Music to my ears.
Most coaches follow a periodization training concept -- you do base miles for a period of weeks/months (usually over winter), build for a couple blocks of several more weeks, then get ready to race with race prep and tapering. All of these "blocks" are typically three weeks of training at a certain intensity or specificity, then a week of rest including easy, active recovery and reduced training hours. Lynda Wallenfals of LW Coaching, throws a twist into those blocks for Masters athletes. Her philosophy is that aging athletes need more recovery time. So she uses a three week training block: two weeks of training followed by a week of recovery. Lynda also emphasizes the need for strength training, technical ride skills and high intensity workouts. From the LW Coaching website: Aging is linked with loss of bone and muscle mass in sedentary adults over the age of 35 years but not in active athletes. Use it or lose it. Increasing muscular strength increases resilience to injury, contributes to consistency and keeps you in the game as you age.
Joel Friel - a well-known coach from way back when - just published a book Fast After 50 that gets into the nitty-gritty of approaching training to ward off the effects of age. He writes a nice description of the book in his blog here. He too talks about strength training and more recovery along with higher intensity workouts. But we can't forget the every body is different rule. What works for one may not work for another. Nutrition plays a big role in recovery also. Do you do a recovery drink after a workout? Are you eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein? Are you getting enough protein. It's such a science to dial in the proper nutrition. So we need to try what might be best for our body.
Needless to say, my training plan got an overhaul. I won't shy away from one week less of training. Two weeks on with a week off will work out just fine. This aging thing isn't so bad after all.
