Two "A" races, 4 days apart....how to approach?
07-09-13, 06:48 AM
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Two "A" races, 4 days apart....how to approach?
Hi everyone - I have 2 "A" priority races coming up in a few weeks, and they are four days apart from each other. I could use some advice on how to approach them, especially what to do on the days in between the two. The first race takes place on a Saturday morning and is a 56-mile road race with 2 big climbs ( a cat 2 and a cat 3, I believe). The second race is the following Wednesday evening, a technical 40-min downtown crit. I guess results-wise, I care more about the crit, since it is in my town and hosted by my club. However, the road race is too tough of a course to not bring your A-game. I'd really like to be hitting hard at both if possible. I was wondering what would be good to do in the days between the races.....I will basically have Saturday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon to rest up for Wednesday's crit. Should I do easy rides Sunday and Monday, then openers on Tuesday? Should I take any of those days completely off of the bike? Or maybe toss a more intense ride in on one of those days to keep all the energy systems primed? Also, any advice for being well-rested for the road race on Saturday without hurting my performance on Wednesday? Thank you!
07-09-13, 07:29 AM
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hard to say. if you've been doing your training at this point 2 races 4 days apart shouldnt be too tall a task.
if it were me, i'd tackle that RR pretty well rested then start my recovery right after it by having a recovery drink ready to drink while doing a 20 to 30 minute ez spin after the race. then i'd put on my compression socks for the ride home and keep hydrating. 2 days in between i'd ride my bike and ride it ez both days for about an hr. each day with some efforts, like 2x3' hard or some spinups - 8x30" pedaling fast w increase cadence every 10" dont shift gears ignore power to "open" up my legs. i think openers might be more religion than science, but i do them so i guess that makes me religious.
day of the crit, be sure to warm up for about an hr. and be ready to go. technical downtown crit, staging might be important so pick out a way to be toes on the line at the start. 40' is really really short and if technical, it'll probably be balls to the wall from the whistle with gaps everywhere. dont get eaten by the gap monster.
if it were me, i'd tackle that RR pretty well rested then start my recovery right after it by having a recovery drink ready to drink while doing a 20 to 30 minute ez spin after the race. then i'd put on my compression socks for the ride home and keep hydrating. 2 days in between i'd ride my bike and ride it ez both days for about an hr. each day with some efforts, like 2x3' hard or some spinups - 8x30" pedaling fast w increase cadence every 10" dont shift gears ignore power to "open" up my legs. i think openers might be more religion than science, but i do them so i guess that makes me religious.
day of the crit, be sure to warm up for about an hr. and be ready to go. technical downtown crit, staging might be important so pick out a way to be toes on the line at the start. 40' is really really short and if technical, it'll probably be balls to the wall from the whistle with gaps everywhere. dont get eaten by the gap monster.
07-09-13, 10:21 AM
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That's the one! Did a recon ride recently and definitely want to be on the front for the descent of W. Hawley. I didn't think that starting the E. Hawley climb at the front was critical, but I take it you disagree? I just figured that with it being such a long climb, there would be plenty of time to make up any lost ground should I find myself toward the back. Thank you for the tip though, I will do my best to stay up front!
07-09-13, 10:33 AM
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If you are able to make up that much time on East Hawley road then you are strong enough for none of this worry to matter.
07-09-13, 01:16 PM
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Four days apart?
Race your ass off in road race
Eat, spin the acid out of your legs, rest on Saturday
Ride Sunday (Z1/Z2)
Ride Monday (Z1/Z2)
Openers Tuesday
Race Wednesday
Make sure you are eating/hydrating throughout the week.
Race your ass off in road race
Eat, spin the acid out of your legs, rest on Saturday
Ride Sunday (Z1/Z2)
Ride Monday (Z1/Z2)
Openers Tuesday
Race Wednesday
Make sure you are eating/hydrating throughout the week.
07-11-13, 11:09 AM
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That's the one! Did a recon ride recently and definitely want to be on the front for the descent of W. Hawley. I didn't think that starting the E. Hawley climb at the front was critical, but I take it you disagree? I just figured that with it being such a long climb, there would be plenty of time to make up any lost ground should I find myself toward the back. Thank you for the tip though, I will do my best to stay up front!
07-11-13, 11:49 AM
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21 days out: Full training schedule
14 days out: Full training schedule
7 days out: Taper
Race day: Race
rest day 1: don't ride
rest day 2: dont ride
rest day 3: dont ride
Race day: Race
I never got anything out of opener type stuff the day before, and my watts and results proved it. Some people do though, so it's a pretty personal thing. Also, depending on how fit you are, how many miles you can ride a week you typically ride, how much you hurt after the race, etc would determine what I do on the bike on the off days. If I hurt a lot I wouldn't look at the bike and would try to rest them as much as possible before the crit. If it was an easy race or I didn't spike my TSB way in the negative, I might add in a tempo ride on the second in-between day.
14 days out: Full training schedule
7 days out: Taper
Race day: Race
rest day 1: don't ride
rest day 2: dont ride
rest day 3: dont ride
Race day: Race
I never got anything out of opener type stuff the day before, and my watts and results proved it. Some people do though, so it's a pretty personal thing. Also, depending on how fit you are, how many miles you can ride a week you typically ride, how much you hurt after the race, etc would determine what I do on the bike on the off days. If I hurt a lot I wouldn't look at the bike and would try to rest them as much as possible before the crit. If it was an easy race or I didn't spike my TSB way in the negative, I might add in a tempo ride on the second in-between day.
07-12-13, 08:22 AM
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It do, but it don't.
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not sure how your body reacts to ice baths, but you might consider taking a 10-15 minute ice bath the night of the first race and the night before the second race. seems to be a personal thing (like the openers), but it always helps me recover quickly and feel fresh the next day.
