I have done all the prep work now it is time to HTFUP! Sooo I went and ran hills until my feet started to bleed, then I ran another hour and did weights. Spot On ;)
Yes my friend. You race on your fitness 6-months before the race season. You cannot build a house without a ground floor, the 2nd floor needs the first and so on.
6 months is June and that is the race season. It takes 8-10 weeks to have any significant training effect. You do the math. People often confuse physiological improvement with other factors (e.g., skills). Unless you are on drugs, improvements are very very very small and develop slowly. Huge improvements that happen very quickly are a red flag for drug abuse! Diminishing returns: the fitter you get the more you must train and the smaller the returns. Greg will train very little and improve a lot. I will train a lot and improve very little. People can usually improve for 7-years straight then encounter difficulties. Smart training helps stretch this out, but at some point the bell curve becomes apparent. It takes at least 10,000 hours of training to reach the top of the sport. You do the math. Such is life. The key is to love training, and to train intelligently… especially when you have a target on your back and a young blood trying to gun you down. If you take significant time off after the race season and then ramp up just before the season begins are you improving… 3-hours a day is not a lot of cardio. I can hold 20-hours of Z2 a week on the bike outside indefinitely (if I am sleeping, and eating well with low levels of stress). 20-hours of watching paint dry is very very very difficult. 30-hour with full on intervals, a very long endurance ride, a tempo ride or 2 intervals session with resistance and I start to fall apart. Then I would have to quit school and work and everything. So I try and run once and ski or snowshoe once a week to stay sane. Running is an anathema for racing a bike but I like the punishment. Skiing builds the engine but there is little (if any) specific cross over, and I hate waxing. XC racing helps to keep it fresh as well. High volume (mine is moderate) does not mean improved results however. Each person will require a different levels of stimulus (i.e., time in the saddle, intervals etc). Take Bill B, Patrick H, Paul B and myself as an example of different training volumes and similar out comes. Top end experts are about 15-hours a week (780 year), elites 20-30 + hours per week (1000 - 1500 year). Again 3-hours a day is moderate volume, and unless you are working an 80-hour weeks most people can fit it in (Commuting is great for that). The kids are young women now … no more dippers. With school, work, training and family my calendar is very full, but I can always back off when it is required (e.g., exams & marking). Riding is a privilege, training keeps me young at heart racing is affirmation of life!
Quit it Kevin!! I like to surprise you guys, and if this keeps up, it may be the other way round! ;-)
I really am only gunning for myself... I like to think of MTB races as an all out timetrial of 2+hrs that is fun as hell! I just enjoy the different areas of Man/Sask to ride in, and the sweet trails. The keeping up to the fast guys helps as well, and gives me great motivation also.
Dave is great, cuz it's not too often you will see him give up/slow down, so he is one of those (targets) .Kevin, you were last spring also. It's when you guys are at your best that I like racing with you, because if I ever accidentally do best you, I feel real good. And if not, I know I better get faster!
I am still learning this sport, so hopefully my plan that I am building will work for me, if not, I will need to talk to a higher power (coach).
But really, isn't this all just fun.,... tis fer me!
BTW the BBC has some members, and some who will race! - er road anyways.
done the prep work... all those two and three hour work outs are JUST prep? what do you "build" workouts look like?
ReplyDeleteyou know it is only January right?
kevin b
Yes my friend. You race on your fitness 6-months before the race season. You cannot build a house without a ground floor, the 2nd floor needs the first and so on.
ReplyDeletemy calendar must be off.
ReplyDeleteno worries, but if i trained as hard and as much as you do at this time of the year, i'd be fried by march... or maybe i'm just lazy.
keep it up though, (greg is coming after you)!
kevin b
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete6 months is June and that is the race season. It takes 8-10 weeks to have any significant training effect. You do the math. People often confuse physiological improvement with other factors (e.g., skills). Unless you are on drugs, improvements are very very very small and develop slowly. Huge improvements that happen very quickly are a red flag for drug abuse! Diminishing returns: the fitter you get the more you must train and the smaller the returns. Greg will train very little and improve a lot. I will train a lot and improve very little. People can usually improve for 7-years straight then encounter difficulties. Smart training helps stretch this out, but at some point the bell curve becomes apparent. It takes at least 10,000 hours of training to reach the top of the sport. You do the math. Such is life. The key is to love training, and to train intelligently… especially when you have a target on your back and a young blood trying to gun you down. If you take significant time off after the race season and then ramp up just before the season begins are you improving… 3-hours a day is not a lot of cardio. I can hold 20-hours of Z2 a week on the bike outside indefinitely (if I am sleeping, and eating well with low levels of stress). 20-hours of watching paint dry is very very very difficult. 30-hour with full on intervals, a very long endurance ride, a tempo ride or 2 intervals session with resistance and I start to fall apart. Then I would have to quit school and work and everything. So I try and run once and ski or snowshoe once a week to stay sane. Running is an anathema for racing a bike but I like the punishment. Skiing builds the engine but there is little (if any) specific cross over, and I hate waxing. XC racing helps to keep it fresh as well. High volume (mine is moderate) does not mean improved results however. Each person will require a different levels of stimulus (i.e., time in the saddle, intervals etc). Take Bill B, Patrick H, Paul B and myself as an example of different training volumes and similar out comes. Top end experts are about 15-hours a week (780 year), elites 20-30 + hours per week (1000 - 1500 year). Again 3-hours a day is moderate volume, and unless you are working an 80-hour weeks most people can fit it in (Commuting is great for that). The kids are young women now … no more dippers. With school, work, training and family my calendar is very full, but I can always back off when it is required (e.g., exams & marking). Riding is a privilege, training keeps me young at heart racing is affirmation of life!
ReplyDeleteQuit it Kevin!! I like to surprise you guys, and if this keeps up, it may be the other way round! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI really am only gunning for myself... I like to think of MTB races as an all out timetrial of 2+hrs that is fun as hell! I just enjoy the different areas of Man/Sask to ride in, and the sweet trails. The keeping up to the fast guys helps as well, and gives me great motivation also.
Dave is great, cuz it's not too often you will see him give up/slow down, so he is one of those (targets) .Kevin, you were last spring also. It's when you guys are at your best that I like racing with you, because if I ever accidentally do best you, I feel real good. And if not, I know I better get faster!
I am still learning this sport, so hopefully my plan that I am building will work for me, if not, I will need to talk to a higher power (coach).
But really, isn't this all just fun.,... tis fer me!
BTW the BBC has some members, and some who will race! - er road anyways.
By the way, that is a great find with that Video Dave! Hilarious!
ReplyDeletePlease say that to me when you pass me at the races?
Training is for wusses.
ReplyDeleteHTFU and puke like a man.