Anaerobic Pacing

[dracs]

mmmmm.........

I am pondering intentionally dropping off, when / if the pace gets too high for me, instead of hanging on till I am forced to 'leave the building', and subsequently thereafter having a worse race. I agree with all your other points re rest, training, nutrition.

I've pondered (and even planned) the same - for the same reasons - but without fail when I'm actually in the race I can never bring myself to voluntarily let go of a wheel... So I've come to terms with the fact that I either need to train differently (specifically higher intensity for longer periods) or I need to accept that I am more often than not going to be kakking off in the latter parts of races...

[Nickzta]

Hey friend,

 

I'm all for bumping, switching and changing your training program. There is always benefit in mixing it up...

 

But I think the problem here, is your head, not your legs... Your mind seems to be out of control in the opening stages, it's not letting you slow down. The adrenalin flows and you get "fixated" It's not an uncommon issue

on 2 wheels, but you seem to have it bad

 

Maybe see if you can find a "head" coach not a "leg" coach... yes?

 

(If you know anybody who coaches or is an old hand in motor-racing, especially motorbike racing, have 2 or three chats about fixation and visualisation. It might be the best help for you. These guys love chatting, it should only cost you the price of a round of beers)

Edited December 14, 2011 by Nickzta

['Dale]

Getting dropped with intention and waiting to hitch a ride with the next bunch is like telling yourself:

 

"I do not have what it takes..."

 

It is a negative mindset.

 

----

 

A positive mindset reads "Let me get stronger and stay in the race & kick azzz...

Thus, train with greater intensity until you cry for your Mama's Mamma!

Good suggestions so far.

 

It is utterly unenjoyable.

And as you stay with the pace, that will be the reward.

[Pusher]

Could be the age. I'm 46 and can stay with the youngsters for the first 60-70km. After that the old legs just gives in.

I'm however changing my approach / training this year (and this is the way it should be). I'm going to do a LOT of km this December, with a good couple of back to back 100km plus rides. Gym work to strengthen the core and back. Once the racing season start, I'm planning on racing every weekend till the Argus (which is my "main" race next year) In these races the ideal is to stay close to the front, but not get too "involved" in the racing. Let the eager beavers do the work, and pull you along. You'll find that you are still fairly strong towards the end.

Did it in 2009, and had a stunner of a season.

Are you not worried about being over trained? I did a race- road and MTB- every weekend for about 10 weeks prior to the 94.7 plus my usual midweek training. Had great 94.7 MTB race but my legs felt realy flat for the road race a week later. Took a two week break and I couldn't believe how great I felt on my first training ride after the break.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Pusher

[W1Z@RD]

I find I am a very slow starter. I can drop the guys I train with over long distances, but the first 30 minutes I feel like I'm holding on for dear life and pushing too hard.

One day before a training ride, I arrived early and stretched for quite a while and got my heart rate up properly... That day and ever since then, I can start strong. I find I perform about 10 percent better with a proper warm up over the last months and don't fade as badly

[TNT1]

Train your body harder,you can take the punch age is just a figure.Train at race pace do a lot of hard race and you'll drop the youngster

 

What he said.

 

Also, if the race is 100km, train to race 120, or 130km. You'll see the benefit.

 

Also, try as much as possible to spin lighter gears in the first couple of hours of the race. Later, when you need to push a bigger one, you'll be able to.

 

Like Basso said, it's cycling, not rocket science.

[Dicky DQ]

Are you not worried about being over trained? I did a race- road and MTB- every weekend for about 10 weeks prior to the 94.7 plus my usual midweek training. Had great 94.7 MTB race but my legs felt realy flat for the road race a week later. Took a two week break and I couldn't believe how great I felt on my first training ride after the break.

 

I don't believe us funriders can be over trained. We don't do enough time or distance or intensity. What sort of hours are you doing 20-30/week? if not I don't think it is an issue. But just my thoughts. There was a time I was doing about 16hrs per week and doing either 2 races a weekend or at least 1 race and 1 150km ride per weekend.

