Race is 5 weeks away... what should I do?

blove8 · Sep 30, 2007

The Iceman is a 27 mile point-to-point mountain bike race located in northern Michigan on November 10th. Roughly 5 weeks from now I will be taking part as a 30-34, expert racer. Last year's winner in my class finished in 1:51:30 which converts to an average speed of 14.5 mph (23.3 kph), while the overall winner rode 27 miles at an average of 16.9 mph (27.2 kph). The guys I was keeping up with a couple years back rode it at about 12.8 mph (20.6 kph).

Knowing that I have been riding all summer, including a 43-day 1900 mile tour around the Pacific northwest and have a good base, what would you recommend I do over the next 5 weeks to prepare specifically for this race? Is this enough time to get into top racing form? What diet is best for this type of thing? I've been reading different books in the library, but can't find anything specific to my situation. Any help would be very much appreciated!

blove8 · Oct 1, 2007

It seems like this is what I'd want:

Cross Country Mountain Bike - Expert Build, Peak and Race Plan
(12 weeks)
http://trainingpeaks.com/planpreview.asp?planid=2167

but $99 for the full set of plans.. yow!! I only need the last 5 weeks worth! haha

Anyway, would any of you know how this plan would change in the last 5 weeks compared to what is shown for weeks 1 and 2? I'm also thinking of throwing some kayaking in to supplement the core strength and flexibility training.

lanierb · Oct 1, 2007

blove8 said:
It seems like this is what I'd want:

Cross Country Mountain Bike - Expert Build, Peak and Race Plan
(12 weeks)
http://trainingpeaks.com/planpreview.asp?planid=2167

but $99 for the full set of plans.. yow!! I only need the last 5 weeks worth! haha

Anyway, would any of you know how this plan would change in the last 5 weeks compared to what is shown for weeks 1 and 2? I'm also thinking of throwing some kayaking in to supplement the core strength and flexibility training.

Five weeks isn't really very much. You should do three weeks of hard training, increasing each week, then dial back a little in week 4 and more in week 5 so you're very fresh for the race. When you dial back, dial back duration but not intensity. You haven't said: (1) what your recent training has been and (2) how many hours/days per week you can train. Where you start depends on where you are, but I'll take a stab anyway:

This is a 2-hour race, so depending on your recent training, I would suggest 6x5 once a week (5 mins on as hard as you can go holding a constant effort for 5 mins, then rest 5 mins, repeat 6 times -- last interval should be similar intensity to first), 3x20 once or twice a week (20 mins on, 5 mins easy, repeat 3 times -- last interval similar intensity to first) and a day of sweet spot training (say, 90 minutes total in zone over a longer ride -- sweet spot is a bit below what you could hold for an hour, so still very hard, but not absolutely killing yourself), for four days total. Don't bother with any "junk miles" or easy rides. If this sounds like a ton to you, do the same intensity but start with less duration (e.g. 5x5 and 2x20) and work up.

blove8 · Oct 1, 2007

lanierb said:
You haven't said: (1) what your recent training has been and (2) how many hours/days per week you can train. Where you start depends on where you are, but I'll take a stab anyway:

Thanks for offering up your insight lanierb.

My recent training rides have been a 50 mile mountain bike ride on paved, gravel, and single track. Several 600+ ft climbs and a 1200 footer, twice, last wednesday in about 4 hours. I rode a 30 miler on the same course only doing the loop once with a longer warm-up. I took the weekend off and today I rode mostly paved and logging roads on the mountain bike for 2 hours at an avg speed of 15 mph for 30 miles. I climbed hard (just at about my max) on a couple 800+ foot climbs. My back was tight today so I shortened the ride; don't want to hurt myself and I know I need to listen to my body.

I definitely need to introduce more stretching into my regimen and some strength training.

I'd say I've been riding about 8-10 hours per week since I ended my tour in the end of August, but my schedule is quite wide open and I could ride more if I wanted/needed/felt like.

