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| Zone | % FTP | Current watts |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery | <55% | <115W |
| Z2 endurance | 58–74% | 120-155W |
| Tempo | 76–86% | 160-180W |
| Sweet Spot | 88–93% | 185-195W |
| Threshold | 95–100% | 200-220W |
Target FTP: 225W
Weeks 13-20 (Winter Bike Build)
The key progression is:
Mondays
Week 13: Bike: 3×15 mins @ FTP
Week 14: Bike: 2×20 mins @ FTP
Week 15: Bike: 4×10 mins @ FTP
Week 16: Recovery ride 60 mins
Week 17: Bike: 3×15 mins @ FTP
Week 18: Bike: 2×20 mins @ FTP
Week 19: Bike: 4×12 mins @ FTP
Week 20: Recovery ride 60 mins
Fridays (Long Bike)
Week 13: 4 hrs
Week 14: 4.5 hrs
Week 15: 5 hrs
Week 16: 3 hrs recovery
Week 17: 5 hrs
Week 18: 5 hrs
Week 19: 5.5 hrs
Week 20: 3 hrs recovery
Saturdays (Long Run)
Week 13: 12 miles
Week 14: 13 miles
Week 15: 14 miles
Week 16: 10 miles
Week 17: 14 miles
Week 18: 15 miles
Week 19: 16 miles
Week 20: 10 miles
Weeks 21-30 (Paris Marathon Build but Bike Priority)
Mondays
Alternate:
3×15 mins FTP
2×20 mins FTP
4×10 mins FTP
Tuesdays
Alternate:
5×1 mile
3×2 miles at marathon pace
10 mile tempo
8×800m
Wednesdays
Swim: 3,000m
Bike: 2×20 mins Sweet Spot
Fridays
Week 21: 4 hrs
Week 22: 4.5 hrs
Week 23: 4 hrs
Week 24: 5 hrs
Week 25: 5 hrs
Week 26: 4 hrs
Week 27: 5 hrs
Week 28: 4 hrs
Week 29: 3 hrs
Week 30: Paris Marathon weekend
Saturdays
Week 21: 16 miles
Week 22: 18 miles
Week 23: 14 miles
Week 24: 18 miles
Week 25: 20 miles
Week 26: 14 miles
Week 27: 20 miles
Week 28: 16 miles
Week 29: 12 miles
Week 30: Paris Marathon
Weeks 31-33 (Post Paris Recovery)
Personally, if Hamburg is the primary goal, I'd also schedule FTP tests at Weeks 12, 20, 28 and 35 and adjust all power targets accordingly. If you hit 225W, 235W, 245W and then 250W+, you'll be in a very good position to take a substantial chunk off that Vichy bike split.
After each Friday long ride, record:
Average power
Normalised power
Average HR
How difficult the final hour felt /10
And preferably average HR for the first and final hour.
Those numbers will allow us to see whether your durability is actually improving.
For example, in April/May I'd be delighted to see something like:
5:15 ride
Average: 168 W
NP: 173 W
VI: 1.03
HR first hour: 125
HR final hour: 131
RPE final hour: 5/10
30-minute brick: comfortable
That would tell me considerably more about your Hamburg prospects than an FTP test.
One final point: don't start Week 40 immediately if you've literally only just finished Vichy. Treat these first four weeks as recovery, not training you need to complete. After 15 previous Ironmans, you know how deceptive that post-race period can be—the legs can feel okay before the deeper fatigue has disappeared. The objective is to arrive at Week 36 genuinely recovered, because Weeks 36–13 are where I think we can make the biggest improvement to your cycling.
Strength training
For the first ~25 weeks, I'd actually include this.
Twice weekly initially, dropping to once weekly later.
Concentrate on:
Squat or leg press
Romanian deadlift
Split squat
Calf raises
Hamstring curl
Glute work
Core
Lower-back/postural strength
Keep it relatively short: 30–45 minutes.
By the final 10–12 weeks, reduce this substantially.
And I'd record three numbers from your Friday long rides:
Average power / Normalised power / average HR
Plus one subjective number:
How hard did the final hour feel, 1–10?
That will tell us far more about your Hamburg readiness than FTP alone.
By March/April I'd particularly want to see you riding 170–180 W NP for 4–5 hours with little HR drift, staying aero and then comfortably running afterwards.