Steve_B said:
..and you're missing the point. It's not about me. The original point was that many of us get quite a lot accomplished in that time going to and from our jobs. Often that's all we have time available for during the day so we have to make it useful.
Fine. I am happy for you. However people that don't race tend to train a different way because they have different goals. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you're not experienced at racing, however, you're unlikely to have a complete grasp of some of the training racers do. That's all.
Great, however you said you were training for (and seemed to be focused on) a crit and in absence of any other information, what else was I to conclude?
I would also point out to you aspects of specificity. Crits are not climbing and they have specific demands in terms of power durations, cadence, neuromuscular power, etc. I wouldn't expect someone preparing for their first race ever to be that knowledgeable or concerned about those details - I think other matters will and should take priority. However, since you seemed to be so sure of yourself as absolutely the on the right path, I thought I would introduce a dose of reality.
Getting back to your original question, I know of some elite and pro riders that will train in the morning then come home, have lunch, take a nap then go out again later in the afternoon. Most of us with "real jobs" don't have that kind of time available too often.
Steve_B, sorry for flaming you. I was having a bad day and I overreacted. With that said, I do appreciate your advice. Let me back up and explain what point I am at in my training, and what my goals are, and why I am training twice a day.
I have been riding for 5 years off and on, mainly due to the fact that I was on the swim team in college, so the only times I ever rode was summer or the occasional Sunday. Now, I have finished swimming and I am in grad school, meaning I now have time to focus on riding. Before I graduate from grad school and go into the "real world" I wanted to try to focus on cycling and really make an effort to be the best that I can be, while I still have the time to train.
I've been building up my training for a few weeks and now I have started to really up the distance and intensity, but due to time constraints with school/family/old lady, riding twice a day just makes more sense. I have been able to do group rides 2-3 times a week, sometimes with 20+ riders. I am comfortable with my bike handling skills (meaning I can hold my line, and I don't swerve when looking over my shoulder).
My goal is to do a crit in a few weeks. For my first race, my goal is not to win, my goal is to not get dropped. That way I can gain experience riding in a crit for the whole race, not just the first few laps. Then the next time I do a race, I can focus more on racing, not worrying about turns, accelerations, and people all around me. Baby steps.
So anyways, does anyone have any tips for my first crit?