Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

Happy Sunday!

As most of you are probably out there doing the race thing already, or done doing the race thing, or not doing the race thing but have already ridden… hell, as most of you are already reading this after you’ve done whatever you did today, I’m not going to talk to much about any actual workout of the day in today’s Workout Of  The Day.

What I am going to talk about is training, generally, and some of the things that you have to fit in to your calculations when you conceptualize a long term plan for your training.

First, a wee bit of mea-culpa-ing.

We all learn from our mistakes, and I’ve made some doozies in the past. And, unfortunately, continue to do so.

I was the architect of a training plan that got a really fast, really talented rider to the Master’s World Championship in Mol this weekend without enough running miles in his legs to have a shot at winning, on a course that wound up being a whole hell of a lot about the run.

Which, well… sucks.

It’s 100% my fault, and if I had the chance to write the program over again (and I hope I will) I would do it differently, but… choices.

We all have to make choices in where we put our training emphasis. As I’ve said on here many times, if you’re racing in the US – with certain very regionally specific exceptions – you want to prioritize bike fitness over run fitness. Unless you’re just terrible on the run. And even then, probably.

It’s how the math works out, and it’s the right call.

Until it’s not.

Until you show up at the big one, and realize that you can be the strongest rider in the whole damn field, but on this day, on this course, the folks who really worked their run are just going to hoof their asses off into the sunset while you try to fake it through to the next riding section.

Hell, it’s happened to me. I finished second in one of the “big” UCI Master’s races the year after I transitioned into the age-group ranks to a guy that I just knew I could beat on the bike. He put ten seconds into me the 2nd and 3rd times up the course’s gigantic run up, and won the race by just a wee bit less than that margin.

Race win, courtesy the run.

That was the first time that happened to me, and it’s maybe happened to me, personally, once since.

Ditto with training clients.

Focus on the bike. It won’t let you down.

Holy hell, it hurts when it does, though.

M

Thanks for following along.

As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a “begging for money” bit attached to the beginning of this page for a couple/few weeks now.

I’d like to thank everyone who has chipped in this season – and the past couple of seasons – when I’ve asked you to. It’s made a difference.

How much of a difference?

Well, let’s put it this way; the small donations from you folks have kept the lights on on this page.

There’s a certain (small) amount of money that has to come out of my pocket to pay for this page, and there’s a certain (larger) amount of money that, as a largely self-employed person, I need to write off based on the time spent on writing, posting, and – yes – giving training advice away that other people charge for.

This all adds up, and if the numbers don’t make sense, the edifice collapses.

So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.

It is deeply appreciated.

Want to get yourself a dose of that appreciation?

Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.

Thanks for the consideration!

~ by crosssports on December 3, 2017.

Posted in Cyclocross, The Workout Of The Day