"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Racers, how much do you train each week?

I was wondering how much time guys who race are putting in during the off season.

I started my base building after a 2 week post season break and have 12 weeks in so far.

During this period I have averaged 11:20 per week (roughly 200 miles). My high week was 16:10, and my low was 7:30.

I hope to average around 12 hours a week during the next 3 months before the real season starts.

What about the rest of you racers?

PM
35+ Cat 2

I'm a measly cat 5, soon to be cat 4, but I'm putting in about 8-10 hours per week. Although I've done absolutely nothing so far this week :/

longest week was 16 hours though(just under 300 miles)

kind of a crappy off season this year. was burnt out at the beginning of october, and my knee felt weak (a first) so i backed off big time. then work kicked in, and i had to move, yada, yada, yada...

if truth be told, it's not such a bad thing - it keeps me pschologically fresh for the season (i tend to overdo it if i'm not carefull).

i don't really have an average week, varying bewtween 7-11 hours on the bike.

Things will change in January.

Up until the crap-tastic weather this week, I average about 11-13 hours a week with a high of 18 but I lack structure or discipline, I just love to ride and hate the trainer.

35- Just a cat4 schmoe

Gee, you are a cat2 and you are asking us?? :D As the saying goes, is not how much time you train but what you do with those time that matters. This year off season I train a lot less than my last one. 3 days and maybe 4 days the most. Last year off season I was pretty much commuting 4 days a week and adding one or two days doing long distance ride. This year I ride less but with greater focus on intensity and duration. 10 hours the most and on average about 9 hours. About 150+ miles a week.



I was wondering how much time guys who race are putting in during the off season.

I started my base building after a 2 week post season break and have 12 weeks in so far.

During this period I have averaged 11:20 per week (roughly 200 miles). My high week was 16:10, and my low was 7:30.

I hope to average around 12 hours a week during the next 3 months before the real season starts.

What about the rest of you racers?

PM
35+ Cat 2

Since getting back on the road after my knee surgery my low mileage week has been 180, and 350 has been the high.

It's a lot, but I'm young and seem to respond well to high volume training.

CAT-4 (bleh)

avg 10-12 hours a week, no intervals, only fast groups and races, age41 - cat1

I used to train 20-25 a week in my early years, but with a family and etc now, 10-12 seems to be perfect and I still get results when motivated.

Gee, you are a cat2 and you are asking us?? :D As the saying goes, is not how much time you train but what you do with those time that matters. This year off season I train a lot less than my last one. 3 days and maybe 4 days the most. Last year off season I was pretty much commuting 4 days a week and adding one or two days doing long distance ride. This year I ride less but with greater focus on intensity and duration. 10 hours the most and on average about 9 hours. About 150+ miles a week.

http://www.projectfitamerica.org/images/popcorn.gif

Are you a crit specialist?? I mean......most Pro12 fields do 4 to 5 hours road races. You think it is actually doable to train less than 15 hours a week do well in those road races, as a cat1??


avg 10-12 hours a week, no intervals, only fast groups and races, age41 - cat1

I used to train 20-25 a week in my early years, but with a family and etc now, 10-12 seems to be perfect and I still get results when motivated.

Are you a crit specialist?? I mean......most Pro12 fields do 4 to 5 hours road races. You think it is actually doable to train less than 15 hours a week do well in those road races, as a cat1??

Speaking strictly second hand here...but I rode with a very solid CAT-2, and he didn't spend a whole helluva lot of time on the bike. He said his results improved when he rode less, with more structured rides. Focused on crits and TTs.

:eek: wow! I doubt you'll be a 4 for much longer! Wow, sounds like the knee surgery went as well as one could have hoped


Since getting back on the road after my knee surgery my low mileage week has been 180, and 350 has been the high.

It's a lot, but I'm young and seem to respond well to high volume training.

CAT-4 (bleh)

:eek: wow! I doubt you'll be a 4 for much longer! Wow, sounds like the knee surgery went as well as one could have hoped

I hope so! I'm only at 50% on the knee tomfoolery though, I'm scheduled to get a second ACL op done in February. Which kinda sucks, as the surgery date got bumped from December to January to February...effectively taking me out of contention for some early season upgrade points before everyone has had the chance to race themselves into shape :(

... :/

that sucks, man. Speedy recovery!

If I'm ever back up in Raleigh(my hometown) I'll swing by Fayetteville and we can get a ride or two in or something. I always have a hard time catching rides in Raleigh and I feel like I lug the bike back and forth for nothing.

... :/

that sucks, man. Speedy recovery!

