Big Bike Week in week 6 of the 20 week IM plan
Hi,
I'm considering doing the BBW next week to get some outdoors ride on my road bike and to enjoy seeing the world in an semi-upright position.
Are there any recommendations from members on how best to approach the rides in terms of fueling, pacing, hills vs flats, etc?
I did my week 4 FTP test last week on the trainer on my tri bike. The BBW training plan has every ride at Zone2/75% or below.
Should I use my indoor FTP# on the road bike that week or should I bump it up a little (i read that outdoor FTP# is usually between 5 to 10 watts higher)?
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First of all, I didn't go back and read the wiki advice before posting this, so that's probably a good resource to go check out. With that said, here are my thoughts. I have recently completed my 2nd BBW and have another coming up in a few weeks. Mine were all shortened versions though (3 big days in a row), so I went slightly harder on some of the days or sections to cram more work into a shorter amount of time. I did mine on my tri bike. That's a great opportunity to also build positional fitness on your tri bike since you're in the last 3 months before your race. Absolutely ride your road bike if that is way more comfortable to you, but again, I like my tri bike. Also, don't get too bogged down with the numbers, just ride A LOT. I think that 75%/zone 2 guidance is there so you don't go out and crush yourself the first day (or any day for that matter). We don't do a whole lot of volume inside EN so this is an opportunity to get a nice little volume pop in condensed form. So don't slack off the whole time, but don't be trying to do FTP intervals either. Just get out and ride.
As far as fueling goes... Eat a lot. This is a good time to start practicing some of your IM nutrition, but also to experiment. Remember, each day builds on the previous one, so you are really fueling to also set up the next day. That also means after your workout with a nice and healthy recovery meal. You might try different things each day before your ride to nail down what works best. I'd say err on the side of over fueling and not under fueling.
Regarding courses, I like to vary it each day if where you live gives you that option. So easy rolling hills on day 1 do get all the blood flowing. Then climbing day 2 while you're still fresh, then something flat-ish on day 3 to log more miles, etc. I can't remember what your A race is, but bonus points in your BBW if you can replicate that type of terrain on several of the days. Also try to find some other folks to tag along on some of the rides if possible. Enjoy yourself and know that it will take a full week to 10 days to actually absorb all that work, so plan an easier week the following week and don't be frustrated if you don't immediately hit your target numbers afterwords...
Why are you in Wk6 of your IM plan? Your Season RoadMap is below:
Yeah there was a change in plan mid-january. I won't be doing WF as planned this year so I loaded the IM plan to start on 3/10. We briefly discussed this back then.
I noticed that I had 2 weeks open after Swim Camp so I just did the first 2 weeks of the IM plan and did them again on 3/10.
I still have my 5/18 sprint to work out some of the cobwebs, so to speak.
The bike is my strongest discipline at the moment (I'm recovering from a calf strain that I've been working closely with coach P to modify my weekly WKOs to maintain what I have) so wanted to take any opportunities to increase fitness. I read the Wiki on why it may be beneficial to add a BBW and a BTW in my season plan.
Do you think I should skip the BBW? Was planning to do the BTW 5/19. Your thoughts?
I do have a BTW in a couple of months that'll give me more time on the tri bike as well. I'll take this opportunity to scope out the areas around my neighborhood to find hills that closely resembles the ones at Vineman in Napa, CA.
I've started logging my food intake and workouts at a high level. Will def pay attention next week to see what works in term of fueling and recovery and what doesn't.