America's Queen of the Classics returns for it's 10th year! Featuring a new start/finish at the Washington County Fairgrounds and a new course clocking in at 68 miles in length, featuring 8 dirt road sections totaling 15 mile of unpaved punishment and throwing 4029 vertical feet of climbing with a maximum gradient of 17% at you, the 2015 edition of Battenkill is sure to be a monster.
Be prepared to lead the pack with this 20 week training plan. Used to increase threshold power a massive 21% (on average) and power racers to several top 10 finishes and podiums in last year's race, this year I've revised the plan to further suit the changes in this year's race course, especially the dirt road uphill kick to the line!
I've also added a bonus strength training workout to help you get on top of the muscular fitness necessary to succeed in a race of this magnitude (requires a kettlebell, purchased separately, or access to a gym.)
Juniper Swamp Road. Joe Bean Road. Meetinghouse Road. Stage Road. They are Battenkill's iconic climbs. Now, get acquainted with the dirt of Harrington Hill Road. The folks at Anthem Sports have seen fit to raise the bar (and your heart rate) with Battenkill's toughest route to date. Conquer the 64.5 miles and 5100 feet of climbing that comprises America's Queen of the Classics with this stellar plan! Build the fitness and the endurance you need to climb the podium in April! Workouts will be based on Lactate Threshold Heart Rate or Functional Threshold Power (LTHR or FTP) which you can read more about in this post.
Last year, plan users saw an average increase of 22% in their functional threshold! Using TSS and CTL modeling, this plan is designed to keep building your fitness through a variety of creative workouts.
What the 2014 Tour of the Battenkill plan entails:
- 20 weeks of training, broken down into 7 base weeks, 8 build weeks, 3 rest weeks and 2 peak weeks
- Up to 10.5 hours per week of training (in build phase)
- Build muscular endurance, leg speed skills and rise your functional threshold to survive the test of 65 grueling miles
- Become proficient in the zone 4 and 5 work necessary to handle changes of pace in the field
- Become confident riding on dirt roads by doing skills and workouts on unpaved terrain
- Test your mettle with a “dress rehearsal” workout before tapering into your peak