If I'm ever back up in Raleigh(my hometown) I'll swing by Fayetteville and we can get a ride or two in or something. I always have a hard time catching rides in Raleigh and I feel like I lug the bike back and forth for nothing.

Good deal man, the Saturday club rides are almost always a good time.

www.crosscreekcyclingclub.org

~25 hours a week will get you into good shape for racing.

fine tune from there.

~25 hours a week will get you into good shape for racing.

fine tune from there.

hell i used to do 40 hours a week.

got my upgrade points to be a cat 2, but was so burnt out from all that time on the bike, i took 5 years off to recover. :)

18-20 hours a week. Mostly in my endurance range which is 140-148bpm, but also I spend about 2 hours a week at L3, and about 45min a week at L4. Obviously thats going to change in the upcoming months, where the interval training will be the bulk of my workouts with total hours of riding lessening. Im a Cat 4.

I give myself a schedule for 500 annual training hours. Did this last year and came in at about 575 hours. Plan on doing the same this year. I am strong and do not have a desire to ever be pro, so I am not going to let training eat up more of my life than is healthy and fun.

During Base this translates into 12-16 hours per week.

hell i used to do 40 hours a week.

got my upgrade points to be a cat 2, but was so burnt out from all that time on the bike, i took 5 years off to recover. :)


35ish was getting up there trying to squeeze in some hours at the bike shop, on a training camp 40 was de rigeur...some of my old training diaries are scary. One of them has about 22 straight days with an entry!!

Poor, skinny, sunburnt bike racer who's always hungry or asleep.....every girl's dream guy. :D

Right now I'm doing about the same @ 12 hours per week. Ave miles are 175 and this includes two days in the gym. My weekend rides have been 3-4 hour and 60-70 miles.

Around 17-21 hours a week so far, around 325-375ish miles per week...the past couple of weeks have been around 10-12 hours each...between finals, bad weather, and the holiday I haven't had much time. Getting myself back on track for tomorrow, I'm aiming for 22.5 over the next 7 days.

I had the ambition to keep the Killer Penguin's schedule but I've only managed between 12 and 15 hours. Most of that has been LSD with a couple of group rides thrown in per week. In January I hope to hold the volume but increase the intensity steadily. The plan is to peak once in early May and then again in mid-August.

god, I'm shamed seeing you guys' numbers. I'm now resolved to put in at least 10 hours a week.

I'm in base right now, 6-7 days per week. Recovery weeks are 10 hours, and it ramps up from there to 18 max so far. Next week finishes base off, I'm scheduled for 20 hours including a three day camp in Death Valley. Couple days a week of weight or power work thrown in, and trying to keep two days a week for core.

Don't really track miles because so much of my training is uphill (average has been around 15k ft climbing/week), but I punched in the data from Cycling Peaks and the most was 274/week.

I've been concentrating as much on TSS/IF as hours though, to make sure the actual work load is a ramp up and build process. I'd rather miss an hour or two on volume over the week and keep those numbers right.

On top of all this is trying to manage/lose the weight I chucked on towards the end of last season. Was going good till Christmas, when I fell off the wagon for a bit. Still lighter though, and everything is pointing towards a nice improvement from last year. Power numbers are as good or better than my best last season, and that's testing at altitude.

Sea level is like getting a nice shot of EPO, I did Diablo a couple of times this weekend; Saturday I did the traditional race route in an hour at just above tempo HR average without ever really pushing at all, I thought the Ergomo was reading high until I looked at the ride time.

The hard part is keeping it going now that winter has landed. I did a couple of hours xc skiing on the top of the mountain today (9,000ft), but it's hard to keep the heart rate up.

None now, no bike. :(

Time and Distance, Weekly
From To Weekly Hours
Taper Weeks
10/23/2006 10/29/2006 6.67345
10/30/2006 11/5/2006 6.16805
Prep for Hill Climb
11/6/2006 11/12/2006 10.75375
11/13/2006 11/19/2006 15.34925
Race week
11/20/2006 11/26/2006 6.86175
Off-season starts
11/27/2006 12/3/2006 11.6795
12/4/2006 12/10/2006 10.75165
12/11/2006 12/17/2006 17.0226
12/18/2006 12/24/2006 13.4498
12/25/2006 12/31/2006 7.35
(6 more hours of riding this week to come)
13-15hrs is what's on the schedule per week. I'm not a cat anything.

Around 17-21 hours a week so far, around 325-375ish miles per week...the past couple of weeks have been around 10-12 hours each...between finals, bad weather, and the holiday I haven't had much time. Getting myself back on track for tomorrow, I'm aiming for 22.5 over the next 7 days.

