ijgoodwin

So, I've basically taken this entire year off due to a combination of injuries, moving, and first child being born. I've ridden a grand total of 50 hours so far this year, but I'm finally feeling like I can breathe a little bit and can actually put in some more time getting ready for next year and beyond, but I don't have a ton of hours to train each week (maybe around 8-10).

I'm trying to figure out the best way to build a solid base during the rest of this year before I work toward more intense specialized training next spring. I work best on a structured plan, so 'ride lots' doesn't really do it for me.

I remember an old thread where Waterrockets posted his basic training plan that consisted of 4 weeks of easy/endurance riding every day, followed by 4 weeks based on SST, and then 4 weeks of specificity training with sprints, intervals, hills, etc.

I was thinking about just repeating the first two phases of this a few times until I need to start specificity next spring, as long as I was progressing on each of the phases each iteration? I do still have a decent grasp on what my weak-ass FTP is, so for example, the first 4 weeks I could shoot for 180 watts on my rides, then jump up to 220 watts for the next 4 weeks of SST. Then I would go back to endurance, but come back shooting for 190 watts, followed by 4 weeks of SST at 230 watts, and so on.

Does this seem beneficial, or am I better off doing something else? I don't really see the point in busting out a bunch of intervals or hills when I'm not going to be racing for 8 months. I think I'd be much better off working on a bigger base for myself...

brianappleby

You're looking at 16 months in a row of structured training. That seems like quite a bit. I'd suggest riding as much as you can for the time being (ride lots i know but stick with me...), then take a break and get into a proper periodized training plan in time for next season.

"ride lots" is really the same thing as base anyway. If you aren't doing dedicated pain intervals, you're going to revert to your endurance pace, maybe a bit higher during climbs.

This way you get miles back in the legs, but don't have to keep yourself regimented much longer than you have to.

If you think you can handle it (16 months of training) go for it, but your plan really seems like a recipe for early/mid season burnout.

ericm979

Yes, it would be. I tried that once after a season that was blown due to knee problems. After I took care of the knee I started training in August and trained all through the winter and spring. By mid summer I was sick of the whole thing and quit racing not long after.

I recommend what brianappleby suggests- JRA for the rest of this season to build base, take a break at the normal time for you, then do a 12 month plan. If you have to have structure now, just work on building endurance like a century rider. In fact a century in the fall would make a good intermediate goal.

wfrogge

build base but dont JRA........ Have focus

mike868y

What do you guys recommend if you want to be on form for a very early season race (say the collegiate season which runs from mid feb into april)? Build for that and then take a couple of weeks to chill out and recover before building up again for a later goal?

echappist

JRA from october to december. start incoporating intensity training around early january. at least, that's the advice i got from a cat-ii & that's how i'm gonna do it

mike868y

Thanks! I followed Friel's week guidelines and that has me starting "base" in early November and I can imagine getting pretty burnt out starting that early.

MDcatV

just shift your season training earlier. i usually start in mid november. all this means is i refuse to ride the trainer until november so my riding is generally on weekends maybe a mid day ride or something with running, hiking, or other cross training mixed in from september until november.

congratulations on the birth of your first child. if you live in arlington va you're racing in MABRA which has lots of really good racers but the racing itself is not on mountaineous or particularly selective terrain. if you're a cat 4, you can dominate on 8 hrs./week. dont stress over it in august. put together a normal training plan, schedule your training so that you get 1.5 hrs./session 3x/week (4.5 hrs.) and two 2 to 3 hrs/day on weekends (or your days off from work) which'll put you in the 8 to 10 hrs. range and you'll be fine.

mike868y

Yea the next couple months are my "off season." I still want to ride. Group rides, maybe a century ride here and there, but nothing serious.

carpediemracing 

First thing I would do is lose any weight you can. I learned this after a lifetime of racing - if you lose weight (I am 30-40 lbs lighter than last season, depending on when in the season) you improve immensely. I was weaker than last year for a few months of racing, but I was racing much better (and with much more ease). This is all flat or near flat crits btw, not hilly road races.

A friend lost weight after reading my blog posts on the topic. He recently won two very hard road races (M40 Hilltowns and I think Masters something at Tokeneke). He attributes his step up in performance in part to his weight loss over the winter. Previously he's been very good but missing out on the wins.

Losing weight makes you weaker, esp if you focus on it (at 180+ lbs starting weight, I was on a 1600-1800 cal/day diet, and oftentimes I was below my target number). In August, before a crash that took me out for a few months, I was okay lifting 50-60 lbs bags of stuff. By December, 25 lbs lighter, I struggled with 40 lbs, but I was getting lean.

After you get lean, worry about fitness. Someone said it here or elsewhere - losing weight is the new EPO.

mike - for Feb peaking, I'd start doing rides in Nov or early Dec, focusing on FTP. Don't worry about sprinting and such, just get the engine going. I'll do 2-3-4 hours on the trainer, trying to maintain a pretty high HR (150-ish, and I race at 160-170). After a couple months of 15 hour weeks you'll be fine to go racing.

Let the racing work on your top end. Group rides too. When I came to Bethel this year, I had a week in FL (8 hours, and I was too weak to ride hard), 1.5 weeks in CA (rode much harder, but still weakened due to dieting), and several 2-3-4 days in a row of 2 hour trainer rides at some steady tempo. I barely worked on sprints.

