road race training plan
 

I'm 15, got my road bike and rode about 1500-2000 miles last summer, ran cross country and didn't start base training until january... we had bad weather and I didn't have an indoor trainer so I didn't get much of a base (maybe 400-500miles) after that I started my current schedule of :
M- rest
T-intervals (usually something like 2x20, 4x6, 3x10, something along those lines)
W-rest
T-intervals (same)
F-rest
S- long ride
S-longish group ride

I want to do enough road races this season to upgrade to cat4 and next year I will start base training earlier....... so my question is where should I go from here to be fairly competitive or at least hang on during our local road races in the junior15-16 or cat5 categories.. I'm not sure if I should keep doing what I'm doing or do more endurance rides or what. I have plenty of time so time isn't a factor, no need to go crazy but a general idea would be appreciated. Thanks

Um, there is no upgrade to cat 5... you start at cat 5.

I would recommend finding a club in your area that caters to juniors and availing yourself of their coaching services... or at least find a crusty old racer and pick their brains. Coaching and mentorship is what you need right now, not internet advice.

Do what UMD said and get a coach or a team. Many coaches are willing to train motivated Juniors for free or very cheap. At your age, if you do it right, you can be extremely competitive. Having a background in cross country helps too. Many juniors I race with started when they were 15, got their cat1 upgrade by the time they were 18 and then went on to race U23.

It's really easy to improve fast at your age. I went from cat 5 to 3 in one season with minimal training this year, and I'm 18. I'm two points away from cat 2 so I hope to get my cat 1 upgrade by the end of next season and then start training for U23 nationals.

Point is that you'll never have this much physical energy or recovery potential for the rest of your life so enjoy it while you can and have fun beating up on the slow old dudes!

Edit- If you can't find a coach then get a HR monitor and the Training Bible by Joe Friel and you'll have 90% of what a coach will tell you. Experience is another thing, though, so try hard to find a coach or at least some ppl to ride with.

A huge +1 to this.

I'm 20 and don't seem to have the recovery capabilities of most people my age, but I've learned a lot by riding with people who know a lot more than me about racing and training.

I figured out that I'm never going to be incredible at this sport, but I can be a little competitive and have some fun, so I'm all in.

If you start at your age and have some good guidance, you'll mature fast.

Good luck!

Yeah, the problem is there are no racing teams within 1.5-2hrs of here so that isn't really an option, I could just join a team but I wouldn't be able to ride with them except in races