[cityjackit]

Afternoon,

I've been riding every weekend since October and 3X a week at the Y on a spin bike. The race season (CaneCreekCup) will be comprised of nothing more than 20 miles at best except for 1 or 2 races over near Pisgah. Separate than the Cane Creek races.

I am CAT 3 and 58 years old. What should I focus on and when? I am putting in 1 hour rides(Medium (Intesity) on the spin bike 3X a week and then somewhere close to 12 miles + once on the weekends on the trails.

Do I need to do low intensity volume till say end of February, then all of March start sprinkling in the intense intervals with a long ride here and there?

Just trying to get a simple plan together until mid-April.

Thank you for your guys' help.

Sid

 

[LMN]

The gold standard to answer your question is The Cyclist Training Bible by Joe Friel. Follow it and you well be as ready as you can be.

 

[cityjackit]

As always....thank you LMN.

Thanks Rod

 

[geofharries]

I read and used The Cyclist Training Bible when I was still racing in the late 90s. It was great.

A couple of years ago I was preparing for a national level road cycling event and took a chance on Today's Plan. It was amazing. Completely worth the CAD $24 per month. They have different pricing plans whether you are coached or self-coached.

With Today's Plan, I was able to enter my goal - type of event, distance, what I wanted to achieve, available hours (I have 3 kids, so not a lot of time) etc. - and it built a plan for me that I followed for 4 months.

I don't subscribe any more, but what I learned from that training program I've taken into other seasons.

 

[Jackson Rich]

3 1/2 months is a long time to go! I would start sprinkling in intensity now. Longer, less intense intervals for maybe the next 3 weeks or a month. Probably around February, I would start making the intervals shorter and more intense. And doing more of them. Don’t burn yourself out though. Intensity will make you quick quick, but also make you slow quick if you overdo it.

As a Cat 3, your races are shorter. Not sure what average speed is like in your area, but most Cat 3 podium times in my area are barely over an hour, if that. That short of a race makes intensity even more important.

Ultimately though, to be successful in Cat 2 and 3, it‘s mostly about learning how to be FAST on your mountain bike and learning how to suffer. Go out and ride as fast as you can for 30 minutes on singletrack. Uphills, downhills, flats. Just learn how to go faster and test your limits, both skill wise and fitness wise. Then ride easy and fun the rest of your ride. At the Cat 3 level, doing that on your two rides per week will pay more dividends than trying to structure those two rides around a training plan. If you can go fast and dig deep into the pain cave, you will do well.

Full disclosure: this is just my opinion based on a somewhat limited knowledge of exercise physiology so take it with a grain of sal.

 

[cityjackit]

I read and used The Cyclist Training Bible when I was still racing in the late 90s. It was great.

A couple of years ago I was preparing for a national level road cycling event and took a chance on Today's Plan. It was amazing. Completely worth the CAD $24 per month. They have different pricing plans whether you are coached or self-coached.

With Today's Plan, I was able to enter my goal - type of event, distance, what I wanted to achieve, available hours (I have 3 kids, so not a lot of time) etc. - and it built a plan for me that I followed for 4 months.

I don't subscribe any more, but what I learned from that training program I've taken into other seasons.

Thank you for this. Definitely check it out.

Have a good day

 

[cityjackit]

3 1/2 months is a long time to go! I would start sprinkling in intensity now. Longer, less intense intervals for maybe the next 3 weeks or a month. Probably around February, I would start making the intervals shorter and more intense. And doing more of them. Don’t burn yourself out though. Intensity will make you quick quick, but also make you slow quick if you overdo it.

As a Cat 3, your races are shorter. Not sure what average speed is like in your area, but most Cat 3 podium times in my area are barely over an hour, if that. That short of a race makes intensity even more important.

