Was planning on doing Leadville in 2020 but you know what happened. Bought the 32 wk plan and the Leadville plan. Had an extra 6 weeks between the two so just repeated SS3. I’m 62, weigh 150, FTP ~ 225-235. My peak CTL was in the lower 90’s just prior to the race. I followed the plans about 95%. I did not push myself hard enough on the all out intervals because it was just to painful mentally. Could have done it ten years ago. Overall, I was very prepared for the race. Finished in 11hr 31 mins and never thought about quitting. I did think about walking some towards the end because I was just so tired. I did have to walk most of the goat trail, about 1/2 of the total power line climb, and the first little rocky part of the boulevard. The only thing I was unprepared for was how tired my arms were from the very rocky downhill sections. The last 4-6 miles my arms were noodles. Don’t know how to train better for that part. Frank, I am very happy with your training plans keep up the good work.
My question today is recovery. I decided to take a week off and ease back into riding 3-4 x wk next week then go back to 5x week in next 2-3 weeks. I play golf and walk with my clubs. This week that has been much harder than expected. I have a trip to ride 5 days in the Maze in Utah first week in Oct. Suggestions.
I have no helpful advice (the FasCat crew will come with that) but just wanted to say AWESOME JOB on completing Leadville! That’s no small feat—well done!
Congrats on finishing Leadville! That is a tough and demanding event. But sounds like you followed the plan well which really helps. You will be sore no matter what you do when finish an event like that. It does beat you up a bit. You can do some light strength work with your upper body through the season which can help. Also can do more trail riding as well, if you don’t do much, which again will help you be more prepared for that aspect.
So this time of year, or at least for those that have finished their big goal races, we recommend doing some soul rides. Really about just having some fun on the bike. Can mix in some light efforts, sweet spot, tempo, even muscle tension intervals. Do some group rides, mountain bike rides and etc that naturally add intensity. You don’t want to be nothing for the next 2 - 3 months before starting the offseason plan. Keep a bit of the fitness gains you’ve made before starting the proper offseason break and build for 2021.
We also do recommend everyone take a 2 week off season break. So two weeks completely off the bike. This can be done around your trip to Utah. Even though you just took a week off you could do another two weeks off in October. Rest this time of year is a really good thing.