"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - training

i just finished my first road race this weekend...wow it was fun but i got dropped like no other! It was 8 laps and i survived for about 4 of them...admittedly, i did not train for this race. The past month i maybe had 6-8 rides due to weather and work. After having my first race out of the way and being dropped, i want a decent showing next time. I want to race again in a month. Could someone give me a structured plan to train? Like sun - intervals, mon - easy recovery and etc.
I want to be more race ready in 1 month.

Week 1-3

Monday: SST
Tuesday: 2x20 minute intervals
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: SST
Friday: Off
Saturday: Hard group ride
Sunday: Off

The week of the race, train monday and do 3x5 minute intervals instead of SST, easy/short Tuesday for active recovery, then rest a minimum of 3-4 days, completely off the bike, before your race.

Start with 45 minutes of SST, then build to 75 minutes in 15 minute increments each week, or if you are in pretty decent shape, start with 60 and build to 90 by week 3. If you start getting overly sore, immediately decrease the volume of the SST by more than you think you should.

So recap: 3 weeks of training, mainly building threshold power, increasing volume each week, then a mini-1-week-taper before the race.

You don't need sprint intervals or vo2 max intervals or anything of that sort at this point. Building threshold will keep you from getting dropped. Maybe some good tactics will land you near the front and genetics may be on your side for a decent sprint at the end. If not, stick on a fast wheel like glue, and hope he can tow you all the way to the finish.

Can you refresh my memory, SST is ~ 90-98% ftp? the 2x20 is 105% ftp?

i just finished my first road race this weekend...wow it was fun but i got dropped like no other! It was 8 laps and i survived for about 4 of them...admittedly, i did not train for this race. The past month i maybe had 6-8 rides due to weather and work. After having my first race out of the way and being dropped, i want a decent showing next time. I want to race again in a month. Could someone give me a structured plan to train? Like sun - intervals, mon - easy recovery and etc.
I want to be more race ready in 1 month.

With only one race under your belt, my suggestion is find the local weekly group hammerfest and do that every opportunity you get. You may have heard the phrase "Tuesday night worlds" -- this is the ride you want to do.

Stay in it as much as possible.

If it's a crit, find out if it's permissible to jump back in as long as you don't contest the sprint if you wind up getting spit out the back. If it's a road course, plan on doing intervals if you get spit out the back.

Also: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=380788
And: http://www.myshavedlegs.com/2007/04/bike-racing-101-how-to-get-started.html

Find fast rides. You will find it more enjoyable to ride with the fast group and get dropped, than going out and riding by yourself. Riding with a group will also give you pack skills and a gauge on what you are doing. Sit in the back and hang on. Guys may yell at you to do work and pull through but just ignore them. It is a huge beginners mistake to do so, because usually beginners will feel obligated to pull hard and long, then get dropped after the pull.

I feel beginners have more to gain by not following any sort of strict training plan and going out and riding with other people. You will gain handling skills in a pack (nothing a training plan will teach you), friends (again training plan can't provide that), and most importantly, you will find out your strengths and weaknesses as a rider. As a side effect, you'll also get stronger.

Can you refresh my memory, SST is ~ 90-98% ftp? the 2x20 is 105% ftp?

SST is 90-93%.

I'd swap the order and do the more intense intervals on a day when you are fresher.

The group ride advice is also good... some of what you need is conditioning and some is learning how to "surf" the pack and not waste energy. Group rides are not quite the same as races (at least the ones I do aren't, we often need to stay over to let traffic go by) but you can still learn a lot about the pack dymanics.

Based on heart rate, SST should usually start around 80% of your max heart rate, but will creep up slowly as your body heats up, loses water, and cardiovascular system becomes fatigued. You should be breathing hard, with a little lactic acid burn, but nothing real painful. Don't stop pedaling, don't race up hills, keep it steady and constant the entire time.

If you have a power meter, 80-90% of your threshold power is a good spot to be. I average around 87% for longer SST intervals. Over 90% is very draining for me if I want to go more than an hour.

SST: http://www.fascatcoaching.com/sweetspottraining.html

But seriously, just go do the weekly hammer fests for awhile and then get structured.