I have been training towards my target event - a 3 day mtb event of 280km (day 2 110km and 2200m of climbing). The nature of which will require long days in the saddle. My problem is that I keep getting flu and each time my CTL starts to climb I get sick. I had targeted a CTL of 80-90 but now, with 5 weeks to go (including tapering) I have a CTL of 41. As I type I am still recovering from a 10 day bout with flu and am "hoping" to be back on the bike this weekend. If I limit my ramp rate to 6 CTL per week I will only get to a CTL of approx 60ish which is too low for the expected 15 hours of riding time I will have to survive over the 3 days of the event.
I don't think that having young kids at home (bringing home every virus known to man) is conducive to high CTL [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif[/IMG]
Not much you can do at this point but focus on your final training and take a 'rung what ya brung' attitude. Training metrics are great and sure you'd like to have more consistent riding under your belt at this point but you can't do anything about the viruses you dealt with or your setbacks this winter.
IOW, I'd suggest forgetting all about CTL targets and instead focus on getting healthy and doing the riding you can do as well as doing the specific type of work that you think will help you the most in the race such as some long dirt climbs or some technical single track. Prepare as best you can and don't spend mental energy worrying about training that didn't happen or numbers that don't line up the way you'd like.
Yeah, weird advice coming from me but even as much as a numbers geek as I can be there comes a point where they can do more harm than good. You can't change what happened, only what you'll do next and lot's of riders get sick or deal with setbacks beyond their control and still pull out some great racing. Focus on ways to best prepare from where you are now and be ready to ride as well as you can ride come race day. You might surprise yourself.
That reminds me of a guy I race with this weekend. He was venting before the race that he had not been able to ride much the past couple weeks because his team bike kept breaking (not sure why a cat 2 does not have multiple bikes). The race starts and I expect a slow start from him, but he just buried the field up the first climb and proceeded to throw out some serious attacks. He was riding lights out until his chain blew apart, lol.
That reminds me of a guy I race with this weekend. He was venting before the race that he had not been able to ride much the past couple weeks because his team bike kept breaking (not sure why a cat 2 does not have multiple bikes). The race starts and I expect a slow start from him, but he just buried the field up the first climb and proceeded to throw out some serious attacks. He was riding lights out until his chain blew apart, lol.
Maybe he was "secret" training? [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG]
Thanks for the advice Dave. You are, of course, absolutely right. Going to let this thing pass then get into logging some good LSD and tempo training and, as you suggested, some decent long climbs and single track.
Interestingly, when looking for some advice I was faced with two options. As I didn't have a fever and my lungs were clear I could have either kept some light indoor training to "maintain fitness" or stop training all together. I elected to stop training so i would, hopefully, recover quicker. Some research I read suggested that the cells quarantine themselves at time of sickness as a protective measure and training forces them to "open" and therefore subjects them to the virus. I am not using the correct terminology but the idea is that you don't lose too much fitness by not training as opposed to losing a greater deal of fitness in trying to maintain fitness with light training.
Interestingly, when looking for some advice I was faced with two options. As I didn't have a fever and my lungs were clear I could have either kept some light indoor training to "maintain fitness" or stop training all together. I elected to stop training so i would, hopefully, recover quicker. Some research I read suggested that the cells quarantine themselves at time of sickness as a protective measure and training forces them to "open" and therefore subjects them to the virus. I am not using the correct terminology but the idea is that you don't lose too much fitness by not training as opposed to losing a greater deal of fitness in trying to maintain fitness with light training.
Also note that hard training weakens the immune system temporarily, which for someone ill is a sub-optimal side effect.
