Two weeks between events..
jackmcd
Posts: 185
Hi Folks
Aching a bit, sore knee etc after a 100 mile sportive yesterday but have another tougher one in two weeks - what should I be doing between? Resting or normal stuff?
Aching a bit, sore knee etc after a 100 mile sportive yesterday but have another tougher one in two weeks - what should I be doing between? Resting or normal stuff?
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2 weeks?, christ, I've ridden a two 10 mile TT's and a 25 mile TT in the two weeks following a 100 mile TT!!
You certainly don't need 2 weeks rest after a 100 mile sportive0 -
You dont think I should pay attention to the idea of tapering then?0
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Tell us what you've been doing for the last two months, we'll tell you if you need to taper.0
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jackmcd wrote:Hi Folks
Aching a bit, sore knee etc after a 100 mile sportive yesterday but have another tougher one in two weeks - what should I be doing between? Resting or normal stuff?
Do some recovery riding for a few days to make sure you're fully rested from the event. Then go back to regular riding.
You don't need to taper for a sportive. Ever.0 -
Cool - thanks folks, was wondering how to fit recovery and tapering in... (bit of a newbie here)
I'll concentrate on recovering and getting up to max fitness
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REst the sore knee perhaps. Concentrate on working hard/fast on your sessions - don't worry about distance/endurance work. Personally as a flabby fitfty plus woman I 'taper' before events I want to do well in but only by skipping sessions 3-4 days before. If I'm ill orsore in a specific way I take it easy - perhaps not riding at all until I know which way injury/cold is going.0
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What is tapering?0
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freehub wrote:What is tapering?
Reducing the volume of training/riding (usually paired with a few short but more intense efforts) leading up to major competitions. Keeps you sharp and rested and designed to induce peak performance on race day.
You normally would only do it a few times a year for really big events. A typical taper will be 10 days.0 -
I'm actually currently in the middle of a taper. World Championships (TT) on Thursday for me.
The idea (or so I read) is you reduce the volume by up to 85-90%, but maintain high intensity for the riding that you do - so in my case short and hard intervals - and this can lead to an increase of up to 20% in performance on race day*.
So instead of riding 3-4 hours a day, I'm doing 1 hour with a couple of short, hard intervals thrown in. And each day they get easier and I get a little faster. Did it earlier in the year for the Track Worlds and was blown away by how much I improved (by doing less) in the final week leading up to competition.
*Number are best-case scenario, but some increase in performance is virtually guaranteed if taper is done correctly.0 -
Clearly you have better access to advice than many of us here but 85-90% reduction in volume seems very high. Are you doing very high volume workouts to start with? I ask because someone working on 8 hours a week training would find it hard to do a taper on less than an hour over the whole week.0
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doyler78 wrote:Clearly you have better access to advice than many of us here but 85-90% reduction in volume seems very high. Are you doing very high volume workouts to start with? I ask because someone working on 8 hours a week training would find it hard to do a taper on less than an hour over the whole week.
The figures were based on some reading I did (some Canadian scientists did some research on tapering in the 80's, etc). So - as I said, the figures aren't necessarily the same for everyone. The higher your training load, the more you can afford to cut back.
Someone only training an hour a day probably wouldn't see the need to taper in such a dramatic fashion - nor as you pointed out - be able to.
My training load is probably being cut back around 60-70% in the days leading up to competition. Any more and I wouldn't be riding my bike at all!
(From the article I was reading:
1. Unless you're a very high-volume trainer, you can taper for just one week prior to any competitions lasting less than an hour. During that week, cut total mileage by about 65 per cent, and divide what's left 50-50 between hard effort and soft work.
If you're a high-mileage athlete, use the same strategy, but give yourself at least 10 days of cutback, with two weeks being even better. Remember that turning down the volume knob on your training helps with your enzymes and hormones and may give your muscles a chance to build more proteins and store more glycogen (if your carb intake has been less than optimal).
Utilizing the high-intensity work during the taper boosts your blood-volume and also works on the neuromuscular aspects of performance which are so critical for reaching your highest plateau of fitness.0 -
Cool. Best of racing to you - go well.Pokerface wrote:I'm actually currently in the middle of a taper. World Championships (TT) on Thursday for me.
Ah, I think that might have said 2% (not 20%), which is about the amount that tapers have been typically shown to improve performance (on average).Pokerface wrote:The idea (or so I read) is you reduce the volume by up to 85-90%, but maintain high intensity for the riding that you do - so in my case short and hard intervals - and this can lead to an increase of up to 20% in performance on race day*.
And by and large, most people don't train hard enough to warrant a taper.0 -
Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Ah, I think that might have said 2% (not 20%), which is about the amount that tapers have been typically shown to improve performance (on average).Pokerface wrote:The idea (or so I read) is you reduce the volume by up to 85-90%, but maintain high intensity for the riding that you do - so in my case short and hard intervals - and this can lead to an increase of up to 20% in performance on race day*.
Actually - the particular study I was referring to said the 'runner' (not cyclists in this case), improved by 22%! There were 3 groups - those that did no taper, those that tapered 65% and a group that tapered 88%. The 88% did nothing but intervals and got a 22% performance boost.
The main group got a 6% boost - which is in line with other sports and closer to what you could expect.
You can read it here: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0509.htm
Probably all wrong! :oops:0 -
Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Cool. Best of racing to you - go well.Pokerface wrote:I'm actually currently in the middle of a taper. World Championships (TT) on Thursday for me.
Taper worked a treat. New World Champion. :oops:0 -
Very cool! Congrats, well done.Pokerface wrote:Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Cool. Best of racing to you - go well.Pokerface wrote:I'm actually currently in the middle of a taper. World Championships (TT) on Thursday for me.
Taper worked a treat. New World Champion. :oops:
Guy I beat at Nats & WC won rainbow bands as well, although he seems to have changed category (C3) between then and now, not sure why. The C4 competition looked pretty hot. I'm not seeing much difference with the C5s.
Missed the break in the road race?0 -
Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Missed the break in the road race?
No, made the break for 3 laps of 4 but lost contact through a technical section and fell off the back into a headwind so dropped back into the next group. Bad positioning cost me.0 -
Pokerface wrote:Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Missed the break in the road race?
No, made the break for 3 laps of 4 but lost contact through a technical section and fell off the back into a headwind so dropped back into the next group. Bad positioning cost me.
You'll appreciate the flat classics riders even more now! (if you didn't already).0 -
Pokerface wrote:Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Cool. Best of racing to you - go well.Pokerface wrote:I'm actually currently in the middle of a taper. World Championships (TT) on Thursday for me.
Taper worked a treat. New World Champion. :oops:
Oh! Nice! Well done! - Don't know you from Adam but you seem to know what you're doing on a bike at least!0
