Just launched an 8-week endurance block for my mixed-sport crew, pairing 2x20 tempo rides with 50-minute zone 2 runs, and early sessions show about 6% lower HR drift by week 3. Who else is pushing hybrid aerobic plans right now, and how are you cueing recovery and fueling to keep athletes stacking volume without burning out?
I’m running a similar block and use a simple “no hero days in base” downgrade trigger: if resting HR is +5 bpm or HRV is down about 10% vs 7‑day baseline, tempo flips to 45 min Z2 + 4–6 strides. Fuel: 70–90 g carbs/hr on the bike, 30–45 g/hr on the run, 20–30 g protein after; small caveat — every other week I swap one 2x20 for low‑cadence SE to spare legs — are you seeing the drift drop on the runs too?
On the recovery/fueling side, I set a floor of about 80 g carbs/hr on the bike and 45–60 g/hr on runs with 600–[redacted] sodium per liter; if an athlete can’t hold that without gut gripes, tempo flips to Z2 and strength moves to a low-CNS slot — fuel the work or the work fuels the bonk. @henry1629 love the “no hero days” line; do you also use a simple morning weight >1% drop as a downgrade trigger?