Training Changes for the 2008 Season

I have made a few changes to my training schedule for this year. The changes are aimed at allowing more recovery time between training efforts. For example, my Tuesday rides will be on Monday night followed by a recovery/maintainance ride the next morning. The next ride of significance is then Thursday night which is followed by a recovery ride the following morning.

Endurance Rides
The plan is to start out fairly easy during the first part of the training especially in the Prep phase. The heart rate range, for E2 is from 142-160 but early on I will try to keep it below 150. As I progress into the later Base phases I will push it closer to 160 to keep building the endurance. When I start performing intervals the E2 rides in the middle of the week will be primarily for mainance and therefore at a lower HR ave. The long rides on the weekend will also build in intensity until closer to the race season.

Intervals
The focus this year is to go into the intervals well rested to get the maximum benefit from the training time. Last year I pushed to hard on the endurance rides which left me tired and unmotivated to perform the intervals. There were some days that went fairly well but they were few and in general there was little consistancy. I often was only able to complete the first 2 or 3 intervals before my power output dropped significantly. I feel confident that with proper rest I will make strong gains to my LT threshold. I order to track my progress I will be conducting periodic time trials both on the road and on the trainer.

Schedule
Monday morning: Lift weights
Monday night: Endurance Ride
Tuesday morning: Recovery Ride
Thursday morning: Lift weights
Thursday night: Endurance Ride/Intervals
Friday morning: Recovery Ride
Saturday Afternoon: Endurance Ride/Intervals
Sunday Afternoon: Endurance Ride