But it’s also really beautiful out, bright sunshine.
Which is sorta how it goes here in the winter.
When it’s clear, it feels so darn cold that you almost wish for the rain to come back.
Especially if you want to ride your bike outside.
‘Cause this is black ice season, and I’ve seen way too many people hit the deck hard on beautiful sunny December days when that clear stretch of road suddenly revealed itself to be a skating rink in disguise.
So be careful out there folks.
You’ve made it this far, don’t break your collarbone on a training ride, OK?
I’ll be riding inside today, and while I am, I’ll be watching…
..which I cued up to a siiiiick pass by VdP.
If you were out at any of the clinics I taught this season, remember all the talk of countersteering & bike control?
– Get on your bike. Roll out into the street – or into your living room if you’re on the turbo – and just spin around for an hour.
– 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 aimlessly. At a certain point, your legs suddenly feel better.
– As soon as that happens, turn around, go home, eat, stretch, and put your legs up.
Enjoy!
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
Let’s talk a little bit about something different today.
Let’s talk about the race you don’t do.
I blew off the race I was planning to do today, and while I’m pretty sure this was the right call to make – heck, it was definitely the right call to make – as I sit here writing this, I don’t feel all that great about the decision.
Which is kinda’ crazy.
But I’m guessing an awful lot of you have experienced this particular brand of crazy.
It’s endemic to Cycling, and sport in general.
So, there I am…
All my crap packed and ready to go, pre-race meal on the stove, and in the process of taping up my ankle so I can carry my bikes out to the car…
Wait, what?
Yeah.
Bike racing – or any intense athletic competition and training – is addictive. Really, it is.
Need proof?
Here I am, with a foot/ankle injury bad enough that I need to tape it up to carry my bikes to the car, and the whole “Can’t actually use your leg well enough to walk” isn’t even giving me pause.
Of Course I’m still racing.
That’s why they invented athletic tape.
And analgesics.
So, while I’m taping, I click the computer on and I happen to notice a Facebook post warning people of a highway cataclysm en-route to today’s race.
I start scoping things out, investigate alternate routes to the venue, do a little bit of easy math, and come to a realization…
Damn.
Unless I leave right now I might not even make it to the race in time to start.
It’s an hour and a half drive to this race on a good day, and this is the opposite of that. Drive time might be doubled. It’s 3 1/2 hours until race time, and I’m nowhere near ready to go.
Crap.
Looks like no race for me.
…and then there’s that ankle/foot thing.
Why the hell is it that that didn’t even enter the equation until going to the race was already a fait accompli?
Honestly, I can’t tell you. But I can say that this is the exact same sort of idiocy I’ve experienced with many, many training clients over the years.
“Tis but a scratch…”
To generalize grossly, utterly unfairly yet truthfully nonetheless, in my experience, there are three types of bike racers…
Black Knight types, who will bite your leg off after their arms get amputated…and they will get amputated
Folks who are always looking for an excuse – a hangnail is enough to keep ’em home
The tiny, minuscule minority of folks who actually manage to maintain a balanced perspective on all this nonsense
I think we’ve pretty much established what category claims your’s truly. Maybe.
What about you?
One of the first things I have to do when I’m coaching someone is figure out where they fall in this sorting, and sometimes it ain’t easy.
Is client “A” really always hurt/sick/whatever, or are they just continually making excuses and looking for a way out?
If client “B” is really as hurt/sick/whatever as I think they are, I really need to convince them to pull the plug… but are they really that hurt/sick/whatever, or are they over-dramatizing things for their own/my benefit?
Blech.
This, folks, is one of the things that can make coaching/training harder than it seems from the outside, and it’s one of the reasons that paint-by-numbers training programs aren’t quite the same as working with a coach.
Things ain’t always what they seem, and athletes are spectacularly bad at maintaining a balanced perspective on what they’re doing, where they’re at, and how the machine is actually functioning.
Is there a point in all this?
Heck, I dunno.
I’m probably the very last person who should be preaching “Balance” and “Perspective”, but being a charter member of the Black Knight Society of Idiots Who Push Themselves Far Past The Point Where Shit Starts Breaking Down, I’ve gotten pretty good at seeing the signs of same in others, and recognizing folks who can’t distinguish breaking a sweat from breaking a leg.
If you’re reading this, and doing the things we talk about on here even a little tiny bit, I’m guessing you’re somewhere on this spectrum.
Hey, it’s Saturday, and I haven’t posted to this video in a lame attempt at humor in a long darn time, so…
Since I know ya’all are gonna rock it up, roll it up, do it all, have a ball, and since there’s racing on the agenda for almost everyone tomorrow, today we present you with…
Can Openers –
Warm up for 1/2 hour or so.
