Rest Question
 

This past year I have started riding some ultra events:
Feb - Sebring 12 hour
May - Calvin's Challenge
July - Saratoga Springs 12 hour
Sept - Adirondack 540 (made 660 km in just over 40 hours)

I am thinking of taking the next 6 weeks off and begin indoor training in early November. I didn't take any time off at the end of the season last year and I really think it cost me.

My Questions:
1. Should I stay right off the bike or just do the odd (weekly?) easy ride?
2. Is 6 weeks off too long?
3. Should I do other types of aerobic workouts? swimming??

I am hoping to start with some 24 hour events next year.

Thanks for your time.

With 10 days to go until my 5th and final double century of the year, I am also interested in knowing the thoughts of more veteran long distance riders on this topic.
:popcorn

I just did my first 12-hour competitive ride. I think you should lay on the couch and eat Cheetos for the next 6 months. That'll move me up one spot, at least.

(Seriously, I can lay off the bike for 2 or 3 days and feel the difference. And the guy that just won the 500-mile competition will do a 300k one day and a 200k "recovery ride" the next. I can't imagine how a 6-week layoff would really be a benefit unless you were trying to solve some sort of over-training problem. And I would think the effects would largely depend on what you did in the meantime, whether you did lay around and do nothing, or hiked or skied or something instead of cycling.)

As a knowledgeable non-veteran ;) 6 weeks off will be problematic. In general, most people will start to lose fitness after about 2 weeks.

Doing other activities will help, but both physically and mentally cross-training doesn't actually wind up working well. One problem triathletes have, for example, is that it's difficult to really specialize in 3 different activities at the same time. If you are spending lots of time in the gym on an exercise bike and the elliptical, though, it won't be so bad.

One positive thing about taking a break, though, is that it can help you avoid burning out or overtraining. Still, I'd probably limit the break to 2 weeks if possible.

I usually take 2 weeks off the bike, though I might do a couple of day hikes. One positive aspect of taking some time off is that when I restart my program, I'm weak enough that it feels interesting. Meaning that the whole concept is to reduce boredom. So when I restart, I start back up doing some different things. Working on fundamentals, doing some cross training, some weight room work, etc. I do one long ride/week every week that it's not icy during winter, but I don't do anything hard until February.

I'm curious, in what way do you think it cost you to not take a break last year? What do you hope to acheive by taking 6 weeks off?

I think you should cross-train and still ride some. Taking 6 weeks off just doesn't seem like a good idea.

Awesome responses. Last year (at about this time) I kept on riding. I developed some symptoms of overtraining (serious night sweats, significant power drop -ie lower lactate threshold tests - , mild anemia but other tests at the Dr. were OK) . I assume it was all overtraining but didn't realise until well into the winter.

It has been 10 days since my last event and I am just now feeling normal (ie sleeping my usual 7 - 8 hours vs 10ish for the last week, and my legs def. feel better). So maybe a few more days off then get back at it.

I ride primarily indoor at a cycling place on computrainers. Tuesday and Thrursday 90 min "classes" in various power zones and up to 3 hours on Sundays all in my aerobic zone.

Thanks for the responses.....please keep 'em coming. I have really become hooked on these ultra events and I am looking to do a 3 - 4 next year.

I think if you ride too much you increase the possibility of burn out. I do a lot of cross training in the winter months. I hit the desert with the dirt bikes, go mountaineering, snow skiing, lot of different activities. I still ride some to keep the fitness but it's not a top priority. That way when the serious training for the ultra-distance season starts again I'm fresh and raring to get back on the bike. If you're riding on the trainer a few days a week in the off season you won't loose too much form.

btw, as you are now aware, even during the cycling season you need to give your body recovery time. Whenever you do a big ultra-event you're tearing up your muscles. You need to give yourself some time to repair that.

If by time off you mean doing nothing, then yes, that's way too long. When I coached cross country a while ago and I would encourage runners to keep it up in the summer, I offered two maxims: 1) it takes twice as long to recover as the time off, and 2) it's easier to stay in shape than to get in shape. By that, then, I wouldn't be surprised if 1) it took you 12 weeks to return to the same form, and 2) it's gonna hurt getting there.