TKP -

I know that you have aspirations to upgrade to Cat 2, but it sounds kind of overkill for a North East Cat 3.

Don't burn yourself out too early in the season, and definitely don't let it effect your education.

Just sayin'

I am rebellious this year. I just ride my fixed gear bike to work and show up at cyclocross races. I try to do hill repeats once a week for about 45minutes - 1 hour. Once I get into it I usually do 10 – 12 hours a week and that’s all I have time for. It works just fine for me in the cat 4 fields.

12-15 hours on the bike
5-10 hours in the gym

Are you a crit specialist?? I mean......most Pro12 fields do 4 to 5 hours road races. You think it is actually doable to train less than 15 hours a week do well in those road races, as a cat1??

Absolutely, but I've got 16 years, a bit of natural talent, and an aggressive riding style. I'd love to be able and go back to the big mileage days, as I felt that little bit stronger, but life is getting in the way of proper rest, so 10-12 has been perfect. In fact I do just fine at long road races, even without mega hours.

I'm going to give you a big tip here: Wanna' know why half the field fades after 70 miles of a 100 mile race. Glycogen! Keep a steady stream of foods coming in and plenty of water to wash it down.

I've done 130+ mile races where I felt as strong the last hour as the first. You might look goofy packing your pockets with enough calories to support a normal person for an entire day, but nobody wins the race on a couple goos.

I rode with a local cat 1 a few weeks ago who a few years ago was one of guys who was always on the sharp end of the field. He's now married with kids and more demanding job so he's training less, around the 12-15 hours a week. He's not as competitive as he once was but he's still f'n fast and he said he's enjoying himself much more than he used too. To me that has to be the number one component in my racing; am I having fun. If I can answer that with an emphatic yes then I'm doing everything right.

As a guy with a full life, wife, kids, career, cycling is my 'therapist couch'. It helps me keep sane and racing gives me an outlet for my competitive side.

I'll max out at 14.5 hours the last week of February. Cat 3

I rode with a local cat 1 a few weeks ago who a few years ago was one of guys who was always on the sharp end of the field. He's now married with kids and more demanding job so he's training less, around the 12-15 hours a week. He's not as competitive as he once was but he's still f'n fast and he said he's enjoying himself much more than he used too. To me that has to be the number one component in my racing; am I having fun. If I can answer that with an emphatic yes then I'm doing everything right.

Enthusiast first, racer second. I firmly believe in this philosophy, most of us will never be pro(and the ones that do make it can't afford to be a pro) so have fun first and foremost.

TKP -

I know that you have aspirations to upgrade to Cat 2, but it sounds kind of overkill for a North East Cat 3.

Don't burn yourself out too early in the season, and definitely don't let it effect your education.

Just sayin'

That's the point!

My body felt good after my 21 hour week. IMO, The worst thing about riding that much is that I eat enough to feed a small army. Cool at first, but it gets annoying quick :rolleyes:

I did like 1.2 hours last night. First time I've ridden outside in 5 weeks.

Cat 3.

Absolutely, but I've got 16 years, a bit of natural talent, and an aggressive riding style. I'd love to be able and go back to the big mileage days, as I felt that little bit stronger, but life is getting in the way of proper rest, so 10-12 has been perfect. In fact I do just fine at long road races, even without mega hours.

I'm going to give you a big tip here: Wanna' know why half the field fades after 70 miles of a 100 mile race. Glycogen! Keep a steady stream of foods coming in and plenty of water to wash it down.

I've done 130+ mile races where I felt as strong the last hour as the first. You might look goofy packing your pockets with enough calories to support a normal person for an entire day, but nobody wins the race on a couple goos.

So very true!! People will make fun of me because I can look like a pack mule at times, but food and drink is so important!

lowest week in base period: 8 hours.
highest week in base period: 17
avg. for the year: somewhere around 14 hours/week

racing A's in my first year in college: priceless

i'm doing a mix of core workouts, commuting, and endurance rides on the bike. everything added together, i'm at about 9-10 hours a week. not a whole lot of time on the road bike now...just weekends for a few hours.

i'm with botto, here. i tend to burn myself out if i'm not careful. i start base1 next week, and i'm looking to do about 10-12 hours, mostly on the bike. as i mentioned in another thread, i'm experimenting with a 3 week cycle for more rest.

Wow, most of you have a lot more time to train than I do.

I've been getting in 6-9 hours a week since I took a break in October. I'd love to get in more time than that but between work and family that's all I can. I'm up from the 5-7 hours per week that I was able to ride last year and I placed well in every race, but I was a Cat4 and I'll be racing this season as a cat3. I'm hoping I can increase to 10 hours per week by late January.

