Training for the Epic in this weather

[Marius]

You can Tapper when you dead

[xak1]

Physiologically, it takes about 7-10 days for training to have a specific muscular effect.  Last week is therefore to "keep the feeling" and is more psycological than anything else.  Epic specific you need a long taper - it is not a 1 day Argus or 3.5 day Sabie.  More like equivalent of 3 Argus' per day or doing Sabie in 2 days, 4 times over.  In Audax, organisers recommend last long ride 4 weeks before start.

[tubed]

While I can't profess to have ridden the Epic and I have no factual basis for how long you should train/ taper your training etc  befiore a big event, i think it is a case of doing what has worked for you in the past.

 

My observation, (not fact), is that there is nothing worse than arriving at an event and getting the shock of your life in that your legs 'feel' like they have forgotten what a hard or long effort is like becuase you began to taper to soon

 

Again just an observation - when looking at what Lampre's contenders were required to do post the stages of Tirreno Adriatico this week, ie a bloody hard days stage racing - they were then required to train after the stage to make sure that they were doing up to 275km for the day, that in the week before the biggest race on the Italian calendar - MSR (290km). Similar thoughts were expressed by Cancellara, ie he would be doing anything between 4 - 6 hours this week still to make sure he was ready.

 

in the absence of fact, I say do what works for you

 

PS: anybody know if MSR will be featured at all on Rai for definite, this link seems to indicate so, but maybe just a wrap up http://www.international.rai.it/tv/programmi/scheda.php?id=200

 

 

[bruce]

I have also never done the Epic, or coached someone that has, but I am more inclined to agree with dfm1.

 

1. I think 2 weeks of tapering is way too much.

2. Leading up to the event the training phase is the specialisation phase, during this phase you should be training the way you will race.

3. In 2005, Landis tapered the week before the TdF, the first week was also easy, so he had 2 weeks tapering.  He feels this was a mistake.  2006, he trained hard right up until the race, first week of the race was effectively tapering, and he went well in the mountains.

4. There is a good saying "the more you train, the more you can train".  So, the higher your general fitness going into the first day of the event, the less cumulative fatigue each day places on your system, the better you'll be over the long period.

 

I am speculating here, and trying to apply principles that I know.  Have never done it before though.

[TitusTi]

Bruce for a climber riding on the flats for the first week of a tour would be tapering, for a mtb'er there are no easy days, the easy will be the Sunday jaunt to the coffe shop with a hangover. I'm not advocating doing nothing, as this is a little silly, but to go into the Epic even slightly over cooked with the way the stages are stacked (5 hard days in a row) is very silly.

[xak1]

I think the mistake we tend to make is to apply what the pro's do on us, which are maybe older, genetically less suited for cycling and generally train at much lower levels and time than the pro's.  A 4-6 hour week for a pro is a serious taper.   Rule of thumb is normally that if you are doing 3 weeks of taper, cut volume by 20% on the previous week, with first week's cut determined by average of previous 3 weeks (excluding any rest weeks).  Last week is really there only to keep sharpness, and could be as little as 50%-30% of last real week of taper.  Based on this, pro riders probably spend 30-40 hours per week training, then 4-6 hours in week before a big race is really nothing.  In the last week focus on short high intensity efforts, as this will keep the dead feeling away.

[Brakkies Sport Fotos]

I dont think we must follow the "PRO Riders" logic.

 

 

 

We are 40+ 'ers in a complete different class, or type of cyclists.

 

 

 

And then you can even split the epic field in the 30-40 hour riders, 40- 50 hour riders , and the rest.

 

 

 

so, all in all, if you are planning on riding in the 55-65 hour group, we need to do things different than the 30 - 40 hour guys?

 

 

 

 

[tubed]

Cancellara was talking about 4 -6 hours per day!, ie  32 to 42 hours per week prior to race! any pro that rides 4 -6 hours a week is unemployed!