Follow with several short attacking efforts, IE 30 seconds at 80% of your max, or pretty damn hard.
Back off and spin for 5 minutes.
Follow with 10-15 minute effort at AT level, or CP30, 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 full gas 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.
We all know how important starts are in the race, so make ‘em count.
I don’t quit until I nail 5 in a row, but set your own threshold.
Got em’ dialed? Ripped ‘em?
Cool.
Spin out the legs, then go home and rest.
You’re ready to race.
Have fun!
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
I’m guessing a lot of you have the day off today, and if you do, you’re probably going to be tempted to head out for a long ride today to burn off some of yesterday’s calories.
If you’re racing this weekend, you might not want to do that.
You’re more likely to dig yourself a big hole than to accomplish anything productive in these waning days of the season.
Unless, that is, you’re focusing on Nationals, and are willing to train through this weekend’s races in continuing efforts to build form for January.
…or if you just want togo ride ’cause it’s fun.
I’m pretty much always good with that.
What should you do today?
Well, how about some speed work?
How about…
Going Downhill Fast –
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?
ANYways, That’s one rep. You’re doing sets of 5.
Ouch.
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.
But Hey, you say.
This sounds like fun, dude, but I live in Seattle, and I’d need to build an ark with a ramp in it to do this today! Give me something I can do inside!
How about 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, or more if you’re highly motivated and crazy fit.
Recover on the bike for another 10-20 minutes, then go home (or wipe yourself down), and get ready for the weekend.
Have fun!
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
This holiday season, I’d like to give thanks for everyone who has visited, shared, or contributed to CrossSports.net.
This thing wouldn’t exist without the well over 100,000 visits that have kept me motivated to continue, and the generous patrons of the site who came out of the woodwork in response to the recent appeal.
Thank you all, but a special shout out to…
Michael McClane
Joel Liefke
William Cornell
Julie Zivin
Colin Ferguson
Are Tee
The Mahan Clan
The McDonald Family
Heidi Wood
Natalie & Jeff Koncz
Jonny Sundt
The Nemesis Racing Team and Frenemies
Cyclocrossracing.com
J.B.
Kevin Tamura
Tyler Nelson
Thomas Mahaney
Larry Steinberg
Joshua Stinger
James Carrigan
Jason Carleton
Ian Horton
Tim Bantham
Lance Logan
Michael VanOrden
Nick Leggett
Jacob Sheppard
Brenda Bahnson
Ian Gerrish
Tracy Erbeck
Lynda Palubeski
Eric Blomquist
Greg Awalt
Chris Adolf
Michael Brown
Nikos Mills
Jackie Spiller
Robert Spinks
John Plump
Robert Airey
Dave Stonich
Charles Hubbs
John Lemonius
Nicholas White
Scott Reeves
Marshall Bassett
Matthew Newman
(My apologies if I missed your name. I had a list. It was in my race bag. When I went to a cross race at Enumclaw. It looks like a large spitball now. I tried to reconstruct it, and I’msuper sorry if I missed your name. Thank you, thank you, thank you.)
Wow. Here we are, one short day away from Thanksgiving. The cyclocross season is careening rapidly towards it’s conclusion!
Up in this neck of the woods, this is the time of the year where most folks start calling it quits, race participation drops dramatically, and those who are planning on a trip to Nationals need to get creative to program in the race-pace intensity they need to be competitive in January.
January? What the hell? This is freakin’ November!
Yeah, yeah, I know… but hey; gotta start thinking about this stuff now.
Photo: Rick Kimpel CC BY-SA 2.0
Or, you know, not.
If you aren’t going to Nationals, if you aren’t going to be racing much more than a couple more weeks…
Training is kinda simple for you right now.
For the most part, what ‘ya got is what ‘ya got.
No matter how hard you train, it ain’t likely that any big gains are going to be made in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
But…
Even if you do nothing but races from here on out, you probably aren’t going to lose all that much ground relative to the folks who are scratching and clawing to maximize every last shred of form they can find either.
It’s run what ‘ya brung season.
If you are racing through mid-january?
Yowzah.
You’ve still got a solid six weeks until Austin.
The big push towards Nats’ is right around the corner.
So, what does all this have to do with The Workout Of The Day?
It’s a holiday tomorrow.
So chill out.
Enjoy yourself for a couple of days.
Don’t overdo the food thing, but don’t sweat it too much either.
If you’re done racing in a couple of weeks, it ain’t going to kill you.
If you’re racing through mid-January, the break will do you some good.
I’m not saying “don’t ride” the next couple of days, but I am saying “don’t ride if you don’t really want to, or if it’s going to be a pain in the ass.”
