CTL value & progression for short distance TT's

[tramontane]

Hi

As I ride short distance flat TT's 10 miles and Hilly TT's up to 50 mins.I'm wondering what would be the best approach to building CTL in the closed season.

My thinking is building a CTL in the 80 TSS/d range with majority of rides over 80% IF.Then dropping CTL to 60's with a +TSB and moving towards 90-100% IF training load
and eventually V02 max stuff.

But how long weeks, months can you continue to do tempo type work before it starts to level off ? I don't want to start to early and keep progressing only to peak to early.
I guess a periodised plan would be required but I wonder how long in months you can do tempo & L4 work without over training.

Or is it better to build a larger CTL built on L2 work 15 hrs a week (105 TSS/d) and come down in hours.Sorry for so many questions.Thanks in advance.

 

[fluro2au]

I think you might be looking at it the wrong way...

Build a plan that will "meet the demands of the event". If you do that CTL will take care of itself. A well built plan will see the right progression in your CTL, as opposed to just trying to focus on what your CTL should be doing.

In saying that, IF you build a plan around the concept of "meeting the demands of the event", you can then tweak your plan to make sure there is progress. Do that by looking at how your ATL and TSB and profiling against your CTL. What that means is, you want your ATL line sitting above your CTL line, but not TOO high, as it's not sustainable and you'll crash and burn. While you are training to keep your ATL sitting above your CTL, you then want to see a TSB that is sitting deep, but not too deep. That way you are ensuring you are getting the right amount of fatigue to induce the right amount of consistent improvements. How do you know if it is working? then you TSB line will start to profile up, which means you are adapting well to the overload, even though the stress is still increasing....That is a nice place to be in when you are training.

Specificity and consistency are the key. Specificity gives you the engine you need to achieve your goal, consistency ensures you keep building that engine.

PM if you want me to look at how you are structuring your training and analysing your PMC. I'll be more than happy to help you out.

In summary, CTL doesn't determine how well you will compete. It does help you determine your capacity to train. That is how you should be looking at it. Use your PMC to improve you ability to train better.

Hope it helps

Paul

 

[tramontane]

Thanks for the reply fluro2au. I've sent you a PM

 

[grid256]

There are several good questions in the OP...