Openers for two race weekend: what would you do?

[Animator]

It's Monday, and I'm competing in a short uphill TT Saturday evening, and one, maybe two, 50 minute crits the following afternoon. My CTL is 77, TSB: -18. The TT will take less than 10 minutes to complete. I want to do my best both days, but especially for the crit.

At 77 TSS/day, I'm in the ambiguous zone where it may or may not be beneficial to come in with a positive TSB, so I plan on doing a mini-taper at the end of the week. Therefore:

Would you treat the TT as an opener for the crit, and take Friday off, at the risk of being stale for the TT? Would you take Thursday off and do openers for the TT on Friday? That would mean three days of little riding right before my favorite crit. Would you do something completely different?

I'm leaving out some probably pertinent details, but I'm curious what others might do in a similar situation.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

I'd probably lighten up the training load this week but do more or less normal training through Thursday but all workouts shorter and definitely less intense on Thursday if that's typically a hard day. I'd be aiming for something like 80-85% of my normal TSS on Tues, Wed, Thurs and not a good time to introduce new hard interval work that you haven't been doing before. Then I'd take Friday completely off and just get a good warmup on Saturday before the TT using it as you said as an opener for the crits.

I usually like an openers the day before a race, but that's a pretty short TT and you're going to want to be real fresh for it and it also sounds like the crits are the more important races from your description.

-Dave

 

[Animator]

Thanks, Dave. That plan would give me a slightly negative TSB on both days, which seems about right. In the past month or so, this is when I have felt best -- and especially the day after doing a one minute all out test, interestingly enough. I used to think a gut wrenching effort like that was too hard for an opener. Now I guess I'll find out how a gut wrenching 8 minute effort will do.