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Newbie to racing, how am I supposed to train?

1427 Views 21 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  tjkm, 
T
A little background. I was fat, out of shape, and recently I've started getting back into sports and biking, as I've been out of both for about 2-3 years. I'm 220lbs right now, down from 240 the last few months. I've been a casual biker before, but I'm very competitive and a car racer, and really have gotten into it this time around, so naturally I thought "hey lets race bikes". Seemed like a great idea. Had my first time trial this past weekend and it was a blast. Did exactly what I thought. I got inspired by everyone passing me and rode over my head and finished way better then I would have if I was by myself on the ride.

I'm planning on running 2 more of these time trials over the next 2 months and then run the 8 race georgia xc series. Between about 1 bike ride a week, each week I also play football and soccer, so strength stuff is as important as endurance.

Having said all that, are there some quick win things that I can do for training to get myself better on the bike? Looking for 80/20 stuff as I know with everyone else going on in my life I can't commit to an all out serious training plan. I'm planning on incorporating another bike ride a week, so I basically will do 2 training rides and the other sports each week.

Thoughts? Advice? Help?

Thanks!
-Tom
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F
"Cycling" or "mountain biking". "Biking" is what fat guys do on Harleys. (Sorry, pet peeve.)

If you do two spinning classes and one nice long mountain bike ride per week, with at least a day between each workout, you will increase your current fitness by a lot. When the weather gets better and the sun sets later, you can replace the spinning classes with actual rides.

And remember, hills are Mother Nature's interval training.
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T
Hehe, mountain biking :)

I'm not really into the concept of gyms/spinning classes, but I bought a cross/road bike for myself to do some road rides. Being in Atlanta, GA gives me pretty much year round riding. Is 40 minutes 2x a week on a road bike enough?

-Tom
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AZ
Ride hard til you puke , rinse , repeat .
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trhoppe said:
Being in Atlanta, GA gives me pretty much year round riding. Is 40 minutes 2x a week on a road bike enough?
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You specifically asked for 80/20 time-efficient stuff, and at your current level of fitness a spinning class really fits the bill.

Which isn't to say don't ride your road bike. When the group rides start up again, hook up with one that challenges your fitness but doesn't completely leave you in the dust.
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T
Hmm ok. What is it about a spinning class that will help my fitness vs going on a road bike ride with a predefined time/effort idea? My gym does have the classes, I just never thought about going before.
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CB2
What are your true ambitions? Not to finish DFL, top half, podium? Unless you are super gifted, you're going to need more than 80 minutes on the bike a week. Even if you are super gifted to be competitive you'll need to devote more time in the saddle. Try and ride 1+ hour 3 or 4 times a week to start with.
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T
Well, ambitions are to win......XC-3 or "beginner" though :lol:

I think 1 hour 3 times a week is a possibility. 2, 1 hr spin classes if I go that way, or 2 1hr road rides, and then a 1 hr mtb ride. Switch that around for 1 road ride, 2 mtb rides when the weather gets nicer.

edit: The XC-3 or beginner races are ~12-13 miles and 1 hr long, so that could translate real well.

-Tom
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trhoppe said:
Hmm ok. What is it about a spinning class that will help my fitness vs going on a road bike ride with a predefined time/effort idea? My gym does have the classes, I just never thought about going before.
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If you have a good instructor (and that's a big if), then spinning will give you a hour of high-intensity interval training, which is the quickest way of gaining fitness on a limited time budget. You can get in that room and basically leave it all in there, because you don't have to worry about traffic, riding home, puncturing, stoplights, etc.

At my old gym there was an instructor that had good taste in music and a real mellow holistic vibe, and I genuinely enjoyed the classes, and IMO got a lot of fitness out of them.
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B
basically you want to train as hard as you can while holding back enough so that you can train that hard (or close to it) your next workout. If you have a few extra days of recovery, don't be afraid to push it harder.
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used2Bhard
training

It's easy to get caught up into training plans, but I always prescribe just riding your bike as much as you can for the first year.

