Cyclocross Racing - No Rest for the Weary?

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Andy_K
09-20-10, 10:46 PM
A couple of times I've seen flargle recommend a hard training day on the day after a race. As I was riding to work this morning I was surprised to notice that my legs felt pretty good, so I rode my commute like a time trial (if a time trial course were littered with stop signs and traffic lights) and ended up with a new personal best (as silly as I know it is to track such a thing for a commute) and was completely jelly-legged when I got there. (FWIW, commuting is my main time for training rides during the week, so whatever I do has to be squeezed into the 10-12 miles each way to and from work.)

So I'm wondering, does anyone else do a hard workout the day after a race? Should I just pick this as whatever type of ride I need work on, or is there something specific that would benefit me most in this slot? What type of benefit should I expect to see from doing this?

SpongeDad
09-21-10, 07:19 AM
I have often found that I ride just as well on the second day a two race weekend. I've seen some workout programs that stack short intense intervals against longer FTP intervals the next day, but then there are two good days of rest/endurance riding before the next hard day.
Allegheny Jet
09-23-10, 07:33 AM
If you intend to race on Saturday and Sunday you should do some back to back hard days. The key would be to have a good recovery before you hit it again during the week. If your average ride (commute) is 30-40 minutes you could use the commute as a recovery ride and just take a little longer at a very easy pace. You may want to do the Sunday workout with the anticipation of getting some longer Z3 riding (60-90 minutes, if your race is 45 minutes) to improve muscular endurance or a set of 4 min Z5b hill intervals, as well as some dismounts/mounts. Think about what your training lacks and/or what your weaknesses are and use the Sunday ride to address those issues which can't be addressed while commuting.

Keep in mind the training effect takes a couple cycles before you notice improvements and at first you may feel really beat up for a few days.