I've raced enough so far that after one more practice crit this week, I'll be able to upgrade to a Cat 4 racer. Although very excited to make the jump to the next level, I'm a bit anxious and nervous about my ability to be competitive in races with combined fields of Cat 3 and 4's.
I don't have a coach, own a heart rate monitor or power meter, or have an extensive background in exercise science, but that's not stopping me from giving it a shot at being a real competitor in the 3/4 field.
It's been amazing to witness the intense competitiveness of bike races here in Utah, and it has shed some light on the amount of time & effort required in training to keep up with the local contenders.
I'm by no means a natural who can just show up on race day and do well, and I've have found that writing down my goals and plans for achieving those goals to be the most efficient way to success.
From repeated trial and error, I've found what works best for me is to keep long term goals in mind, but to ultimately plan a month by month schedule based on upcoming events, and then to plain weekly training in detail every Sunday.
Here is a detailed plan for my training over the next month:
(Please feel free to use this as a guide in your own training. Better yet post some suggestions on ways to improve my training plans.)
Cycling
Training
Start 5/13 -Finish
6/15
Goals
1.
Lose
weight: Current range 160-165, Goal Range 155-160
2.
Build
Endurance: 4+ hour rides
3.
Increase
power & speed: Intervals, Hill repeats & Utah Crit series races
4.
Eat
Right: Lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, legumes, pasta & some protein
supplements
5.
Prepare
for Rockwell Relay & High Uintas Classic: distance, climbing, altitude
Current Weaknesses
1.
Weight (ideal race weight about 160> lbs.)
2.
Climbing (cardio and power not quite there)
3.
Endurance (aerobic base should be better)
4.
Nutrition (not following ideal habits)
5.
Overall technique & skill on bike needs continued
improvement
Race Schedule
Rockwell Relay 6/7-6/8
·
Leg 1: 55 miles, 4,000 ft. elevation gain, start
@8am
·
Leg 5: 45 miles, 3,000 ft. elevation gain, start
@ 5pm-10pm
·
Leg 9: 30 miles, 4,000 ft. elevation gain, start
@ 3am-10:30 am
·
Total Distance: 130 miles, 11,000 ft. elevation
gain
High Uintas Classic 6/15
·
80 Miles, 4,500 ft. of elevation gain in first
30 miles
·
$50 by 6/12
·
Cat 3-4 start @ 8:40 am or Cat 4-5 start @ 9:10
am (NEED TO GET CAT 4 Upgrade)
Utah Crit Races
·
Tuesday
Night RMR: 5/14,21,28
·
Wednesday
Night DLD: 5/15,22,29
·
Thursday
Night Emigration TT: 5/23
Food & Workout Tracking
*food will be kept
track of mapmyride.com (sometimes). Generally shooting for 3,500 calories or less for weight loss on heavy training days. Just eat enough to supply lots of fuel and recover.
**Workouts will also
be tracked online but I will track them here as well
Weight Tracking: (try to write it down at least in the morning)
|
Date
|
Morning
|
Noon
|
Night
|
Date
|
Morning
|
Noon
|
Night
|
|
5/13
|
|
|
|
5/27
|
|
|
|
|
5/14
|
|
|
|
5/28
|
|
|
|
|
5/15
|
|
|
|
5/29
|
|
|
|
|
5/16
|
|
|
|
5/30
|
|
|
|
|
5/17
|
|
|
|
5/31
|
|
|
|
|
5/18
|
|
|
|
6/1
|
|
|
|
|
5/19
|
|
|
|
6/2
|
|
|
|
|
5/20
|
|
|
|
6/3
|
|
|
|
|
5/21
|
|
|
|
6/4
|
|
|
|
|
5/22
|
|
|
|
6/5
|
|
|
|
|
5/23
|
|
|
|
6/6
|
|
|
|
|
5/24
|
|
|
|
6/7
|
|
|
|
|
5/25
|
|
|
|
6/8
|
|
|
|
|
5/26
|
|
|
|
6/9
|
|
|
|
|
5/26
|
|
|
|
6/10
|
|
|
|
Workout Tracking:
Guideline for what
needs to happen
| PLANNED |
Workout 1
|
Workout 2
|
Workout 3
|
Morning
|
Stretch
|
|
Monday
|
Easy Mtn. Bike (1.5 hrs)
|
Recover
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Tuesday
|
Recover
|
7pm RMR Crit
30ish min. fast
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Wednesday
|
Recover
|
7pm DLD Crit
30ish min. fast
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Thursday
|
Run or hike (30min-1hr)
|
Recover
|
5:30 pm Big Mtn. 2.5 hrs
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Friday
|
Recover
|
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Saturday
|
9am Endurance Ride
5 hrs. steady pace
|
Hardcore Recover
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine
|
|
Sunday
|
10am Recovery Spin
1-1.5 hrs. easy pace
|
Recover
|
|
5 ex. 3X15
|
routine |
Planned Totals: Road Bike 10hrs, mtn. bike 1.5hrs & recover a lot
|
ACTUAL
|
Workout 1
|
Workout 2
|
Workout 3
|
Morning
|
Stretch
|
|
Monday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday
|
|
|
|
|
