Well, you'd probably get more responses if you posted this in the Cycling Training forums instead of the Health and Nutrition Supplements forums but basically I'd say you've got too much rest and not enough training in your weekly schedule.
You basically train one day a week, race two days a week and rest/recover the other days. And although gaining race experience is essential it may or may not be your best training. If you're comfortable in your group and race tactically or are way outclassed and get dropped it generally isn't the best training. If you're active in the race, launching and responding to attacks, getting off the front and working and contesting the finish it can be great training. But a lot of folks race cagey (smart if you're after good results) or not well matched to their competition and aren't necessarily training well during races.
I don't know what sort of intervals you're doing on Wednesday, but at a glance I'd think about adding some Tempo/SST work on Tuesday and an
openers ride on Friday before your weekend of racing.
The Tempo work should be somewhere in the one to three hour range depending on your fitness, base and recovery from the weekend. And it should be ridden at a comfortably quick pace that requires some focus and where you start to notice deep steady breathing but isn't brutal. And you should try to find continuous sections of road including flat stretches and steady moderate climbs where you can hold that Tempo/SST pace for 20 minutes to an hour or more without a lot of stops or coasting descents.
Follow that with your Wednesday intervals which hopefully include some longer 15 to 30 minute Threshold efforts or at least some 5x5 style VO2 Max work. If you're doing minute long gutbusting L6 efforts to compliment a crit and a road race then you're definitely ignoring your core metabolic fitness and your sustainable power will suffer.
The openers ride on Friday is really important to get you ready for racing over the weekend. You've basically got two days of rest following your Wednesday intervals before you race. That's a recipe for heavy blocked up legs on the weekend. Yes, it's possible to be too rested before racing. The openers ride should get you up to race pace and even VO2 Max pace for a few short to mid length efforts and can include a sprint or two if you feel good but the overall ride should be around an hour or so and leave you feeling pretty good. Don't cook yourself with a lot of high end work or too much time in the saddle on Friday, just wake your legs up and get mentally and physically ready to race on Saturday.
FWIW, I've learned to avoid resting the day before a race at all costs. Without the openers ride I feel awful for the early miles of a road race and something that starts fast like a crit or TT is even worse. If you really feel tired after Wednesday's session and feel like you need more rest then take Thursday completely off the bike and make Friday your easy spin day before weekend racing. But I'd strongly advise you not to rest two days straight before your weekend races.
Another observation over many years is that most riders really start to shine when they can manage 5 good training/racing days per week. These aren't all max effort days but I've learned personally and from friends and team mates that something magical seems to happen when a rider goes from 3 to 5 days of good riding per week. Some take 2 days completely off the bike, some spin easily for one to two days per week, but 5 purposeful days really seems to pay off for most folks. I don't know anyone who's been able to make big progress with two easy spins and two complete rest days per week, that basically translates to training 3 days and resting 4 days per week and that's not gonna cut it.
Good luck,
-Dave
spinner32 said:
Hey all,
Just curious about how many "off" or recovery days you all plan into your training schedules. I currently have 2 days a week that I take off, and 2 really easy days in the saddle. I then space out my main workouts (2 weekend races per week, and a hard ride in the middle) accordingly.
i.e.
Sunday: Race - Collegiate Crit
Monday: Easy spinning ~ 1hr
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Intervals
Thursday: Easy spinning
Friday: Off
Saturday: Race - Collegiate RR
Just curious what advice or thoughts some more experienced racers have to offer on optimizing training and recovery. Sometimes I feel completely recovered for the next weekend's races, but others I'm feeling fatigued. I don't want to venture into an overtrained state.
Thanks
