Training 2020

Bicycle racing in year 2020 is on hold as Covid-19 takes its turn. My training schedule, however, marches forward. Despite the uncertaintly that racing might not resume in 2020 I'm staying the course with my upated training plan.

Three fundamental changes to my training have taken place since 2019.

Image. I'm now describing myself as a competitive cyclist. This is an upgrade from previous years when I might have described myself as a serious recreational cyclist who also competed in cyclocross racing. This change is largely being driven by my inclusion of gravel racing events. My training regimen is now extended in an effort to cover both gravel and cyclocross fitness needs.

Volume. Previous training plans did not emphasize the number of hours spent pedaling and that probably meant I was leaving some aerobic fitness on the table. In the 'good old days' we called this base training and I'm whole heartedly resubscribing. Increasing my training volume should help me, over the long haul, build up a larger and more durable aerobic engine.

I am aiming for at least ten hours of saddle time per week and up to twelve when possible. Early returns indicate this additional volume is helping. My FTP is at a record high. My ability to compete in Zwift races has been enhanced. With the additional volume comes a fair amount of training stress. I'm monitoring the fatugue and being careful to add rest days when necessary. For the most part I have been able to recover adequately before my next high intensity training session.

Polarized training model. My Zwift Racing Coach, Adam, suggested the polarized training model might be a good fit for me. The basic prescription is as follows: An endurance athlete aims for about 90% of training time to be at the relatively low intensity of zone 2 and just 10% of training time at or above zone 4. Polarized training is a good fit when an athletes training volume is high and post workout recovery needs are critical. The recovery from zone 2 work is relatively quick. High intensity workouts requires the most recovery so the quantity of that work is strickly limited in the polarized model.

My training schedule fits well within the poloarized model. I've chosen to participate in two Zwift races per week as my high intensity work. Those usually sum to about 90 minutes of zone 4 and 5 per week. The remainder of my riding time is split unevenly between two hours of zone 1 recover rides and about eight hours of zone 2 longer rides. On the weeks I'm able to stretch my total volume past 12 hours the percentage of high intensity work is near the target of 10%.

I'm looking forward to following this piece up with additional details and eventually some race results.