Periodization and northern climates

[devinci]

I agree on the trainer recc's.

Same thing here, I live in a snowy place where its almost impossible to ride on the road, and if possible, its pretty dangerous.

I sit on the trainer for 6 days as well from november to march. I pretty much hit the intensity at that moment: anaerobic intensity, threshold, tempo and vo2max.

I dont mind it, its an efficient workout. I will get a garage setup soon so I can ride the trainer with an opened door during fall, fresh air, rain, nice!

Another thing I do during winter is riding the snowshoeing trails on my old MTB, good to keep the skills sharp and I can log a few 4 hours ride during the winter if not too cold.

[KWalker]

I also second not following Friels unless you're really novice. I think his whole scheme is really too narrowly focused even for newer riders. I don't see the point in arriving at C or B races without the necessary sharpness to actually do more than pack ride or get dropped. A newer rider has so much to learn that I feel that they are better off spending the winter working on some really basic fitness elements and then transition into a period where they can, yes, group ride and race often enough to really hone their skills. So much time in his program is spent working up to 6 qualities at once and pretending that you can just learn every single skill from every instance in these convoluted macro plans. Its helpful to plan, but a simple block method is much easier to apply and understand.

I identify B and C races don't get me wrong, but I don't only have 1 A race and think most riders really shouldn't unless they're super specialized, very experience, or in contention for some kind of title event. Your local regional masters 40+ cat 3/4 b crit championship does not count for this.

[OJ]

XC skiing, trainer and/or rollers, and maybe some social sports.

For most guys periodization is a good idea, but I think base should be little bit higher intensities than the low intensity base that is traditionally prescribed. In colder/northern climates long slow base is even tougher with even less daylight and colder weather and snow, and it's just pretty tough to put in the regular 4-5 hour training sessions.