XC Racer Blog Post
My weeks training and NPS round one short report.
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBY: Richard Jones
Published: 30th March, 2014
As you have likely seen the team XCRacer / Scimitar have been taking it in turns to write about our weeks training. This particular week has turned out to be a little boring to blog about, as I have been taking it a little easier in preparation for todays NPS.
I am lucky with my training and I realize that, I have very little commitments and a very understanding girlfriend. I work 9 – 5:30 Monday – Friday. Having weekends free makes a huge difference and allows me to race and join friends for group rides as and when I want.
The week leading to this race had been busy with training and a small amount of racing. I had raced a local Road handicap back on the first weekend in March and I was pleased with the early indicators to my fitness. I felt stronger than past years and a lot more comfortable when the intensity increased on the flatter sections. Then I went to Eastern Round 1 where I felt really comfortable and happy to be on the MTB. Conditions suited me down to the T and I was fortunate enough to take the Elite win. So all in all the early season indicators were looking positive.
Last week was a reasonably big week of riding for me, however the intensity was a little lower than usual. I finished the week with 6 days of riding and 16 hours and 40 minutes of riding. I felt very tired and the legs felt as if they had really taken a beating.
So the start of this week Monday and Tuesday I completely rested, I felt like this was required and focused on resting and eating well when possible. I also took this time to prepare most of my stuff for the weekend so that I wasn’t rushed towards the end of the week.
Wednesday early morning and it was back on the bike for a casual ride to work. I usually ride to work every day the only exception being some Mondays where I choose to rest. The ride is only 10 miles and is a mix of quiet country roads and the odd village.
I managed to leave work at 6pm and then set about a short yet punchy road ride. As a leg opener in preparation for the national I rode a 40-minute sweet spot. Sweet spot is a zone in between 3 and 4 or 90% of threshold power. Sweet spot sessions are designed to increase your threshold power. These sessions make up a big chunk of my Monday – Friday training.
After the interval I just rode steady until I was home. I use a power meter on the road bike that allows me to track my efforts and also enables me to gauge how I am feeling with a little more ease.
Thursday morning and it was time to ride to work again however this time it was on the MTB. I am able to ride half way to work off road, the route follows a disused train track and then around a local reservoir, all of which are reasonably well surfaced and hold up to the rain. This route is roughly 13 miles long and takes about an hour; I kept the ride into work nice and steady.
After work I headed out for a 1.5 ride with 4 sets of 2-minute hard efforts. I tried to do these on a mix of either gradual climbs or flatter sections.
Friday morning I was back onto the road bike and on the usual ride to work. Once done with work, I set back out for another 1.5 hour ride with a 20 minute sweet spot effort, every 4th minute I rode a 30 second zone 5/6 effort. Once done I then rode 2x15 second all out sprints. I felt good and the power looked ok however the legs did feel a little tight. The main reason behind this ride was to try to open the legs and lungs up before the weekend.
After work I headed out for a 1.5 ride with 4 sets of 2-minute hard efforts. I tried to do these on a mix of either gradual climbs or flatter sections.
Friday morning I was back onto the road bike and on the usual ride to work. Once done with work, I set back out for another 1.5 hour ride with a 20 minute sweet spot effort, every 4th minute I rode a 30 second zone 5/6 effort. Once done I then rode 2x15 second all out sprints. I felt good and the power looked ok however the legs did feel a little tight. The main reason behind this ride was to try to open the legs and lungs up before the weekend.
First ever on the bike Selfie, Please don't laugh to much!
Saturday morning Hollie and myself headed down to the British National course in Codham, Essex. I got out onto the course in the early afternoon session and I was greeted by some dry and fast trails. The course wasn’t exactly what you would expect from a national however there was plenty of fun sections. I set about riding two zone 3-10 minute efforts and a further 2 lots of 1 minute Zone 5/6/7 efforts. I find it’s always hard to really say how you feel in these situations, nerves take over a little and usually tell me straight away that I am rubbish.
As always Sunday was soon here and it was time to race. As to be expected for the first race of the year I was a little nervous. Not so much for the result but for the want to see some improvements to make all those hours spent training worthwhile.
I was Gridded 27th out of a field of 67 elite riders and I knew that I had to fight to hold this position. The start was better than expected however a little scrappy as we all fought to hold our positions. I soon found myself settling into a small yet powerful group with Ben Thomas and Adrian Lansley. The group seemed to work well and we began picking off riders and making our way through the field. I was very wary that 7 laps were going to take a serious toll.
By lap 5 we had been joined by another larger group of riders and as to be expected the pace quickly went sky high and before I really knew what was going on I had made it into a new group of 4 riders. This included Nick Craig, Gareth Montgomerie and Sebastian Batchelor. The following two laps where tough and the previous efforts were really beginning to take their toll. As we entered the BMX track for the last time I managed to squeeze past Nick and latch onto the to wheels in front.
I turned the last corner and began my sprint to the finish line; I managed to hold off Nick but the other two finished just in front of me.
Saturday morning Hollie and myself headed down to the British National course in Codham, Essex. I got out onto the course in the early afternoon session and I was greeted by some dry and fast trails. The course wasn’t exactly what you would expect from a national however there was plenty of fun sections. I set about riding two zone 3-10 minute efforts and a further 2 lots of 1 minute Zone 5/6/7 efforts. I find it’s always hard to really say how you feel in these situations, nerves take over a little and usually tell me straight away that I am rubbish.
As always Sunday was soon here and it was time to race. As to be expected for the first race of the year I was a little nervous. Not so much for the result but for the want to see some improvements to make all those hours spent training worthwhile.
I was Gridded 27th out of a field of 67 elite riders and I knew that I had to fight to hold this position. The start was better than expected however a little scrappy as we all fought to hold our positions. I soon found myself settling into a small yet powerful group with Ben Thomas and Adrian Lansley. The group seemed to work well and we began picking off riders and making our way through the field. I was very wary that 7 laps were going to take a serious toll.
By lap 5 we had been joined by another larger group of riders and as to be expected the pace quickly went sky high and before I really knew what was going on I had made it into a new group of 4 riders. This included Nick Craig, Gareth Montgomerie and Sebastian Batchelor. The following two laps where tough and the previous efforts were really beginning to take their toll. As we entered the BMX track for the last time I managed to squeeze past Nick and latch onto the to wheels in front.
I turned the last corner and began my sprint to the finish line; I managed to hold off Nick but the other two finished just in front of me.
I was very pleased with finishing 13th and I just hope I can match this performance in round 2 in Cornwall.
Richard Jones
XCRacer.com.
Acclerade.
MTZoom.
Scimitar.
Blogger Info:
Richard Jones
Read More By RichardDisclaimer:
This blog post was written by a third party and their views do not necessarily reflect the views of XCRacer.com
Contact Us | Advertise | Use Our Online Entry System
All content © XC Racer.com | Website Designed and Developed by DesignUNLTD