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Rolling 3-week outline

  • Owner: Coach Luca
  • Last updated: 2026-06-06
  • Season phase: Ghost of the Gravel race-specific build into race taper
  • Review cadence: Weekly full review, immediate update after key ride execution, athlete check-in, travel change, or recovery warning
  • Source plan: athlete/planning/season-plan.md, athlete/context/current-focus.md, athlete/context/season-goals.md, athlete/context/race-calendar.md, athlete/context/travel-schedule.md, athlete/context/2026-05-27-to-2026-06-05-trainingpeaks-workouts.md, Coach Gunnar and athlete notes from June 5, and athlete/context/2026-06-05-plan-review-jun-06-to-15-sport-science.md

Current target

Ghost of the Gravel on 2026-06-27 is the single near-term performance target.

  • Race: Ghost of the Gravel
  • Date: 2026-06-27
  • Location: Cochrane, AB
  • Elite women distance: 118 km
  • Working target: about 4:35:00
  • Historic Sidney references: about 4:58 in 2023 and about 5:02 in 2024
  • Performance problem: sustain high aerobic and sub-threshold pressure for more than 4.5 hours, fuel aggressively without GI failure, handle gravel terrain while still able to race the final hour, and arrive fresh enough to respond to a strong North American pro field

This is a professional preparation block for a rider targeting a front-end gravel result while protecting the larger cyclocross season.

Status entering this block

  • The late-May SI/back flare has resolved. Back and SI are reported good and no longer restrict cycling. Protect them only in gym and core work.
  • Sidney absorbed a full late-May to early-June schedule, including a 3:42 / 108 km ride on June 4. She is fit and ready for a real race-specific build.
  • The original draft plan was directionally right but too dense around June 6-13. The revised plan keeps the key race-specific work and trims the supporting stress.
  • June 6 athlete update: Sidney reported being very tired after a rest day, with rainy weather, and had already completed a 25 min run/walk plus about 1 hour of core. The June 6-8 plan was softened around that live fatigue signal.
  • Reintroductions this block: running started June 6 and stays conservative; loaded gym is optional and submaximal from June 8.
  • Rest-day note: June 5 was a rest day, but the June 6 fatigue signal still governs the next 48 hours. The Monday rest anchor returns June 15.

Week 1: June 6-June 15, 2026 - race-specific build

Block purpose: Complete the key Ghost-specific build while protecting the June 13 simulation. Use June 6 as a fatigue-managed easy day, June 7 as the moved endurance ride, June 9 as a controlled short-power activity, June 11 as a gravel-pressure primer, June 13 as the full 5:00 rehearsal, then absorb it.

Location: Severn, ON

Approximate volume target: about 16-18 hours on-bike across the block, plus the completed June 6 run/walk, optional June 10 run/walk only if quiet, and optional conservative gym.

Long-ride ladder:

  • Sat June 6: easy endurance 0:45-1:15 after completed run/walk and core
  • Sun June 7: endurance 2:30-3:00, moved from June 6
  • Thu June 11: gravel pressure primer 3:15
  • Sat June 13: Ghost simulation 5:00

Day-by-day:

  • Sat June 6: completed run/walk 0:25 and core about 1:00; optional easy endurance 0:45-1:15 only if it helps.
  • Sun June 7: endurance 2:30-3:00, 70-80 g/hr, no run.
  • Mon June 8: easy endurance 1:15-1:30 plus optional gym 0:25-0:35, RPE 5.
  • Tue June 9: short power control, 4-5 x 2 min at 115-125% FTP, 75-80 g/hr.
  • Wed June 10: easy endurance 1:15 plus optional treadmill run-walk 15-20 min.
  • Thu June 11: gravel pressure primer 3:15, 2 x 20 min at 82-86% FTP, 80-85 g/hr if tolerated.
  • Fri June 12: easy spin 0:45-1:00 plus optional upper/core activation 20-25 min.
  • Sat June 13: Ghost simulation 5:00, full equipment, breakfast, fuelling, pacing, and final-hour rehearsal.
  • Sun June 14: full rest acceptable, or optional 45-60 min recovery spin.
  • Mon June 15: rest day.

Running: The first run/walk happened June 6, 25 min, alternating 1 km run and 400 m walk. Drop the June 7 run. June 10 remains optional only if there is no ankle, calf, back, SI, or general fatigue response.

Gym: June 6 core was about 1 hour and exceeds the intended introductory dose. Monday June 8 is now optional and reduced. Friday June 12 is optional upper/core activation only. No max loading, no grinding, no soreness-seeking. A larger core block begins July 1.

Surface strategy: Gravel on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday is a primer, not a second major long ride. Use race tires and pressures. June 13 is the full race-equipment rehearsal.

Fuelling strategy: Progress rather than jump. June 6 targets 70-80 g/hr, June 9 targets 75-80 g/hr, June 11 targets 80-85 g/hr if earlier steps were tolerated, and June 13 targets 85-90 g/hr. Long rides use drink mix + gel, no solid bars. June 13 includes race-morning breakfast and a written fuelling/GI note.

