The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Thursday, 12.4.14. “Chariots of Fur”
Howdy folks,
So… there are some Big Damn Races in my neck of the woods this weekend, and people are pretty damn pumped up for them, ready & rarin’ to go show the world what they can do on the big UCI stage.
Should come as no surprise to anyone that this excitement will almost certainly lead to a lot of week-before-race overtraining, and plenty of race-day performance left out on the practice field.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Racing on Saturday?
Take it easy today.
Heck, take the day off.
Or maybe work on your leg speed today, and do some…
Spin Ups –
Get on your bike and warm your legs up, 10-20 minutes.
After you’re warm, find a nice, long, flat or slightly downhill section of road with little or no traffic, or if you’re on your trainer, put something loud on your headphones, and make sure a towel is handy to wipe up sweat.
Begin each interval by rolling into it at a moderate speed, in a gear that’s smaller than you would typically use to sprint.
Get out of the saddle and sprint.
Not a power sprint, though.
The idea here is to move your legs quickly, not to make the bike go fast.
Still out of the saddle, spin that gear up until…
…your leg speed gets to the point where it’s hard to maintain.
Sit down and keep it going until you are totally spun-out, should take 10-15 seconds.
We’re talking fast legs. Can’t turn ‘em over any faster fast.
Think Road-Runner fast…
– Repeat x 5 with one minute of recovery between efforts.
Recover for 5 minutes, rolling around at a leisurely pace.
– Go again, same thing.
Recover, then repeat as time and fitness allow.
Shoot for 5 sets of 5, but stop while you still have some legs left!
Remember, save something for the damn race, ok?
Recover on the bike for another 10-20 minutes, then go home (or wipe yourself down), and get ready for the weekend.
Have fun!
**********
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