The Workout Of The Day for Wednesday, 9.22.10 – “S is for…well, you know.”
Howdy folks,
I’m still in Vegas, and unfortunately my time is not my own this evening, so I’m going to need to keep this brief tonight.
It’s Wednesday, and as usual, I recommend that you make this your day to work on your skills, so get out on the bike and do a…
Cyclocross Skills Practice –
1 – warm up for 10 minutes.
2 – Stretch out after you’re warm. I’m working on a stretching routine post, but I didn’t get it done in time to post it here. Lacking that, just stretch out the muscles you will be using tonight. Pay special attention to all those movements you make hopping on and off the bike that are different from what you usually do.
3 – Barrier skills for 15 minutes.
– Start at literally a walking pace, and slowly increase speed until you can mount and dismount the bike smoothly and perfectly at full speed. Do not jump on and off the bike, you are looking to smoothly slide yourself on and off. Yeah, I know… what the hell… how do I do this? Better/more complete description of the skills side of things will show up on here soon, but this is just the *workout* of the day… cut me some slack!
4 – turning and handling skills for 15 minutes.
– work on tight, high speed turns as well as super tight low speed turns. Roll some off camber slopes, and learn to turn on them as well. Put two traffic cones about 10 feet apart from each other, and ride a figure eight around them, pedalling the entire time. Make the turns tighter and tighter until you can’t hold the line and you fall down. Learn where the break point is between riding a tight line and falling on your ass, and push that line until you are definitively over it.
5 – practice starting efforts
– full-gas starts from a stand still, with one foot on the ground. Do these until you get 3 perfect starts in a row. Make the efforts long enough that you need to shift up a gear or two, but quit right after you do.
6 – Practice race
– This is best if you can do it with a group of riders that are just a wee bit better than you. Push your limits, and learn what you can do at speed. Go faster than you will race, but shorter. If you are racing for 60 minutes on the weekend, do a single 20 minute effort, or 2 10 minute efforts.
7 – Warm down when you’re done. Spin the legs out until you loosen up, then spin for another couple of minutes. Have a drink of water, then go home.
8 – Have fun. Serious fun. This is my favorite day of the week, and I know plenty of folks who think the weekly practice session in Seattle is more fun than the races. Sitting in a hotel room in Vegas as I write this, I know I would rather be back in Seattle, getting ready to go out and play in the dirt!
G’night,
M
Crosssports's Weblog 
Are your workouts designed for those doing 60-minute races (e.g., 2×20 Tuesdays)? What if my races are 45 minutes? Should I adjust my workouts to account for the shorter race? Thanks!