Workout Of The Day for… well, for a week or so…”Not A Damn Thing…”

Howdy folks.

Thanks for following along, and I hope you had a great ‘Cross season.

I’m going to be writing a fair bit in the near future about the transition to the upcoming season, weight training, cross training – a whole myriad of topics.

If there is anything you would like me to write about, please drop me a line and I will do my best to accommodate.

Right now, the biggest question I seem to be getting is “what should I do now?”

The answer is pretty simple.

Not a damn thing.

Take a minimum of a week off.

If you raced an entire road or mountain bike season, and then a full cyclocross season, take more than that.

What I usually recommend for folks crazy enough to have done the full-meal deal is that they take the rest of the month off the bike.

Mark January first on your calendar.

That’s the next time you should touch your bike.

That doesn’t mean you should sit on the couch and eat ice cream for the rest of the year.

Go skiing. Play some football. Go hiking.

Take a full week to blow off  steam, relax, and eat junk. Have a few beers.

Next week we start cross-training.

More on that soon…

Have  fun!

M

A question from one of ya’all…

“Matt, are you going to propose a transition plan for road season prep? Been off the bike since Sunday and worried about getting too much rest, but also recognize the need to rest the mind…would also like to know your thoughts on weight training. Any insight would be much appreciated!”

- Brian

I have received this question from several people now, and due entirely to my slavish devotion to you,  the answer is “yes.”

Coming soon.

I’m working on it…

M

Workout Of The Day for Wednesday, 12/9 – “Last Roast…”

Howdy folks,

Phew… just a couple of days to go…

If you’re following the plan for the week, you did a little bit of intensity yesterday. Hopefully you kept it under control, and you’re feeling good today.

If you overdid it, or you feel spent, take it easy today – go for a 1 hour Moderate Ride.

If you’re feeling pretty good, the workout for today – and again, we’re assuming a race on Saturday- is The Slow Roast –

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/workout-of-the-day-for-thursday-108/

It sounds crazy, but it works. Give it a try.

If you’ve been following the workouts all season, you already know whether this works for you… if it doesn’t/hasn’t check back through your training logs for the season, and see what you did mid-week the week of your best races.

Do that today instead.

Have fun,

M

The plan for the off season is to do some follow up posts to the C.W.O.T.D., and try to explain some of the science/theory underpinning the workouts we have done this season. You can be sure The Slow Roast will show up when I get around to doing that!

Who the hell are you, and where did you come from?

Howdy folks,

Who the hell are all of you?

The site went completely bananas over the last 24 hours, and the number of page views went through the roof!

Thanks to all of you, and please  - if you stop by, drop me a note to let me know who the heck you are!

I’m flattered – really – but holy cow…

M

Workout Of The Day for Tuesday, 12/8 “Yup. Go hard. Ish.”

Howdy folks,

Well, if you read the previous post where I laid out the workouts through Nationals, you will see that I have some efforts scheduled for today.

To be precise, the workout for today is Ramp Sprints –

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/workout-of-the-day-for-thursday-115/

So, you’re probably asking yourself  ”Self… Why the hell is he having us do intensity today?”

That’s actually a pretty good question. Here’s the answer…

You’re racing for an hour at Nationals, at most.

You need to be ready to gun it right at the start, and get past the giant scrum at the beginning of the race.

This isn’t a F***ing IronMantm. You don’t need/want a giant triathlete taper leading into the race.

It’s great to come into Nationals tapered and in top form, but you need to be careful. Too much rest after a season of training and racing hard can lead to a flat day on the one day when you can least afford it.

So, go kinda hard today.

I’m not saying that you should go 100% today, kill it & drill it. I am saying to get in the intensity.

Don’t go so hard today and the next couple of days that you have nothing left on race day.

Don’t go so easy that you trick your body into thinking the season is over, and wind up flat and listless on Race Day.

Find that mid-point.

…that’s another one of those things that will make you fast.

M

Nats is coming, Nats is coming!

Phew.

It’s almost over.

One week to go for most of you… and, no pressure… a pretty big race next weekend!

I’m heading down to Bend on Thursday, so probably no W.O.T.D. for the next couple of days after that… but I’m not going to leave you in the lurch!

I will get workouts up in advance to carry you through Nationals.

…and, that starts today, with a basic calendar through the end of the week.

I’m basing this whole thing on a Saturday race date.

Not racing on Saturday?

Plug in whatever day you are racing in place of Saturday, and adjust accordingly.

