dc1215

So this year is my first year of any structured training and any racing in general. Base went well, the beginning races of the year have gone well, and now I'm coming up on my first build period. This is where a training plan starts to get a bit confusing for me. It doesn't seem like there are enough days in the week to get in all of the workouts that I want to do, so I'm wondering what other people's weeks look like. I look in the training status thread, and that has been helpful, but its also sort of spotty where not everyone posts what they do every day, and you also don't know people's backgrounds and strengths or weaknesses or what they are attempting to peak for, etc.

I'm sure other people are in the same position as me with build, it gets a lot more complicated than a base period. So lets see what other people are doing and why. What are you peaking for and what are your strengths and weaknesses? I'd love to see people get as specific as possible. Real life examples are going to be way more helpful, for me at least, than reading a general overview in a book. So I guess I'm looking to get some ideas in general, and maybe some advice specific to me, so I'll go first.

Like I said, first year of racing/structured training. Been using a PM for about a month. Have good FTP and 5 minute power, but have AWFUL 1 minute power, and a lackluster sprint, although the sprint has been improving. I'm peaking for 2 races this year, one hilly road race, and one hilly stage race. (Housatonic Hills in CT and Tour of the Catskills in NY for those in the Northeast). I'll be racing in the 4's for both races and think I have the potential to do well in both.

I know I should be training my weaknesses, but also improving what I will be needing for races like these. I'm just not sure what the best way to go about this is. Heres what my potential schedule looks like at the moment.

Monday - Off
Tuesday - 1-2 hour race intensity group ride. This is a relatively flat ride with a lot of local racers that pride themselves on how fast they can make it. From what I hear its a very fast cat 3 pace. I can make it without getting dropped, but it beats me up pretty good. LOTS of anaerobic efforts. As I get faster I'll start taking pulls and attacking and all that, but for now its hard enough just to sit in.
Wednesday - As the weather is improving I'll be able to do 1-2 hours on this day. I was thinking of FTP work or VO2 Hill repeats. Maybe an hour of Warm Up with some sprint efforts then either 2x20's or SST or hill repeats...not sure what would be best
Thursday - Not sure what to do on this day. Will have 2-3 hours probably. Could do a 3 hour tempo ride I suppose, but I feel like I should be more specific than that.
Friday- Recovery ride or off day, depending on how I'm feeling
Saturday - These will either be races or a group ride most likely. My saturday group is usually 3 hours of endurance pace with some really hard efforts in the hills. The ride is with a handful of Cat1 and Cat2 guys, so they push me a ton on the hard efforts. I usually start this ride with about a half hour warm up by myself and then finish with another 1.5 hours of Z2, again by myself.
Sunday - This will also probably be an endurance day. The past few weeks I've been doing a 30 minute crit in the morning and then 3-3.5 hours of Z2 after. This could change as road races start, so I guess it will be dependent on the week.

Would love to see others post their plans, as well as feedback for everybody, obviously myself included. Hopefully this goes well, I think a lot of people might find it really helpful. Thanks!

-Dan

hammy56

visit the "training status" thread as well as the "just started training with power" thread...both of which have been around a good while. This should cover most of what youre looking for.

Grumpy McTrumpy

performance manager chart.

dc1215

I have been to both of those, and unless I'm mistaken I think I'm addressing something slightly different/more specific. Though I could absolutely be wrong.

I understand the different workouts that people do, what workouts have what physiological benefits to your body, etc. I'm just curious as to what specifically people are doing in terms of ordering workouts during the week, what specific goals they have in mind (long term, not short term), what people are doing as compared to their strengths and weaknesses, etc. I think seeing a specific layout of what people have planned for their build periods might answer that in a fuller manner than "I'm a subpar sprinter, what can I do to improve?" As thats a relatively easy question, but how to set up a training plan seems like a much harder question to answer. Thats a big part of the reason people hire coaches right? (among many other reasons of course).

I'm using myself to get some specific feedback obviously, but I'm much more interested in the bigger picture of what everyone is doing, and WHY, not just getting feedback for myself.