"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - 1500 miles

This is probably a dumb and annoying question but I'm trying to somehow gauge my success.
I have at least 1500 miles in and was able to hold on to a 24-25 mph pace in a crit but got dropped after 25 mins with 2 laps to go. Is that good for the amount of miles?

how long is a piece of string?

Miles accumulated are insignificant compared to the quality of training that each mile was.

You said in the last 2 laps you got dropped-what did the pace ramp up to? & What was the course profile like? E.g. were you getting dropped out of corners, on rises, or just plan flats straights?

how long is a piece of string?

too long.

1500 miles is a pretty decent month. I usually only average 1100.

thats starting in march / april including two burnouts during base training.

no

if you're already burning out, and from only doing 1500 miles since March, then there's a problem.

Was this your first race? In July?

I'd say most racers are in mid-season form right now. So if you were doing base in March/April, you're going to be a bit behind those guys who were doing base in October-January and racing since March. And 1500 miles isn't really much of a base anyways.

It's good that you pinned a number on, and lined up.

It's good you lasted long enough to get some training and experience.

Now, keep training, find hard group rides, do intervals, and race every chance you get.

This is probably a dumb and annoying question but I'm trying to somehow gauge my success.
I have at least 1500 miles in and was able to hold on to a 24-25 mph pace in a crit but got dropped after 25 mins with 2 laps to go. Is that good for the amount of miles?

That's because the pace probably picked up to the low 30's and in order to finish well you need to be able to sprint in to the mid/high 30's...and yes, that's Cat 5. Drafting in a pack at 24-25 mph does not take much effort.

As said...miles don't mean diddly, nor does average speed when training although when we first start out, it seems we all gauge our success on the speed we're able to achieve and maintain.

As for 1500 miles..that's just seat time and individual results vary. Most racers gauge their weeks in hours spent training, the intensity, and type of training.

All that said, don't let the responses discourage you. Read, train, read some more...train some more, race, rinse, and repeat.

That's because the pace probably picked up to the low 30's and in order to finish well you need to be able to sprint in to the mid/high 30's...and yes, that's Cat 5. Drafting in a pack at 24-25 mph does not take much effort.


If you are at the back, as most new crit racers are, it takes significant effort to accelerate up to that speed after every corner.

coast, don't brake and sprint.

if you're already burning out, and from only doing 1500 miles since March, then there's a problem.
yeah its called working a physically demanding job of home remodeling. In which case I can burn out in a week if I ride to much even easy miles during base training.

I know a pretty strong cat1 who is usually top-5 (http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=177274&all=1) in the races he does, but he only does road construction in Central Florida where there's not too much heat.

yeah its called working a physically demanding job of home remodeling. In which case I can burn out in a week if I ride to much even easy miles during base training.

Uh, you're making excuses. Plenty of tradesmen race bikes and do it pretty well. Some weeks you need to adjust your training, some weeks you suck it up and some weeks you are flying. Just like anyone else.

Stay hydrated during the day and pay attention to your diet to make sure you have fuel in the tank so you can ride at the end of the day. No big deal.

yeah its called working a physically demanding job of home remodeling. In which case I can burn out in a week if I ride to much even easy miles during base training.

If you're burnout out during base, you haven't built up a base for base.

I know a pretty strong cat1 who is usually top-5 (http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=177274&all=1) in the races he does, but he only does road construction in Central Florida where there's not too much heat.

... and it's a dry absence of heat.

I've been religiously following the performance manager this year and have had no signs of physical burnout or overtraining whatsoever...

mental burnout, yes. definitely.

3600mi, 260 hours, 46 races

not a lot of hours or miles by the standards of many in here, but I did a good ramp-up in the early part of the year and my endurance base is solid now. Legs are doing just fine. brain is fried though.

I've been religiously following the performance manager this year and have had no signs of physical burnout or overtraining whatsoever...

mental burnout, yes. definitely.

3600mi, 260 hours, 46 races

not a lot of hours or miles by the standards of many in here, but I did a good ramp-up in the early part of the year and my endurance base is solid now. Legs are doing just fine. brain is fried though.

Told ya so ;)

I think my point was lost on the OP.. 1500 miles since March/April works out to 400 miles a month. That's 100 miles a week. If you're burning out on that kind of training load, well, you're not going to get very far.

Hey Snap! where have you been hiding?

yeah its called working a physically demanding job of home remodeling. In which case I can burn out in a week if I ride to much even easy miles during base training.


Assuming that you are not going to change jobs, you have essentially 3 options, 1) find a schedule/ program that you can stick with, considering all the demands on your time and energy, 2) quit racing, or 3) resign yourself to the fact you're going to pretty much suck.

Training for racing for most people with jobs and families is not easy, and involves tradeoffs and sacrifices. You choose to make them or you don't.