Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

Well, another weekend of racing is almost upon us, and phew… it’s gonna’ be a double locally, and in many places around the US.

Double weekends are pretty tough, and when you’ve got one, you really need to make sure you dot all the “I’s” and cross all the “T’s” in your preparation. Make sure you rest well, drink lots of fluids, and don’t overdo it in your workouts the week before or the week after.

So, OK… don’t overdo it.

What about the day before the race? How hard do you need to ride to make sure you’re opened up and ready to go?

The very short answer is, it depends.

Some folks can come blasting out of the gate with very little priming of the pump the day before.

Others need to ride pretty darn hard the day before in order to get a good performance on the books on race day.

So, how do yo know which category you belong in?

Short answer is, you need to experiment.

If you’re finding that you consistently perform better on the second day of a 2-race weekend, that’s a sign that you should be riding harder the week before the races. Start with a slight uptick in the intensity of your openers, and see if that makes a difference.

Performing way better the first day of the double?
Might need to back things off a bit, or your general fitness needs some work… hard to say.

Experiment.

So, here’s a couple of different options for your Friday Openers this weekend.

We’ll start with the old standby…

Can Openers – 

– 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 start efforts on a straight section of paved road, level or slightly uphill.

You want to begin these from a dead stop, with one foot unclipped.

Do not stop until you get at least 3 perfect starts in a row, and I mean perfect; this is the cross equivalent of practicing free throws. make ‘em count.

… spin out the legs, go home, and get ready for the race.

That’s an old standby for a reason; it works pretty darn well for most folks.

But not everybody.

I’ve been having some of my training clients do something different lately, and yup – it’s been up here a couple/few time over the last several weeks.
This has proven to be a pretty good opening routine for folks who need to back down just a little bit on the intensity to avoid the burn out or second day let-down.

It’s…

Ignition – 

You’re going to be doing a series of short, hard sprints midway through a 1 1/2 – 2 hour ride, so give some thought to where you can do these effectively.

A flat, straight, low-traffic section of road or trail is what you’re looking for.

Even better if it’s about a :45 minute ride away; that will make things nice and simple.

Hop on your bike and roll out the door.

Ride steady, at an easy, relaxed pace for  45 minutes – 1 hour, eventually winding up at the aforementioned stretch of road.

You’re now going to do a series of Hard out of the saddle sprints from a standing start.

8 sprints, 7 seconds each.

1 minute between each sprint.

After the last sprint, roll back home spinning easily to recover.

Budget a minimum of 20 minutes for the spin/ride back home.

Put your feet up, relax, and get ready for the next day’s race.

So, hey… options.

Options are good, right?

Play around with these and see what works for you.

Drop us a line on the Facebook page and let us know what’s what, always interested in the feedback!

Good luck this weekend, and have fun!

M

~ by crosssports on October 25, 2012.

Posted in The Workout Of The Day
Tags: Can opener, Cyclocross, cyclocross openers, day before race day before cyclocross race, ignition, openers, Options