The Workout Of The Day for Friday, 8.9.12. “Something for everyone. Even the mutants.”
Howdy folks!
I hope the workout went well for you yesterday, and if it was your first day of running this season… I’m guessing you’re pretty darn sore today. If you are, that makes today’s workout a no-brainer.
Take it easy.
For you folks, today’s workout is…
Easy Rider –
Hop on your bike. Spin around a flat, easy circuit for an hour or two.
No sharp or hard efforts, just take it slow and easy.
Enjoy the day.
Stop to smell the flowers and stretch at some point during the ride, maybe about 1/2 way through.
Have fun!
If you are still finishing off the road season, and you have a race on Saturday, your workout today is…
Here’s the drill:
– Warm up for 1/2 hour or so.
– Follow with several short attacking efforts, IE 30 seconds at 80% of your max, or pretty damn hard.
– Back off and spin for 5 minutes.
– Follow with 10-15 minute effort at AT level, or CP30, or “I could talk to you if I had to, but I don’t want to” level.
– Spin for several minutes.
– Follow with 5-6 full gas sprint efforts on a straight section of paved road, level or slightly uphill.
Do half of these from a near standstill, and for 1/2 of them, get going at a pretty good clip before you start the sprint.
… spin out the legs, go home, and get ready for the race.
If you aren’t racing on Saturday, but you are racing on Sunday, do the Easy Rider today, and the Can Openers tomorrow.
Not racing at all this weekend? Didn’t do the running yesterday?
Well, tomorrow I’m going to have you do something long-ish and pretty moderate, so maybe – if you’re feeling really motivated – have a go at…
The Hills Have (quite small) “I”s
(“I” is for “intensity.”)
Warm up, ideally in the course of a ride out to some pretty darn hilly terrain.
Find a hill – or a series of hills – that will take you 2-5 minutes to climb at pretty darn close to race pace.
Hit the base of the climb hard, out of the saddle, and accelerate into it.
Sit down when you feel you’re starting to lag, and drop a couple of gears. Spin (but still fast, IE about the same as your 2×20 minute level.)
Stay seated until you are breathing a little easier, then…
Out of the saddle, Attack! Hard like you did at the base of the climb.
Same as before, when you start to lag, sit down, spin.
Repeat to top of climb.
At the top of the climb, get out of the saddle, and accelerate as the grade eases. Power over the top and well into the descent, until your speed is great enough that coasting is faster than pedaling.
Coast/spin to bottom of climb.
Pedal at moderate intensity (IE – 2/3 of your 2×20 minute level,) for roughly double the amount of time it took to complete the entire climb.
Repeat 3-5 times.
That’s a set.
Spin easy for 5-10 minutes between sets.
You’re looking to do 3-5 sets.
Better to go shorter and harder than to extend the ride and slow things down.
I think that’s just about something for everyone, so – enjoy.
More fun coming this weekend. Enjoy your Friday!
M
Crosssports's Weblog 
Love the workouts! I do the NC Cyclocross race series which is 15 races from Oct 20th to Jan 20th. Will these workouts set me up to peak for this time period or does everyone have a different season?
Howdy Dan,
Thanks for the kind words!
Everybody does have a different schedule these days; the timing of the race series’ across the country are all over the place. Having said that, we run these workouts right through Nationals, with an emphasis on getting people out to that race in good form, so the timing should work out well for your local schedule.
Thanks for the question, and nice to have you following!
M