I figure that most folks who have been following along for any time at all pretty much know what we’re doing on a Monday, and that ya’all just swing on by to check out the video.
So, without further ado, the racing action from Yesterday’s Flandriencross!
Hold on to your hat, Wout actually hops the barriers!
Did I mention that Wout hopped the barriers?
Thank god.
Frankly, this is one of the things he really needs to add to his skill set.
Stay tuned, we’re going to talk about this on Wednesday.
Today, though? Today we’re talking…
Recovery Spin! –
– Get on your bike. Roll out into the street – or into your living room if you’re on the turbo watching the vid – and just spin around for an hour. Or more. Or less. Whatever it takes.
– Really small gear, no hard efforts – heck, no medium effort.
– Spin. You’re looking to move your legs around in circles, almost like there is no chain on the bike.
– The idea is to get your body moving, flush the systems out, and speed your recovery.
– Just get out on the road and spin easily and aimlessly. At a certain point, your legs will start to loosen up.
– When that happens, turn around and go home.
– If you’re doing these on the trainer, same deal. Just spin. No hard efforts, just make the legs go around in circles in a small gear.
– Follow up with as much relaxation as you can. Eat, stretch, and put your legs up. Get a massage if possible.
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a “begging for money” bit attached to the beginning of this page for a couple of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Well… holy cow. So this is what not-racing on a Sunday feels like, eh? I’d forgotten!
Yes, I slept in today. Felt pretty darn nice. Unfortunately, it means that this is going up too darn late to do anybody much good. It’s definitely not going to be any use at all for people who are racing today, so let’s talk about something different.
Let’s assume you didn’t race today.
If you didn’t race because your season is over, you should be thinking about things other than cycling right now. Take some time away from the bike.
If you can’t force yourself away from the bike, at least take a break from structured training.
Relax. Chill. Sleep in. It’ll be good for you. More on that in new posts soon…
If you’re not done with the season, and just didn’t happen to have a race today, I’d suggest that you should (have) do (done) one of two things.
1 – easy spin or day off. Good chance to get some rest and recovery in before making the push through the rest of the season.
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a “begging for money” bit attached to the beginning of this page for a couple of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Up here in the Seattle area, tomorrow is the last of the local big series races, and most people will be hanging their bikes up for the season after it’s over.
To all who are wrapping things up, congratulations on another great year! Remember, some of the best things you can do to ensure strong performances next season start shortly after this season ends, so even if you’re done racing, stay tuned over the next couple of weeks. We’ll be talking about how to structure your off season soon.
If you’re not done racing quite yet, never fear! The plan is to keep things going all the way through to Nationals. Yee-haw!
For right now, though, you’re probably racing tomorrow, so you need to get some work in today so that you’re open and ready to race tomorrow.
How about some…
Can Openers –
– Warm up for 1/2 hour or so, spinning easy with a couple of short bursts thrown in.
– Follow with several short attacking efforts, IE 30 seconds at 80% of your max, or pretty damn hard. 2 – 3 of ’em.
– Back off and spin for 5 minutes.
– Follow with 10-15 minute effort at right about your 2×20 output level, or “I could talk to you if I had to, but I don’t want to” level.
– Spin for several minutes.
– Follow with 5-6 hard 10 second efforts, ideally on CX type variable terrain, level or slightly uphill.
– Finish with 5-6 start efforts on a straight section of paved road, level or slightly uphill. You want to begin these from a dead stop, with one foot unclipped. Do not stop until you get at least 3 perfect starts in a row, and I mean perfect. This is the cross equivalent of practicing free throws. Make ‘em count!
– spin out the legs, go home, and get ready for the race.
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a “begging for money” bit attached to the beginning of this page for a couple of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Well, hell. Season-ending injury means I won’t be riding (any) bikes for a while, and that I’m going to need to sell off some gear to pay medical bills.
So, got some bikes (and stuff) that have (has) got to go. Seriously, I need to make this stuff go away, so feel free to make offers.
Ridley sizing is weird, but this will fit you if you ride a 52-54 frame. Ultegra DI-2, rotor cranks, upgraded non-creaky bottom bracket. Tubular wheels with Clement PDX tires glued on. Ridden and raced but in excellent shape.
I have two, both unused. One still in box, one stretched on a wheel but unglued. Lowest price on these online is about $100 delivered, so I’ll beat that. Give me $90!
Limus and Fango patterns. Never used, but stretched.
Ritchey WCS Cyclocross Fork.
