Rebuilding After Injury

[dhale75]

Question Guys/Gals. Last year I had an injury that kept me off the bike for about 5 months (April-September). Then I only rode sparingly to rehab (ankle) to about January. Since January I have been doing some Tempo/Endurance riding and a few crits. I have about 10 solid hours to train per week. I wanted this season to be a "rebuilding" season, but I still want to race. If my focus is on FTP building, do people almost always wait until the off season (winter), to do that kind of training?

Or, is it feasible to race and still do something like SST throughout the season and rebuild my fitness going into the winter, maintaining or even gaining more, and start the next season (2014) in much better shape? Maybe someone has had a similar experience..

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[RapDaddyo]

The short answer is yes, you can focus on aerobic capacity any time. In fact, if you don't build a good aerobic base, you probably won't be able to finish many races. If I were in your position, I would view races as another training ride and would try to work with a group of riders with similar aerobic capacity, even if it means not being in the lead group. As to specific durations and intensities, it doesn't really matter much. What matters is how many hours per week you get at SST/L4 levels. If I were in your position, I would probably target at least 50% of total time on my bike at SST/L4.

 

[dhale75]

Thanks RDO. I think I'm going to do just that. In the races I've done so far, I felt "ok", not great, so those can definitely be training as you say. I'm certainly not after results this season. I will aim to spend as much time as possible at about 90% FTP during the week.

We don't really have long sustained roads here, but the rolling terrain will have to do. I think as long as my NP is in that 90% range, I guess I'm still getting the adaptation? Then again, there's always the trainer, but I try to avoid it during the spring/summer so I don't mentally burn out on it in winter.

Thanks again for your response

 

[RapDaddyo]

Originally Posted by dhale75 .

We don't really have long sustained roads here, but the rolling terrain will have to do. I think as long as my NP is in that 90% range, I guess I'm still getting the adaptation?

Sure, in fact NP is the best measure for variable intensity rides.

 

[dhale75]

Great Thanks.