Jules,

It sounds like you are taking in a solid amount carbs and calories during the ride.  The question as a whole is hard to answer as really need more information but for me, post ride with 3 R's: 

Hey @TimCusick I'm trying to choose a CX plan. This thread has been helpful but I still have a few questions. That's in part because I think I've had an unusual year so far compared to other racers here. Here are the bones of my CX season, starting today:

--Four weeks until first race.
--In October, I have two and hopefully three big race weekends (so, four to six actual races) that I want to do well in. 
--One three-day weekend without riding in early November (visiting my hometown; no time to train)
--Last race either December 9 or December 16. That's eighteen weeks from today. The last four weeks of the season also have races I cherish and want to do well in.
--This will be my third ever cyclocross season. I'm a Cat 4 with a few upgrade points in my pocket. My season goals are to podium multiple races, win at least once, and upgrade to Cat 3.

My riding this year so far has been at relatively low intensity. For the first eight weeks of 2018 I focused on strength and flexibility (and graduate school). I got a late start training on the bike, March 19. I did your ten-week Winter Base 1.1 plan followed immediately by the eight-week Winter Base 1.2 plan, which I capped off with a huge week of riding in the mountains in Los Angeles. I logged 673 TSS there, and felt great doing it. Then I had a couple weeks of unstructured riding. In total only four or five race days, spread out since early May--just local short things. The past two weeks I haven't ridden at all. 

Based on all that, which of your CX plans is best suited to my season?

Max,
Tough call.  If fit enough, the CX Polarized plans will help you get the most out of your fitness.  I like polarized for final phase training to really push the peak but not to build fitness.  If you feel you need to build, the CX 10 Weeks to Peak is the best bet.  Based off your comments, you are right in between.  I would download both and compare.....

Jules,

Been thinking about your question more deeply.  They issue you could be having is one of glucose or carb "management" (might say dependency).  I can link more research but here is an excellent pod cast about nutrition.  Listen to what Ferretti talks about ~20 minutes in.  

http://highintensityhealth.libsyn.com/103-alessandro-ferretti-dip-ion-ketogenic-diets-for-sports-performance-w-alessandro-ferretti

Thanks Tim I'll give it a listen.

^this is dense stuff, but I really appreciate the link. I've subscribed to the podcast and will have to give it a few listens. I'm certainly a lifetime sugar addict and welcome any practical insights.

It's always a challenge learning about nutrition because even good advice can be peppered with "woo" about arsenic in rice, etc.

Thanks @TimCusick. Could you say a bit more what should I look for in comparing the two plans?

Max, hard to say, that is the challenge.  This might help.  Do a 20-30 min test, if the results of that test are within 95% of your peak numbers from last 3 years, go the polarized....if less, do the advanced plan....make sense?

Jumping in to say, that I find this discussion helpful.

And based on the comment above, my pick of polarized 80/20 cx plan sounds about right. 

I might be modifying the plan a little bit, trying to stick to the idea of two hard days, rest, one hard day.

So if there's a one day race weekend, then I allow two hard workouts that week. If there's a two day race weekend, then only one hard workout that week. Rest when scheduled on the plan, but also based on how I feel. And off we go to the races!

Good question.  If you read the polarized article i wrote, I dont actually follow a true polarized 80/20...I am more like 70/30.  I feel the extra hard day pushes a better peak.  The KEY is to go easy enough on the easy days.  Follow the targets!!! 

So to answer, I would cap at three and juggle just like you are thinking, this is why the polarized approach I laid out works well (there are other way, too many people are black and white on this) especially in CX.  

Interesting article by @TimCusick on training for CX season (here). I see some of the workouts he describes in the polarized CX training plan I downloaded. It is interesting to read the rationale for the specific workouts. You can also read last year's CX training article for a more complete picture. #crossiscoming

@TimCusick , I'm two weeks away from finishing my polarized CX plan. I've felt good! But what comes after? I plan to continue racing until mid-December.

Max - tough call now.  My first answer is to repeat the last 8 weeks but change up the intervals.  I know that is not a "pick this plan" answer (yet) but the other beauty of the polarized plan is once you get the pattern, the content is actually easier.  I would do a four week cycle on what you feel is your weakness so far this season.  If you are note sure of weakness, I would follow same pattern as plan and focus on VO2max / max aerobic intervals for 1 cycle. (like in the plan, but can you do them differently) and supra-threshold in other.   In the new cycles add "1 more interval" or make each one harder. 

The challenge is you need to progress a little bit on the workout challenge but really don't want to dramatically up the overall workload.

If want a specific plan, can move to an "8 week to peak" or HIIT would work also. 

Feel free to ask for more specifics....