1 1/8 steer tube, carbon fork. Make an offer
Wound Up Cyclocross Fork.
1&1/8 threadless steerer make an offer.
Redline carbon cyclocross fork
1&1/8 threadless steerer. Make me an offer
Campagnolo Chorus 9 speed brifters
Aluminum lever, well used but work fine. Have 2 sets. Make me an offer.
Campagnolo Chorus 9 speed rear derailleurs.
Have 2 of them, good but used condition. Make me an offer.
Campagnolo Super Record 11 speed rear derailleur, new in box.
Retail on these things is ridiculous, over $500. This isn’t the most current model, and I’m not into it for all that much so I’ll let it go for half that. Make me a reasonable offer.
Brand new, never ridden. Completely ridiculous light weight saddle. Rumor has it this is actually quite comfortable, but as mentioned, I never actually rode it. You can see the retail on these at the link, it’s bonkers. Give me half that and it’s yours, or like everything else on here make me an offer.
Lightly used, all black “I have other sponsors” edition.
Just about any length stem you could want, I have a box of them. Email if you need something.
Hey! A S**T ton more stuff, this time from the garage of ZMD!
Challenge Grifo XS 32 New $65 1
Challenge Grifo 32 Used $50 1
Challenge Grifo 32 Used $35 1
Challenge Grifo Team Edition 32 Used $50 1
Challenge Limus Team Edition 33 Used $50 1
Clement PDX 33 New $90 2
Clement PDX 33 Used 50 1
Clement MXP 33 Used 50 1
Clement MXP 33 Used 50 1
Dugast Typhoon 32 Used 60 1
FMB SuperMud 33 Used 60 2
FMB SuperMud 33 New 85 2
Clinchers
Challenge Grifo 33 New 65 1
Challenge Grifo 33 Used 40 1
Challenge Grifo (White) 32 Used 30 2
Challenge Grifo 32 used 25 1
Shifters
Sram Red Hydro 22 F New 225 2
Sram Red 10 Spd F Used 100 1
Cranks
Sram Red Quarq GXP 172.5 New 950 1
Bikes
Focus Izalco Carbon (Sram Force) 54 Used 1750 1 Easton Carbon Wheels, FSA SLK Crankset
Focus Thunder 26″ MTB S Used 1500 1 Easton Wheels/Components, Shimano 10s XTR Groupo, Sram XO Trail Brakes
Diamondback Podium 54 Used 2000 1 Sram Force
Focus Izalco Chrono Carbon TT 54 Used 1250 1 Shimano 105
SKIS!
Black Diamond Quadrant 26.5 AT Boots 26.5 Used 100 1
Black Diamond AMP Skis w/Fritschi Freeride Pro Bindings 175 Used 500 1
4FRNT Renegade w/Salomon STH12 Bindings 186 Used 600 1
Helmets
Giro Rapha Focus Team Edition Air Attack M Used 150 3 All used helmets have never been crashed and stored properly
Giro Rapha Focus Team Edition Air Attack S New 200 1
Giro Rapha Focus Team Edition Aeon M Used 100 3
Will add stuff to this list over the next couple of weeks, so check back.
Pics to follow, when I can actually move well enough to get the bikes out of the basement.
Ouch. Sorry this is going up so damn late today. Rapidly discovering that a non-weight bearing leg injury means that everything takes about 3 times as long to do.
Enough of my whining and whinging.
Those of you who can still ride with all the turkey and pie fermenting in your bellies are probably looking for something to do today!
Which leads us, of course, to the inevitable question…
What are your plans for the weekend?
If you’re racing on Sunday, you might want to take it kinda easy today. I know, I know… it’s a nice day, and you might even have it off from work!
That’s cool.
Just don’t overdo it.
Maybe 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?
Racing tomorrow?
Gotta’ get those openers in! How about…
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 (I am) add a 10-minute effort at right about your 2×20 output level before you start the sprint sets.
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a “begging for money” bit attached to the beginning of this page for a couple of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Thanks for the consideration!
What’s that you say? You’d kinda’ like to have a cycling coach help figure this stuff out for you? Check out…
(and, in case you’re wondering…. nope, S.E. doesn’t pay for the plug. I am one of their coaches, though, so if you’d like to work with me as a coach, click on the logo.)
The last several (many?) years, riders in my neck of the woods have been coming together to donate to Northwest Harvest, spearheaded by the Mick Walsh, and his annual Thanksgiving Day ride.
