A 2 hour long ride does not prepare your body for the pounding your body will take in a 5 hour MTB race if on singletrack. Find a new training plan.

 

6 weeks ? 5 hr ? no long distance training ?

I'd immediately kick out a 6 hour ride then sort yourself out, how it went, what could be done better.
just do laps if you are worried about fuel
Then in a week try to crush your time. now you know more about what you are in for and just do yer normal rides stuff the next weeks till race day, recovering from all that extra saddle time previously...then bang out a 6 hour

 

I agree with the above comments, ive been on the podium twice for this race (over 50s), but never the top step. Single track fitness is everything.
But I'd be interested in comments from anyone who has used trainerroad for longer races.

 

In the weekly tips they say that if you want to swap out a long endurance ride for one of the weekend sweetspot or over-under workouts, that you can do so.

 

My reacts reacts extremely well to a Sweetspot build LV type plan with 2-4 hr MTB rides each day on the weekends.

Especially In The winter when I am mid marathon season and daylight is nonexistent.


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There was a video done by Dylan Johnson on TrainerRoad plans, with some response on the TrainerRoad forum.

Basically the plans are a guide, and as said above there should be changes made with longer endurance rides as needed. One tip (which is hard to find) is to do the low volume plan, and add in the distance and volume to replace the weekend rides and as you need. Use the plans for the intensity (intervals etc), and bad weather (sweetspot workouts instead of volume), but don't do them as they are on the tin.

To me who has been using TR for a long time, I never knew this until these videos, so had a love hate relationship with the product, but overall their plans offer good structure and science behind them compared to Zwift or other training apps.

 

I do TR for my indoor interval training during the week. I do my own longer weekend rides outside the framework of the TR program on the trails.