None of this is giving me "warm and fuzzy feelings" about the 5 week surgical recovery I'm facing. :(

I agree that 6 weeks is probably too long. I would (and do) take about three weeks off and then return to the bike, doing mostly long steady rides during the winter. I do feel the benefit of taking a complete rest - about a week into it I realise how tired I was without knowing it - but that may have something to do with the fact that I am getting old! And I'm a fan of cross training. Running doesn't do much for your cycling-specific muscles, but it makes it easy to get a solid workout in less than an hour and I have a theory that providing the core muscles in your legs with the different sort of workout that running provides helps prevent muscle imbalance and may protect against niggling injuries. I can't prove this, of course, and it may be totally unscientific. But since I stated running once or twice a week as well as cycling I feel stronger.

Winter is also a good time to work on core muscles. Never a bad idea and adds variety. Interestingly for us cyclists, the bicycle crunch is said to be the most efficient.

You can see my riding pattern in these charts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...321906/detail/


Note that one chart will show mileage (in and out) ... in other words, the distances are recorded in miles and include both outdoor cycling and the riding I did on a stationary bicycle/spin bike/trainer.

The next chart will show the same time period, but it is in kilometers and shows only the outdoor rides.

Comparing the two will show where I switched to indoor cycling during the winter.


In general I took a week or two off here and there from November to January (while living in the northern hemisphere). During that time, however, quite often I switched to doing weights, walking, and/or participating in snowsports.


And Clifton ... I've spent three extensive periods of time off the bicycle either entirely or mostly because of injury or illness ... I can see where those times are on those charts. Yes, the fitness level diminishes, but it can come back. I'm starting to see that more and more recently.

I have just decided to take training (and overtraining!) more seriously, as I have had a constant yo-yo of overtraining and injuries. I have been using Friel's "The Cyclist's Training Bible" to design an annual training plan, starting late October. Anyhow, he recommends a 6 week "transition" period at the end of the season, during which one tries to stay off the bike, but relatively active at low durations (ie swimming, running, soccer, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc)- more playing than training. For me, for example, with 500 hours/year to train, that is 7 hours of non-biking activity a week during transition. From here one moves into base training (increasing volume, low intensity), then build (increasing intensity), then into peaking and racing. Reading Friel has really hammered the importance of recovery into my head.

When I've finished an event I've trained a long time for, I stick to "fun" cycling for a bit afterward in order to recover. Remove the computer from the bike and just ride for fun without any real concern for speed or distance. Rides might be for 40 miles or just to the grocery store. This allows me to recover from training while still retaining fitness.

Just got for a 3 or 4 days off. Passed that you'll just lose what you gained with hard training.

Thanks so much for the great replies. I am almost now 2 weeks post last big event and I am ready to get back to training. I will start this weekend with some short "no computer" rides with the bike club then next week begin my Tues/Thursday indoor computrainer "interval" rides. I am also going to restart my core exercises. Also, doing some weights / lunges (I did these 2 years ago and I don't know why I didn't last year) will be part of the fall winter program. I have also scheduled a lactate thresold test for about 10 days for now. I wish I could cross train but I hate running (and it hurts my knees) and swimming is just not going to happen...no snow here for a bit so skiing is out too.

My biggest fear was to overtrain like last year but I agree now that 2 weeks is probably enough time. The first week after my last event I was a sleeping machine!!

Thanks again.

Your responses are useful for me, too. I haven't taken a sizeable break in years, but I'm scheduled for spinal surgery near the end of October and will be in a neck brace for 4 to 6 weeks. I'm planning to do P-B-P in 2011, so this is probably the best possible time for me to do an extended break, but I imagine I'll be spending lots of time on rollers (or at least on a trainer). But I figure that after close to 40 years of riding (mostly racing), it shouldn't take too long to come back.

Luis