Road Bike Racing - Is it possible to just keep getting better instead of peak

I don't think I train enough to peak?

I can't really think of a week off I've taken since the season started but my weeks are never too intense. I might have 1 hard day, plus a hard race, and a couple easy days. This is just reality of what I have time for.

Looking over the season I've just been getting more powerful and have not had any valleys I can see, maybe not getting more powerful as quickly as guys who train more and have peaks but I do not ride much. I would say 5 hours a week max, including any racing.

Last year I rode so much, never took enough rest and burned out. This year I feel great. I do not have the same FTP I had last year but actually have much higher shorter duration power.

What is the deal. I feel like so many of the guys on here right ridiculous amounts that I probably will never have time for again. Is "my way" the best route for the 5 hour a week kind of rider?

if you've only 5 hrs./week, they should all be balls out entire time

Depends on what you consider balls out. Just an example, this week was 2x23 @ FTP on Wed, Then today a 55 minute TT @ 97% FTP, followed by doing the course again at obviously lower power. Throw in some recovery time, and then 1 easy ride and that is 5 hours. But yeah, in general figure 1 hard ride, 1 hard race, and 1 or more easy rides.

if you've only 5 hrs./week, they should all be balls out entire time

Eventually... the reality is - your training load will be low enough that 5 hrs per week hard will hurt as much as someone training 10+ hrs per week.

If you're only riding 3 days per week (for 5 hrs total), that's different than 5 days in a row 1 hr at a time, I think. 3 days per week, I would do it like I used to running.

Day1, 60 min @ TT pace, basically (plus 15 warm up. 15 cool down).
Day3 VO2 intervals (total 90 min)
Day5 2 hrs endurance - 10 min warm up, followed by 3-5 5-10 second sprints with full recovery and then ride away.

But I still believe you'll eventually be in a position where your training load vs training time will be such that periodization will make sense.

Sounds a bit like Waterrockets. If I am not mistaken, he trained 6 or 7 hours a week and seemed to get better for a really long time before eventually peaking. So, picampbell, think you will peak on your current schedule, but it might be a full year before it happens.

I personally get 6-8 hours of training in a week and I do feel like I have peaked for the season. At least mentally I am ready for the end of the season. (Although my race results have still been good.) I don't have a power meter to tell for sure if I have peaked physically.

I don't think I train enough to peak?

I can't really think of a week off I've taken since the season started but my weeks are never too intense. I might have 1 hard day, plus a hard race, and a couple easy days. This is just reality of what I have time for.

Looking over the season I've just been getting more powerful and have not had any valleys I can see, maybe not getting more powerful as quickly as guys who train more and have peaks but I do not ride much. I would say 5 hours a week max, including any racing.

Last year I rode so much, never took enough rest and burned out. This year I feel great. I do not have the same FTP I had last year but actually have much higher shorter duration power.

What is the deal. I feel like so many of the guys on here right ridiculous amounts that I probably will never have time for again. Is "my way" the best route for the 5 hour a week kind of rider?

If you can quantify for yourself how much stronger you're getting [%'s, #'s] you may be able to identify any peaks or plateaus.

Your lower FTP, higher 5min/1min power can be attributed to your racing and hard days [intervals, I assume] - it only makes sense for your power to reflect the kind of riding you do.

The deal is people are really committed to their racing/riding, unfortunately - volume is the answer to long-term success. It appears you WANT to commit but CAN'T.

For the time you have to commit, I honestly would say that it's not enough to cover all the bases. I figure @ 5hrs/wk - you have to pick your battles and focus on a particular area you feel like you want to improve.