The #Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Friday, 8.16.13. “Write it down & carry on”
Howdy folks,
Well, yikes… this is another post that’s going up morning-of, rather than night before.
Things have been a little bonkers around here, but they’re fixin’ to ease up a bit. The CXWOTD will go back to it’s night before posting deadline, I promise.
As it sits now, though, here we are and it’s Friday already.
Daaaaaaaang Bro!
…back to the lemons…
Today we’re going to have a go at a workout that I often recommend as a day-before-race opener.
If you’re racing tomorrow?
Perfect. Game on.
Not racing tomorrow?
No sweat.
It’s a really good idea to get a handle on your day before race routine well before the racing action gets underway.
How hard do you need to hit it the day before to ensure that the legs & lungs are open and ready to perform come race day?
How much openers action is too much for you?
You don’t want to leave your race legs out on the road the day before, eh?
So, how do you know?
Well before the racing starts, you get in the routine of trying some varied openers strategies the day before you do some big training efforts, and you see what happens.
Keep track. Write it down.
What’s really important isn’t how you feel right after you do today’s workout, it’s how you feel during your workout tomorrow.
Make sense?
Cool. Onwards with…
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 very low starting speed, almost a standing start.
10 sprints, 10 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.
That’s the basic version of this.
Start with it, and see how you feel tomorrow.
Personally, I find that I need a little bit more to open up the legs, and I throw in a 10 minute steady effort at right around my 2×20 level.
Some people need more than that, even (although not many, and not much.)
The goal here is to figure out what you need.
Have at it!
G’day,
M
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