tnorman

I'm training for a 130-mile ride near the end of June. (not competitive, just for fun) Next week I'm going on vacation and won't be able to bring my bike. I also won't have much time for exercise, but I'll be doing a lot of walking. My 130-mile ride is 2 weeks after I get back, with only 1 week-end to do a long training ride before the ride.

Is that week off going to hurt me? I've heard people say that you can lose a lot of muscle conditioning in that period of time. Any tips of what I can do to minimize that? I'm going to try to do some running, but I don't like to do too much; it hurts my knees.

A quick summary of my training over the past month: Weekends: 70-100 miles one day, 0-30 the other day. Weekdays: Commute to work 2-3 times / week (46-mile round-trip), plus one 10-30 mile after-work ride. I haven't taken more than 2 days off in a row since mid-March.

Thanks,
Tim

RacerX

You have enough of a base that I'm sure you will be ok. You will definitely feel sluggish after a week off but since you have 2 weeks to ramp back up, you will be fine.

Yes, you do loose some fitness for a week off but since you are not racing you don't need to be "peaking" for the event... besides, sometimes the rest does your body alot of good.

Keep active and I wouldn't run. If you havent been running, the stress will make you sore and force your body to start using your legs differently. Don't forget to adjust your diet according to your lower calorie needs so you don't start gaining weight.

Do situps, pushups and those kinds of things... stretching too.
Good luck Tim!

MisterJ

Lots of stairs will help.

Spire

Typically speaking, one week off the bike and you lose the training of 3 weeks. Bring running shoes so you can maintain some of that endurance.

Pat

If you have to be off the bike, substitute a similar number of hours doing some alternate aerobic activity. Walking is a good one. I can't get a good workout walking unless it is uphill, but it is a lot better then nothing.

On the longer term, in order to bike well, you have to bike. Muscle activities are amazingly specific. But being off for a week and substituting walking as you plan and you should do just fine.

Guest

Take the week off.

Call it a recovery week, and take the time to rest your body. For a fit individual, taking a week off can be a productive recovery time for you. It sounds as though you've been training pretty hard, and if that were so, the week off can help to heal the muscles from the strain you've put on them. Then when you come back, you can train hard and you'll probably find that the week off really helped to freshen your legs and give you that training edge to finish up your training leading up to the race.

If you want to do fitness, I would suggest some long walks, but brisk.

Don't worry about the time off- just keep your nutrition up and concentrate on your training when you get back.

tnorman

Thanks everyone for your advice! I feel less anxious about the "missed time" now. Cutting back on calories for the week will be tough (they usually have great food where I'm staying), but I could probably stand to gain a few pounds.

See y'all when I get back!

Tim

RWTD

One idea is to perhaps do a particularly long ride right before you leave to get your weekly miles in .I have done 130-140 mile rides the last 4 weekends now and it is starting to catch up with me now somewhat as I still haven't racovered fully from the last.During this time my daily shorter rides have become less frequent but I now plan tyo cut back on the long rides somewhat and up the daily rides after some more recovery.As Koffee said given the lack of breaks in your schedule so far a week off probably will help as much as hurt though the timing might not be ideal from a peaking standpoint.

late

Hi,
if you can squeeze it in, a 50 mile ride the day before you go would be great.

belfast-biker

A week off can be a godsend for many people. Don't forget, muscles get stronger in the recovery periods, not while working them out - too many people don't take recovery days.

So, a week could well be excellent.

If you're concerned, theres nothing to stop you running, walking, stairstepping, or going to a leisure centre for a spin session.