Is your Epic training on track - where should you be right now?

['Dale]

You CLEARLY have never done a long distance event or any event of this magnitude, your heart rate percentage just gets lower and lower as the body fatigues.

High intensity training should be the last thing on ones mind, unless you are going to race for podium or placing.

 

That was my original concern with the OP.

Experience of a reasonable kind in multi-stage racing...

 

[Wyatt Earp]

That was my original concern with the OP.

Experience of a reasonable kind in multi-stage racing...

 

 

I agree with you and reading more and more of his advice I am coming to the conclusion that ANYONE wanting to coach people for an event like this, should have done an event of this magnitude.

['Dale]

I agree with you and reading more and more of his advice I am coming to the conclusion that ANYONE wanting to coach people for an event like this, should have done an event of this magnitude.

 

And as you suggest, depending on one's racing objective (podium, middle of the pack finisher, just finish) one's training will be customised.

So, there is no single formula for training.

 

Who is the OP addressing?

Based on whose finishing goal in the Epic?

[Enticement]

You CLEARLY have never done a long distance event or any event of this magnitude, your heart rate percentage just gets lower and lower as the body fatigues.

High intensity training should be the last thing on ones mind, unless you are going to race for podium or placing.

 

You CLEARLY have very limited knowledge of the physiology of the body during physical stress - and there was no reference of HR in my post. Other than criticize you add no value to the topic - how about sharing your knowledge ...

[Wyatt Earp]

You CLEARLY have very limited knowledge of the physiology of the body during physical stress - and there was no reference of HR in my post. Other than criticize you add no value to the topic - how about sharing your knowledge ...

 

Would you like to take bets on that ?

 

How about you stop trying to deliver BS. and read up on the physiology of the body during physical stress, even better, do an Epic and experience it first hand.

 

You have opened yourself to criticism, deal with it.

 

**edit**

 

You say you made no reference to heart rate.

What is this ?

 

"you will spend lots of time riding above 60-70% of max! When coasting at 60-70% of max"

Edited November 16, 2012 by Dangle

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Would you like to take bets on that ?

 

How about you stop trying to deliver BS. and read up on the physiology of the body during physical stress, even better, do an Epic and experience it first hand.

 

You have opened yourself to criticism, deal with it.

 

**edit**

 

You say you made no reference to heart rate.

What is this ?

 

"you will spend lots of time riding above 60-70% of max! When coasting at 60-70% of max"

 

Boom!

 

Even I, as a lay person, know that TITS is needed before any sort of interval training is attempted. Not even talking about HIIT, which is even FURTHER down the road.

 

If you cannot ride at a certain speed for hour upon hour, you should not be doing intervals just yet.

[Enticement]

Would you like to take bets on that ?

 

How about you stop trying to deliver BS. and read up on the physiology of the body during physical stress, even better, do an Epic and experience it first hand.

 

You have opened yourself to criticism, deal with it.

 

**edit**

 

You say you made no reference to heart rate.

What is this ?

 

"you will spend lots of time riding above 60-70% of max! When coasting at 60-70% of max"

 

Referring to effort - HR measurement is just a means to an end and for that matter you can use perceived level of effort and/or watts

[Enticement]

Boom!

 

Even I, as a lay person, know that TITS is needed before any sort of interval training is attempted. Not even talking about HIIT, which is even FURTHER down the road.

 

If you cannot ride at a certain speed for hour upon hour, you should not be doing intervals just yet.

 

You are right - if you have followed my earlier posts you should read that. If you haven't done TIS to date and starts preparing for the Epic only now, your TIS/HIT mix should be carefully managed. But best results are clinically proven to be attained through HIT.

