It's what you do with it that counts...

So this year has been a bit of an experiment. The aim was to increase my CTL (Chronic Training Load) to as high as I could get it... and at least over 100. I will be honest... i'm not really sure why. If you read any coaching literature, the value of your CTL is not important, it's how you respond to that value and when you peak it which is important.

My question is though... how do I know what I respond best too... if I don't try it? Also, if I increase CTL year on year / season on season... will I become more tolerant to it and respond better to it?

So here is my CTL for 2016 / 2017 season:

Click on image to expand

2016 was a good year to compare. It was well structured and peaked well. 

Following the hill climb season I took a couple of weeks off before jumping into the winter training. I had my ramp rate far too high (rate of rise in CTL). As you can see, the sudden rise ended in illness with an equally spectacular drop. Back to square one...

I then started my steady rise in CTL. Weekly TSS at this stage was approx. 500-600.

By the time I peaked at 117 in July I was peaking TSS at 900-1000 a week.

This was basically just the base phase. Long slow miles before work... 3 hours + a day. Once I started to introduce structured interval training, it all started to go wrong. I was really struggling to hit the power targets, the more I tried the more I struggled. Not really noticing (or maybe not wanting to notice) my CTL started to diminish... along with my motivation. In the end, I went away on our summer holiday in France without the bike. A chance to unwind... and eat...

Coming back from holiday and 6-7 kg's heavier than target race weight I was only 2 weeks away from our club hill climb. An 'A' race for me. I was hoping to take the course record this year. As it happens, Ben Davis smashed the course record and put it way out of reach anyway.

Sucking it up... I started to pick up the pieces... it took a while but now nearing the end of the Hill Climbs, everything is back on track. I'm still 3-4 kg's over my hill climb weight but it's heading in the right direction... training  is going well and motivation is back.

Rather than hope for the best in the hill climbs, I've started to look towards next year.

After receiving confirmation of joining a team for 2018 (more on that in a few weeks), the goals for next year will be around racing national Road Races & Criteriums. Unfortunately, I only have my 3rd Cat licence... so I will be hitting the Winter Series to secure enough points for Cat 2.

So by drawing a line in the sand this year (and not entering the National Hill Climb), my training is now building for a peak this winter. 

So what have I learnt?

1) One's body can only withstand so much combined stress. With work, DIY and house chores, a CTL of 117 is not sustainable. The pro's might have CTL's of 130+ but they don't have to build a retaining wall in the garden or tile the bathroom on the weekend.

2) Looking through my peak power & PB W/kg my CTL was approx. 90-100. I think this should be a good peak CTL to aim for.

3) Long Slow Distance training is boring and does nothing for motivation when it comes to supra-threshold workouts & VO2 Max intervals. Base training this year will be condensed SweetSpot workouts with some fiery intervals thrown in.

4) TSS is not the most important factor. Quality is. I often found myself filling the week with 'TSS Fillers'... riding the bike, purely to hit a TSS target. Great if I was training to ride round the globe in 80 days... rubbish if I want to sustain high levels of FTP / VO2 Max for 60 mins. Structured training stress (SweetSpot & VO2 Max) and specific techniques (leg drills, form sprints, cadence work) are more importanter! 

So now I have learn't for myself, it's time to listen to all the literature out there and do what I should have done last year. Focus on quality... not quantity. 

Remember... the size of your CTL is not important... it's what you do with it that counts.