Up here in Seattle, we have an annual Thanksgiving ride that raises funds for Northwest Harvest. If you’re in the area, you should think about checking that out tomorrow. It meets here at 9am, and the suggested donation is $5-10.
That, friends, is the workout of the day.
Have some fun, get in a ride today and/or tomorrow if you can, and maybe pay a little bit forward to some folks who could use a helping hand this holiday season.
Peace…
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
Not much to say about any of that here, other than it sure will be nice to get on the bike and forget about the world for a while.
So, how about a workout that’s guaranteed to take your mind off current events?
The MB15 –
Warm up well. (Seriously. Warm up for this one, it’ll help.)
The basic idea here is to do a series of very short efforts with very little rest between them, for a pretty long period of time.
Sound confusing?
Here’s how it breaks down…
Warm up.
Get set…
Go!
15 seconds on
15 seconds off
15 seconds on
15 seconds off
…and so on and so on for the duration of the interval.
How long are you going to do this for?
– Ten minutes would be great.
Three -four sets, 5 minutes between sets.
How hard do you go during the “on” segments?
– Pretty darn hard.
You’re familiar with the level of effort you put out in your 2×20’s by now, right?
You need to go harder than that.
A fair bit harder would be good.
Ideally, you’ll hit these on periods at right about 150% of your FTP, if that’s a number that means anything to you. If it doesn’t, it’s probably pretty darn close to what you’re dong your 2×20 effort at.
Like I said, “ouch.”
How easy do you go during the “off” segments?
– A lot easier, but you aren’t quite soft pedaling.
Right about 50% of your FTP, or half as hard as your 2×20 level.
Again, ouch.
Want to know the real “Ouch”?
Ultimately, you want to be able to do 6 sets of these, or 3 sets twenty minutes each, or however many it takes to equal the duration of your races.
Seriously, Ouch.
Do what you can.
Have fun,
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty damn tired today.
Strange thing about having a crappy day on the bike is that when it happens in a race, sometimes it means you wind up spending more time slogging through the mud than just about everyone else… which was the story of my day, yesterday.
Wasn’t riding well, but just marginally better than all the folks who got doubled, so… bonus lap!
Ouch.
I’m betting that you too earned today’s…
Recovery Spin –
– Get on your bike. Roll out into the street – or into your living room if you’re on the turbo – and just spin around for an hour.
– 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 aimlessly. At a certain point, your legs suddenly feel better.
– As soon as that happens, turn around, go home, eat, stretch, and put your legs up.
Hey! What about the vids from the races this weekend?
Well, there’s a pretty remarkable deficit of footage from Koksijde and Spa on the interwebs today, but there’s this…
…from yesterday.
That’s not much, though, so I started looking for the 1994 Koksijde World Championship – which is one of my favorite races – and go figure. Couldn’t find that either.
…but I did find this…
…which might be even better. What a great race.
Enjoy!
M
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
After doing this whole CX.W.O.T.D thing for a bunch of years now, one thing I’ve noticed is that the questions I get from people tend to come in waves.
The current wave seems to indicate that ya’all are interested in race-day routine and warm ups, So without further ado…
Warm It Up.
First of all, don’t overdo it.
I see way, way too many people spending a ridiculous amount of time on their trainers before the race, and frankly, I think a huge number of racers leave their best effort of the day back in the tent on the Gerbil Wheel before the race.
Don’t let this be you.
If you feel like you need to spend more than an hour warming up for your race, frankly you’re doing something wrong.
There’s been a fair bit written about warming up for cycling events, and if you spend any time at all reading through some of the stuff that’s out there, you will no doubt find that the only commonality is that most everyone disagrees.
Until you start reading some of the science, and some of the warm-up protocols suggested by those who have also read the science.
During endurance events of intermediate duration (4-5 min), performance is enhanced by warm-up irrespective of warm-up intensity
Note, also this little tidbit –
There were no differences in anaerobic power output during the trials, but aerobic power output during the first 1000 m was larger during both EWU (203 W) and HWU (208 W) versus NWU (163 W) trials.
Huh. Go figure.
I pretty much never warm up for road races, unless I Know the first few K are going to be pedal to the metal.
When people ask how I can get away with this (and they do!) I always respond with “that’s what the first lap/loop/5k is for…”
You can’t really get away with this in Cyclocross.
You need to hit that first K, hell that first hundred meters at 100%, with all guns blazing.
Warming up definitely improves your aerobic power output over the first K of a race.
End of story. You need to warm up for Cyclocross.
How much do you need to warm up?
Well, here’s where we get into interesting territory.
