TRAINING BREAKDOWN 4 WEEKS OUT FROM JMSR

So yesterday we broke down the basics of the Joe Martin Stage Race.  We looked at how the stages were setup and what kind of physical demands it will place on my body.  Looking at the stages we determined that I will need to focus on three big ticket items:

1. A solid 10 minute power/weight ratio.
2. Ability to ride a long challenging race on slightly fatigued legs
3. Produce high 5-8 minute power with severely fatigued legs.

The first task can be improved through 2 methods.  The first method is to just simply lose weight.  I am currently 167lb or 76kg but at 74” tall that is a pretty good height to weight ratio.  An unhealthy way to judge if this is a good weight is to look to the pros!  I did a quick search for riders around my height and checked their weight.  Luke Durbridge, Sep Vanmarcke, Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra, Fabian Cancellara, etc… Basically, the classic style or TT riders.  They all have a BMI around 22.6 and hold 42.2kg per meter of height (2.32 lb/in).  I am currently at a BMI of 22.2 and hold 41.1 kg per meter of height (2.26 lb/in).  I would call that a healthy race weight for me.  I might drop to 165lb over the next three weeks just because the first stage is an uphill time trial.  I will monitor my body very closely though because recovery and getting in workouts is more important than 2lb.
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What kind of training have I been doing leading up to this point?  I started my base period in October of last year.  I put in a couple back to back weeks of 15-16 hour weeks.  I then started to transition around early January towards sweet spot and threshold intervals.  The past couple of weeks I have been doing mostly threshold work with some V02 intervals sprinkled into the mix.  This is what my training looked like 4 weeks out from the event.
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Monday
Goal: Threshold and V02 Max spikes during threshold on trainer
Workout Duration: 1 Hour 51 minutes
Workout: 6 x 1 minutes @ FTP, 2 x 25 min @ FTP w/ 10x30sec spikes to V02 evenly spaced
TSS: 109.9            IF: 0.80

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Tuesday
Goal: Endurance & Recovery on Trainer
Workout Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes
Workout: General ride w/ mixed cadence.  Mostly Z1-Z2
TSS: 60.6              IF: 0.60 

Wednesday
Goal: Increase peak power. Had to do on trainer due to podcast recording during daylight.
Workout Duration: 1 hour 15 min
Workout: 20 minutes Z1-2, 5 x 20 seconds small ring high cadence all out sprint w/ 3 minutes recovery, 4x10 seconds all out sprint in big ring - medium speed rolling start. 4 minutes recovery in between each, 4x10 seconds with high speed rolling start 53x16 gearing. 4-5 minutes easy recovery, 15 minutes easy home
TSS: 57.3              IF: 0.69 

Thursday
Goal: V02 Intervals and KOM Hunting (ended up with 2)
Workout Duration: 1 hour 36 minutes
Workout: 10 minutes Easy, 8 x 5 minutes Z5 w/ 3 mins recovery, finish Z1-Z2
TSS: 127.4            IF: 0.89
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Friday
Goal: Easy Recovery at Lunch
Workout Duration: 1 hour
Workout: General outdoor ride for recovery. Zone 1
TSS: 33.0              IF: 0.56
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Saturday
Goal: Quick V02 work using Tabata protocol.  Limited time to workout
Workout Duration: 1 hour
Workout: 8 x 20 sec all out w/ 10 seconds easy, 10 mins easy, 8 x 20 sec all out w/ 10 seconds easy
TSS: 46.0              IF: 0.68
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Sunday
Goal: Big volume day with lowered intensity
Workout Duration: 4 hours
Workout: No specific plan.  Just stay around Z2-Z3
TSS: 135.8            IF: 0.64

Total Week Stats:

• Time: 12 hours 18 minutes
  
• TSS: 570.0
  
• Work: 9697 kJ
  
• IF: 0.68