not expect cyclist "B" to keep up with cyclist "A" when it comes to the endurance that it takes to knock out 5hrs in the saddle.
This is where the approach of building base through longer lower intensity rides early in the season and then building intensity while decreasing the volume as they get closer to a peak makes sense to me. Thresholds such as LT and certainly VO2 max are short lived, but can be trained in a short period of time as opposed to building endurance that requires a longer period of time to build. Trying to do both at once would require a massive dose of both volume and intensity making it difficult to adequately train both (my guess is in the scenario intensity suffers). Where I struggle with this approach is the type of cyclist it is intended for. If you are a Cat 4 or 5 most races are going to be in the 2hr range, does it make sense to build the endurance to ride for 4hrs? Or is such a cyclist best served cutting some of the endurance short and starting to mix in more intensity once they have build a sufficient endurance for the races they will be doing?
I will be starting the season as a Cat 3 and if all goes well, will hopefully be a 2 just after mid-season. The volume that I will be doing during my 1st Base 3 is closer to the volume that I will need to be prepared for the duration of a Cat 2 race; however between my Base 3 and mid-season I will go through 2 build phases, a peak, and a race phase, all with lower volumes and higher intensities. So it goes without saying that my endurance that I built 3 to 4 months prior will likely begin to drop below what will be needed to do well in races that are 4hrs+, to account for this I have planned for another Base 3 session after my 1st peak/race period. On paper this all looks great, lets hope it works as well.
Also, thanks for the confidence in my TT ability, I also think that I will be good at TTs, it is to be determined just how good. I suspect there is a lot more to being a great time trialist that I have yet to realize and won't until a year or two of experience....
Sorry for the long winded post, hopefully my desire to train mirrors my desire to post on this forum after some time off, LOL
Brent