Three CONFIRMED defects, all from template/README text written before the vo2max conflict section was revised, now reconciled with the corrected docs: - README taper example said TSB '−5 to +5' (under-recovered) — corrected to the doctrinal +5 to +15 that periodization.md and both plan templates use. - plan-template-build.md VO2 prescription said 'bias toward longer reps (3–5 min)... accumulate more time >90% VO2max than 30/30s' — contradicted its own cited source and was self-contradictory (140s ≠ 3–5 min). Replaced with the neutral menu: default medium (~2–4 min, near the ~140s optimum), short/long by goal, 'no rep length proven superior in cycling.' - plan-template-build.md cited the phantom 'Yu et al.' (marked ❌ NOT FOUND in citations.md) — re-grounded the frequency heuristic in Seiler 2024. DRY findings (inline PMID/DOI duplication, restated rhythm/field-test tables) left as-is: inline citations and self-contained, independently-loadable docs were explicit design requirements for this skill. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01TqrhBhC3GEcKyaw8RTk8G6
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Plan template — build block (VO2 + durability + strength)
A fill-in skeleton for a build mesocycle that sharpens the aerobic engine while preserving the base's durability and strength gains. A knowledge template, not a calculator — pull all metrics (CTL/ATL/TSB, FTP, MAP, TSS) from the Intervals.icu MCP server; reason with the referenced docs.
Position in the season
Build sits between base and peak (backward-mapped from the A-race — see
assets/plan-template-base.md and references/periodization.md). Its job: raise sustained power at
and above threshold, add race-specific top-end, and keep durability from base intact.
Weeks of build: __________
Weeks until A-race: __________
Current CTL / ATL / TSB: ____ / ____ / ____ (MCP get_athlete_summary)
Primary limiter this block: (VO2max? threshold? repeatability? — pick ONE emphasis)
Race demands: (road/TT steady? MTB/XCO intermittent? — mtb-xco-demands.md)
Mesocycle rhythm
Same as base: 3:1 (higher recoverability) or 2:1 (masters / high life stress). Build weeks carry more intensity, so recovery weeks matter more, not less.
Weekly shape (build phase)
Fewer but sharper hard sessions. Getting enough quality hard sessions in tends to matter more
than the exact polarized-vs-pyramidal label — a heuristic grounded in Seiler 2024, not a
quantified law (see references/periodization.md). A common shape:
VO2max session: 1–2 × /week (see references/vo2max-intervals.md for rep length / work:rest)
Threshold / race-specific: 1 × /week (or fold into the durability ride for MTB)
Long durability ride: 1 × ____ h with hard efforts placed LATE (references/durability.md)
Endurance / Z2: fill remaining volume — protect the low end
Strength (maintenance): 1 × /week heavy, low volume (references/strength-for-cyclists.md)
Recovery / off: as needed
VO2max prescription (from references/vo2max-intervals.md)
- Goal is maximizing time ≥90% VO2max, not just "going hard."
- No rep length is proven superior in cycling. Default to medium reps (~2–4 min, near the
pooled ~140 s optimum) at ~0.85 work:rest; use short (30/15 s) or long (4–5 min) by athlete and
goal. Do not assume "longer is better" — see the modality conflict in
references/vo2max-intervals.md. - Prescribe from power; for MTB, HR will lag and mislead (
references/data-confounds.md).
Keep durability alive
- Maintain at least one long ride; add fatigued-state efforts late (hard work after accumulated
kJ). Durability decays if overall load drops (Spragg et al. —
references/citations.md). - Re-run the durability field test (
assets/field-test-durability.md) at block end to confirm it held while you added intensity.
Preserve strength (don't drop it)
- 1×/week heavy maintenance retains in-season strength gains; interference is muted with
strength-first/separate-day sequencing and at older age (
references/strength-for-cyclists.md).
Checkpoints (pull from MCP, judge with the skill)
- VO2 sessions actually spending time ≥90% VO2max (power sustained across reps) — streams/intervals
- TSB not chronically buried —
get_athlete_summary; screen wellness (data-confounds.md) - Durability % holding or rising —
field-test-durability.md - Race-specific demand rehearsed (steady TT vs intermittent MTB) —
mtb-xco-demands.md - Strength maintained — logged sessions