As I have not really had a regimented training schedule, I have not really noticed what effects of overtraining can do to you. I know that for me, during the season if I ride about 4 times a week when I'm fit, I can perform relatively well in the races. The 4 times a week tend to be a mix of fast intervals at Hains Point, one hill ride day (typically Wednesday) and possibly one day on the weekend on a group ride. All in all I'm training at my lactate threashold (80-95% of my maximum heartrate). What I'm missing in all of my training is the long endurance rides over 40 miles. I get plenty of rides which are about 25 miles long.
So my question to all of the other riders I continue to ride with is, Does hammering every day actually improve your racing? I think I know the answer, however the guys I ride with are constantly hammering. Do you guys ever get tired? I've noticed that some times riders are hitting a peak during one week and cannot keep up the constant tempo. There are some riders who just come out once a week or twice a week and they just destroy the rest of us, however they are extrememly capable hill climbers and have some really strong endurance. So, I'm wondering whether it is better to mix up different group rides more often, or whether to hammer on some days and take it easy on others? I thought that my vacation/rest period would provide me some good performance afterwards, however that didn't happen. It actually got worse, though, I think it's finally coming back now as I've dialed in my seat positioning.
Well, yesterday's hill ride was actually a good one for me. There was no Simon or Ad and Jay met us at the middle of climbing out of Great Falls Park. It was at a tempo which I could hang on to and not blow up. This tempo is much better for my training in my opinion, I'm not dropped , so my training is at a constant instead going to an anareobic state then blowing up and having a long recovery period in which I meet up with the others at another point only to do it again. Jay, went on his own pace while the others decided to stay about 30 yards back. My prediction is that Jay will do very well in the CAT4 Road races this year. He'll probably have enough points with the circuit and crits cat up quickly. That is unless for some reason he burns out too quickly.
One last comment...It's nice when someone in a car yells a nice comment to you. Yesterday, a guy in a fancy Mercedes yelled something about riding like you're in the Tour. So I waved and he waved back. For once it's not someone who is driving and screaming at you to get out of the way and that bikes are not to be ridden on the roads. You can sometimes tell about the intellect and culture of the drivers by what they are driving and how they drive.
See you out there, hammering away.
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4 comments:
As you know I am not a hammer everyday rider from my blog. I think that the peaks are a lot more less predictable if you hammer all the time.
I think if you have limited time as you do that hammering is fine but in steady doses. Remember inorder to peak you have to stress your body to limits it is not used gradually. Then you will have your peak. The rest you took was probably something your body was needing. That is what I at least understand from the reading that I have done and what my coach has told me.
the only way you get faster is by recovering properly. hammering everyday is fun but its not whats best for you.
I agree with Agent Hulk, you need to have recovery days in order to let your body, (legs) recovery from hard workouts.
I think our ride is pretty high intensity just about every day. I can't remember when we actually kept the pace down. But, I definitely feel that my riding has gotten stronger as result of these rides.
I also try to do longer threshold intervals when I ride solo. I try to stay in the "sweet spot", which is high L3/L4. This is the range that you'll develop the physiologica/molecular systems.
If you're still lifting, our rides probably feel a lot harder. At least they do for me the day after I do a heavy leg workout.
All of the things you guys are saying are not new news to me. I just wonder why our intensity is so high every day. That's why I'm wondering how others are recovering? I used to just ride Tues,Wed and Thurs, with high intensity group rides. Mondays were usually an off day and Fridays were a light day. Saturday and Sundays were either racing days or longer duration rides. It seems like every day these days are high intensity with no off days.
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