The Workout Of The Day for Saturday, 9.4 – “Holiday!”
Howdy folks,
Welcome to Labor Day Weekend.
In Seattle, this generally means one of two things; you’re either going to Bumbershoot, or you’re avoiding Bumbershoot.
The last couple of years, it has also meant that the Cyclocross season is officially upon us, and that those with a serious jones on can get out there and get their first licks in.
It’s the pre-season, kinda/sorta.
So, first thing to get out of the way… are you racing this weekend?
If you are, how seriously are you taking the race?
By this I mean, are you an experienced racer who can show up with a casual attitude, a bit of mileage in your legs, a little less sleep than you might like, and still rock out?
Not you?
Are you more in the “OhcrapI’mstillnotsureIwantotbeouthereIhopeIdon’tcrashanddie…” category?
Somewhere in the middle?
I ask, because what stage you’re at in your racing career probably determines what you need to do this weekend (if you’re racing.)
If you’re an old hand at this stuff, you can “race through” a race like this, train right up to it, show up a little tired, and deal with whatever happens.
Folks who are new to all this tend to get pretty damn bummed out when they stink up the course ’cause they rode too hard the couple of days beforehand.
It’s not worth screwing yourself up mentally to get an extra day or two of training in when that training probably doesn’t mean a damn thing in the long run.
So, we’re going to break this weekend down into the old hand and the newbie options. Seed yourself!
If you’re a Newbie, and you’re racing on Monday, you should take it pretty easy today.
Take a look back at yesterday’s workout, and roll that again today, cutting it down to an hour if you’re a cat 3 or 4.
If you’re an old hand, and you’re racing on Monday, you can do one of several things today:
– Ride However you Feel –
– Just go out and roll. Have some fun, play it by ear.
In a fast group ride? Cool. Take some pulls if you feel like it, chill if you don’t.
Get out there and feel unmotivated?
Equally cool. Get some easy miles in, go home, call it good.
Above all, have fun!
This might be the last totally chill summery weekend you get for a while, so make the most of it!
Looking for some structure? Time constrained, but want to get some work in?
Today you’re doing Ramp Sprints.
– Warm up well
– Find a long, straight section of flat, traffic free road.
– You’re going to do a series of sprint efforts that look like this:
1 – Start from a dead standstill, one foot on the ground. Full gas start, like a race.
2 – Once you’re up to speed, sit down. Pause for two breaths. Go again. Full gas. Short sprint, ’till you’re spun out or 5 seconds.
3 – After you max out the 2nd sprint, slow down quickly. Make a 180 degree turn. Full gas sprint back towards where you started. Go ’till you’re spun out or 5 seconds.
That’s one rep.
Do three, then 5 minute break.
Repeat until you are obviously slowing down, max wattage has dropped appreciably, or you just can’t stand it anymore.
Got some more time? Not racing on Monday, or totally OK with mailing it in on race day, and training through?
– Go for a Hard Group Ride –
You can go on road, off road, cross bike, road bike, Mtb. – whatever.
Try to ride a bit over your head. Either ride with a group of riders that are just slightly better than you, and ride defensively, or push the tempo at the front with a normally comfortable group.
The idea is to ride just outside your comfort zone. Push your limits.
You aren’t setting out on this ride with any HR or Power Zone goals, just with the idea of going hard. Hard, as in “I feel uncomfortable a good part of the time.”
Duration? Up to 4 hours if that’s in the typical ballpark for your group ride experience. Shorter if you usually go shorter.
Just remember to push yourself.
No race in your area this weekend?
You might think about structuring things for yourself as if there were.
Follow the format we just set up (and will talk more about tomorrow…) for the weekend.
Go through all the motions as if you were going to race on Monday, and then set yourself up to do a race-like effort on Monday.
Train through if you’re experienced and strong, don’t if you aren’t.
Think of this as a dry run for the real races to come…
Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy the holiday!
G’night,
M
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