Weather you are riding a bicycle race or running a road race or participating in your local triathlon in order to get there you have to train. Well at least I thought so. To often when talking to people and really getting down to the bottom of the barrel I discover that they are disappointed in their performance only for me to inform them that they actually were not really prepared and in the context of things they actually did really well.
"But I do train" they bellow. Well "not actually" I say. How many times a week? How many hours did you invest in your attempt to gain glory? Like your working career you reap what you sow. If you only attended your workplace twice a week do you seriously think you would ever be up for that Directorship? Like your working career your training regime is much the same. You need to put time and effort into it and most importantly have a training plan or programme. Simply arriving at a race event and expecting to do well is not going to suffice. Events which are to be raced need to be planned well in advance and your training preparation needs to revolve around that specific event. See a race event in the same light as attending a board meeting, make sure you are well prepared.
How do I do this? Firstly training consists of stages or phases as I like to call them. There is a Low Intensity Base Phase, a Moderate Build Phase, a Moderate to High Intensity Peak phase and a Low Intensity Taper Phase. I normally prefer to start preparing for an event at least 12 weeks prior and divide my program up as follows.
4 weeks base phase
3 weeks build phase
3 weeks peak phase
2 weeks taper phase
All your phases need to include some recovery time. During a 3 week Peak phase your intensity is moderate to high and you are spending the maximum amount of time that you have available training so there is no way that you are going to be able to maintain without your body shutting down. A good training programme should have towards the end of the week a cut back in the amount of time spent training and the intensity required. Remember fitness comes from rest and recovery not from hammering it out and racing your training group everyday.
Another important point to consider is that just because you have 12 hours a week to spend on training does not mean that you need to utilize all 12 hours every week. Broadly speaking around 25% should be allocated to the base phase, 50% - 75% in the build phase and 100% in the peak phase and then back down to 25% and as low as 10% in the taper phase.
Another common mistake made by beginners is that they never train the distance. Entering yourself for a 100km race and only doing 50km training rides is never going to suffice as mildly adequate enough to get you a good result. Effectively you are making a 100% increase in the distance to which your body has adapted. The most common ailments of this are cramping at the 70 to 80km mark. Train the distance, if you are entering a 100km race make sure that you are able to comfortably complete the distance required. For beginners starting out on the bike training should be increased in 10km increments in order to allow your body to adapt to the stresses and strains you are putting through.
Routes should be varied. Your body is a wonderful thing that learns to do more with less. Doing the same route over and over again is essentially going to make you less fit. If you only have time to do the same route do it clockwise one week and anti clockwise the next week. Remember training is not about going flat out all the time it is about building your body up to peak at the right time. You body will go through stages or ups and downs and by training correctly you can ensure that you are at an up on race day. Setting a personal best on a training ride is no good - you don't win any prizes for that but getting one on race day may not get you on the podium but it certainly will get you feeling a whole lot better about yourself and maybe even a better seeding for your next race or that all important first sub 3!!
Remember sometimes you have to go slower to go faster.