I'd try and get a 2+ hour ride in every now and then and then hit the 1 hour rides as much as you can. For the first year you just need to get your skills dialed in and start building fitness slowly.

Welcome to the addiction...
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pop_martian
Ride like you race, and you'll race like you ride.

I think you will be surprised at how fast even the beginner guys are. Most people that enter a mountain bike race are above weekend warrior in terms of their fitness. If you haven't raced before, I'll agree with the above sentiment. Don't worry about a plan for now. Just ride your bike as much as possible.

And remember, it's all for fun!:thumbsup:
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AndrwSwitch
One of the reasons I commute on my bike is because I get to sneak some more saddle time into my week without having to sacrifice something else for it (after all, I'd just be driving my car or sitting in a bus if I didn't do it.) Is that a possibility for you? It's not the highest-quality training, but time spent on a bike is still time spent on a bike.
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R
used2Bhard said:
It's easy to get caught up into training plans, but I always prescribe just riding your bike as much as you can for the first year.
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This is excellent advice. No need to get caught up in structure so soon.
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E
My training rides are the same as my races, 1 hour balls out on the stop watch. 2-3 times a week. I also do cross training, lifting ect. I ussually finished top 10 in class 3 and podiumed in age group (30-39).

So, doing 2-3 one hour plus rides a week should be perfect.

I am close to you size, 210-212, plan to be at 205 come race season. Last year I raced class 3, there was also a beginner class at most of the races. Races where 7-11 miles and where 45 min. to an hour. So, if you want a good finish you better get a good start and push very hard from the start, not long enough to set back.

I am also now planning to do some sport class races and plan to race clyd at some bigger races that have it.
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W
I ran a beginner race and got trounced. I'm 6' tall, 160lbs, and have no problem riding centuries at a good clip on my road bike. I was soundly trounced, even lapped by some guys in our group riding fendered, singlespeed cruiser bikes that rattled so much I could hear them coming from a couple hundred feet back.

Do not confuse "beginner" with slow.
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pop_martian
wonkyzoid said:
I ran a beginner race and got trounced. I'm 6' tall, 160lbs, and have no problem riding centuries at a good clip on my road bike. I was soundly trounced, even lapped by some guys in our group riding fendered, singlespeed cruiser bikes that rattled so much I could hear them coming from a couple hundred feet back.

Do not confuse "beginner" with slow.
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This is remarkably similar to my first race experience too. Needless to say it was humbling.
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P
I was in the same boat as you last year...I did the 34 though. BTW you had a VERY respectable time for your first outing on that trail in those conditions.

I was able to cut and 1:15 off my 2009 Jan time in March by doing intervals on rollers. I agree with the above guys...1 long (2+hrs)MTB ride a week + 2 1hr days with intervals or hills. I'd almost say hill repeats with that course LOL...Key is intensity...go kill your self for that one hour (after a proper warm up).

I haven't had the time or weather to ride much in the last couple of months, but my time this year was only 5 min off of my previous best...years worth of training and racing must have done something for the base!
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upstatesspdr
Beginner usually has everything from guys that have never raced before to some that are pretty fast. Don't get all wrapped up in training plans and numbers right now biketime is key
Sounds like you have decent fitness goin into it so I'd say ride as much as you can, try and get make a fast group ride once a week. Your road bike is a great training tool also but focus on the mtb for now for bike handling and riding the tech stuff...if you really get into it later you'll be riding alot of road to train as you move up.
Oh, find a buddy who's faster to ride with, youll learn a ton about picking lines and stuff watching (chasing them);) congrats on the weight loss too1
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mtbcoach_co
used2Bhard said:
It's easy to get caught up into training plans, but I always prescribe just riding your bike as much as you can for the first year.

I'd try and get a 2+ hour ride in every now and then and then hit the 1 hour rides as much as you can. For the first year you just need to get your skills dialed in and start building fitness slowly.

Welcome to the addiction...
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or hours and hours in the snow and cold might fit just the bill. :)
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