Ultimately though, to be successful in Cat 2 and 3, it‘s mostly about learning how to be FAST on your mountain bike and learning how to suffer. Go out and ride as fast as you can for 30 minutes on singletrack. Uphills, downhills, flats. Just learn how to go faster and test your limits, both skill wise and fitness wise. Then ride easy and fun the rest of your ride. At the Cat 3 level, doing that on your two rides per week will pay more dividends than trying to structure those two rides around a training plan. If you can go fast and dig deep into the pain cave, you will do well.

Full disclosure: this is just my opinion based on a somewhat limited knowledge of exercise physiology so take it with a grain of sal.

This is good salt man.

Thanks a ton.

 

[Crankout]

Agreed. You have plenty of time to organize a periodized plan to incorporate both types of load.

 

[jimPacNW]

You don't want to skip any of the 3 main pieces: Frequency, Intensity, Duration.

My personal rule has been 'no more than 2 days off in a row, no more than 3 days on in a row, that is adequate for frequency for most 3s, 2s, and 'casual' cat1s. It doesn't have to be followed religiously, it does allow for exceptions. Don't forget to have an easy week about once every 4-6 weeks, - my life schedule usually finds that for me.

Intensity should be a part of the plan for sure, and should include sprints and short hills that are as steep as you can ride. My favorite intensity workout is a short loop with a 12 second climb that is about as steep as I'm able to ride. When I'm 'sharp' I do the hill repeats 2x a week (6-12 times around, 2 sets of 6 with 20 minutes between is great too). Most guys I ride with hate those and won't do them, but they are super valuable. When my kid was 15 turning 16 he was doing the hill repeats with me (he has a good head for suffering), and he won his cat2 Open category that spring, he was strong from those, and he would never do a ride longer than 1.5 hours (he hated long rides), - I lost him to running, but that's ok (he does 2-3 hr runs all the time now, hmm...). The repeated short hills are crucial because most of the guys you are racing with don't do hill repeats, those guys will get fatigued by short hills #10-15 on the race course and fade, that is a weakness for many.

One long ride at least once every two weeks covers duration. When I have done a 3-4 hour ride on my techy trails regularly, they has been fantastic for fatigue resistance while racing (lap 3 has been within seconds of laps 1 and 2 quite a few times).

 

[cityjackit]

You don't want to skip any of the 3 main pieces: Frequency, Intensity, Duration.

My personal rule has been 'no more than 2 days off in a row, no more than 3 days on in a row, that is adequate for frequency for most 3s, 2s, and 'casual' cat1s. It doesn't have to be followed religiously, it does allow for exceptions. Don't forget to have an easy week about once every 4-6 weeks, - my life schedule usually finds that for me.

Intensity should be a part of the plan for sure, and should include sprints and short hills that are as steep as you can ride. My favorite intensity workout is a short loop with a 12 second climb that is about as steep as I'm able to ride. When I'm 'sharp' I do the hill repeats 2x a week (6-12 times around, 2 sets of 6 with 20 minutes between is great too). Most guys I ride with hate those and won't do them, but they are super valuable. When my kid was 15 turning 16 he was doing the hill repeats with me (he has a good head for suffering), and he won his cat2 Open category that spring, he was strong from those, and he would never do a ride longer than 1.5 hours (he hated long rides), - I lost him to running, but that's ok (he does 2-3 hr runs all the time now, hmm...). The repeated short hills are crucial because most of the guys you are racing with don't do hill repeats, those guys will get fatigued by short hills #10-15 on the race course and fade, that is a weakness for many.

One long ride at least once every two weeks covers duration. When I have done a 3-4 hour ride on my techy trails regularly, they has been fantastic for fatigue resistance while racing (lap 3 has been within seconds of laps 1 and 2 quite a few times).

This is good stuff. I need to study this a bit and see if I can formulate something.

Right now given the icy weather outside, I'm stuck riding at the Y on a spin bike for hour durations 3X a week. I warm up at about an easy(100 - 103 rpm) to medium intensity for 15 - 20 mins, then bump the tension up and get after it (107 - 110 rpm) for the last 40 min. Th en cool down for another 5 min. Periodically I'll crank the tension way up and stand up for a minute just to stretch. No intensity high tension intervals yet.
I have a trail in mind locally that I can mimic your hill intensity, but it'll have the clean up weather wise before we're allowed on this trail. County protects it like a newborn baby. I'll have to try to simulate on my spin bike for a bit probably.