 

I agree do not slavishly follow what they do, but the principle is there - don't change too much, train like you want to 'race'

 

As for any week, in any stage race being easy, that's just not the case, if its on the flats - then there are winds and higher speeds, if its mtns then the domestiques still have to ride until there is nothing left to the bottom of the climb - hardly ever is there a 'day off'

 

I tend to agree with Bruce, there is no point getting there exhausted, but just dont catch a rude wakeup on day 1

 

I would be interested to hear how the ordinary (non-pros) guys who raced the Giro felt on the day of the Argus and the week after that - I would imagine with some light rest they felt in pretty awesome shape the following week

 

finally, I would not underestimate the level at which many of the part time, 35 year plus riders are at, part time cyling is now a serious deal with the levels of fitness and dedication at a level never seen before in this country

 

 

[TitusTi]

You should try ride the Giro first, the ordinary riders have generally put there bikes away and don't want to see them for a bit!

What they normally feel on Argus day is relief that it's over.

It's not about underestimating them, they have jobs, you can't train like a pro and hold down a real job.

And the stage racing is easy on the flats if you're a pro, that's exactly what Bruce said about Floyd, the first week was a taper.

Then again Floyd was once quoting as saying: "No ones head ever exploded from training to much, if you're over trained it just means you were under trained to begin with".

Perhaps not the best advice?

[dfm1]

I have also never done the Epic' date=' or coached someone that has, but I am more inclined to agree with dfm1.

 

1. I think 2 weeks of tapering is way too much.

2. Leading up to the event the training phase is the specialisation phase, during this phase you should be training the way you will race.

3. In 2005, Landis tapered the week before the TdF, the first week was also easy, so he had 2 weeks tapering.  He feels this was a mistake.  2006, he trained hard right up until the race, first week of the race was effectively tapering, and he went well in the mountains.

4. There is a good saying "the more you train, the more you can train".  So, the higher your general fitness going into the first day of the event, the less cumulative fatigue each day places on your system, the better you'll be over the long period.

 

I am speculating here, and trying to apply principles that I know.  Have never done it before though.

[/quote']

 

 

Great, thanks good to see some sense prevails, need to keep those legs ticking, as for floyd, was it the reduced tapering or dem testosterone, one would never know.

[dfm1]

I dont think we must follow the "PRO Riders" logic.

We are 40+ 'ers in a complete different class' date=' or type of cyclists.

And then you can even split the epic field in the 30-40 hour riders, 40- 50 hour riders , and the rest.

so, all in all, if you are planning on riding in the 55-65 hour group, we need to do things different than the 30 - 40 hour guys?

[/quote']

 

Eish, if you are planning to do 55 - 65 hours then I reckon you should train even harder, you are planning to ride so much longer, so logic would dictate that for more hours of riding more training should be done

[xak1]

Interesting, Floyd had a very bad day before he recuperated and had one of the best days ever on a bicycle (same with Vino last year).  In both cases it seems that there has been some extra help - so his views on tapering is probably not relevant for us mere mortals that play the game by the rule.

 

Epic is probably more taxing on your body than Ironman, as you need to recover, get up, ride and then recover again, 8 days in a row.  Six times Ironman Triathlete Champion, Mark Allen wrote the following article:

 

The final touches to any training program come during the taper. This is the period of your season leading up to a key race when you cut back your overall training volume and allow your body to absorb all of the hard work you did during your base building and speed phases. Doing the right kind of taper is an art unto itself.

A taper is tricky because of what is happening internally when your body is given a chance to recover. When athletes start to give themselves rest, the system in the body that responds to stress (which is the system that allows you to get up for big workouts) starts to shut down. This is like working on the engine of your car. You cannot give the engine an overhaul while it is running. You have to shut it off. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The same is true for our bodies. You have to shut the "engine" off for it to recover and charge up for the big races. And when you do this, you might feel like you are out of energy, sluggish, and getting out of shape. THIS IS NORMAL.

This requires a readjustment of mindset. Allow yourself to feel less-than-stellar. It is just a signal that your body is repairing itself and getting ready for a big effort in a few weeks. Resist the temptation to go out and test your fitness just to make sure you are not losing it. As best as you can, stick to the plan I will outline for you. This is the toughest part of a taper...the rest.

The Perfect Taper

The perfect taper is about four weeks in length. Yes, four weeks! It is slightly different for each of the three sports because of the difference in recovery time each one of them needs. Running takes the longest because of the impact. Cycling takes less time, but is still longer than what you will require for swimming.