Wow, most of you have a lot more time to train than I do.

I've been getting in 6-9 hours a week since I took a break in October. I'd love to get in more time than that but between work and family that's all I can. I'm up from the 5-7 hours per week that I was able to ride last year and I placed well in every race, but I was a Cat4 and I'll be racing this season as a cat3. I'm hoping I can increase to 10 hours per week by late January.

if you were able to upgrade to cat3 on 5-7 hours, then you obviously know how to use that time well, have a natural talent, or a combo of the two.

if you were able to upgrade to cat3 on 5-7 hours, then you obviously know how to use that time well, have a natural talent, or a combo of the two.

What I'd like to know is how much of that 5-7 hrs was spent doing base, weight lifting, or pedaling technique drills.

if you were able to upgrade to cat3 on 5-7 hours, then you obviously know how to use that time well, have a natural talent, or a combo of the two.

I guess I was a little misleading. What I meant is that I was only riding 5-7 hours at this time last year. I got up to 6-10 hours per week by March through June. Still a lot less than most, but better than 5-7 hours per week. Also, while I just returned to racing last season, I had raced quite a lot a long, long time ago and I think I was able to race a lot smarter than many Cat 4s.

I do think Cat 3's are going to be really tough given the amount of time I have to train. I am looking forward to it.

What I'd like to know is how much of that 5-7 hrs was spent doing base, weight lifting, or pedaling technique drills.

I have concluded that you are cyclingtom of training. Just like he believes that riding without a helmet is safer than riding with one, you seem to believe that doing anything besides riding your bike while pedaling in squares is a waste of time.

Once again you folks scare me...25 hours a week is good start for racing? 15-20 hours a week now?? Maybe if you're racing in Europe, a lot of pro's I know don't even train that much. My long weeks last season were 16ish and that was more than enough for cat 3 racing, and the average was closer to 12 hours. But hell enjoy the winter weather, and we'll see what happens come spring time. ;)

What I'd like to know is how much of that 5-7 hrs was spent doing base, weight lifting, or pedaling technique drills.

That 5-7 hours was entirely on the bike. I didn't really have much time for a traditional base, so my main efforts were at 20 min. tempo heart rate intervals. These increased in intensity to be LT HR intervals in late January. I also did some low rpm hill climbing, and low gear sprints at this time last year. No single leg type pedaling technique drills, but I did some spin-ups (1 min at 120 rpm, 1 min rest at 85-90 rpm, 1' 130 rpm, 1' rest, 1' 140 rpm, 1' rest, 1' 150 rpm or as high I as I can). I worked the spin ups and low gear sprints into my recovery days.

This year I am able to do the above training, but add in a 2:30 - 3:00 ride each weekend at high endurance to tempo hr. I think this will help me towards the end of longer road races, and hopefully build a better base so I can work harder once I start anaerobic work in the spring.

Once again you folks scare me...25 hours a week is good start for racing? 15-20 hours a week now?? Maybe if you're racing in Europe, a lot of pro's I know don't even train that much. My long weeks last season were 16ish and that was more than enough for cat 3 racing, and the average was closer to 12 hours. But hell enjoy the winter weather, and we'll see what happens come spring time. ;)

Agreed.

With the exception that some of the guys in here are from Texas, I take everything said with a grain of salt.

Wow, reading these posts, I better leave the office and go get some miles in.

I'm starting my 3rd year racing, upgraded to Cat 3 mid-way through last year, will be racing Cat 3 with some Masters mixed in this season, 9-12 hrs./week, which includes 3+hr. rides on both sat. and sun.

~150 miles a week + two days in the gym.

Once again you folks scare me...25 hours a week is good start for racing? 15-20 hours a week now?? Maybe if you're racing in Europe, a lot of pro's I know don't even train that much. My long weeks last season were 16ish and that was more than enough for cat 3 racing, and the average was closer to 12 hours. But hell enjoy the winter weather, and we'll see what happens come spring time. ;)
+1. I don't see how some of you guys with real jobs get in that much time, even with commuting. I just don't have that much daylight. By the time I get home and into my cycling gear it's 6:30pm so good weekday rides are a luxury; usually it's an hour of hill repeats or INTs at best then real rides on the weekend.

I have read about Masters riders having success by eliminating/reducing Zone 2 training during the season. They say you're training too hard to recover but not hard enough to improve AT/LT. So essentially training is recovery, intervals and sprints.

definitely don't let it effect your education.

Just sayin'

My mistake.....training always was the preferred option ahead of political history lectures. :D