Recovery watch items: This is a high-volume race-specific week with Hashimoto's in view. Keep easy days genuinely easy, protect sleep and appetite, and watch for systemic heaviness. Protect the June 13 simulation above all other sessions.

Replanning triggers: Any back/SI or radiating symptom return, ankle or calf niggle from running, GI failure above 85 g/hr, or fatigue high enough by Friday June 12 that the simulation is at risk. In that case the midweek work gives way, not the simulation.

Week 2: June 16-June 22, 2026 - taper begins

Block purpose: Shift from building fitness to expressing it. Lower total load, keep one threshold activity, one controlled final gravel ride, and a short pre-travel race tune, then start race-week freshness.

Location: Severn, ON

Approximate volume target: about 8-10 hours on-bike, clearly down from Week 1.

Day-by-day:

  • Tue June 16: threshold sharpening 2-3 x 10 min at 94-98% FTP inside 1:45-2:00. Ride endurance only if the June 13 simulation is still in the legs.
  • Wed June 17: endurance with cadence 1:30, 5 x 1 min quick cadence, optional movement reset 10-15 min.
  • Thu June 18: recovery day.
  • Fri June 19: final gravel endurance 3:15-3:30 with 2-3 x 6 min at 90-95% FTP, full fuelling rehearsal. Do not extend beyond 3:30.
  • Sat June 20: full rest acceptable, or optional 45-60 min recovery spin.
  • Sun June 21: easy endurance 1:15, or full rest if fatigue remains.
  • Mon June 22: threshold tune 1:15 before travel, 2 x 5 min at 95-100% FTP plus short accelerations.

Gym and core: No heavy strength. Optional movement reset only. The priority is freshness, not new adaptation.

Running: Optional only if the treadmill reintroduction was completely quiet. If used at all, keep it 10-15 min easy and away from key rides. It is not required.

Fuelling: Maintain carbohydrate availability. Final long rehearsal on June 19 uses 80-90 g/hr and sodium 600-900 mg/hr. No new products.

Recovery watch items: Freshness should start to return. Watch for stale legs versus normal taper sensations. If fatigue persists, reduce June 21 first and then trim June 22 before changing race-week openers.

Week 3: June 23-June 27, 2026 - race week

Block purpose: Arrive in Cochrane fresh, sharp, fuelled, and confident. Low volume, race-specific activity, equipment and fuelling locked.

Location: Severn, ON through June 22; travel June 23 to Edmonton then Cochrane, AB.

Day-by-day:

  • Tue June 23: travel west. No meaningful training load. Optional movement reset after arrival.
  • Wed June 24: gravel feel 1:00-1:15, 2-3 x 3 min at 85-90% FTP on representative terrain if travel fatigue is low.
  • Thu June 25: no recon ride available. Race prep, equipment, fuelling, and optional very light activation only.
  • Fri June 26: pre-race openers 0:50-1:00, 3 x 1 min at 100-105% FTP, then 3 x 12 sec fast openers.
  • Sat June 27: Ghost of the Gravel, 118 km.

Race-week priorities:

  • Arrive fresh without feeling stale.
  • Preserve carbohydrate availability.
  • Remove GI risk from the diet by D-3.
  • Rehearse equipment and fuelling without chasing extra fitness.
  • Keep sleep and travel stress quiet.

Global guardrails

  • Coach Luca's calendar files are the internal authoritative plan. Do not publish or revise live TrainingPeaks workouts unless the operator explicitly asks.
  • Back and SI are good for cycling but protected in gym and core. Stop any loaded movement at the first radiating leg symptom.
  • Gym is 2-3 sessions per week as a standing target, but this race block uses less gym stress to protect the June 13 simulation and race taper.
  • Running is reintroduced gently: short, easy, treadmill first. Manage ankle risk; Sidney is a cyclist, not a runner.
  • Monday is the recovery anchor where it does not conflict with travel or race needs. The anchor resumes June 15.
  • Hard sessions must be fuelled, not survived. If fatigue rises, cut density before cutting the sessions that matter most.
  • If Hashimoto's warning signs appear, including poor sleep, cold intolerance, persistent heaviness, appetite suppression, mood drop, or elevated resting strain, protect recovery immediately.
  • Long gravel rides require a written fuelling note before the next key session is confirmed.
  • No unilateral athlete additions. If extra work is on the athlete's mind, the rule is message first.

Notes

This outline reflects the June 5 notes from Coach Gunnar and Sidney, the June 5 sport-science review, and the June 6 athlete update. The decisive work is June 13, then June 19, then the short threshold tune on June 22. June 11 remains specific but is intentionally only a primer. Daily workout detail lives in the dated athlete/calendar/ files; the gym detail lives in the gym plan document under athlete/planning/.