So the peak week of training, where you will have both your longest individual workout and largest weekly volume for each sport should be placed on your workout calendar as follows:

Running- largest training week should end with five weeks to go to your biggest race.

Cycling- largest training week should end with four weeks to go to your biggest race.

Swimming- largest training week should end with three weeks to go to your biggest race.

After each of these peak weeks, draw a straight line reduction in both the length of your long workouts and the overall weekly volume down to zero training two days before your race.

Let's look at how this would look for the long ride for someone who is training for an Ironman. If you hit a peak cycling volume five weeks out (the week that ends with four weeks to go to your big event) is say cycling 250 miles and in that week you have a long ride of 6.5 hours, the next four weeks would look like this:

4 weeks out: volume reduced to 210 miles, and a long ride should be about 5.5 hours.

3 weeks out: volume reduced to 170 miles, and a long ride should be about 4.5 hours.

2 weeks out: volume reduced to 130 miles, and a long ride should be about 3.5 hours.

Race Week: volume (excluding the race itself) should be roughly 100 miles, and a long ride (not including the race) should be no more than 2 hours.

What to Expect During a Taper

Week One- You start to feel good. The energy system that raises your energy up for peak workouts will still be switched on but you will begin to build energy reserves because of the reduced volume of training. The result is that you will start to feel supercharged.

Week Two- The "respond" systems start to shut down that are normally active during high volume training. You start to go into hyper-recovery mode. Legs and arms can feel heavy. Motivation for working out can drop. But have faith...

Week Three- Your energy will start to come back and you will feel the spark and the spring come back into your mind and body. Remember, this is still not the time to test yourself. That will come in the race a week away.

Week Four- All of the rest pays off. If you thought week three felt good, this will blow your socks off. You will hardly be able to contain yourself. This is exactly what you want. You are now ready for your best race.

Three Key Days of Race Week- The day before the race do all three sports, about 10 minutes of running, 30 minutes of cycling and about 5-7 swimming. Do each sport easy but have about 5x10 second pickups where you gradually accelerate over those 10 seconds to just a little faster than race pace.

Two days before the race, do absolutely no working out. This is a day of complete rest. Make sure you go to sleep early this night and sleep in on the day before the race morning. The sleep you get (or don't get) will have little bearing on your performance the night before the race.

Three days out from the race again do all three sports for a total workout time of 2-3 hours. Get it done early (before noon) and resist all temptation to test yourself. This again is just putting in some time so that your body will store up the glycogen you need on race day.

Have your final long swim (roughly the course or about 3500-4000) done by Sunday at the latest 7 days before the race, your longest ride done 8 days before the race (no more than about 60-70 miles), and your longest run 9 days before the race (no more than about 7-8 miles).

Remember, during your taper REST. Take naps (if possible), reduce the overall workload in your life (if possible). Avoid the temptation to fill your free time with a million other things. Rest means rest. By race day the goal is to be so bored with sitting around that you are bursting at the seams to get out there and mix it up with 1800 other athletes!

See you in Kona!

Mark Allen
6-Time Ironman World Champion

[bruce]

Okay, I have modelled various tapering strategies:

Scenario 1: Continue building right up to last week.

Scenario 2: 2 week taper

Scenario 3: 4 week taper

 

A couple of assumptions:

- Same athlete, who is very fit (CTL=140) 4 weeks before race.

- Each day of the Epic has a similar load - 300TSS

 

First graph shows freshness/form, second one shows fitness.  Not much difference between the first two scenarios, but 4 weeks will cost the rider a lot of fitness and will be a lot deeper into the red by the end.

bruce2008-03-19 11:48:33

[Dicky DQ]

Interestingly, Polar worked out a plan for me for the Epic and this caterd for medium week (15hrs easy riding) this week, but with a proper taper starting on Friday and only 3hrs between Saturday and the Epic.

 

Then again do what works for you, just stay healthy!!!!

 

Enjoy the Epic, I will see you there next year...................guaranteed!!!!

[TitusTi]

Thankfully numbers don't ride bikes, people do.

Besides; torture numbers and they'll confess to anything.

[dirtrider]

True Titus . But IMO training is over-rated anyway .