After many years of looking at my bike in the garage I've been training and racing again. Bought the Friel book to try and train a bit smarter. According to the game plan I laid out at the start of all of this, I should be going into the Peak and Race phases next. So should someone with a couple of thousand miles in his legs be faster by trying to peak and race, then starting back to the build phases, or would I be better served to do a normal easy week and continue 2 more build phases?

My understanding is that the peak and race phases are going to work on my limited strengths as opposed to continuing to train my weaknesses. I'm leaning towards rest and continue working on weaknesses. The only reason I picked the upcoming race to peak for is because it is our local race. I don't really care about results this season (although off the back sucks), I'm just looking to get back into race shape and get back into the game.

Andy

^^ have you been testing? any method, using a power gizmo, against others at group rides or races, the 30'TT or whatever it is that joe recommends in his bible? If you have, do your results indicate improvement? Are you feeling fit or just fatigued?

If you have been testing, are demonstrating improved fitness, and have a race that is important to you, try going through the peak and race period, which IIRC is really just a period that you race or race equivalent every few days and recover on the others. Aside from maybe a sat. & sun. race, no successive days of intervals or other training applies during a peak, you're focusing on race readiness.

If you're just getting fatigued, maybe do the rest & recovery week and build some more fitness.

When I was self coaching using friel, I found your ? to be the most difficult period to plan for and execute.

^^ have you been testing? any method, using a power gizmo, against others at group rides or races, the 30'TT or whatever it is that joe recommends in his bible? If you have, do your results indicate improvement? Are you feeling fit or just fatigued?

If you have been testing, are demonstrating improved fitness, and have a race that is important to you, try going through the peak and race period, which IIRC is really just a period that you race or race equivalent every few days and recover on the others. Aside from maybe a sat. & sun. race, no successive days of intervals or other training applies during a peak, you're focusing on race readiness.

If you're just getting fatigued, maybe do the rest & recovery week and build some more fitness.

When I was self coaching using friel, I found your ? to be the most difficult period to plan for and execute.

No testing gizmos here. I feel stronger in group rides and races than before. My time trial type efforts are still pretty weak. I'm not fast enough to put on a decent gap in a race, or get back to the peleton if I'm alone. Short efforts, sprints and wheel sucking are all better than the longer efforts. I don't feel tired and I don't care about having me "Best" for the upcoming race. I would rather pick the best plan for the long run.

You peak for imporatn races. If it's not important, don't peak for it. I would say that at some point in the season at LEAST once you need to peak, or you are just going to burn out on all of the build work. Peaking for this race is not going to hamper your results next year, so why not do it to see if it works for you? I know that I personally had to alter the Peak and Race phases to fit my ability to rest and recover. Perhaps this would be good for you to find out now as opposed to later?