CLT for biking going up?
Why is running CTL going down?
“Dr... So if I focus on CTL for a moment and look at the CTL in a “last 6 months” perspective..
My CYCLING CTL performance been constantly improving (“big bump” up during Tristar LP week...)... WHILE my RUNNING CTL performance been doing the opposite... with my two “bumps” taking place in March and April which was when my “pure” 10K and 13.2M took place....
My RUN CTL was a peak at 43 in March.. and end of April bumped up to a 40.. but now just a 28....
What is going on..?? Please provide some (further) insight please DR.. ”
“Peter, great insights as always! Your fitness as well as training knowledge is growing. Total training load has to be maintained throughout the year and total peak CTL (Continuous Training Load) achieved in weeks 6,5,4 out from your peak race of the year. The interplay of run CTL early in the season was to create some extra durability and run specific fitness to have you “mini peak” for the run alone in March/April.
As the season has been approaching with your triathlon races taking the forefront we needed to ramp the cycling volume to make you equally and even more so powerful on the bike. Keep in mind the bike leg of a 70.3 represents nearly 80% of the total distance you will race. The amount of fitness and firepower you have there directly relates to how well you will run off the bike.
Strategically speaking you need not run like a “runner” in these peak 70.3 training blocks due to the fact that you have “boomerang” fitness to take with you from the longer rides and total weekly cycling volume. This means we have really gotten very “focused” on the training sessions you are doing on the run. Long runs, short brick sessions, tempo runs and speed work. As long as you nail these each week you are not limited from a fitness perspective (aka CTL) but rather how strong you are from cycling to parle the run you are questing for! Swimming also helps boost total fitness / cardio conditioning to ease the aerobic burden.
Hope things eases the mind to not chase CTL, or greater mileage. Looking at what traditional runners do does make you think that “more” must be more but this is not the case.
Cliff”