Training bible questions

1. It is okay to follow a plan with no rest days if it serves you well. Some people find they need a rest day for mental benefit, for example. The key is to do the easy day TRULY EASY, so it is a 'workout' that helps you recover/renew, not tire you out more.

2. That much of a cut-back may not be necessary, but it's fine. The point is not the weeks themselves; there are many different ways to cycle training (e.g., some people do 10 days of working out with no rest or recovery days and then take 2 days off/very light).

In your second year of tri, and only working from TTB, it's probably wisest to stick to the suggested plan. Here's the problem; TTB doesn't have specific plans, and unless you're an experienced tri coach, you probably shouldn't be making your own plans.

3. The TTB itself suggests that in the first couple of years of tri training should be dedicated to building an aerobic base, and by keeping workouts almost entirely in the aerobic zone. 

Training plans are geared towards and designed around specific performances in specific races.  So if you are not working towards any specific race as your "key" race then you are not going to necessarily reap the benefits of a specific plan.  Of course if you followed one, whichever you chose, to the letter, then at the end of it you would be race prepped for whichever plan you were working from.  Now to address the specific questions in my own fashion .....

1) Once you start really upping the time you are training, there is not much available to cut back and take full rest days and still get in the volume that he prescribes.  With that said, I've done 13 - 15 hour weeks and have still been able to take a full rest day when needed.  You can always have a day of active recovery where you do an easy swim or an easy bike or run and get just as much recovery as you would if you did nothing.  There are a lot of different philosophies on that.

2) You should always cut back every 3rd or 4th week in almost all training plans.  This is to allow your body to "take" all the training load you have placed on it and give it some time to recover for the next cycle.

3) There are various ideas on speed work.  The first is that it should be done early in the base phase to kick start your training.  But only if you are already a seasoned athlete.  The standard practice is to include it in the 3rd phase of your training which is typically from about 10 - 6 weeks out from your "A" race.  The reason for this is that physiological gains from this type of work are short lived and it is not easy or recommended to try and maintain that level of intensity throughout the season.  In this phase your overall volume will be slightly reduced, but the intensity will be higher requiring a different amount of recovery.

Why is this a concrete rule?  Saying always doesn't leave much wiggle room.  I was taught the same thing when I was doing my own training plans, and I know that's what TTB calls for, but my coach scraps that in favor of six week cycles.  I'd agree that cutting back and having low volume weeks is absolutely vital, but I don't know that 3-4 weeks is the magic number. 

According to Daniels and other top running and tri coaches, you physiologically gain the most benefit working in 3 to 4 week progressions.  A training cycle may consist of two or three of those sessions usually as 6 weeks is about what it takes for a specific training adaptation to kick in.  So for example if you are working on speed and intervals, you will need about 6 weeks to really see an improvement in your VO2 max levels.  And I did say "in almost all" plans.

Of course if you trust your coach and he/she has prescribed a specific plan, then you can either question the reasoning or just accept it and work with the plan.

(Oh, and I'm working on getting my coaching certifications in pretty much all the different fields except swimming.  Just need to find when the seminars are available.  But I should be a USA Cycling Level 3 coach soon ......).