I will have more details, thoughts, and assorted musings tomorrow, but for now Ta-Da-

Basic Calendar Through Nationals:

Monday.

Easy Recovery Spin today.

Tuesday.

Get some short, sharp efforts in today. A good workout for today would be something like Ramp Sprints:

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/workout-of-the-day-for-thursday-115/

Wednesday.

If it’s worked for you so far this season, try a Slow Roast…

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/workout-of-the-day-for-thursday-108/

Thursday.

Travel day, easy 1-2 hour Moderate Ride if possible.

Friday.

Course Preview and Can Openers.

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/workout-of-the-day-for-saturday-1024/

Saturday.

Race day.

Race your ass off.

Sunday.

Celebrate! It’s all over… unless you’re going to Europe…

Workout of the Day for Monday, 12/6… “Ad infinitum…”

Howdy folks,

Well, the workout for most all ya’all today is a 1 hour Recovery Spin.

Especially if you raced yesterday, take it easy today.

Get on your bike, and roll around in a tiny little gear for an hour.

No effort on the pedals, just spin around until your legs loosen up, then go home.

More following immediately, including a plan all the way through Nationals for those going…

Have fun,

M

Workout Of The Day for Sunday, 12/6. “Last O.R.D.”

Howdy folks,

Well, it’s pretty obvious what today’s workout is for a whole bunch of you -

Go Race.

‘Nuff said, right?

If you’re racing today, go out and do it.

100%.

Kick some A… Butt.          Kick some butt.

Not racing today?

It would be great to get out and do some Cyclocross Skills work today.

If the conditions aren’t ridiculous out there, get out on some local off-road terrain and give ‘er.

Do some race simulation efforts, and spend a little bit of time working on any skills that you might not have 100% dialed.

Get in at least 2 race-pace efforts of 10 minutes or so duration. Go fast, race fast or faster.

This might be the last time you get off road before Nationals, so make it count.

If you raced yesterday, and aren’t racing today… take it easy.

Go for a 1 hour Recovery Spin.

No effort to your pedaling.

Spin around in a super low gear, just as light an effort as you can stomach.

After a while, your legs will loosen up. When this happens, go home.

Have fun,

M

Workout Of The Day for Saturday, 12/4… “T-minus…”

Howdy Folks,

One Week to go. Holy cow…

The workouts for today are, for the most part, pretty obvious…

Racing today? Duh… Go Race!

Racing tomorrow?

Yup.

Today do Can Openers (look at yesterday’s post for details.)

Not racing this weekend, but heading off to Nationals?

That’s where things get tricky…

If you are racing next weekend – or maybe even Friday – it’s a good idea to go pretty hard and pretty long today… something along the lines of a Classic 2×20 -

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/workout-of-the-day-for-914-2/

That’s what I will be doing – but I respond really well to this type of workout even this close to a big event.

…and I took it really easy on Friday.

Maybe not the case for you.

You might be better off doing some speed work today…

Maybe try a 30/20/10 Sprint Set –

http://crosssports.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/workout-of-the-day-for-tuesday-1123-302010-sprint-intervals/

Plenty of options, eh?

Have fun!

M

PS: Over the Next day or two, I’m going to post a “5 days ’till Nationals Calendar.”

The idea is to plug in the day you’re going to be racing, adjust accordingly, and there you go. Coming soon!

Workout Of The Day for Friday, 12/4 “Get Canned.”

Howdy Folks,

Phew.

If you did the workout yesterday, you’re probably a little bit tired… so, take it easy today. Your workout is a One hour Moderate Road Ride.

Go out and ride around for an hour. Turn the pedals over, but no hard efforts. Recover a little bit.

Racing on Saturday? You guessed it… you’re doing Can Openers:

Here’s the drill:

- Warm up for 1/2 hour or so.

- Follow with several short attacking efforts, IE 30 seconds at 80% of your max, or pretty damn hard.

- Back off and spin for 5 minutes.

- Follow with 10-15 minute effort at AT level, or CP30, or “I could talk to you if I had to, but I don’t want to” level.

- Spin for several minutes.

- Follow with 5-6 full gas start efforts on a straight section of paved road, level or slightly uphill.

You want to begin these from a dead stop, with one foot unclipped.

Do not stop until you get at least 3 perfect starts in a row, and I mean perfect; this is the cross equivalent of practicing free throws. make ‘em count.

… spin out the legs, go home, and get ready for the race.

Have fun!

M