It sounds to me like I need to pay more attention to those intervals and bust out the road bike again. I just missed the mountain bike while I was gone so haven't been able to get off of it this month. I haven't done intervals since last winter on the spinner, but if that's what's gonna help me get into the race shape (or as close as I can) I'll do it.

Is hill climbing going to help me much when it comes to riding the rolling sandy two track (Iceman Race) or should I primarily focus on riding whatever and stick to the intervals, whichever terrain I'm riding? Does training at higher elevations help much? I'll be driving from the Pacific northwest across to Michigan over the next month and thought that a week or so in the Rockies might be beneficial.

celia123 · Oct 1, 2007

blove8 said:
Thanks for offering up your insight lanierb.

My recent training rides have been a 50 mile mountain bike ride on paved, gravel, and single track. Several 600+ ft climbs and a 1200 footer, twice, last wednesday in about 4 hours. I rode a 30 miler on the same course only doing the loop once with a longer warm-up. I took the weekend off and today I rode mostly paved and logging roads on the mountain bike for 2 hours at an avg speed of 15 mph for 30 miles. I climbed hard (just at about my max) on a couple 800+ foot climbs. My back was tight today so I shortened the ride; don't want to hurt myself and I know I need to listen to my body.

I definitely need to introduce more stretching into my regimen and some strength training.

I'd say I've been riding about 8-10 hours per week since I ended my tour in the end of August, but my schedule is quite wide open and I could ride more if I wanted/needed/felt like.

It sounds to me like I need to pay more attention to those intervals and bust out the road bike again. I just missed the mountain bike while I was gone so haven't been able to get off of it this month. I haven't done intervals since last winter on the spinner, but if that's what's gonna help me get into the race shape (or as close as I can) I'll do it.

Is hill climbing going to help me much when it comes to riding the rolling sandy two track (Iceman Race) or should I primarily focus on riding whatever and stick to the intervals, whichever terrain I'm riding? Does training at higher elevations help much? I'll be driving from the Pacific northwest across to Michigan over the next month and thought that a week or so in the Rockies might be beneficial.

you should insist on what you want

blove8 · Oct 1, 2007

celia123 said:
you should insist on what you want

come again?

threaded · Oct 2, 2007

I'd suggest going up high to whereever there is snow and ice about and practice riding down the ruts left by cars and trucks.

If you're not at the front, that's what the trail will be like.

lanierb · Oct 2, 2007

blove8 said:
Thanks for offering up your insight lanierb.

My recent training rides have been a 50 mile mountain bike ride on paved, gravel, and single track. Several 600+ ft climbs and a 1200 footer, twice, last wednesday in about 4 hours. I rode a 30 miler on the same course only doing the loop once with a longer warm-up. I took the weekend off and today I rode mostly paved and logging roads on the mountain bike for 2 hours at an avg speed of 15 mph for 30 miles. I climbed hard (just at about my max) on a couple 800+ foot climbs. My back was tight today so I shortened the ride; don't want to hurt myself and I know I need to listen to my body.

I definitely need to introduce more stretching into my regimen and some strength training.

I'd say I've been riding about 8-10 hours per week since I ended my tour in the end of August, but my schedule is quite wide open and I could ride more if I wanted/needed/felt like.

It sounds to me like I need to pay more attention to those intervals and bust out the road bike again. I just missed the mountain bike while I was gone so haven't been able to get off of it this month. I haven't done intervals since last winter on the spinner, but if that's what's gonna help me get into the race shape (or as close as I can) I'll do it.

Is hill climbing going to help me much when it comes to riding the rolling sandy two track (Iceman Race) or should I primarily focus on riding whatever and stick to the intervals, whichever terrain I'm riding? Does training at higher elevations help much? I'll be driving from the Pacific northwest across to Michigan over the next month and thought that a week or so in the Rockies might be beneficial.

1) Whatever you do, do intervals. You're probably best off doing stuff similar to the race though. Bust out the mountain bike and find a place to do intervals.

2) Don't train high. The ideal altitude training is to train low, sleep high. You want to gain red blood cells, but if you train high your body won't be able to transfer enough oxygen to your muscles to really work them, so your muscles won't get good training. Sleeping high is good though.

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