Managing CTL/TSS

[alfared]

Just wondering what people do when they are already riding the maximum hours available, and have build up so that average intensity is as high as can be maintained for the time available. Obviously at this stage, they are accumulating as much TSS as possible, and therefore CTL will eventually reach a point where it can go no higher.

What then ?

 

[An old Guy]

Sleep less. Ride more.


But 10 hours of work + 8 hours of sleep gives you 6 hours of riding time. And you have the week ends for long hard rides.

 

[alfared]

8 hours at work, 2 hour travel to work, 2 hour travel from work, 6 hours sleep. I have family ( 3 kids ) home works, dropping off places, collecting from places, going to watch their sports, having a conversation now and again...many of you will understand this situation. Maybe when Im an even older guy and the kids have grown up and left and I don't need to work so hard, then I can ride more.

 

[fluro2au]

Don't focus on raising CTL more. Just keep it there and work with the time you have available to train in order to keep improving. CTL isn't a measure of performance. Focus on your upcoming events, the demands you expect to experience and train to meet those demands.

Paul

 

[RapDaddyo]

Yours is actually a common situation, aka real life. I have been there. A couple of suggestions. Because you are training-time-constrained, the goal is efficiency. How can you most efficiently use your available time? During the week, I recommend long L4 segments with no more than 5min warmup and 5min cooldown. If you have an hour, warm up for 5mins, do a 50min L4 and cool down for 5mins. If you have more than an hour, break up the L4 into two parts with a 5min recovery duration (e.g., if you have 75mins, do 2x30min L4s). Also, if you have the available space and budget, I recommend using a trainer during the week. Trainer rides are incredibly efficient compared with road rides. I can go from street clothes to 60min trainer ride to street clothes in 90mins. And, trainer rides aren't limited to sunrise to sunset.

 

[alfared]

OK Paul, I sorta realised that with making the most of available time CTL will be what it is. Once time and intensity is maximised there is no where else to go. If I contunue for some more weeks with the same plan then obviously CTL will plateau. I have just decided to take part in a winter xc league as well as some cyclocross races. I dont plan on changing training specifically for these, or tapering in any way, as I feel I need a lot of work on my FTP. But I may change my mind on this.

RapDaddyo, what you describe is exactly what I have been doing. Weekdays I only get to train late, often finishing up near midnight. Mostly indoors on the trainer but sometimes on the road with lights. This last few weeks all my rides have ended with an IF over .84 including warm up and cool down. I have been working days targeting intervals at over 95%, next day over 90% next day over 85% and repeat type plan. I have also switched from doing shorter intervals and 2x20 types to now doing more 1x40 and longer. I thought I might struggle to ride every day at these intensities but so far so good. Think maybe at 8 hours a week there is no chance of burnout or getting too tired.

I will stick with it and see how it goes, hopefully FTP will keep on the up. If it gets to much, which I doubt, or if improvements stop, then I will need to rethink