Cyclocross Workout Of The Day For Tuesday, 11/9…”Goldilocks Intervals”
Howdy folks!
Today’s workout is based on a couple of things:
– Some observations I made at the races this past weekend.
– A couple of conversations I had with athletes regarding these observations.
– My pledge late last week to post some trainer-friendly (is that an oxymoron?) workouts, in tune with the recent spate of crappy weather.
OK.
Enough talk, already – on with the workout!
Today’s workout is the 3×10 Goldilocks Interval.
Here’s how it goes…
Get on bike.
Warm up well.
Begin by riding a 5 minute effort at your 20 minute level, as established last week (remember, we talked about this!)
Rest for 2 minutes.
Immediately begin another interval, again at your 2×20 exertion level.
After 2 minutes…
shift into a gear that is bigger than you are comfortable with.
Continue the interval, striving to maintain the same output level with the too-tall gear.
– this is super easy with a power meter… just keep the wattage the same! It’s not so easy with other methods of measuring your exertion, but try. (I wrote at length about these methods here –Â https://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/workout-of-the-day-for-tuesday-113/ and in other posts.)
Ride the too-large gear for one minute, then…
Shift to a gear that is too small
Spin the little tiny gear for one minute, then
Switch back to the too large gear.
Repeat for 10 minutes.
That’s one set.
You’re looking to do 3.
Rest 2 – 5 minutes between sets.
When you are done, spin out and go home (or get off the trainer.)
Notes:
– These probably work best on the trainer; good news or bad, depending on your perspective 😮
– The bigger the gear you can push and the smaller the gear you can spin, the better. The goal here is to develop your ability to produce the same wattage at different pedal velocities…
– Why the hell are we doing this?
OK.
Here’s why.
I saw a whole bunch of folks this weekend twiddling tiny little gears as they bounced around through sections of the course that would have been much better ridden in a larger gear. Ironically, I saw many of the very same people also struggling to lug over gears that were waaaay too big for them in other sections of the course.
We’re going to work on proper gear selection this Wednesday when we discuss this week’s skills workout, but we’re going to start today, by working on your ability to use those gears when you do select them.
Crosssports's Weblog 