Why a training schedule?
The Ride Gravel is an event that requires preparation, by considering specificity, supercompensation, build-up and variation in your preparation, the stages will be easier for you.
1. Specificity. As indicated above, your training schedule is perfectly tailored to both the distance and intensity you'll be facing.
2. Supercompensation. Finding the optimal balance between exertion and recovery is not easy. By following a training schedule, your body recovers after each workout slightly better "than necessary. We call this supercompensation. By training again and again at the moment when your supercompensation is optimal, you get better. Read a more detailed
explanation of basic training theory for cyclists.
3. Structure. A training schedule offers a gradual, science-based build-up in terms of intensity. That way you avoid overtraining yourself and you recover faster from heavy efforts.
4. Variation. Monotony - doing the same thing over and over again - does not make you a better cyclist. Variation in intensity and duration does. De Fondo training schedules keep training interesting.