JohnKScott

Hi guys. Ok, so this isn't a race. It's a century ride that I do every year. However, I have been training for it and treating it like an event that I want to peak for and I figure this info will come in handy as I race more. I'm not racing anyone except my previous years' times. But I would like to do well.

I have been training as much as I have time for the last 4 weeks adding progressively longer Saturday rides in and keeping my weekday morning rides (1-1.5 hours each) at tempo/SST/Threshold paces with a hill in there every so often that gets my hr up a bit higher. From 6 -10 hours a week. Currently, based on TRIMP scores my CTL is 78 and my TSB is -11. After 100k on Saturday it will probably be in the range of CTL 83 and TSB around -16 to -18 or so. The plug in I am using for SportTracks says my taper date is 8/20/2009. That seems a bit early but that's what it says.

So based on this what should a taper look like for these conditions? I know an avg of 8 hours a week isn't a ton for a lot of you. It's substantial for me. At 8 hours a week how much of a taper is even necessary? I guess it would be good to get my TSB up closer to 0? No?

Maybe I'm just overthinking and just need to ride less the next two weeks. But any insight would be appreciated.

procrit

Two weeks out, reduce volume, but just enough so that your CTL hasn't fallen much if any after your last weekend ride. With 1 week to go, focus on complete recovery from the weekend ride, and let your TSB come up well into the positives. Two days out, you should be staying off your feet as much as possible and doing as little physical work as possible.

Good luck.

procrit

Oh yea, two nights before the event, make sure you get PLENTY of sleep. I sometimes get jitters the night before and have a hard time sleeping, so two nights before is crucial.

JohnKScott

Thanks procrit. That puts some specifics on my vague "feelings" on the direction to head. My aim was to end up with a CTL of 80+ with a TSB of 0 or higher. Not sure if I'll make it. But based on your advice I am going to error on the side of being more rested if I have to choose.

Thanks. That provided a lot of clarity. And +2 on the sleep 2 nights out. Night before will be in a hotel. Not always the best rest.