[carlostruco]

Out of the blue and completely unplanned, I decided to do a 7 day stage race two months away. Looking at my training plan, I have a target XC race in April with lots of volume around it; coming in just less compared to going out.

Analyzing my training so far, I've only decreased my weekly volume since racing season began from 15-17 hrs per week to 12-14 per week average leading into the thick of my schedule, but intensity has picked up also working more on LT and VO2Max. XCO races have been and will be every other week until the aforementioned stage race.

Stages time ranges from 2 to 4 hours daily, with an average of 3 hrs for a mid pack finisher in my class.

Given the short time frame to make any changes to my training plan, what changes, suggestions, or tips should I take into consideration for this? I have never done a stage race before, so any tips would be gladly appreciated.

 

[Poncharelli]

Road or mountain SR?

 

[carlostruco]

Road or mountain SR?

Mountain...Trans-Sylvania...

 

[honkonbobo]

i am seriously thinking about signing up in the next day or so for that race. what did you do for accommodations this late? PM me if you want

 

[LyndaW]

Given the short time frame to make any changes to my training plan, what changes, suggestions, or tips should I take into consideration for this? I have never done a stage race before, so any tips would be gladly appreciated.

Sounds like you already have a great training plan and lots of fitness in the bank. You only need a few tweaks to be stage race ready.

Take your current training plan and change the structure of your weekly format by blocking together your 2 most intense rides of the week on back-2-back days. This will adapt you for the day to day stage race format. Start doing this with two sessions. In your 2 last key training weeks before tapering into the stage race block your three most intense sessions. Then rest, taper and race.

The other thing to add to your plan is recovery practice. Dial in what to do after finishing each day so you rebound strongly for the next day. Practice this in your back-2-back blocks.

An example of post ride/race recovery tasks are: After your ride do the following to optimize your recovery: #1: Recovery drink and cool down, #2: 10-15 min ice-bath or cold river soak, #3: snack, #4: clean body, #5: stretch, #6: compression legs, #7 snack or meal, #8: nap. Other things helpful for recovery are massage, getting to bed early, abstaining from alcohol and stimulants.

 

[carlostruco]

Sounds like you already have a great training plan and lots of fitness in the bank. You only need a few tweaks to be stage race ready.

Take your current training plan and change the structure of your weekly format by blocking together your 2 most intense rides of the week on back-2-back days. This will adapt you for the day to day stage race format. Start doing this with two sessions. In your 2 last key training weeks before tapering into the stage race block your three most intense sessions. Then rest, taper and race.

The other thing to add to your plan is recovery practice. Dial in what to do after finishing each day so you rebound strongly for the next day. Practice this in your back-2-back blocks.

An example of post ride/race recovery tasks are: After your ride do the following to optimize your recovery: #1: Recovery drink and cool down, #2: 10-15 min ice-bath or cold river soak, #3: snack, #4: clean body, #5: stretch, #6: compression legs, #7 snack or meal, #8: nap. Other things helpful for recovery are massage, getting to bed early, abstaining from alcohol and stimulants.

Great tips!!! Usually on weekends, I tend to have 4-5 hour rides back to back, and the only thing missing from my routine is the cool down after the recovery drink, which I usually have in the pool before stretching. I don't nap often on those days due to familly related activities, but I did when I was single!!!

I was looking to maintain pretty much the same routine, but adding maybe two stronger days during the week is being heavily considered. I do my endurance on weekends with intensity on the trainer during the week. I can squeeze an extra ride on the trails some mornings, but I don't want to hamper my recovery. I have switched most of my endurance rides in a way that they begin on the road bike focusing on power for 2-3 hours, and then I finish my ride switching to my MTB just to get accustomed to riding trails concentrating on what lies ahead after being a bit tired from the road effort. Last one I did like that resulted in a very good ride on some of the most technical trails that we have around.

One thing I realized I can't quit is the gym. Free weights have made my life a lot easier on the trails since now most of the training during weekdays is done on a trainer.

Greatly appreciated tips by the way!!!

 

[WR304]

I'm sure I saw a fairly detailed article on the subject somewhere, either by or interviewing Allen Lim on how to prepare for stage races. I haven't found it yet but here a couple of similar links with some tips that might be useful.

"Since Allen (Lim) is the stage racing expert for the team, I asked what the local amateur racer could learn from his Grand Tour experience and apply to shorter stage races like Fitchburg, Green Mountain, etc. He offered these tips:

* Weigh before & after each stage & replace the amount of fluids lost as soon after the race as possible. Many riders sink into a gradual state of dehydration from day to day in stage races.
* Eat a recovery meal consisting of carbs & some protein immediately after the race; and fuel adequately later as well.
* Increase your sleep by 1-2 hours the week prior to the event.
* Get off your feet as soon as possible after the race, & STAY off your feet as much as you can.

*\36-48 hours before a prologue, the Garmin team does a "Hot workout" in an elevated temperature to induce profuse sweating. This releases a hormone to improve aerobic performance by increasing blood plasma volume. For our purposes, the workout could be 1- 1 ½ hours long, with at least 20 minutes high intensity." Scott Devereaux

http://cadencecycling.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/balancing-theory-with-craft-forum-with_17.html

Slowtwitch Interview:

ST: I've seen you promote a mantra of to the effect of: 'Drink your hydration and chew your calories'. What does this mean and why do you promote it?

Dr. Lim: That's what I've found to work best in long endurance events, like the Tour de France or Giro d'Italia. We found that when you eat your food, and then you focus on having a lower calorie hydration solution that allows you replace all of the electrolytes that you lose in your sweat - primarily sodium - you end up doing a much better job at getting both your calories in and your hydration needs met without the Gastrointestinal distress and upset stomach. And the reason is that when you bypass normal digestion with a highly concentrated solution, the osmotic pressure that that suddenly creates in the small intestines is literally like trying to shove way too many cars on to a highway and getting in to a big traffic accident. At that point the whole entire highway closes and you can't get any cars (or food) past.

It really comes down to an issue of osmosis. If you have a very highly concentrated solution in your gut that suddenly appears acutely, what your body does is actually draw fluid out of the body in to the small intestines to dilute it, so that it can actually be pulled back in to the body. Active transport of sugars and nutrients can only do so much. When you have something in a solution, such as a gel, or a 400-calorie electrolyte solution, you're rushing things in suddenly and creating this acute load that the gut can't handle. If you eat food, though, you go through this whole process of digestion in the stomach. You convert that food in to a bolus of chyme in the stomach, and then it trickles from the stomach in to the small intestines at a very paced interval.

In a sense, it's almost like having a stoplight at the entrance of a highway that allows one or two cars to by every few seconds, rather than trying to get all of those cars on at the same time. What ends up happening with real food is you get a consistent source of calories that trickle in to your body throughout the whole entire event, rather than having these big shocks to the system. The ultimate irony is that people think they need these high carbohydrate solutions or these gels because they can't digest, and they almost want something that is already broken down for them. But when they do that, all they're doing is basically creating an oil spill inside their gut. Slowtwitch.com

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Up_close_with_Allen_Lim_3054.html

Race food:

http://www.marathonmtb.com/2013/12/...kes-and-the-search-for-the-perfect-race-food/

 

[127.0.0.1]

are you going to be eating at home or on the road, such as a hotel/campsite ?

if you are going to eat on the road then start doing exactly what you will need to do for that, at home, so you are used to the diet/prep....stage races go smoother if you are not rushing around fixing food or worse, eating things you haven't raced on before

 

[carlostruco]

I try to keep everything simple and rarely change my diet...I've raced ans surfed in other countries(Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina) and never had any issues with food...but I'm also cautious on what I eat...