pearcem

i have my first race of the season on either this saturday, sunday, or both (but i'll prob. only do one, and i'll decide depending on the weather). it's a 21 mile race, 3 laps of a 7 mile course, two or three pretty easy hills per lap, Cat 5. i ride on the course regularly, so i am familiar with it. any ideas for training between now and then? i did a 4.5 hour endurance ride with about a mile of climbing on sat., took yesterday off, and am going to do a hard interval workout today. the day before i race, i'm just going to do a 30 to 45 mintue easy spin and stretch really well, but what should i do on the other days of the week? thanks!

EventServices

Read the other post named "Crit Prep"
https://www.bikeforums.net/33-road-bike-racing/88885-crit-prep.html

Smoothie104

EPO

50 IU's per kilogram of body weight injected subcutaneously three times between now and the race..



Seriously though, there is not a whole lot you can do for fitness other than a few days of intervals. Maybe practicing cornering as hard and as fast as you think possible.

And keep telling yourself "It's going to go like hell, from the gun" becuase they usually do...

UmneyDurak

What race are you planning to attend?
P.S. what a heck is EPO?

pearcem

i'm doing the greenville spring series here in SC. EPO is a performance enhancing drug, by the way

sundaythedog

pearcem, I am doing this race too. it will be my first one. you say the hills aren't bad? I have no idea how i will do in this race. done a few group rides, but only a few of the riders race.

jbhowat

Here's a sample of what my team's general training plan is. This is for the first race during our competition period (the Lobo Classic is this week but is considered pre-season). This is race week plan for the CU Criterium- which I'm not sure if its on saturday or sunday, but we'll assume its on a saturday:

Monday: 30-60min recovery ride (zone 1), or OFF
Tuesday: 60min sprint workout w/descending intervals, 90s, 60s, 30s (Zone 5). 2hr ride later in the day (zones 2-3)
Wednesday: 60-90min ride w/power intervals (what we call climbing a long steep hill in a big gear), low rpm (50ish) (zone 3)
Thursday: Same as Tuesday
Friday: OFF or 60 minutes Active rest (zone 1)
Saturday: RACE - CU Crit
Sunday: 60min recovery ride.

There is a race the next week after this, (actually two) - and its our home race - so if anything I'll maybe be going a little bit harder before the CU crit and slightly easier before the CSU oval crit.

KingRene

How did it go?

Or, if it is this coming weekend see above.

pearcem

there are three hills on the course, an dnone of them are really steep, but the pace on them will probablly be fairly quick. if you get a chance, try and ride the loop one time this week or get there early enough to. there is one 90 degree corner and one railroad track crossing. some of the roads are newly paved, and other sections are pretty rough.

Bruco

Sounds like you're ready for your pro debut, WiseFool.

DXchulo

pearcem, I'm doing my first race this weekend as well. Mine is 20 miles on an 8-mile course. That's cool that you're familiar with the route. That should give you an advantage.

Good luck. It's pretty exciting that the season is here already!

my58vw

jbhowat

Are the zones you talk about from Friedel's training bible or another source? These look very familiar to my normal schedule, except Satuday is off instead on Monday

Monday - 25 - 40 Mile base ride with intervals
Tuesday - Hill intervals (climbing hills as fast as possible), around 20 miles
Wednesday - 60 minutes on trainer, muscle endurance, base, or mix)
Thursday - Same as Thursday
Friday - 40 - 50 mile ride, base building and speed work
Saturday off
Sunday - Fast race pace group ride or race (TT, crit, etc).

(If the race is an A or even B race I will do a short ride on Friday and take more recovery time on Friday. (Races labeled A - C, with C being least important, A most.))

jbhowat

Well, I they are the zones used by USA Cycling, and probably Friedel. Its been a while since I've pick that book up. In essence, this is the scale:

1 - Barely Trying - 60-65% MHR
2 - Moderate - 65-70% MHR
3 - Hard - 70-80% MHR
4 - Very Hard - 80-85% MHR
5 - Suffering - 85-100% MHR

You tell me if thats what Friedel uses... I generally use LT as a measure for zones 4 and 5. Zone 4 is JUST BELOW Lactic Threshold (Like what you'd want for a TT of any length), Zone 5 is in LT - can't stay there for too long (sprints, moments of very steep climbs, parts of TTs)

my58vw

Ya that works, zone 5 begins at the beginning of the lactic acid threshold...

roadbuzz

Nobody mentioned tapering?!?!

my58vw

tapering? Explain

roadbuzz

Tapering is cutting back on training leading up to a race. It's done to allow more complete recovery prior to important events. For an "A" event, where you're looking for absolute peak performance, you may start 2 weeks in advance. For "B" events, taper 3 or 4 days. No real taper for "C" events, just don't over-do it the day (or week) before. Sometimes people get nervous and train harder the week before. Don't do it!

Here's a link:
https://www.ultrafit.com/newsletter/july99.html

I treat the first race of the season as a "B" event. It has good potential to boost or crush your incentive. OTOH, if you live in an area where you readily have access to weekly races, it doesn't much matter... prioritize and prepare accordingly.