Great Lakes - Missed My Tapering Apparently

So I'm at -23 TSB. ATL is at 63.2/day. Oops. :( Might as well ride the whole course tomorrow.

Most other folks are in the same boat. TSB doesn't really become very important until your CTL is closer to 70 - which you haven't shared. Your body will tell you if you're tired or not - You'll only feel the large -ve TSB when you sprint up the hill.

So I'm at -23 TSB. ATL is at 63.2/day. Oops. :( Might as well ride the whole course tomorrow.

As far as this weekend goes, throw those numbers out the window and go race your bike. And, I think you'd be crazy to skip the pre-ride regardless of what the alphabet soup says you should do. You'll gain more important info riding than whatever potential "damage" you may do. But, take it easy.

Also, you ever think about using the trainingbible virtual coach? For about $300/year you can basically get Joe Friel to put you together a plan that will help you progress more than staring at WKO+ by yourself probably ever will.

I know Friel's methods aren't considered the latest-and-greatest, but the dude has been doing this forever and has a pretty good idea what works for average dudes like us.

Guess I am just old school but what ever happened to just riding our bikes.........

Nothing at all!

It's just not necessarily the most efficient way to whip yourself into race shape. And colorchange is racing the hillsboro death march.

-55 TSB here with ~95 ATL and around 50CTL... still did OK at the Tuesday nighters. Only dropped twice during the 3 races with the fast dudes.
Don't worry about the numbers right now until you really feel fatigued and then look at those numbers.

So I'm at -23 TSB. ATL is at 63.2/day. Oops. :( Might as well ride the whole course tomorrow.

:eek: OMG! With numbers like that I wouldn't leave the house! :eek:

^^^^^What he said!

I'm waiting . . .

:roflmao2:

Scummer, -55 TSB is a real big number with a 50 CTL. I think many people believe you are risking injury/sickness by increasing your training load that much, that quickly. My CTL is about the same, maybe higher but it's showing too low as it doesn't count my crosstraining week+ of skiing (which shows as zero) so all my numbers are understated, the CTL the most. My CTL was at 40 before I left for skiing, dropped to 28 while I was out there, and is only now back up to 48.

For those who are unfamiliar with the numbers, the usage, and the benefits, they are more than significant. I don't believe there is a pro rider in the world who doesn't keep strong track of and manage his training according to similar numbers. If you properly taper for a key event, it can increase your performance by more than 20%. There's old school (or uninformed), and you get 20% slower. You choose. http://www.sportvelo.com/tips/taper.htm

I didn't mark this as an important race (too early in the season for me) so I didn't taper properly, and will deal with the less than optimal performance. Oh well. ;) I'm still undecided on the coaching thing, and haven't found the person I "click" with.

CC... that's a training load of roughly 1.5 hours/day of spirited riding during the week, Sat/Sun 50-60 mile rides with 1 rest day thrown in. I don't feel fatigued.. and when I asked in the racing forums how to attack and recover properly the united answer was: i don't ride enough. :lol: I guess in the end everyone is different and reacts differently to training stress.

Cool if it works for you. I think most people feel a -30 TSB, maybe -40 is about as big as you normally want to carry. Then again, maybe only us real old guys get affected. :(

Since I rested on Wednesday and rode yesterday my TSB is back to -30... that number changes very fast. Especially the two long rides on the weekend make it drop deep into the 50-60 range. But I love the weekend rides, awesome hammerfests.

Ahhh ... I was talking consistent -50. -30 typical is fine.

Scummer, -55 TSB is a real big number with a 50 CTL. I think many people believe you are risking injury/sickness by increasing your training load that much, that quickly. My CTL is about the same, maybe higher but it's showing too low as it doesn't count my crosstraining week+ of skiing (which shows as zero) so all my numbers are understated, the CTL the most. My CTL was at 40 before I left for skiing, dropped to 28 while I was out there, and is only now back up to 48.

For those who are unfamiliar with the numbers, the usage, and the benefits, they are more than significant. I don't believe there is a pro rider in the world who doesn't keep strong track of and manage his training according to similar numbers. If you properly taper for a key event, it can increase your performance by more than 20%. There's old school (or uninformed), and you get 20% slower. You choose. http://www.sportvelo.com/tips/taper.htm

I didn't mark this as an important race (too early in the season for me) so I didn't taper properly, and will deal with the less than optimal performance. Oh well. ;) I'm still undecided on the coaching thing, and haven't found the person I "click" with.

<---- I'll coach you, CC :thumb:

One of my favorite scenes in "Overcoming" is when they're trying to get Sastre to ride at a certain wattage and he won't. After yelling at him a little, he looks at the computer in the team car and says, "I don't have to understand the computer, the computer has to understand me!" I bet he didn't know his ctl when he won the tour.

Not to say the numbers aren't important, but I'd hazard a guess that the average weekend warrior with a powertap gets way more wrapped up in them than they need to.

Than they NEED to is the key. Yea, I agree but it's part of the fun for me. :)

Guess I am just old school but what ever happened to just riding our bikes.........

I have no idea what any of those letters mean. And I continued to read the thread and never found out, but instead, more letters came into the mix!

I have no idea what any of those letters mean. And I continued to read the thread and never found out, but instead, more letters came into the mix!

TGIF. Thinking I'm going to the PRP to watch PGA on ESPN and enjoy a BLT with a cold PBR, ASAP. Hopefully I won't elevate my BAC and get a DUI if I have to drive my BMW down I-90.

Stfu

Do you want to taper for a race in April? I would think you'd train right through it with bigger fish to fry in mid-summer.

;)

I don't believe there is a pro rider . . .

:wtf:

Comparing ourselves to "pro" is an injury waiting to happen. Just sayin'

So I'm at -23 TSB. ATL is at 63.2/day. Oops. :( Might as well ride the whole course tomorrow.

christ dude, you're a cat 5. if you're lucky, one day, maybe next year, you''ll be a cat 4.

in the mean time - chill out and get a grip. :thumb:

Do you want to taper for a race in April? I would think you'd train right through it with bigger fish to fry in mid-summer.

;)

Yep, that's why I'm not too concerned.

Here's your taper:

For a road Race, take Thursday off, do openers on Friday - 3 sprints, a few 1-2 minute long efforts above ftp, cruise in little ring at high cadence for a while. Saturday race.

For a hard crit: Easy ride Wednesday, Thursday off, Friday do openers, Saturday race.

That's it. Tapering only makes sense if you're doing 12+hours per week.

Most of us are doing less than 10. Tapering is only a good way to lose form. 2 days prep should be enough, if your body is tired then take an extra day easy.

Let's see if you think the same when your 50. ;)