Race Simulation
Squeezed in a nice lunch time ride today. While short, it was quite fruitful…
Spring time temps are here, and the sun is trying to make it way through the clouds!
Seeing the above deer had me pondering: Do you let your environment shape you? Or do you choose your own settings that suit the environment you’re currently in? That is, do you do intervals that suit your racing style and race courses or are you just doing intervals in the hopes of getting faster?
I’ve been utilizing what I call “race simulation” intervals for my xc based athletes for a bit and I think they have some superb fitting for mountain bike racers. Basically, after looking at power files from xc races for a bit, we’ve kinda drawn out exactly what happens at the start of a race. Sprint>Vo2>Threshold>Upper Sweet Spot. Basically, this interval replicates the first 15-20 minutes of an xc event(or even the endurance races that are starting fast nowadays).
I did the below interval on the road bike, but can be performed off-road and should be as you get closer to your A race. In fact, if you can recon your course a few weeks ahead of time it’s a perfect workout to do on the course. Start out and sprint off the line, then hold at vo2 max wattage for 2-3 minutes, into threshold for 5-8 minutes, then Upper Sweet Spot for 8-20 minutes. This is a pretty advanced workout and I’d typically only prescribe 1 of these intervals as a workout. Start at the lower time periods and work your way up!
As you can see, I actually felt really great and a other than a little power drop after the initial 2 and 5 minute efforts, I actually reworked it and was able to raise my power up during the interval, letting me know I had paced myself very well.
Basically, find the demands of your races and train for them!
It’s nice to see the reasons behind the methods!
You back for good?
Yup, I’m back home for good!
Are you based in Rochester NY?
(lampy29 from mtbr)
I was in Boulder, CO for the past 6 months, but I’m currently back in NY, 30 min from Rochester