 

The problem came when I stopped cycling and now want to get back into it. Now it Feels like 8hrs a week is over training. Ut comes down to conditioning your body. Nothing more nothing less, of course if you start cranking up the hrs then it is a different story.

[Robrider]

I don't believe us funriders can be over trained. We don't do enough time or distance or intensity. What sort of hours are you doing 20-30/week? if not I don't think it is an issue. But just my thoughts. There was a time I was doing about 16hrs per week and doing either 2 races a weekend or at least 1 race and 1 150km ride per weekend.

 

The problem came when I stopped cycling and now want to get back into it. Now it Feels like 8hrs a week is over training. Ut comes down to conditioning your body. Nothing more nothing less, of course if you start cranking up the hrs then it is a different story.

 

I disagree with you.

 

It has everything to do with what your body is used to. Also most "fun riders" underestimate the stress that daily life has on performance. You think working 10hours a day isn't stressful? and balancing that with a family and training? and what is usually reduced to fit that all in... sleep.

 

I think fun riders are more prone to over training, because they don't have extra time to sleep/recover like the pro's.

[Lucky Luke.]

I disagree with you.

 

It has everything to do with what your body is used to. Also most "fun riders" underestimate the stress that daily life has on performance. You think working 10hours a day isn't stressful? and balancing that with a family and training? and what is usually reduced to fit that all in... sleep.

 

I think fun riders are more prone to over training, because they don't have extra time to sleep/recover like the pro's.

 

I agree, sleep deprivation and work stress is the main problem I have with my cycling (bloody work - always getting in the way of the important stuff ). After a while your body cannot maintain and it affects performance in the form of adrenal fatique.

 

How hard you go in training is also a major factor - obviously you have to balance intensity with easier workouts. I've been overtrained on 14 hours a week - it's easily done when you have a family and don't earn a living riding your bike.

['Dale]

I disagree with you.

 

It has everything to do with what your body is used to. Also most "fun riders" underestimate the stress that daily life has on performance. You think working 10hours a day isn't stressful? and balancing that with a family and training? and what is usually reduced to fit that all in... sleep.

 

I think fun riders are more prone to over training, because they don't have extra time to sleep/recover like the pro's.

Good post.

 

Funriders tend to:

 

*do 'catch-up training', like cramming.

*take on too much too quickly.

*underrest because of time demand.

[Enticement]

1st things 1st: older athletes perform less because they train less - age is no excuse for lesser performance (given you are from a "proper" genes pool, ie you can train a jersey cow as much as you like but she'll never win the July). Getting accustomed to that idea, the next: your brain is an anticipatory regulator controlling your body. The moment you embark on an activity which it feels unfamiliar with, it starts putting hurdles in place to "protect" you from demolishing yourself. It applies the principle of cognitive dissonance, making your body perform worse than you expect. Convert this cognitive dissonance into cognitive association through conditioning, implying following the correct sequence of exposure to your brain to ensure performance optimisation through optimising your training time - its about utilising the correct energy systems ...

 

I coach quite a number of older athletes that will be kicking but in 2012! Youngsters beware ...

 

Check this out My link

[JulesV]

I agree, sleep deprivation and work stress is the main problem I have with my cycling (bloody work - always getting in the way of the important stuff ). After a while your body cannot maintain and it affects performance in the form of adrenal fatique.

 

 

 

Have to agree with the work/life/sleep statement. I hate driving to work because of the traffic situation so I used to force myself to commute by bicycle regardless of how tired I was feeling. This meant waking up earlier, getting home a bit later and generally losing out on sleep because of 'house work' back-up. I was feeling pretty weak at one point.

 

Then I got a scooter to beat the traffic in the mornings so now I could sleep a bit later/more, commute on alternate days and I found an immense improvement; legs had more punch so I could do better quality intervals, etc. Sooo besides promoting scooters as an efficient way of beating traffic lol I suppose I'm also saying, quality sleep/rest is as important as quality training!