DAY #3: Mellow, easy relaxed ride on or off-road. Shift often to maintain 90 rpm cadence. Light relaxed pressure on the pedals. Non technical trail.

Use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.

DAY #4: Do the recommended exercises and repeats at this link Stability Exercises for Cyclists: http://lwcoaching.com/?p=70

Today's exercises are pre-hab work to counter and prevent strength imbalances caused by cycling that lead to niggly overuse injuries. This workout is preventative maintenance

DAY #5: This ride is an optional extra this week. It can be split into two and done as a commute or shortened. Ride today only if you are super motivated and are sure you will have enough time and energy to complete the ride tomorrow. If not miss out this ride and do not try to make it up another day. Tomorrows ride is a higher priority than this ride. Ride at an easy relaxed pace and effort level. Shift often to maintain 80-90 rpm cadence. Choose a mostly flat course with few technical challenges. Light relaxed pressure on the pedals.

Use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.

DAY #2: Heart rate, Power and Performance Field Test.

Do a long deep warm up prior to the test. Then time trial 20 minutes on a flat out-back course or up a continuous gradual climb. Pace the 20 minutes evenly with a maximal effort. i.e. go as fast as you can for 20 minutes without blowing up and stopping or slowing down significantly before the end of the 20 min test. Record average heart rate, average power and distance covered in the 20 minutes. Finish ride time with long easy cool down.

CALCULATING YOUR HEART RATE ZONES: Use the TrainingPeaks training zones calculator found in the SETTINGS > ZONES tab as follows:

1. In TrainingPeaks open your athlete account setting page and select Zones (click on your name > settings > zones).

2. Enter the average heart rate from your 20-minute test into the Threshold Heart Rate box.

3. Choose type “Lactate Threshold” from the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

4. Choose method “Joe Friel for Cycling” in the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

5. Click Calculate > Apply > Save.

CALCULATING YOUR POWER LEVELS: Use the TrainingPeaks training zones calculator found in the SETTINGS > ZONES tab as follows:

1. In TrainingPeaks open your athlete account setting page and select Zones (click on your name > settings > zones).

2. Enter the average power from your 20-minute test x 0.95 into the Threshold Power box. For example if your average 20 min power is 200w, enter 190w into the threshold power box (200w x 0.95 = 190w).

3. Choose type “Threshold Power” from the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

4. Choose method “Andy Coggan” in the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

5. Click Calculate > Apply > Save.

Prior to conducting this test review the Testing Guidelines doc found at this link: http://lwcoaching.com/?p=138

Warm Up:
- Gradually bring intensity up to power L3 or HRZ3 over the first 20 mins
- Recover for 3 mins easy spinning in power L1 or HRZ1

Main-Set:
Ride a flat to gently rolling course on the road or off-road, ride on a course with few technical obstacles and up to half of the ride on paved or dirt roads. Get at least 50% of ride time in heart rate zone 2. Avoid 3-5 zones. Keep the 2-zone effort steady and continuous to build your aerobic endurance.

Cool-Down:
End ride with 5-10 mins easy spinning in zone 1.

Start working on your race day fueling plan by counting your carbohydrate grams, calories, fluid and electrolyte consumption on this ride. Aim for two calories per pound of body weight per hour during your ride sourced mostly from carbohydrate. Fluid and electrolyte replacement amounts are dependent on the days heat and humidity. A moderate starting point for everybody is 20 oz of fluid and 400 mg of sodium per hour. If it is hot and humid you may need more. Weigh yourself before and after your ride. For every pound of body weight lost rehydrate with 24 oz of an electrolyte containing sports drink.

Use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.