Being one-legged for the next month or two, I wasn’t able to make it out to the ride today, but I hear the heavy rains didn’t keep the good folks down. If you’d like to join in the effort, click on through to the NW Harvest site here.
If you’re up in the Seattle area, just a reminder; the Wednesday Night CX training series at the Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome is done for the year. Thanks to all who came out, and to all who helped out this season. We’ve lost track of how many years this has been going on for, but we plan to continue the run. See you next year.
So, no more skills workouts in our neck of the woods, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work on some things yourself!
That said, though… this is the last week of racing for a lot of the folks up here in the Seattle Area. Can you believe that?
Wow.
With that in mind, I’m aiming today’s post at those who will be wrapping things up for the year in a couple of days.
Typically on Wednesdays, we do skills work, but let’s face it; if you’re in the last week of the season, you probably aren’t going to learn anything new by cramming in some last-minute work.
What you can do, though, is pick one or two skill-type things, and refine them that last little tiny bit.
Buff something you’re good at to a high sheen, or (ahem) polish a turd a wee small bit…
Don’t work on a bunch of things today, just pick a couple of specific things.
If you had a problem with a particular technical skill at your last race, I’d work on that today.
Try to figure out what you were screwing up, fix it if you can.
If nothing stands out, you felt pretty solid all around last race?
Work on your starts today.
We’re doing pretty much nothing but speed work this week, so you get a two-fer if you do this. A wee bit of acceleration, a wee bit of tech… perfect.
So, first… check out this post on the technical aspects of cyclocross starts.
Then…
Let’s Get Started –
1 – warm up for 10 minutes.
2 – Stretch out after you’re warm.
Pay special attention to all the muscles used in those movements you make hopping on and off the bike that are different from what you usually do.
3 – Dismount/remount skills for 5 minutes , just ’cause.
– Start at literally a walking pace, and slowly increase speed until you can mount and dismount the bike smoothly and perfectly at full speed. Do not jump on and off the bike, you are looking to smoothly slide yourself on and off.
Just like the beginning of a race. One foot on the ground, dead standstill, get-up-and-go.
Begin with a few medium effort starts, working on all the things we talked about above.
Remember…
– Start with your pedals at 3&9 o’clock, not 12 and six.
– Alternate butt-on-saddle and off
– Alternate hands in drops with hands on hoods.
When you start to get the feel for things, hit it hard a couple of times, then back off.
2 sets of all the variations above at a medium to slow pace.
Feeling solid, skills-wise?
Nice.
Get yourself ready to go hard.
– Bang! Six full-gas starts.
– short effort, just go long enough that you are up to full speed, then back down, turn around, go again.
Spin easy for a couple of minutes, then…
– Bang! ~pause~ Bang!
– Six full-gas starts, but each start effort will look like this…
– Full effort start from a dead-stop, foot on ground.
– As soon as you get up to full speed, sit back in saddle, take one deep breath, go again, HARD!
– Ouch.
5 – Recover for a few minutes, then Finish the night with two short efforts on relatively easy terrain.
– “Easy” as in a loop on grass with some tight-ish turns on it, or some pretty buffed double-track.
– Go hard, and work on accelerations out of the turns.
– Every time you slow down entering a turn, get on the gas on the way out of it, ass out of the saddle, working hard.
– 5 minutes full gas, rest for 2 minutes, then go again for another 5.
– Start each effort with, well… with a start. Like you were working on a couple of minutes ago…
Warm down, go home, relax.
Enjoy!
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 of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Thanks for the consideration!
What’s that you say? You’d kinda’ like to have a cycling coach help figure this stuff out for you? Check out…
(and, in case you’re wondering…. nope, S.E. doesn’t pay for the plug. I am one of their coaches, though, so if you’d like to work with me as a coach, click on the logo.)
Sorry this is going up so late today. Having a bit of a crazy week…
…blecch.
Oh well. I can’t ride a bike right now, but that shouldn’t stop anyone else!
Things are wrapping up pretty quickly around here in the PNW. Not too many races left on the calendar for all but the very few folks who are planning to make the trip back east to Nationals. If
you’re one of the people calling it quits soon, you should probably be keeping your remaining workouts short, and focused on speed.
In short, workouts like…
Going Downhill Fast –
So, ok… not like that. Like this…
Start by warming up well, a bit longer than usual – 30 minutes or so.
Find a gradual downhill that lets out on a flat section of road or trail. The ideal setup for this workout is a downhill that’s about a block long that turns into a flat section of road another block or so in length.
Extra bonus points if you can loop back to the start without having to turn around – that would be perfect.
