Day off?

[Watoni]

Well, I am getting ready for my first peak in late April. To be ready I need to up my FTP a bit and lose some kg. For that reason I am trying to keep the volume high in the next two months since starving tends not to work for me.

I am aiming for 800-900 TSS during my on weeks.* I find this is easier to achieve with a few long rides and some hill repeats. My CTL is around 80 right now.

This week, I have done mostly L4 climbing since that is right out the door and the best bang for the buck in terms of riding enjoyment and time available. Tuesday-Thursday I have done 50 minutes to 1.5 hours, with 30-45 minutes of that being sustained climbing at or around threshold. This morning I did not feel 100%, and was about 30 seconds slower on a 5km, 7.5% climb. Since I only average about 100 TSS/day from these workouts, this leaves me gunning for 500-600 over the next three days.

Is the best bet to take tomorrow off, do a long ride Saturday (4 hours or so -- weather permitting) and a 2-2.5 group ride Sunday? The day off makes sense but I feel like a bit of a wuss ... 6 days with at least one climb of 20 minutes would be quite tough though and might compromise the quality on the weekend.



*I am getting my PT wheel ready but since I have been doing rides I have done tons of times and have power data for, estimating TSS/kilojoules is not that difficult.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

...I am aiming for 800-900 TSS during my on weeks.* ... My CTL is around 80 right now....

I'd definitely shoot for the 800 end or even less. Jump into 900 TSS per week on a CTL of 80 and you're likely to fry yourself as that'll take your CTL up roughly 10 points the first week and you'll be up over 20 points in three weeks which is a very aggressive CTL ramp rate.

I'd probably opt for the rest day.

In terms of the weight loss, it doesn't have to be 'starve' or 'big miles' there's plenty of room for middle ground where you back off a bit on portion sizes, maybe skip some snacks or swap them for a piece of fruit and just try to cut back a little bit. It adds up pretty fast and with care should let you maintain glycogen stores so you can still train well. Think 'small changes' and mindful eating, not starvation. But whether you focus on the supply or demand side or some blend try not to lose more than a pound and a half per week if you want to stay strong and continue to build fitness.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[Watoni]

I'd definitely shoot for the 800 end or even less. Jump into 900 TSS per week on a CTL of 80 and you're likely to fry yourself as that'll take your CTL up roughly 10 points the first week and you'll be up over 20 points in three weeks which is a very aggressive CTL ramp rate.

I'd probably opt for the rest day.

In terms of the weight loss, it doesn't have to be 'starve' or 'big miles' there's plenty of room for middle ground where you back off a bit on portion sizes, maybe skip some snacks or swap them for a piece of fruit and just try to cut back a little bit. It adds up pretty fast and with care should let you maintain glycogen stores so you can still train well. Think 'small changes' and mindful eating, not starvation. But whether you focus on the supply or demand side or some blend try not to lose more than a pound and a half per week if you want to stay strong and continue to build fitness.

Good luck,
-Dave

Thanks, yes, slow and steady is the plan.

I was at 90 pre-holidays and then 10 days of visiting family and no riding caused me to dip pretty dramatically (I ran 10km every other day but did not count it towards TSS), and was doing 800/week in the last cycle so I think I am up to it.

As for diet, less wine!

 

[Bailsibub]

Watoni, just curious why you're doing a long 4-hr. ride.... If my goal is to increase threshold power, I invest my limited recovery energy towards workouts that are tailored to that goal (SST, Threshold, VO2 (for you, March and April)).

+1 on what Dave says regarding diet

 

[Watoni]

Watoni, just curious why you're doing a long 4-hr. ride.... If my goal is to increase threshold power, I invest my limited recovery energy towards workouts that are tailored to that goal (SST, Threshold, VO2 (for you, March and April)).

+1 on what Dave says regarding diet

I know the main thing is to get stronger as a rider; however, since the April event is 200+ miles and 18,500 feet of climbing (DMD 2010), I find it helpful to be able to test fitness by working up to a fast hilly century (ideally the toughest half of the course). Also, as my Jan Ullrich book (detailing his Black Forest training routes) puts it, you not only need endurance, but "fabelhaftes Sitzfleisch", meaning that you can sit in the saddle for a long time.

A typical 3.5-4.5 hour ride for me generally starts with a brief roll out to the base of the first climb, 20-30 minutes of SST/L4 climbing, a few shorter climbs (~10-15 minutes) ridden at tempo, and a longer climb of 40-50 minutes ridden at whatever power I have left before descending home.

Something like this is the long day plan:
Ride with GPS

 

[Bailsibub]

Watoni, sounds specific to what your getting ready for.

By the way, good luck with that ride. It sounds like a beast!

I know the main thing is to get stronger as a rider; however, since the April event is 200+ miles and 18,500 feet of climbing (DMD 2010), I find it helpful to be able to test fitness by working up to a fast hilly century (ideally the toughest half of the course). Also, as my Jan Ullrich book (detailing his Black Forest training routes) puts it, you not only need endurance, but "fabelhaftes Sitzfleisch", meaning that you can sit in the saddle for a long time.

A typical 3.5-4.5 hour ride for me generally starts with a brief roll out to the base of the first climb, 20-30 minutes of SST/L4 climbing, a few shorter climbs (~10-15 minutes) ridden at tempo, and a longer climb of 40-50 minutes ridden at whatever power I have left before descending home.

Something like this is the long day plan:
Ride with GPS

 

[DancenMacabre]

I know the main thing is to get stronger as a rider; however, since the April event is 200+ miles and 18,500 feet of climbing (DMD 2010), I find it helpful to be able to test fitness by working up to a fast hilly century (ideally the toughest half of the course). Also, as my Jan Ullrich book (detailing his Black Forest training routes) puts it, you not only need endurance, but "fabelhaftes Sitzfleisch", meaning that you can sit in the saddle for a long time.

A typical 3.5-4.5 hour ride for me generally starts with a brief roll out to the base of the first climb, 20-30 minutes of SST/L4 climbing, a few shorter climbs (~10-15 minutes) ridden at tempo, and a longer climb of 40-50 minutes ridden at whatever power I have left before descending home.

Something like this is the long day plan:
Ride with GPS

how can I pass up replying to a post with mention of "fabelhaftes Sitzfleisch" ?

that's a good ride Watoni. sure it may be 3-1/2+ hours but you aren't noodling around & are getting quality training. you are racking up hella TSS on those....way over 200 i bet...

did you crack an hour up diablo yet?

i can only imagine how cold it must be on the mountain most days with that wind. so much easier for me to sip on wine & beat myself up on the trainer :

 

[Watoni]

how can I pass up replying to a post with mention of "fabelhaftes Sitzfleisch" ?

that's a good ride Watoni. sure it may be 3-1/2+ hours but you aren't noodling around & are getting quality training. you are racking up hella TSS on those....way over 200 i bet...

did you crack an hour up diablo yet?

i can only imagine how cold it must be on the mountain most days with that wind. so much easier for me to sip on wine & beat myself up on the trainer :

Hmm, yep that is a good German phrase.

The weekend went well, broken into two days:

Saturday: 1.5 hours, 50 minutes of L4 climbing based on speed/RPE.

Sunday: 4.25 hours, ~60 miles/6000 feet -- rode with a friend and hopefully did not go too easy or too hard. Forgot to zero the Garmin so it grouped both days together here ...

Saturday/Sunday Woodside Rides ? Woodside, CA94062, US

As for Diablo, my friend came from the East Bay to ride so I am hoping for a go this coming weekend!