Author Topic: 2 weeks leading up to an endurance race...  (Read 1159 times)

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Online E90X + 1.1.11

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2 weeks leading up to an endurance race...
« on: August 22, 2007, 09:24:48 AM »
I read this somewhere:

"By the time we get to two weeks from our event, we should focus primarily on resting, recovering, and preparing mentally. This is a good time to go over all of your plans and preparations as well getting in the right place mentally, emotionally and spiritually to perform maximally at your event. Meditation, visualization exercises and journaling are all good techniques to get your internal landscape aligned for success. Your longest ride for the week should be no more than three hours and the rest of them should be easy and no more than one to two hours. You don't need to be on the bike more than three or four days and the rest of your time should be spent stretching, getting the rest you need and eating properly. Be sure to hydrate effectively in the days leading up to your event and take in a few extra complex carbohydrates along with your normal intake of lean proteins and healthy fats.

Finally, in the week leading up to your goal event, you should ride easily one to two times for no more than an hour or so and do lots of stretching just to keep your legs open and loose. I recommend taking an off day three days out and the day just before your event to maximally store up the energy required for a peak performance. "

Offline Harvey

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Re: 2 weeks leading up to an endurance race...
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2007, 09:45:59 AM »
Keep in mind that I ride practically every day, so adjust this to what you do:

You can start a "taper" 2-3 weeks before your big race. Typically this is done by reducing your weekly volume by 20-30% per week, but don't reduce your frequency. In other words, if you ride 4 days a week, keep riding 4 days a week, just not as long. You should put in a hard effort every 48-72 hours, with the rest of your rides being easy-schmeasy.

Here's what I do the week of a big race I'm tapering for, or a race that's in a rest week:

Race intervals: 1:30 (one minute 30 seconds) at race pace or slightly higher, followed by 3 minutes recovery. Do one of these for each day you have left before your race. In other words, if the race is on Sunday, do 5 Tuesday, 4 Wednesday, 3 Thursday.

Take Friday off.

Saturday is your pre-ride, if possible. I like to do "openers": 1 minute at race pace (on), 1 recovery (off), 2 on, 2 off, then 3, 4, 5. Recovery time equals work time.

If you rest completely, you'll be flat come race day. The idea is to do just enough work to keep your legs loose and ready for the punishment you're going to inflict on them, but no more.

The mental/stretching exercises they mentioned are always a good idea.

Online E90X + 1.1.11

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Re: 2 weeks leading up to an endurance race...
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2007, 11:00:39 AM »
great info

thank you sir

Offline RiskEverything

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Re: 2 weeks leading up to an endurance race...
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2007, 10:20:40 PM »
I'm going to sleep at a Holiday Inn Express the night before, and drink a Redbull before I saddle up.

Just to cover all the bases. ;D
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