Off-season planning
Yes, I know, the state championships were only a few days ago and I’m tired of training too. All the more reason to think just a little while about how the 2013-14 season went.
Did you plan to be really on for specific races? If so, how did that work out? What turned out to be your strong points this season? Your limiters? What do you think would be the biggest benefit to your CX racing next season? Write down answers to some of these questions while your memories are still fresh.
THEN stop thinking about training for a few weeks. What’s a few? Whatever you need. 2, 3, 4, 6 if need be. But that doesn’t mean, in the immortal words of Eddie B, “Lie down, drink, and smoke.” All the fitness you have right now is a fantastic resource—a gift you gave yourself by training and racing hard. Don’t squander it.
Off-season means giving your body a rest, but more importantly your mind. Do something active more days of the week than you don’t, but don’t stress about hours, miles, watts or any of that stuff. Do all the active things you miss during race season. I'm taking my kayak out this weekend...
Then, after some weeks (I find two to be my sweet spot most times, and after 10-12 days I am eager and fresh to ride regularly again), sit down and revisit those answers.
Was endurance a problem? Think about focusing on that this coming year—longer threshold-type intervals starting in mid-summer will improve your ability to be strong the last 10 minutes of a race.
How about bike handling skills? If you own a mountain bike, plan to spend more time on it this year, really working on the kind of cornering etc. that CX requires. If you don’t own a mountain bike, no sweat. There are some awesome 38mm and 40mm CX tires that will get your CX rig ready for even rough single track. I just ordered some Schwalbe Smart Sams for that very purpose so I can weave together trails, lime rock, pavement in a single ride whenever I like.
Sprinting? Easy to solve—let’s work on that.
How about non-bike specific issues like body balance, core strength, lower back problems, etc.? This is the perfect time to address them. I have become quite fond of Tom Danielson’s Core Advantage and am doing the level 2 workouts now myself.
This is not a primer for training again—more a way to think productively about, and during, the off-season. We’ll touch base again in a few weeks with some thoughts on base training, road and mountain bike racing, etc.
Yes, I know, the state championships were only a few days ago and I’m tired of training too. All the more reason to think just a little while about how the 2013-14 season went.
Did you plan to be really on for specific races? If so, how did that work out? What turned out to be your strong points this season? Your limiters? What do you think would be the biggest benefit to your CX racing next season? Write down answers to some of these questions while your memories are still fresh.
THEN stop thinking about training for a few weeks. What’s a few? Whatever you need. 2, 3, 4, 6 if need be. But that doesn’t mean, in the immortal words of Eddie B, “Lie down, drink, and smoke.” All the fitness you have right now is a fantastic resource—a gift you gave yourself by training and racing hard. Don’t squander it.
Off-season means giving your body a rest, but more importantly your mind. Do something active more days of the week than you don’t, but don’t stress about hours, miles, watts or any of that stuff. Do all the active things you miss during race season. I'm taking my kayak out this weekend...
Then, after some weeks (I find two to be my sweet spot most times, and after 10-12 days I am eager and fresh to ride regularly again), sit down and revisit those answers.
Was endurance a problem? Think about focusing on that this coming year—longer threshold-type intervals starting in mid-summer will improve your ability to be strong the last 10 minutes of a race.
How about bike handling skills? If you own a mountain bike, plan to spend more time on it this year, really working on the kind of cornering etc. that CX requires. If you don’t own a mountain bike, no sweat. There are some awesome 38mm and 40mm CX tires that will get your CX rig ready for even rough single track. I just ordered some Schwalbe Smart Sams for that very purpose so I can weave together trails, lime rock, pavement in a single ride whenever I like.
Sprinting? Easy to solve—let’s work on that.
How about non-bike specific issues like body balance, core strength, lower back problems, etc.? This is the perfect time to address them. I have become quite fond of Tom Danielson’s Core Advantage and am doing the level 2 workouts now myself.
This is not a primer for training again—more a way to think productively about, and during, the off-season. We’ll touch base again in a few weeks with some thoughts on base training, road and mountain bike racing, etc.