How many days off do I need (before racing) ?

I think this does vary from individual to individual. I'll tell you what I do and why I do it, but it may not work for you. If D is race day, I ride on D-2 (hard, but not long) and take off D-1 entirely. When I say hard but not long, I mean that if my usual hard days are 3 hours, I would probably ride 2 hours on D-2. I do this because over time I have found that I actually race better and feel better with one day of rest but not with two days of rest. I have tried riding easy on the day before the race but I feel better if I don't ride at all on D-1. On D-2, I ride a variable power ride, with a mix of L4-L7 intervals, as usual. On the day of the race, I just get warmed up with a few short pushes (e.g., 1 min), but I don't ride above ~125%FT.

MikeHains said:

Fact#1: Last 2 weeks have been incredibly tough.
Fact#2: Sunday I bonked after 4 hours tough riding
Fact#3: Monday off - but legs still very sore.

Fact#4: Tuesday - 20 minute max effort up a mountain.[indent]Fastest ever time up the hill ... but now I am aching all over, shattered, foggy in the head, etc etc.

[/indent]Fact#5: Wednesday ... coach plans 4x7' hill climbs (50-70rpm big gear)Fact#6: Saturday is "the big race" 48' mountain handicap.

Question: Do I take Wed & Thu off, the ride light Friday ? Or is there a better idea ?

I know that these things are 'personal' - but I am keen to find out what opinions others might have.

Thanks in advance, MJH (downunder)

Since you are having symptoms of overtraining, if I were you I would take Wed & Thu off, then ride very light light and short (30 to 45 min. with maybe two or three accelerations to pump some blood into your muscles) Friday. I think your body is screaming for rest, and if you give what your body is asking for, he will respond great on Saturday. Rest is just as important as training. Good luck and keep us posted !

I concur. You are showing symptoms of overtraining.

Keep off the bike. You've just bonked, then done a maximum TT hill climb effort.

Stay off until the fog clears. Do something if you can on Friday, to prevent being blocked.

[quote="MikeHains"]Fact#1: Last 2 weeks have been incredibly tough.
Fact#2: Sunday I bonked after 4 hours tough riding
Fact#3: Monday off - but legs still very sore.








Fact#4: Tuesday - 20 minute max effort up a mountain.[indent]Fastest ever time up the hill ... but now I am aching all over, shattered, foggy in the head, etc etc.




Fact#5: Wednesday ... coach plans 4x7' hill climbs (50-70rpm big gear)Fact#6: Saturday is "the big race" 48' mountain handicap.



[/indent]

Question: Do I take Wed & Thu off, the ride light Friday ? Or is there a better idea ?
QUOTE]

1 question i have is what has the coach said when you tell him how you are feeling currently? Given the proximity to race day, i don't see any real benefit in doing the hill repeats on Wed- no adaptations in time but will probably just tax your body even more.

I personally wouldn;t take 2 complete days off the bike. What i've done in the past (in a similar condition to you) is:
Wed - warm up then 5x10s jumps in small gear followed by 5xhigh cadence low resistance drill (basically spin up in easy gear as fast as you can until you start bouncing, then ease off and spin for a bit, then repeat), then warm down. I've found this useful as it keeps my legs ticking/blood flowing without putting big demands on me which you would get doing hill repeats on big ring (1hr total ride)
Thurs - no ride
Frid - as per Wed but without the 5xhigh cadence low resistance drill (45min max). I'd usually follow this with a carbo load, plenty of fluid and get off the legs.

This has worked for me in the past, but as you say, it's a personal thing.

cheers

Thanks all for your help. I'll keep you posted on what happens. Regards, MJH

Following up ...

I did ride the Wednesday efforts. Then I had Thursday and Friday off (except for 3 x 1' hill sprints Friday). Then raced Saturday.

On the Saturday I set a new PB (46'22" -vs- 48'58"😉. Last year at the same time was 50'10".

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BUT <<<

I should have taken all your advice. I still wasn't right. The legs were heavy. Clearly I've been over-reaching and should have given more time off.

Thankfully, the holiday season is on us and I'll get a good recovery.

Thanks for your help, Regards, Mike Hains

MikeHains said:

Following up ...

I did ride the Wednesday efforts. Then I had Thursday and Friday off (except for 3 x 1' hill sprints Friday). Then raced Saturday.

On the Saturday I set a new PB (46'22" -vs- 48'58"😉. Last year at the same time was 50'10".

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BUT <<<

I should have taken all your advice. I still wasn't right. The legs were heavy. Clearly I've been over-reaching and should have given more time off.

Thankfully, the holiday season is on us and I'll get a good recovery.

Thanks for your help, Regards, Mike Hains

I know your event is over, but just to add my two cents to the forum... What I've found for myself is that I am strongest after a minimum of four days off (maybe as many as six) prior to an event.

I have friends that are much more trained athletes then myself and they perform better if they add some riding prior to their race day. I also know that the pros only reduce efforts as opposed to taking any time off. So some of the factors that a person would have to take into account would be,
a) How fatigued from training are you going into the days prior to the event?
b) How elite of an athlete are you?

The higher the fatigue from training and the lower the level of athlete, the more rest you'll want prior to an endurance event.

Take wednesday off. Do some active recovery on thursday (1 hour at a rediculously easy pace!) do the same on friday but add in about 3 ten second sprints during the ride.