Gravel Build, Low Volume (6 weeks)
This is Part 2 of a complete gravel season. Base built your aerobic engine. Build (this plan) sharpens it, and Race Prep makes you race-specific for your event. Run all three back to back and you have a 24-week season. This block assumes you've completed a base phase, ours or your own equivalent aerobic base, before you start.
Pick your level by the time you actually have. This plan comes in three volumes, Low, Medium, and High. Same structure, same philosophy, same workouts. The only difference is how many hours you ride, so choose the one that fits your life, not your ego.
What's inside: 6 weeks, 5 rides a week plus two functional-strength sessions. One threshold (FTP) day to lift your ceiling, one sweet-spot muscular-endurance day for sustained climbing power, a gravel-torque endurance ride, and the centerpiece: a "Sweet Spot Long" that puts race-effort blocks inside a 2-hour aerobic ride, the closest thing to real gravel-race demand. A Sunday long ride doubles as your fueling rehearsal. Every ride is a structured workout that syncs to Zwift, Wahoo, or your head unit.
The Low level runs around 9 hours a week. It's the full Build structure with nothing padded: both quality days, the torque ride, the 2-hour Sweet Spot Long, and the Sunday fueling ride, held to the leanest volume that still delivers a real build. If you have 8 to 10 hours a week and a solid base behind you, ride here.
PS... I'm Patrick McCrann, head coach and founder of Endurance Nation. I've been coaching endurance athletes for close to 20 years, and I've got the race resume to back it up: 30 Ironman finishes, a Big Buckle at Leadville, and a top 10 at Unbound 200. I've coached thousands of athletes through plans just like this one, and I build every block from the same methodology I use with my coached athletes. I know what gravel racing actually demands because I'm out there doing it. Enjoy the work!
👋 Hey, I'm Patrick McCrann, head coach at Endurance Nation. I've been coaching endurance athletes for 20+ years, and I race the same stuff you do: 30 Ironman finishes, a Big Buckle at Leadville, 5 BQs and a top 10 at Unbound 200. EN has helped 1000s of age-group athletes get faster with the time they actually have. Whether you're following one of our training plans or working with me directly, the approach is the same: smart structure, no junk miles, and coaching that respects your life.