This is a month to lose the bike and find it... all in one month. First two weeks... you forget what your legs used to feel like when you suffer. Second two weeks... jump back on the bike. I am in the middle of this now and my plan is to quickly up my weekly time on the bike to 10 hours per week with no attention paid to effort level. I basically go out and ride for time... tempo if I feel like it... L1/L2 if I feel like... no worries... wont last long... enjoy it...
October- L2
L2 is really just the assignment for the month... not an absolute and this 4 weeks will see me grow CTL considerably while limiting effort for later months. L2 will make up a fair amount of time during this month, though.
Week 1- L2 all week with 1 sprint day (6x12-15 second... all out) and 1 Sweet Spot Interval (SSI) Day
Week 2- L2 all week with 1 sprint day and 2 SSI days
Week 3- repeat Week 2 with a few short L4 intervals (more later)
Week 4- repeat Week 2 with 2x20 FTP intervals one day (use HR to figure out wattage today)
Would like to work up to riding around 12 hours per week this month.
November- L3
Main focus is L3 this month with recovery days at L2 as needed. My general goal here is to continue to grow FTP/aerobic engine.
Do a FTP test in Week 1 to figure out where we are. One 20 minute L4 interval during W2 growing to 2-12 min intervals during W3 and 2-15 minute L4 intervals during W4. I will plan to do one SSI interval day, one sprint day, and one steady 1.5 hour tempo ride per week. I will fill in with more L3 as legs will allow and supplement with L2 as needed to rest some.
Would like to work up to riding around 14 hours per week this month.
December- L4
Obvious focus this month.
Week 1- FTP test on Tuesday and 2-12 minute FTP (95%) on Thursday. Continue with sprint day. Fill in with L3 and L2 as needed to continue growing CTL and rest when needed.
Week 2- Two FTP interval days. Tuesday- 2-20 minute FTP intervals at 103%. Thursday 2-20 minute FTP intervals at 103%-105%. Sprint and fill in...
Week 3- Three FTP interval days. Tuesday- Test for 45 minutes. Thursday- 2x20 at 95% FTP and repeat on Friday.
Week 4- repeat week 2... reduce to one FTP day if rest is needed...
Would like to work up to riding around 16 hours per week this month.
This is certainly just a rough cut of my plan. Generally, the difference from last year will be the delay of L4 work until a little later in the winter and variation in L3 and L4 approach from last year. Instead of doing the same thing every week, I will use varying lengths and intensities to stress the systems and hopefully produce a more energized workout.