[Swart Kat]

Ek is reeds sedert 1 Aug op 'n oefenprogram wat deur 'n coach gemonitor word. Ons tel elke week bietjie meer en meer op. doen elke week intervalle, bult repeats, long rides, power rides ens ens. Dit sal my 2deEpic weesen dit is nie iets om mee te gaan speel nie.!!!! As jy 'n natural is kan jy relax en eers Jan begin met intervalle ens, andersins beter jy al sterk aan die oefen te wees om jou lyf gewoond te kry om daagliks gehammer te word tussen 6-10 ure per dag. Baie mense dink dit is a walk in the park, maar volgende jaar is juis daar om die moeilikste Epic nóg te wees. Ek berei eerder nou goed voor en suffer bietjie minder.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

You are right - if you have followed my earlier posts you should read that. If you haven't done TIS to date and starts preparing for the Epic only now, your TIS/HIT mix should be carefully managed. But best results are clinically proven to be attained through HIT.

 

Which is NOT what you're saying. Go back and read your posts again.

 

And HIIT is not the best way to start training now if you have not trained before now. The best thing to do is to alternate. NOT solely attempt HIIT or threshold efforts.

 

For farks sake dude, form an opinion. Then Stick By It.

[meerkat]

http://www.daisyway.co.za/

[Overlord]

The Epic is not an event you just enter. The few that have done so and thought it was going to be a walk in the park should read these comments and post their experiences.

 

Time in the saddle will be your biggest ally and the willingness to put yourself in the hurtbox day after day. No matter whether you racing for podium middle of the pack or just want to finish the event.

 

And yes you will have those spells where you feel that this is not for you. If you are mentally prepared as well as you are physically prepared you might stand a change of reaching that final finish line at Lourensford.

For those doing the Epic for the first time I have some advice------------- train train train and train.

 

The Epic is not a given.

The Epic is earned.

[Wyatt Earp]

Referring to effort - HR measurement is just a means to an end and for that matter you can use perceived level of effort and/or watts

 

Seems to me the one crucial aspect you keep forgetting, effort will have a big impact on heart rate.

Epic is nothing but miles and miles of time in the saddle.

Train for it as such and the TIT man will be leaving the guy that trained at threshold far behind after day 4.

I also see a comment on next year being the "toughest yet"

That's the case every year.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Not to mention that you shouldn't be At Threshold the entire time anyway. You'd be burnt out after 3 days, as Dangle says. There are climbs where you're at 80-90% HRR, yes - but that is not the dominating environment. You cannot train just for all-out efforts and expect to be able to go for 4 - 8 hours at avg 70%, where the threshold efforts are max 30 mins at a time.

[Wyatt Earp]

Enticement.

You want me to give input.

First off.

 

This is your thread.

You give yourself off as the expert.

You try and insinuate that the rest of us don't know what we are talking about.

 

Your approach as well as some of your advice is questionable.

That is why you are being challenged and questioned.

You strike me as someone rather "newish" to the sport (I could be wrong)

 

I have to ask though.

How many multi-day events have you done longer than 4 days ?

[Fitter]

Boris, you have been riding at a high level for long enough to know what works and what doesn't - you have endurance titles in your palmares. I could not agree more with what you are saying, and I have a bit of grysbaard to show as well. Interval training for an endurance event like Epic, now, in November leaves me with one huge question: Where to from here? I'm not interested in handpicked scientific literature from researchers, themselves looking at handpicked data to arrive at predetermined, handpicked conclusions. Did any of them ride a Tour or a multi-stage or were they constrained by the laboratory and the sample data they viewed?

Simply put, NOTHING will prepare you better, viewed as a whole, than LOTS of base/capacity work NOW. This whether you are going for podium or just for a finish. The quality of your base quantity alone will determine the quality of your eventual peak. And if you are deep into refinement (interval) training now, your chances of maintaining the critical MENTAL freshness and buffering of your immune system is so compromised you are gambling with your health and performance. And how do you manage recovery/fatigue?

 

In truth, there are many ways to skin a cat. But the old-time cat-skinners always get the job done right, on time, every time. We also cannot forget the critical importance of systemic efficiency - be it pedalling efficiency or fuel-recruitment efficiency that comes with long, steady distance. For most of the field, Epic will be about long days in the saddle. And a korporaal intent on teaching a troepie about opv@k.