The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Friday, 12.6.13. “Elephnat”
Howdy folks,
Yikes.
It’s Friday, and as you read this, I’m probably en-route to the frigid wastelands of Bend, Oregon for the UCI C-1.
It’s right around z-e-r-o degrees right now.
Which is way to g-damned cold for a cross race.
As a client just texted me to ask: “do they cancel races for that cold?”
“No,” I responded. “But they should.”
Well, I’m headed down there anyways, and I’ve got bikes in the car, but I’m not laying long odds that I’ll be towing the line if the temps are in the single digits.
Cut me some slack, man. I’m Algerian…
Can we race here, instead?
OK, enough whining.
On with the workout!
If you’re racing tomorrow, in arctic tundra or in more reasonable conditions, today you need to open the legs and lungs a bit.
You need…
Ignition…
You’re going to do a series of short, hard sprints midway through a 1 – 1 1/2 hour ride. Before you head out the door, give some thought to where you can do that effectively.
A flat, straight, low-traffic section of road is what you’re looking for.
It would be great if it’s about a :45 minute ride away; that would make things nice and simple.
Hop on your bike and roll out the door.
Ride steady, at a moderate pace for 1/2 hour – 45 minutes, eventually winding up at the aforementioned stretch of road.
You’re now going to do a series of Hard out of the saddle sprints.
How hard?
Well, hard to say. You’ll start to get the hang of it pretty quickly, but figure that you’re shooting for an output level that will allow you to crank out all the sprints in the set at about the same level, but not easily.
You aren’t sprinting to failure here, and you aren’t doing a max power test.
Don’t overdo it, you’re trying to open your legs, not destroy them.
Make sense?
10 sprints, 10 seconds each.
1 minute between each sprint.
After the last sprint, roll back home spinning easily to recover.
Budget at least 15 – 20 minutes for the spin/ride back home.
when you get home, put your feet up and relax.
Get ready for tomorrow’s race.
Enjoy!
M
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