0 to racing in 8 weeks?

Pokerface

Bit of a different thread here - and not asking for the 'usual' advice...

I have my first race in about 10 weeks from now. I'll be racing crit-style on closed circuits (so hills aren't a big part of the race). I have raced in the past (like 20 years ago) but was never very good. Have ridden loads of sportives and have ridden with a cycling club so am familiar with riding in groups, etc.

For the next 2 weeks I am concentrating ONLY on dropping weight (end of a specific programme) so hard training is out - leaving me 8 weeks to get race-ready.

Now here's the 'different' part: I am a below-knee amputee (but wear a prosthetic). And the racing I'm doing is part of a disability series against other disabled athletes (some at Paralympic level though!).

So - 'normal' training procedures may be different for me as I lack power in certain areas.

But for the sake of argument - what type of daily/weekly riding regime do you all recommend for someone trying to get ready to race in a short period of time!!??

Let's say I have 1 hour a day during the week to ride after work - and free weekends for longer rides. I live in the Peak District so nothing but hills around here (and flat when I can find it!).

I do hills some days and flat other days. 50 miles of mostly flat on weekend days.

Hardest part for me is MAINTAINING power for extended periods of time - how to improve this?


Thanks in advance....

joeyhalloran

improving power for a long time...i guess 2x20min intervals would be your best bet. From what i am told a lot of racing is start/stop so need to work on lactate tolerance so recovering from very hard efforts and a reasonable effort. I hope someone will either back me up or tell me i am completely wrong but i would spend the first 1/2 working on 2x20min intervals then the second half doing things like "hour of power" and stuff (on this forum) where you keep and high pace/ heart rate and every 2 mins do a 30 second full out attack then go back to your high pace (very hard). Also carry on doing long rides at the weekend getting you used to group riding and keep endurance up. If you ride with a group all the better.

i am not an experert so i guess wait for verification that i am not completely off the mark, but hey, thats what i think.

This, of course, would be, as you put it, normal reigime. I dunno how/if the prosthetic would effect this.

Pokerface

Club 10 mile TT once a week starting in May - and that (for me) is about 25 minutes of all-out effort. It certainly helps improve the fitness!

Just to clarify - when people talk about doing 'intervals' are we talking about flat-out effort? Or just a harder effort than normal?

joeyhalloran

i see intervals as a flat out effort, obviously it depends on the length, if doing a 20 minute interval you don't want to start off sprinting, also i try and keep a consistently hard effort over the whole session, not be burned out by the second interval. i hear powermeters are good for measuring this but there is NO WAY i can afford one.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Let's just say I have an excellent understanding of your issues....

I had a lower left leg amputation in 2007 after a cycling accident. I'm only 10 months back on the bike.

Two weeks ago I came 6th in points race at our State Masters track cycling championships (able bodied). I am only just beginning my comeback and expect to regain most if not all my original power but with consistent hard work over a long period. My Maximal Aerobic Power is about 95% of previous levels. TT power not quite as good, more like 88%.

It takes time though, quick fitness wins are not always sustainable.

To give you some sound advice though, really is depends a lot on what you can do and what you have been doing as well as the type of prosthetic set up you have/pedalling issues.

But in general, the principles are the same for any athlete seeking to improve fitness for racing. For 99% of what we do (as cyclists aiming to race), it is about lifting your endurance and especially your power at threshold, then adding in efforts that are specific to the style of racing you are doing (in this case crits). Losing weight really should be considered a by-product of that process.

Your weekend rides sound fine, make one harder than the other. for mid week, then that's when you do some specific efforts suitable for improving your threshold, eventually introducing efforts that will help prepare you for the specific demands of a crit.

In general, keep your rides at a good clip, very gradually increase the amount that you do each week and introduce some harder efforts after about 4-6 weeks.

In a nutshell, it's "ride more" but doing so in a manner that is sufficiently hard and gradually increases the workload. Many attempt to do too much too quickly and it bites them after a few weeks.

If you want specifics, I (and other coaches) provide training plans. PM me if you want specific details or have a read here:
http://rst-training.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... plans.html

Pokerface

I have a fairly standard prosthetic - and as it's below knee there are no real limitations as to what I can do or how I ride. Just strength issues. I have been riding for many, many years with it also so no issue there. I just tend to get all my power from above the knee (on both sides) but this isn't that abnormal.

The only real pedaling issue I have is cadence - I simply can't get it too high. So I tend to churn a bigger gear at a lower clip to compensate.

I always try and ride hard - but not flat out ALL the time! Weekend rides are certainly (as you say) one harder than the other.