You’re going to do 3-5 sets of 5 sprints, full gas. Here’s how the sprints go:
Roll down the gradual descent in a comfortable gear. You want to hit the bottom of the hill going fast, but not yet in a sprint.
As soon as you hit the flat section at the bottom of the hill, get out of the saddle and give it full gas.
Sit back down as you get up to full speed, and try to go even faster.
Go until you are spun out.
Spun out means that your legs can’t go any faster, your form goes completely to hell, or you start bobbing up and down on the saddle a lot.
Ideally, a little bit of all of those things.
Remember, we’re working on leg speed today, so really focus on turning your legs over. The goal isn’t to make the bike go fast, the goal is to make your legs go fast.
There’s a difference, eh? Try to keep it in mind, ok?
That’s one rep. You’re doing sets of 5.
Each sprint should take just a few seconds. Recover for 30 seconds to a minute between them, and 5 minutes between sets.
Stop when you hit 5 sets or just aren’t getting the same leg speed you were on the first couple of reps.
When you’re done, spin out your legs and go home.
Tips –
– You should start the sprint in a pretty big gear, and spin it out. How big? It depends on how fast you’re going and how strong you are. You’re working on speed here, so don’t try to lug a giant gear, but the gear needs to be big enough that you accelerate when you hit it at the end of the downhill.
– Important, let me reiterate: stand up out of the saddle when you start to sprint, and gradually sit down as you begin to spin up into your sprint.
– Don’t forget to breathe. Seriously. Too many people hold their breath when they sprint. Don’t be one of them.
Going to Nationals, or still have a fair bit of time left in your season?
Nice!
You know what day it is, right? It’s…
Two By Twenty Tuesday!
As we’ve talked about in previous posts, at it’s most basic the 2×20 looks like this:
– Warm up.
– Go as hard as you can for 20 minutes.
– Recover for 5 minutes.
– Go again for another 20 minutes.
The idea is to go as hard as you can for the duration of both intervals without being forced to go easier at the end of the second interval.
It’s all about doing two intervals.
Two intervals at as close to the same level of consistent, steady power output as you can manage.
If you’re doing this with a power meter, you want your wattage output to be as constant and unvaried as possible.
For both intervals.
Both.
How steady?
Can you keep it in a 10 watt range?
Probably not.
15 watts?
More likely
20 watts?
Try.
Keep it steady.
If you run out of gas before you finish the second interval, then you went too hard.
If your vision isn’t blurry at the end of the second interval, you went too easy. But guess what?
It’s way better to go too easy and finish both intervals than it is to go too hard and crater part way through the second 20.
That’s the basic version (and if you’re new to all this, it’s probably the version you should do.) Today, though?
Today we’re doing the get-up version, so…
Start your 20-minute interval out of the saddle, and stand for the first 30 seconds.
After those 30 seconds are up, sit down. Keep the effort going, and keep your level of output consistent.
Stay seated for the next 1:30, then stand for 30 seconds.
Repeat to the end of the interval, and follow this format for the next 20 minute interval.
Remember, the idea here is to go as hard as you can for the duration of both intervals without being forced to go easier at the end of the second interval.
If you’re doing this with a power meter, you want your wattage output to be as close to constant as possible, and the out of the saddle time we’re throwing in makes this even more challenging.
Keep it steady.
These take practice to do well, and the better you get, the harder they get, as your output level gets closer and closer to the absolute max you’re capable of doing for an interval of this duration.
Add in the constant standing and sitting component, and you’re going to know you did some work when you’re through.
I know I’m repeating myself, but do try to avoid the temptation to up the output level when you get out of the saddle, OK?
That’s an entirely different workout, and we’ll get there soon enough, I promise.
One of the things we’re learning with this workout is how to calibrate our out of the saddle efforts. We’re getting a better handle on what we’re actually doing when we stand up on the bike.
You need to know – really know – when you’re going harder and when you’re not.
What most people find when doing this workout is that every time they get out of the saddle their power output takes a big jump.
Which isn’t a huge surprise, because we largely train our bodies to correlate out of the saddle with “go time.”
The thing is, though?
Cyclocross ain’t road racing.
A lot of the time you’re getting out of the saddle not to accelerate, but due to a bike handling challenge.
Heck, in Cross if you get out of the saddle in a super sketchy tech section and really put the power down, pretty often that’s going to result in rear wheel slip and lack of traction, with the expected bad results.
Here’s a little secret:
One of the keys to good bike handling is having a really good understanding of how much power you’re producing, and the effect that has on your traction.
