With our minus 20 windchill, I'm staying inside for the day and just reading cycling news before I get on the trainer in a few hours. So I found this gem on slowtwitch.com: it's an interview with Dave Zabriskie in which he talks about riding for Slipstream, then lies about how little he trains. There is no way in hell that man rides only 15 to 20 hours a week and rides as fast as he does. I mean, I know he became one of the best TT guys in the world without ever having set foot in a wind tunnel, but I wouldn't even be successful in the 4s if I trained that little. I'm getting a little off topic here. Here's my favorite portion of the interview:
SlowTwitch: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Dave: I see myself as the most powerful man in the chamois cream business.
This dude is so weird, and totally crazy. But I love him.
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5 comments:
I love his last comment, "Cars are the new second hand smoke."
And actually, 15-20 hrs in season is very reasonable. He probably is not counting racing. So when he has a few weeks between big races, he'll probably do some easy rides, and probably 2 interval days a week. That's it. This gives him a couple days a week off the bike to let his body fully recover from the previous race, but still maintain fitness.
The thing about being on form is to do your homework before the season starts. That means base miles in Nov, Dec, Jan; mid-level intervals in Feb, Mar; then intersperse racing and high-level intervals for a month or so. Since you can easily find a full racing schedule by April(with traveling), you should ideally be firing on all cylinders by then. Trying to play catch-up and train too intensely during racing season really hinders your capabilities.
This is why I'm not serious about racing so much anymore. A good training year starts in November and ends in April - the time of the worst outdoor weather around these parts. You basically have to put up with the trainer. The best seasons I had were when the weather was really mild all winter and I could train outside almost everyday. Those good training seasons, Nov - April, carry through racing season and help you build your next training season and therefore, be even stronger the next racing season.
Ok, enough preaching to the choir...
preach on, Brother Munson.
get on the trainer, Sean. Zabriskie -- and Cipo -- will be disappointed if you don't.
Hey Sean, an addendum to my, um, addendum...
I know you said you have a hard time getting on the trainer and admire Bryan's dedication. Well Bryan has a routine that he can (sort of - depending on the Jacket) stick to. I know in College it's near impossible to stick with a routine. I could not imagine trying to be a racer and keep up with classes, and actually enjoy the randomness of college, all at the same time. I didn't mean to sound elitist, but following my "ideal" plan above for year round training is not really needed for a cat 4 racer. True, if you want to cat up to a 3 or higher, then yes, you gotta put in some time. But like I said before, juggling racing with college has got to be really difficult. If you think about it, you probably won't do any really early season races since you'll still be focused on school. So that means later season races are going to be your forte; barring any close encounters with the pavement.
I say, have fun with what you can do now and any extra you can put in will just be icing on the cake.
But don't eat that cake, fatty.
it's true -- I know I'm Jacket-free at 2 p.m. every day. And it works out as follows:
Monday (off from work): 2-5 p.m., whatever I want.
Tuesday: no bike, dog-walking
Wednesday: 1 or 1.5 hours, hard
Thursday: no bike, dog-walking
Friday: 1 hour, up-tempo
Saturday: hard morning workout, inside/outside/whatever
Sunday: long ride, preferably outside
I tried riding earlier in the day when Jack was supposed to sleep, but he's inconsistent -- 35 minutes one day, 1.5 hours the next. No good. Probably like your schedule, Sean.
Just do what you can. You're not coming all the way back for Lincoln Plating or the Old Capitol crit anyway, are you?
Most likely not. I'm going to do a few races around here if I'm feeling alright - I'll have to do some pack riding again to get used to it, but I'm not so worried about crashing in the 4s. Most of the races here, like Monsters of the Midway, are really, really flat, which means they often end in bunch sprints. That freaks me out a little - I mean, I'm a good sprinter, but I've only done it against Jerry, really. I'll probably just try to hang on for dear life and use the early season races for fitness and getting back into that competitive groove.
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