Changing Things Up

I have reassessed my training format and made some significant adjustments which I started last week. This was prompted by the continuous inability to train properly while working early shift, as well as a need for separating key sessions better for more effective training output.

Previously, I had worked on a 3:1 training weeks to recovery week ratio. I would build up over 3 weeks before having a significantly lighter training week to absorb the hard work and refresh the body, regardless of what shifts I was working. However, during my most recent week of early shifts, I was increasingly frustrated with the inability to get to sleep early enough, the constant state of grumpiness and the illusion that, I didn’t have enough time to complete all of the desired sessions, this caused.

I have now changed my approach to a 2:1 training/recovery week ratio. My early shifts, which come around every three weeks, will now be considered my recovery week. The 14 days of hard training, which actually starts on a Wednesday for me, then takes place on days of late shift and days off only. I find I can get my 8 – 9 hours sleep consistently during those two weeks and I feel much better when training in the morning, before work.

Also, with only having two weeks to build up before recovery week, I now add extra volume to the last 4 days, of the 14, by doing the following:

Day 11: Add an extra swim after my regular long Saturday 5 hour ride/30 minute run session.

Day 13: An extra 4 hour ride with hill repeats in place of my leg weights session, and;

Day 14: An extra 2 hours of easy riding and a swim to add to my 2 hour, long aerobic run.

The other adjustment I have made is to the general layout of key sessions. Previously, I was performing a 2 – 3 hour strength ride on Tuesdays, a 90 minute+ high cadence ride on Thursday which preceded my leg weights session and a long ride on Saturday. These were my key bike workouts. However, I was finding myself being too sore from the weights on Thursday to have a good ride on Saturday.

As I am now extending my long rides to 5 hours and adding in some key efforts in those rides, I want to go into them as fresh as possible. Therefore, I will now do my leg weights on Monday and push even harder. On Wednesday, I will do a 3 hour+ strength ride using really big gears and staying around 60RPM. This will leave 3 days to recover before my long ride on Saturday. I will still ride another 2 – 4 times per week but for commuting purposes or as warm-ups and active recovery.

My running has taken a similar adjustment as I have three key sessions. Long run on Tuesdays pushing up to 2 hours and using some inclines. My new addition is a track session on Thursdays where I am currently doing 8 x 800m at approximately my theoretical 5km race pace, with a 400m jog in between. This pace currently equates to 3:20-3:30mins/km and I am hoping to be on sub 4:00mins/km pace during the run in Mont-Tremblant.

Finally, I do a tempo (race pace) run on Sundays. Previously, I was running tempo for 40 minutes but I have now pushed this up to 60 minutes. I did my first 60 minute tempo this past Sunday and was very happy to average about 3:55mins/km while maintaining a very consistent 92 – 94 RPM leg turnover.

Other runs will include short 20 – 30 minute runs off the two main bike sessions and I do plenty of drills during warm-ups for the key run workouts.

My swimming structure remains the same with attempting to get in the pool 4 – 5 times per week. However, I am starting to up the volume and I’m now seeing some good aerobic fitness in water.

I feel much more comfortable with this new approach. I feel I can train even harder during the two training weeks and stress less during the recovery week. All aspects are improving and that’s very important as the world champs are now less than 10 weeks away.

Are you ready for the world champs? Tell me below.