The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Friday, 9.25.15. “Seriously Cheesy Ignition”
Howdy folks,
Yay! Friday!
It was a crazy damn week up here in Seattle, and I’m pretty damn sure that just about everyone is glad that it’s (almost!) over.
Seriously.
Chinese President shuts the whole darn town down for three days, incredible tragedy on one of our bridges yesterday… just…
Fingers crossed next week ain’t like this one was.
All that aside, though, we like Fridays, ’cause they mean that the weekend races are very nearly upon us, and that is a very good thing indeed.
So, if you’re racing tomorrow?
Today you’re doing…
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.
For some folks, this isn’t quite enough to get their legs open and ready the day before the race – or at least it doesn’t feel like it’s enough – and the importance of “feeling” ready can’t really be overestimated.
If you’re part of this club (and frankly, I am too!) add a 10-minute effort at right about your 2×20 output level before you start the sprint sets.
Warm up, 10 minute effort, 5 minutes spinning, sprint efforts, spin down, go home.
Not racing tomorrow, but racing on Sunday?
Take it easy today.
Go for a short, easy spin or even take the day off. It’s a good day to catch up on some core work if you’re in the habit of doing so. If you’re not, don’t start today. We’ll talk more about this stuff next week, so play it safe and hold off until then.
Have fun!
M
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