Thanks for these good tips. I really appreciate it.

Have a good weekend.

Sid

 

[jrob300]

Right now given the icy weather outside, I'm stuck riding at the Y on a spin bike for hour durations 3X a week. I warm up at about an easy(100 - 103 rpm) to medium intensity for 15 - 20 mins, then bump the tension up and get after it (107 - 110 rpm) for the last 40 min. Th en cool down for another 5 min. Periodically I'll crank the tension way up and stand up for a minute just to stretch. No intensity high tension intervals yet.

Wife and I trained on spin bikes during the winter for several seasons, then we decided to break down, buy a smart trainer and try Zwift. I would never go back. There are so many opportunities available on Zwift, and you're guaranteed that your position has not changed from your bike. I highly recommend that you look at it. We've each done 2 races already this year, which in previous years would have been impossible to duplicate. We bought fat bikes this winter just so we could get out and get some fresh air, but for serious winter race training, I think Zwift might be your best option.

 

[cityjackit]

I appreciate that. Mind if I ask, what ttainer did you go with? I am new to these trainers.

Thanks

Sid

 

[jrob300]

What ttainer did you go with?

I have both a Saris Hammer H2 and a Kickr Core. Bought the Core after 3 hard winters on the Saris and it needed repair. We prefer the Core. It's WAY quieter and less expensive, although the Hammer H3 now uses the same drive system and is supposed to be much quieter.

They have them at REI.com and if you have a local store, they can ship to you or the store. The big benefit of buying from REI is they have a zero questions asked money back guarantee.
Wahoo Fitness KICKR Core Bike Trainer | REI Co-op

 

[cityjackit]

Ahhh haaaa. Thank you so much for your help. Maybe I can leverage my upcoming b'day.

Thank you again sir for the tips.

Have a good season.

Sid

 

[joe j]

Once your weather clears try to find a buddy to train with on the trails. Should be someone very close in ability you want to be able to push each other. Figure out the average length of your upcoming races and go punish each other for that duration or slightly longer without stopping.

 

[cityjackit]

Once your weather clears try to find a buddy to train with on the trails. Should be someone very close in ability you want to be able to push each other. Figure out the average length of your upcoming races and go punish each other for that duration or slightly longer without stopping.

Hard work and pain. No substitute.
Thank you for the help.

Sid

 

[Suns_PSD]

Volume on the trainer.

Some intensity & skills on your actual bike.

But mostly volume.

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

 

[cityjackit]

Volume on the trainer.

Some intensity & skills on your actual bike.

But mostly volume.

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

Thank you sir. Its all I can do right now given the trails being xlosed from weather.
Thank you for the help.

 

[kosmo]

I'm not the guy to tell you exactly when, where and how, but by the time you hit a Cat 3 starting line in the Pisgah, you sure as heck better have some intensity built up.

Otherwise you're going to get stuck behind a lot of -- being kind here -- so-so bike handlers at the single track bottlenecks.

Have fun out there!

 

[cityjackit]

I'm not the guy to tell you exactly when, where and how, but by the time you hit a Cat 3 starting line in the Pisgah, you sure as heck better have some intensity built up.

Otherwise you're going to get stuck behind a lot of -- being kind here -- so-so bike handlers at the single track bottlenecks.

Have fun out there!

Thank you. Needed to hear this. To be honest, I still am trying to understand this "Cat thing". Ive signed up for the sasquatch srambler and the jerdon mtn race. They will be my first races other than this past 50k race at barnburner.
I signed up for cat 3 because I figured they were the slowest. Plus i am 59.
Going to do as many cane creek cup races before those two. Hopefully ill be where i need to be.

Thamk you again.