Step one to developing that understanding is getting a real feel for how your power output can change when you get out of the saddle.
Nothing will give you a better feel for that than this workout.
Make sense?
Especially since we’re trying to work on perception, not just output, this is a workout that works great on the trainer, and that’s how you should do ’em, if you can stand it. If not, really try to find the most vacant, flat, soulless terrain possible. The fewer the distractions the better.
Tips:
– I do these on the trainer, with a stopwatch on the bars and an Ipod blaring in my ears. Start the stopwatch at the beginning of the interval, and the format is really easy to follow; you stand up for :30 at the 2:oo, 4:00, 6:00, etc. mark(s). Get it? It’s easy!
– A power meter will help you to keep the level of intensity constant. You want the power output to be as steady as possible with these. If you don’t have a PM, do these on the trainer, choose a gear ratio and a cadence, and stick to that for the duration of the exercise – instant home made ergometer.
Enjoy!
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 of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Thanks for the consideration!
What’s that you say? You’d kinda’ like to have a cycling coach help figure this stuff out for you? Check out…
(and, in case you’re wondering…. nope, S.E. doesn’t pay for the plug. I am one of their coaches, though, so if you’d like to work with me as a coach, click on the logo.)
Happy Monday to you all! Hopefully you’re enjoying the first day of the new week with the fine glow that comes from a weekend of successful racing and/or training.
I bet you know what’s on the docket for today.
Yup. Today you’re going for a…
Recovery Spin! –
– Get on your bike. Roll out into the street – or into your living room if you’re on the turbo watching the vid – and just spin around for an hour. Or more. Or less. Whatever it takes.
– Really small gear, no hard efforts – heck, no medium effort.
– Spin. You’re looking to move your legs around in circles, almost like there is no chain on the bike.
– The idea is to get your body moving, flush the systems out, and speed your recovery.
– Just get out on the road and spin easily and aimlessly. At a certain point, your legs will start to loosen up.
– When that happens, turn around and go home.
– If you’re doing these on the trainer, same deal. Just spin. No hard efforts, just make the legs go around in circles in a small gear.
– Follow up with as much relaxation as you can. Eat, stretch, and put your legs up. Get a massage if possible.
Videos today?
Well, the World Cup got cancelled yesterday, so obviously no vid footage of that! Saturday was the GP Hasselt, and as is the case with most of the “minor” races these days, there isn’t much coverage floating around the interwebs.
Here’s a highlights vid –
…and last year’s full race –
Heck, let’s throw in last year’s Koksijde race just for good measure!
Enjoy!
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 of 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 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.
So, once again, thanks to those who have contributed.
As much as I hate to say it, though, the contributions this season are way down compared to the last two years, and I don’t know if I can keep this going unless more people contribute.
Yeah. That sucks. I hate to have to write it, but I just looked at my bank balance, and the bills sitting on my desk, and the paying work that I’m putting off while I sit here writing this, and… well… crap.
So, that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what the future of the CXWOTD looks like. Maybe there’s a paywall, maybe I try to pursue some corporate sponsorship, maybe I just bag the whole thing, maybe I scale things down and post less often… heck, maybe I just decide that I don’t care what the numbers say, and keep going anyways.
I dunno.
Nothing is going to happen in the short term. At minimum, I’m going to play things out through the end of this season before making any decisions.
Just wanted to let ya’all know what was what.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, and you’d like to see it continue, please do me a favor – and yes, it’s a favor, and I will be truly thankful for it – and send a buck or two (or five, or whatever…) my way.
How do you do that?
Simply click on the graphic below, and PayPal will be glad to make it happen.
Thanks for the consideration!
What’s that you say? You’d kinda’ like to have a cycling coach help figure this stuff out for you? Check out…
(and, in case you’re wondering…. nope, S.E. doesn’t pay for the plug. I am one of their coaches, though, so if you’d like to work with me as a coach, click on the logo.)
You betcha. I do the personal coaching/trainer thing. Clients have included multiple National and even World Champions, and 2/3 of My Cyclocross athletes made the podium at Nationals in 2009, with one taking home the Stars and Stripes. Interested? Drop me a line at: crosssports@gmail.com
Yeah, that's right... if you have completely lost control of all sense of fiscal responsibility, you can now purchase silly articles of clothing with my blog address on them.
How cool is that?
Just go to - http://crosssports.spreadshirt.com/
and think "conspicuous consumption... mmm... feels so good..."
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