In article <Z0S0b.1326$lw4.362@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>, Andy Coggan
<acoggan@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Achieving the best performance requires having all physiological systems operating at their
> optimum. Train too hard too close to an event, and residual fatigue and/or inadequate glycogen
> stores may limit your performance. Rest too much, and you'll start to lose those physiological
> adaptations to training that have a very short half-life (e.g., plasma volume expansion,
> neuromuscular recruitment). By resting two days out, then doing a few "leg openers" the day
> before, you seem to be able to achieve the best of both worlds. What I propose above reflects an
> attempt to optimize this approach depending upon the demands of an event as well as overall
> season-long goals (pattern #3).
>
> Note that I assumed that because of his question, the OP was a relative newcomer to competitive
> cycling, and thus probably maintains a moderate training load (volume, intensity). The absolute
> quantity and perhaps quality of training would be adjusted up or down depending on a given
> individual's background (e.g., if you're training 25 hours/week, then your easy day 2 days out
> would be longer than for somebody who is only training 8 hours/week), ability to recover, etc.
> However, the overall pattern would remain the same.
>
> Anybody who feels that the proposed approaches are inappropriate?
I used to take a rest day two days out, then day before do about an hour including 5 minutes or so
at my LT and then a hard 15 second sprint.
On the advice of my coach I've changed it up a bit this year and the new scheme works better for
me, but maybe not someone else. It's patterned after what he's used for many pro roadies who have
good recovery-something a relatively new racer may not have. I think the ability to recover well is
key because the closer to your race that you can go hard (and still recover) the better you'll go
in the race.
5 days before a race I care about I'll do my usual sprint workout but on the flat instead of hill,
and with about 20-33% fewer sprints. 4 days before it's LT intervals with maybe one fewer interval
or a little less hills. 3 days before is off. 2 days before is one medium endurance interval, then
one LT interval, and then 3-4 hard, but short (10 second) sprints and a total of 1.5 hours. (The
total effort of this ride is only about 40% of what I'd normally do in a non-racing week so you can
adjust your own efforts accordingly.) This gets my systems opened up and awakens the muscles for
some hard efforts without being tiring, and it's far enough before the race to allow some more
recovery time. Day before is 1-2 medium endurance intervals and then a few minutes near LT, and
maybe one short sprint. Some high intensity with very little fatigue.
I agree that training and racing get in the way of each other. I tend to plan so that my recovery
weeks (every 3-5 weeks) occur during the week before a race I care about.
-WG
