ill.clyde

We're basically a month away from CX season. So I've got the entire month of August to get ready.

I don't expect to win, or even podium. I just don't want to make too big of an ass out of myself.

I've got more base miles this year than any year in recent memory, and I feel like cardio wise I've never been in better health. I'm down 22 pounds since the beginning of the year, with the goal of dropping another 8 before the end of August.

Training wise ... everything I've read says intervals would be best (aside of course, from working on CX techniques). So my thought is to do intervals two or three times a week, likely while on my commutes. Any thoughts on the structure of those intervals?

As a Cat 5, all of our local races are 30 minutes long.

Would appreciate any insight. Thanks!

fietsbob

You scouted the courses they laid out last Year? what were they like ?

Have you worked on the dismount, barrier crossing and remounting skills?

thrllskr

+1

ill.clyde

No, didn't scout last year ... I got really sick at the start of the season, was off the bike for two or three weeks and by then I'd lost all the marginal gains I'd had.

Definitely will be working on those technical pieces this month.

Black wallnut 

2x20 or 2x30 type intervals might help as well. Cross races the sprint is at the start so the ability to put out effort and recover after going anaerobic helps. I use the early season races as training rides, hard ones at that. It might be wise to train with a weekly schedule like your race schedule will be. If your race is 9:30 AM on Sundays then do your hardest workout on Sunday mornings starting with a warm-up at 9AM. I practice my mounts and dismounts and short runs but I still can't seem to get the hang of the flying mount. Just like in action shooting you can't miss fast enough. Speed is important but if you fall because you are being faster than you are competent you will lose places or worse.

The ability to quickly diagnose and fix breakdowns also helps, not sure how to practice for that. For instance last year after the barriers while dropping my bike back to the ground I somehow dropped my chain, I quickly fixed it and didn't lose more than 10 or so seconds. The year before my son crashed or was crashed into and his rear canti brake was lodged under the rim by the spokes, I quickly was able to fix that for him. Sometimes weird stuff just happens in cx. Last year he snapped off his RD without sending it into the spokes. After that race I started putting my bike in the pits for him to use if needed since he raced after me.

jsigone

not sure how you're course designers are but the ones here on fairly small parks so to make a long course, there is a turn or u turn every 50-100 feet. Intervals/sprinting should be done in that manner. Think one of our course had like 60 turns in less then 1 mile "lap", that 60 sprints out of each exit per lap. Sometimes the best training is the racing itself, get a singlespeed bike so you can do add on races for another $5. It's extra training...yah

TourDeHood

Im curious about this as well...particularly best cross/clyde intervals set-up

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