[zakeyf]

Hey all! Two weeks ago I successfully bikepacked the Colorado Trail. Thanks to everything I learned and implemented from TftNA, I was (just barely) physically prepared for the grueling ride.

During the ride I often wondered what kind of training effect the ride was having on me. For the 7-8 months leading up to the trip, my average weekly training volume (primarily Z1/Z2 riding) was around 8 hours/week. The ride itself was 17 days straight of 10-12 hours of riding per day (95% Z1 or Z2 intensity). Given that the trip’s riding volume was roughly an order of magnitude greater than my training volume, it definitely broke the training principle of being gradually progressive. Despite that, I felt like my aerobic engine was much stronger by the end of the trip even though I may have had periods of being under-recovered during the trip.

So I guess my question is around how I should assess the training effect of this trip while thinking about my next year of training as I enter the transition phase once again? Right now I definitely feel stronger than I did before the trip, but it doesn’t seem right to consider the ~170 hours of volume on the CT as well-structured base training since it wasn’t well-structured or gradual/progressive in nature. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
~ Z

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on September 19, 2020 at 1:47 pm #45193

…it doesn’t seem right to consider the ~170 hours of volume on the CT as well-structured base training since it wasn’t well-structured or gradual/progressive in nature. Any thoughts?

That is a very wise assumption. It’s much more common for the average person to think, “I am so Superman right now.” Good job getting it done.

Your trip was likely a mix of “spending” and “saving” from your aerobic bank. Because of the huge volume, I’m not really sure how to quantify either side to determine where it’s left your “bank balance”.

I suspect that you’ll need more than two weeks to fully recover. That is a huge load. Even when you physically feel recovered, other systems (adrenal, etc) may need longer.

Once you’re fully recovered, figure out the previous year’s average weekly volume. Try a week of it and see how you feel. When starting a new training cycle, the first week should feel pretty light. (And you’re recovery weeks may be at half that amount.)