Thanks @TimCusick. I think I understand what you're saying. I'm comfortable with re-using the polarized plan workouts, and making each day a bit harder by extending the length of each interval or adding an extra interval to the set. I'm not so sure what you mean by "supra-threshold." Is an example workout of this kind the "CX VO2MAX START & SURGE FTP INTERVALS 3 x 10"? And is there an advantage to doing the VO2-focused cycle first, or the supra-threshold? I'm coming off what I'm pretty sure is a VO2-focused cycle (lots of 40/20 and 20/10 workouts). And what about rest--this final week of the plan has been a rest week. For the best results, should I take more rest next week? (I'm racing twice this weekend.)

Max, really sorry for the slow reply, I no longer get emails from Vanilla, need to figure out why.  Supra-threshold is 100-110% of threshold and the is the typical target for doing workouts like 4 x 10 at FTP as they tend to become "at of just above FTP".  Your example is an good example.  Really sorry for answering the rest question late, but in CX I would not really rest "extra" as the load is not that high but if the "intensity" is giving you more fatigue then you want....yea pick up a day or two. 

Tried to do a cross race and I am very out of shape.  Is there a way I can select a new training plan?  I think I selected a full-year plan in Spring of 2018 but I don't see it in TP anymore.

Brendan, you can select up to 5 plans a year, so just pick another and request a new code, can get it to you on Monday.

GCN covers a question we've asked here before, why can I sustain higher power on a climb -- the answer mirrors Tim's..., muscle recruitment, kinetic energy, etc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I096TxTosL4

An interesting takeaway from these discussions is that FTP might be location dependent. Testing in Prospect Park, Central Park, or Bear Mountain, would result in different power numbers.

That is awesome, very few people get to the kinetic energy point and to me, it is a VERY BIG deal.  At last years Boulder Camp the group decided to do a extra long day and we did not have time to do our afternoon education so I recorded a version for the campers.  This is private so copied to my YouTube and sharing...will give a deeper insight into kinetic energy and how it effects riders, which explains a lot about your power on flats, low grades and steep grades....  Please don't share this and sorry not well polished, usually I do it in classroom and picked a few slides out to keep the webinar short:  

https://youtu.be/-NxLvexC-cQ

Hi everyone! This post is a bit unusual, but since you're already participating in the Velocious club coaching program, we’d like to invite you all to join our newest program, the VEC coach-guided training. It's a 12-week base training program that combines a base training plan with coach guidance and group interaction through a private Facebook group and weekly group training rides on Zwift. There are options for three different training availability groups (6-8 hours per week, 8-10 hours per week, and 10-14 hours per week) and three different cycling disciplines (road, mountain bike, and TT). The program kicks off on December 3 with a prep/test week, and the real training begins on December 10.

The price is normally $199, but we’d like to offer it to our Kissena athletes FREE as a bonus of your club membership. Just use the code GUIDE100 when you sign up. We're really excited about this group program, and we'd love you to be part of it!

You can read all the details and sign up on our website here: http://velociouscyclingadventures.com/coach-guided-training-program.

If you have any questions, @KathyWatts1 or @TimCusick or I will be glad to answer them for you.

This is an awesome program that incorporates a great new base plan and two Zwift workouts a week, on Tuesday and Thursday with Coach Tim at 6 PM EST or Coach Brig at 6 PM PST (9:00 PM EST) . If you need more info or have question on other plan please ask. Thanks

coach Kathy   

@KathyWatts1

Looks like the link above might not work, but this one does:  https://www.velociouscyclingadventures.com/coach-guided-training-program

Thanks, Jill....I'm so sorry about the broken link! I fixed it in my comment as well.

This is awesome!!!

Coaches Tim and Kathy will host a webinar Monday the 10th at 8pm on planning your off season to have a strong foundation for the road season. The webinar will address gown best to plan your off season and how to use the training plans available and the club rides to build your base and fitness. Come with your questions. Details on how to join to come

Excited to be kicking this off! 

Can a recording of the webinar be made available? Unfortunately, I'll be out of town. Thanks in advance.

Team - here is link to tonight's webinar where I will review the program.  It will be short, about 15 minutes and I will record and post here to watch as your schedule allows.  

Please register for Kissena Program Overview on Dec 10, 2018 8:00 PM EST at: 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2116907724524549634

Quick review of the program

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Brought to you by GoToWebinar®
Webinars Made Easy®

Team,

Here is the link to the Training Plan "How To": https://youtu.be/FDEoVtm7o08    

These are the basic instructions.  I think we need to schedule a second one focused on training and on how to maximize these plans, let me review schedule as finally home for a few weeks and will post something tomorrow. 

Team - with the above "how to" get your training plans done and posted, how about we do something a little more interesting.  I am going to host a Kissena only webinar on "Maximizing your Base Training" where I will show you how to get the most out of your plan, how to improve training results and some things to avoid.  How about next Thursday at 8:00pm?

Here is the registration link:

Please register for Maximizing Your Base Training on Dec 20, 2018 8:00 PM EST at: 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6337807519254876161

This interactive session (full Q&A discussion) will focus on ideas, tips and some things to avoid that will help you maximize your base training. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Brought to you by GoToWebinar®
Webinars Made Easy®