I have a few goals this summer - a couple of ultra bikepacking races (Trans balkan race + another), plus a few gravel/mtb marathon type events here and there. These races are at least 5 months off from now. I’m also pretty much stuck inside for a couple of months as far as riding is concerned as I live in a ski resort.
The longer MTB or gravel race plans understandably put a lot of emphasis on long endurance rides at the weekends. Are there any plans I should look at that are much more indoor focused - I don’t think I have the will power to sit on a turbo for more than 2 hours in a single sitting… And in the event that a 4+ hour ride outside is doable, I’d just swap out the planned session for that. This is probably just for the next 8 weeks or so. I’d be looking at the 10-12hr plans.
So what training plan would you recommend - which selections should I tick to get something that doesn’t suggest 3+ hour endurance sessions
Obviously I could just ignore those ones / swap them for something shorter, but checking first in case!
The general fitness plans tend to load up more on the SUFF HIIT stuff, with less long distance than some of the more specific plans, in my experience. You could also just swap out the long(er) stuff for shorter efforts and just take the hit on the mileage.
Yep, just spotted that…thanks. I guess also if I look at the more specific building blocks that might do it - anything above “base” I guess.
I’m always going to need to swap things out either way (i.e. I’m going for a long outdoor ride if the weather is good vs a shorter indoor HIIT session) It’s a case of how to find a plan with minimal swapping
in fact, I’ve done that - High volume Building block AC (my weakness after the 4DP test) seems about right - there’s one longer (2hr) endurance ride per weekend that can easily be swapped for a ride IRL… let’s see how these 4 weeks of suffering go
Hello there! Good to hear you are choosing to work on your 4DP weakness! I suggest you include strength and mental training as the events you have targeted will require a great deal of both! Get out for those longer Z2 rides when you can. To reduce your time on the trainer you could include Tempo, which can include changes in cadence to add additional stress on the body. It would be best to include Tempo when key workout intensity is a little lower, such as a MAP workout at the beginning of the week and a Sustained workout mid week, with a slightly longer but less intense Tempo workout over the weekend. To complete a slightly higher intensity/Tempo workout over the weekend if you have say 2 x MAP and 1 AC focused workouts during the week, this could be too much stress on the body. Always remember stress is stress, no matter if it comes from workouts, your job or lack sleep, it will still impact your recovery and training readiness. No doubt switching out workouts can be very tricky as our plans are written to dose your training load and stress very specifically so changing the prescription might alter the dosing levels and yieled a different result. As well as working on your AC weakness, check out the build block plans as others have recommended. Happy Training!!!
Thanks for the input. I’ve got strength and yoga going as well - they helped last season for sure. I’ll take a look at the mental strength program as well. I tried it out a couple of years ago but didn’t have a real goal or target so it kind of fizzled out. Maybe now I do, it would help. Will give it a try!
It might not be what you want to hear, but for an event like the Trans Balkan those 3+ hour endurance rides are by far the most important rides of the week.
I’d look for ways you can make those work rather than replacing them.
Maybe you can do the workout on RGT or Zwift?
Or maybe you take a 5-10 min break half way for coffee/cake (just like an outdoor ride) and a change of kit.
