Mid week training before reliability trial?

fsd61b

Hi, can anyone tell me if I should I continue my training plan (Tu, Wed,Thur &Sat) prior to doing a hard reliability trial on Sunday? I have noticed that as the plan weeks progress it gets harder and I can still feel the effects on the Sunday club run. I realise "it's not a race" but it is for me, and there will be a sizeable step up in performance required. Iv'e not missed a single session on the training plan for the last 8 weeks (and don't really want to start) but with 5 of these reliability trials coming up I'm not sure what is the normal practice.
Club riders have said that they are hard and everyone goes like f*** from the off so no pressure there then!

Tom Dean

I normally do this pattern of days. Treating this as quasi-race prep I would just do an easy ride on Sat with a few short efforts thrown in. (assuming your usual Sat is fairly hard with a club run on Sun)

fsd61b

Tom Dean wrote:

I normally do this pattern of days. Treating this as quasi-race prep I would just do an easy ride on Sat with a few short efforts thrown in. (assuming your usual Sat is fairly hard with a club run on Sun)

Cheers Tom, I'll better get out into the snow and have an hour of "hills sessions 2" then.

RowCycle

Excuse the ignorance, but what is a reliability trial?

fsd61b

RowCycle wrote:

Excuse the ignorance, but what is a reliability trial?

It is a traditional event designed to get cyclists out and fit for racing after the winter lay off. Bit like a sportive really ,usually a couple of routes (50 &70 for example) and a fast(21mph) and "steady" (17 - 19mph) groups. Clubs run them, they are very cheap to enter and it gives a better work out than a club run.

thegreatdivide

You’re in Angus – which ones are you doing?

I think your fellow club mates are taking the pi$$. They’re not ‘trials’ they’re ‘rides’. It’s a social event for surrounding clubs to come together and ride out over a set route to warm up the winter legs.

Take the Fife Century out of Falkland this weekend for example. You leave in your pace group – last year ours was about 40 strong – and you try and stay together until the end. The faster of the groups can be balls to the wall but there’s no aim of dropping people and ‘winning’.

I’m going to miss my own club’s run – Dundee Thistle – but should be back for the Wheelers.

jgsi

fsd61b wrote:

Hi, can anyone tell me if I should I continue my training plan (Tu, Wed,Thur &Sat) prior to doing a hard reliability trial on Sunday? I have noticed that as the plan weeks progress it gets harder and I can still feel the effects on the Sunday club run. I realise "it's not a race" but it is for me, and there will be a sizeable step up in performance required. Iv'e not missed a single session on the training plan for the last 8 weeks (and don't really want to start) but with 5 of these reliability trials coming up I'm not sure what is the normal practice.
Club riders have said that they are hard and everyone goes like f*** from the off so no pressure there then!

My view, continue your planned training schedule/block.
Your reliability is an addition - it is a primer to getting road feel back into the legs at a pace .. but they are not anything you'd be wanting to peak for. If sh*t happens and you get dropped .. so what?
I have got about 5 or 6 before my first actual race at the end of March. i want to have a good showing of form then.
Having said that they are excellent fun for a couple of quid and gets the buzz of fast road riding again after a lay off.
I know i will have to grit my teeth this coming Sunday.

glasgowbhoy

JGSI wrote:

fsd61b wrote:

Hi, can anyone tell me if I should I continue my training plan (Tu, Wed,Thur &Sat) prior to doing a hard reliability trial on Sunday? I have noticed that as the plan weeks progress it gets harder and I can still feel the effects on the Sunday club run. I realise "it's not a race" but it is for me, and there will be a sizeable step up in performance required. Iv'e not missed a single session on the training plan for the last 8 weeks (and don't really want to start) but with 5 of these reliability trials coming up I'm not sure what is the normal practice.
Club riders have said that they are hard and everyone goes like f*** from the off so no pressure there then!

My view, continue your planned training schedule/block.
Your reliability is an addition - it is a primer to getting road feel back into the legs at a pace .. but they are not anything you'd be wanting to peak for. If sh*t happens and you get dropped .. so what?
I have got about 5 or 6 before my first actual race at the end of March. i want to have a good showing of form then.
Having said that they are excellent fun for a couple of quid and gets the buzz of fast road riding again after a lay off.
I know i will have to grit my teeth this coming Sunday.

What this guy says. It's a test for the legs and to get you up to race pace. I'll have about 13-14 hours in my legs come the Stirling Reliability this Sunday. I'll be aiming to get round in the Scratch but won't be killing myself if it goes nuts on the climbs. Had a bit of body shock last weekend on a hard 75 miles with efforts on the climbs and though and off on the flats with a few guys. Thankfully the big base seems to have paid off but still want to use Feb and first half of March to tune up. It's a long way to September and a lot of races in between.

fsd61b

thegreatdivide wrote:

You’re in Angus – which ones are you doing?

I think your fellow club mates are taking the pi$$. They’re not ‘trials’ they’re ‘rides’. It’s a social event for surrounding clubs to come together and ride out over a set route to warm up the winter legs.

Take the Fife Century out of Falkland this weekend for example. You leave in your pace group – last year ours was about 40 strong – and you try and stay together until the end. The faster of the groups can be balls to the wall but there’s no aim of dropping people and ‘winning’.

I’m going to miss my own club’s run – Dundee Thistle – but should be back for the Wheelers.

You are right re Angus.
I'll be doing the 2 Fife ones and the 2 Dundee ones. Hope it's not as windy as last Sunday. Cant wait though ,should be good fun and a chance to see lots of folk out at the same time.

racingcondor

Continue as normal but if the Saturday training would normally be full throttle then back that off a bit.

thegreatdivide

One thing I forgot to add though - if you flat or need to take a pee break then you will be left behind. So make sure you have the route map on you ;-)

[Edit] And take care on the superb stretch from Glen Devon down to Gleneagles on the Fife Century ride - the descent is great fun but there are a few sharp corners and when you're flying down in a big pack on an open road it's easy to swerve across into the other lane.

fsd61b

thegreatdivide wrote:

One thing I forgot to add though - if you flat or need to take a pee break then you will be left behind. So make sure you have the route map on you ;-)

[Edit] And take care on the superb stretch from Glen Devon down to Gleneagles on the Fife Century ride - the descent is great fun but there are a few sharp corners and when you're flying down in a big pack on an open road it's easy to swerve across into the other lane.

Thanks for the tips,I'll keep an eye out for the decent & I'll print out the map tonight so I don't forget (hope I don't need it).

Also , thanks to everyone who replied , it's appreciated.

Froomes Edgar

RowCycle wrote:

Excuse the ignorance, but what is a reliability trial?

Its like a sportive, but you don't pay £30 for a free T-shirt and water bottle.