Pre Race Day training

Should one have rest days b4 the actual race day or train as usual ?

 

If youve been training all week i would not do ANY training the day before a race. It will leave you feeling fresh and ready on race day.

If youve had a be of a easy week you could do some training but i would not do more than 50k at a EASY pace.

IMO

 

I asked the same question to a few of my "cycling Fitness buddies (guru's)". They responded by saying yes..You should have a ride.

But it must not be a hard ride. Usually a 40 - 50 km slow ride is sufficient. Main reason being to keep those legs loose and also some go out just to test their bikes for the race to see that the settup is ride.

However, IMO I would also agree with GearGrinder, if you had a hard training week, take that day off and relax.

 

hmmm thats what i thought too....muscles need some loosening the day b4

 

depending on whether the race is important, a major goal, or just for training will depend on what you do. you should plan your training around your races, so that you arrive at your races in good condition.

for anything that isn't a training race, what most people find works very well, is to have the day off 2 days before the race (e.g., day off friday if racing sunday) and the day prior should be an easy spin at recovery levels for 45 - 90 mins (depending on fitness level) with a few race pace type efforts of ~ 30-secs duration (e.g., 3 x 30-secs).

Once you get in (and during the training ride too) you should take in plenty of carbohydrates to replenish your bodys carbo stores (muscle and liver glycogen) as racing is virtually dependent on these stores.

Ric

 

This is interesting. intuitively one would have thought that a 2 or even 3 day rest before the race would result in the best condition.

What would the scientific reasons be for an easy ride on the day before race day ?


Leon

 

i'm having my first race on sunday man ... pressures on... wonder what kind of tactics i should pull off as i have zero experience in racing....=|

 

HANG ON!! Riding is one thing, racing is a completly different kettle of fish . If youve never raced chances are the intensity of a race will be very hard on you. Dont be unset if you get droped. Just think losses know are wins later.

 

with that much rest i find my legs get 'lasy' rather than fresh. you start to loose fitness with too much rest too

 

yeah my heart rate soars during hard group rides... much higher than my solo training rides...

 

That's right - racing is great. It's challenging, and every race you learn something different. But if you're just starting out, don't take it too seriously. Like Rick said, you treat some races as "training races". As you get better, you try different things, so race as often as you can

I'm racing club crits about twice a week at the moment, so there's not much point tapering off training before every race. But if I want to treat a race a bit more seriously I'll ride do a shorter easy ride the day before. I've found that this really makes a difference. I feel fresher, and find it easier to stay with the front of the pack by the end.

I also find that if I've been training a lot, and then have a low training week, I actually race a bit better.

 

just finished the race... had a great time but kinda disapointed cos i dun even know what position iwas in when i finished? also didnt know that actually 5 guys or more in front slipped off n broke away without my knowledge.. was drafting a guy till he gave up over took him n a few more before finally riding on my own for the last 2 laps.(pAINNNnn) ...cant belive i didnt even noe bout the breakaway.... in fact i thought i may have won ? hahaa what a joke

 

Well done - at least you didn't drop out!