Although people say to do other activities, I'd rather ride. So I just ride. If I don't ride, I just R&R. I hate hiking, I run 2x a year, etc. I'd shovel the driveway or walkway when I wanted to use some muscles, rake leaves, stuff like that, but nothing like "Okay, I'm going to go get my HR up for 120 minutes".

cdr

NomadVW 

JRA does not mean you can't do some intensity stuff. You can do tons of SST type riding within the unstructured riding world. It's really how I've come to spend my base periods as a whole. 2 days per week I do a 45 min - 1 hr hammer session. As the off season rolls on, I may lengthen it to 90 min or even 120 min, but pull back on the intensity a tad (ie 85-90% vice 90-100%). Longer sessions aren't as penalized by brief stop lights, turns, traffic, etc... These fit much better in the JRA concept, and don't nearly wear me down mentally as much.

Once you drop to the 2x20 or 3x20 world, mental fatigue will begin to set in - if you're weak minded like me.

I'm in a similar boat. I unplugged my season in the beginning of July, and now my next "A" event isn't until May 3, 2011. I'll get a little bit of racing in before that, but a lot more sparse in Japan than it is in the states (ie 3-4 races total between March and May, vice the 2 races/day on both Sat and Sun for 6 weeks straight) I'm riding as much as I can. If I get tired, I take time off. Then I get back on and ride as much as possible again. It nets me 19+ hr weeks right now with 2 days per week of SST. That's commuting to work every morning (true JRA) and a good training ride on the way home. Doing good max hours also ramps the metabolism up like mad and I can quickly outride my appetite, facilitating good weight loss where that fatigue doesn't interrupt my intervals.

I would definitely stick to the unstructured, ride as much as possible and don't worry about fatigue.

ridethecliche

Mike, don't freaking peak in Feb. Get in your endurance and start some intensity in late dec/early jan, and then race in feb. Others will be coming from a similar background. As long as you keep on the bike when you're not racing, you'll be fine. Especially if you're racing the C's.

ijgoodwin

Thanks for the advice, guys. I probably am overthinking it quite a bit, I'm just naturally a very analytical person, so I tend to do that.

Unfortunately some of those weekday 1.5 hour rides will be on the trainer or rollers due to time crunch, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Amazingly, I don't have a ton of weight to lose thanks to staying a little bit active and eating pretty well, just no bike time.

mike868y

I'm not. My first peak is in April. It's probably foolish, but I'd like to actually do well in the Cs.

My second peak isn't until July.

This is all assuming I actually stick to a plan this year, which I'd like to do.

echappist

to paraphrase mike tyson: everybody has a plan, until the first term paper is due . you get four years to do this, don't treat it as a priority just yet. you already have more experience (& better training tools) than most in C's.

MDcatV

i think you're too young and new to the sport to worry about peaking. you should worry about developing skills by riding with others who can teach you, riding alot to develop a strong aerobic foundation on which to build for years not for a season, and race as much as being a college student at a very demanding university permits.

echappist

now after reading about this topic, i'm left to wonder about this: for how long can you keep your FTP gains if you don't work on it and would you be able to "carry over" some of your FTP gains to the next season? if so, what's the best way to accomplish this?

back story: knee injuries plagued first two months of the season, started training in March and added intensity in late March, did two weekends of racing in April, raised FTP (not observed directly) by June, got injured, been doing quite a bit of JRA but realized that 1) it's boring as hell, 2) i'm really really slow now.

I'm thinking of targeting FTP for the next 2-3 month, stop doing intensity & start JRA by early November, and restart with intensity in early January. I'd appreciate any input regarding this.

Thanks

carpediemracing 

I think FTP kind of plateaus, but you can work on it a bit. It seems that the rider gets better at the test, not necessarily stronger, at least that's my experience. I pace better, minimize my 12 minute mark "slow down", and aggressively use up anything I have in the last couple minutes. That is when I actually finish the test. Usually I stop after a few minutes.

After about 3 months off the bike (Aug - Nov), I was really weak, like 100w vs 200w. I was also dieting aggressively. By late Feb I was back to July levels. That level doesn't seem to change much no matter what I do (hello, genetics!). So it took me 2.5 weeks of lots of steady riding ("training camps") and a bunch of trainer rides in the basement to get back to where I was in the previous July.

I dunno what that means but that was my experience. 3 months of JRA, with maybe 10 long rides (3-6+ hours) and I was back to normal. I didn't work on sprints per se but my sprint was 90% of what it's been by first week of March. I think sprinting is genetic too.

I'm already thinking of next year too. I may not be able to race as much, but talking with the wife she supports me racing as much as possible. I've been putting off buying my back up frame because of my doubts for next year. I was also putting off requesting an upgrade. But I may/probably-will do both in the next month or three. I want to do another few months of strict dieting too, goal being sub 145 lbs (10-15 lbs loss). I figure my strength won't deteriorate much once I've lost the weight, but the hard part is losing it. I'd be about 40-60 lbs lighter than 2 years ago (!! - used to be 180 min 210+ max). Should help if I end up upgrading.