The study I linked to above basically showed no difference between the results of warm ups conducted at different levels of intensity and duration. The key was simply to warm up, get the legs turning over.
However you do it, warming up helps.
Nice.
Remember this the next time all hell breaks loose and you can barely get in any kind of a workout before your race. Even a little bit of a warm up helps.
OK, it’s just a study. Heck, it’s just one study.
Frankly, for Cyclocross, I think you need to warm up pretty hard, if for no other reason than that you don’t want the shock of that F-ing start effort to hit your body (and mind!) like a ton of bricks.
What you don’t need to do is warm up for a long time.
After a certain point, all a long warmup does is get you tired. And that ain’t good…
tired?
OK, so what should your warm up look like?
Something like this…
Get on your bike.
Ride at a super easy level for 5 minutes. No pressure on pedals, recovery day light.
5 minutes more at just one notch higher.
2-3 minutes at right around your 20 minute output level.
then
2-3 minutes at one notch/gear easier
30 second race pace effort.
recover for 2 minutes easy…
30 second race pace effort.
recover for 2 minutes…
2 full-gas start efforts, 2 minutes between them.
Spin for 5 minutes.
Go race.
That’s just the actual warm up, though.
You need to figure in course preview time, getting all your stuff schlepped to where it needs to be, registration… the whole package.
Heck, in a perfect world, you would go ride for an hour in the morning several hours before your race!
The whole shebang is what’s important, and in a perfect world, your race day would look something like this:
Wake up.
Eat breakfast.
Ride for an hour.
Snack, take a nap.
Eat lunch (3 hours before race.)
Course preview
(while mechanic preps bikes, team staff handles everything else.)
Snack, electrolyte drink, change into race clothing.
Warm up (that thing we just talked about)
Win Race.
Post-race cool down.
Yeah, right.
Oh well, we try.
Get as close to that as you can, and remember – the science shows that any warm up is better than none!
I’ve managed to do really well in races where the only warm up I got was a 1 or 2 lap preview of the course, and I know I’m not alone!
If you are forced to choose, always pre-ride rather than warm up.
You get a less than perfect course preview, and a less than perfect warm up, but part of each is better than none of one!
Ok, after all that, are you ready for the reality-based warm up?
Quite frankly, this is what I wind up doing most of the time, and almost always if I wind up stuck on the turbo. It’s the –
R.S.W.O. – The Rock Stupid Warm-up and Opener –
First, get everything you need to do before the race done. Sign up, course preview, etc., etc. More questions you probably didn’t even have on the topic of race day routine answered here –
– Ride 30 seconds in this gear, then shift up one cog.
– Ride 30 seconds in this gear, then shift up one cog.
– Repeat until you hit the hardest gear you’ve got, or can handle.
– Ride 30 seconds in that gear, and then shift all the way back down to the Big/big combo.
– Ride 30 seconds in that gear, then immediately shift to hardest gear you can handle.
– Full gas sprint, out of the saddle, for 30 seconds.
Back to big/big combo.
– Spin for two minutes.
Repeat The entire sequence (Usually minus the 2nd “20 minute level” effort.)
Oddly enough, this really simple warm up winds up looking a whole heck of a lot like…
…This…
Yup.
That’s the actual Team Sky Time Trial warmup, photo is of a reminder sheet that was posted on the side of the team bus.
Go figure.
’nuff said?
Have fun,
M
* If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about when I say “20 minute level”, check this out…
** The Warm Up routines I describe here are actually pretty hard, and believe it or not, are likely to be too damn hard and too long for non-elite racers. You will need to experiment and figure out what works for you. Don’t be afraid to cut the warm up short, or go easier. You don’t get a prize for winning the warm up!
**********
Hey there…
Thanks for following my blog!
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
Holy cow, how about that performance by Gage Hecht!?!?! World Cup Winner, and at Koksijde!!
Wow.
If that doesn’t get you inspired to race your Cross bike, nothing will.
Speaking of racing, if you’re racing today, you’re no doubt already out at the race, or on your way.
Good luck! Have fun, kick butt.
Not racing today, but racing tomorrow?
Excellent.
Jumpstart tomorrow’s performance today by opening up your legs with…
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.
This thing started off as a lark, and over the years that I’ve been doing it, has become a little bit of a monster.
It takes a fair bit of time – and a wee bit of money – to keep this thing rolling, and as you may have noticed, I’ve recently started asking for folks to chip in a bit if they feel like what they’re getting her is worth something to them.
Honestly, it’s not like I’m trying to get rich off this here thing… or really even make any money from it at all.
It’d just make my life a fair bit easier if I didn’t lose quite as much money doing this as I currently do.
So, hey… if you feel like you’ve gotten anything of value out of this blog, 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.
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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