So - to clarify - for intervals - if I'm riding down the road - for the length of the interval I should push myself to max effort for the period of that interval?

Thanks again!

joeyhalloran

yes, intervals are meant to be hard regardless of the length. You should be reaching for the end of each interval and really pushing yourself at the end of the last. Just bear in mind the lengths of the intervals. If doing 2x20 min intervals thats 40 mins of HARD work so go at a pace you think you could do for about 30 mins-ish. Either way, whatever you do interval-wise, it should hurt (in the good way)

Anonymous

Against Paralympic level?!? Blimey...

Good luck with it all

Pokerface

NapoleonD wrote:

Against Paralympic level?!? Blimey...

Good luck with it all

I actually worked with the Paralympic squad at British Cycling last year. And was responsible for creating this race series in which I will be racing.

A lot of the Paralympic riders are ace on the track - but not so hot on the road. But yes - mostly it will be a HUGE challenge to try and keep up with those particular riders (should they actually show up and compete!)

My goals are somewhat more humble - finishing all races will be a great start!

Alex_Simmons/RST

Pokerface wrote:

I have a fairly standard prosthetic - and as it's below knee there are no real limitations as to what I can do or how I ride.

Are you using a leg with a shoe and normal pedal or do you have a cleat at the end of a pylon (which is what I use on a bike)? Like this:



Actually I'm in the process of getting my next legs made (finally), this time I'll have a dedicated bike leg rather than screwing on/off my walking foot and bike leg attachments when I want to ride. It'll also be shaped a bit differently and have the side wings removed as they are unecessary on the bike and hit my arms in a TT position (can't wait to fix that problem). And I'll even have a aero fairing made to over the pylon section

As for mid-week training, well I would suggest doing
- one day of tempo efforts. Start with 30-min in a ride, and extend that out to an hour over the weeks.
- One easy day but not recovery.
- One day of sub-threshold efforts. Start with 2 x 10 mins and gradually build up the duration over several weeks to 2 x 20-min. They need to be solid but don't need to be maximal for the duration.

Later on you can do some harder stuff.

For a guide to what these intensities descriptions mean, see here:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/ ... evels.aspx

Pokerface

Normal leg, with shoe and cleat.


Chatted a bit with Jody Cundy - who is the British world record holder for the flying 200 and the kilo on the track. He uses a dedicated cycling leg. Weighs less than my helmet! But he was breaking regular legs as he's kinda powerful.


He even has tried a shorter crank arm on his prosthetic side to even out the pedal stroke - but now uses eliptical chainrings instead. I definitely notice gaps in my pedal stroke due to trying to get the leg round.

I did one race last year. Cat 3/4. Lasted a few laps of the circuit before I got dropped. Pace was WAY higher than I expected - so know what's in store this year. Just wanted some ideas on how to train smarter.

Been doing turbo training sessions through the winter and road riding on weekends. Now I'm out most nights on the road for training. So - hopefully I'll slowly improve over the coming weeks!

Alex_Simmons/RST

Yes, I have previously corresponded with Jody. His leg still protrudes forward to place the cleat in a position as if is was under a shoe in the traditional place. Mine goes straight down, effectively putting the cleat under my "ankle". This is Jody's leg:



For those that don't know, Jody has ridden a 1:05 kilo. It's hard to explain how good that is to some people. While he rides for Team GB, it is a time that would have won the US Elite National Track Kilo championships for at least a couple of recent years (Taylor Phinney this year aside).

It has been suggested to me that I may want to try elliptical rings and some have reported success with those. I have a buddy who has offered to loan me a set but I haven't tried them yet.

I think you might want to consider making a dedicated bike leg or bike leg attachment, depending on the type of socket - foot connection you have. Most BK cyclists I have interacted with say that the full shoe-pedal arrangement is not a patch on having a direct connection arrangement.

Anyway, here's a summary post and links to show what I have got so far and how it all works:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/2008/10/ ... g-leg.html

My socket is being replaced soon - looking forward to that. Stump has shrunk further and I'm sure you know what that does

Pokerface

I spent a few months working at British Cycling last year at the Manchester Velodrome and worked with the Paralympic squad a little, so had the opportunity to watch Jody train a fair bit. I rode the track myself about 3 times a week and was going to try out for the team - but left the job and stopped riding track. Back on the road again now and doing much different training.

A riding-specific leg would be impractical for me as I like the ability to get off my bike and wander about like a 'normal' person. Plus I'm not THAT serious about racing! If I was, then I'd certainly look into getting one.