Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

Welcome to the weekend!

This is the time of year where I spend a fair bit of time talking to a fair number of prospective new training clients.

Care to guess what is by  far the number one thing I  hear from them?

No?

Well, it’s…

“I need help with making sure I don’t flame out half way through the season.”

Sound familiar?

Had the same concern?

Guess what…

Step one towards making sure that doesn’t happen is not turning yourself into burnt toast before the season even starts.

Soooooo…

If you’ve been riding or racing your road bike or your mountain bike all season, I’m guessing you’ve probably got a fair bit of mileage in the tank right now.

You’re probably pretty fit and fast.

If you’re hoping to be fast in November, December, January, though?

You may well be too fit & fast.

Heck, if you’ve been hitting it hard, and you’re really committed to cross, you might want to think about taking a little break.

Like, Right Now.

Don’t wait too long. Some folks that I work with directly have already taken some time off, or are in the middle of it as we speak.

What do I mean by this?

When was the last time you had a full week without racing or hard riding, and just gave yourself a chance to recover and chill out?

If it’s been a while, now’s the time.

Right now.

Just chill.

No hard training.

Spend some time with your family, your friends (you’ve still got those, right?!)

Relax.

Get some rest in the tank so that you can start training hard, soon.

‘Cause trust me, you’re going to.

Thinkin’ the above doesn’t apply to you?

You’re rested and ready, and rar’in to get things going in earnest for the upcoming Cross season?

Wondering what you should do this weekend?

Well, there are several options…

Go Race!

Got a good road race, crit, or Mtb. event going on locally this weekend? Maybe an event at the local Velodrome?

Give one of ‘em a shot.

Good fun, and good training.

Ride hard and have a blast!

Nothing on the local race calendar that’s appealing? Still feeling like you want to take advantage of the great weather to get yer ya-ya’s out?

Cool.

Go for a…

Hard Group Ride…

3, 4, 5 hours… whatever is just a little bit hard for you.

Try to ride a bit over your head.

Either ride with a group of riders that are just slightly better than you – and ride defensively – or push the tempo at the front with a group that you’re comfortable in.

The idea is to ride just outside your comfort zone all day.

Push your limits.

Try not to pay to much attention to your power meter or heart rate monitor, just ride hard.

Does all that sound like it’s just a little bit too much right now?
No problem.

Something more sensible is probably… well, way more sensible.

Be the smart one in the group, and go for a…

One to Two Hour Moderate Ride –

Get on your bike.

Go ride for an hour or two.

No hard efforts, but do throw in a couple of moderate ones. By moderate, I mean just that. You can sprint for the town line, but you should be laughing while you do it.

You’re not doing a recovery spin, so you need to put a little bit of gas into the pedals… just don’t go out and kill yourself.

Check out the view, smell the flowers, just do it while you’re putting a little bit of effort into the pedals.

1 notch above a recovery ride.

Make sense?

Have fun!

M

~ by crosssports on August 1, 2014.

Posted in Cyclocross, Intervals, The Workout Of The Day
Tags: Bicycle racing, bike racing, cx classes, cx handling drills, cx intervals, CX practice, cx skills, CXWOTD, Cycling, Cyclo-cross, Cyclocross, cyclocross classes, cyclocross handling drills, cyclocross instruction, cyclocross intervals, Cyclocross Practice, cyclocross skills, Fitness, Health, Heart rate, Howy folks, Intervals, Marymoor CX, Marymoor cyclocross, Marymoor practice, Personal Training, Physical exercise, Running, s: Aerobic exercise, Seattle, Sports, The Workout Of The Day Tags: Bicycle pedal, wootd, WOTD, XC Racing