So a lapse in food and booze discipline plus working in Europe for a bit means diet and exercise went out the window for several weeks. I start a B target race series Wednesday, what’s the plan to sharpen up between when I get home tonight and then? Short hard turbo sessions, long road rides, short road hill climbs…?

Taper. It’s too late to do anything else.

Go for a ride, enjoy the race as a ride and count it as training for the next one.

That set of events happened to me in 2014 before the Silverstone Half Marathon.

I ran a PB 8 hours after getting of the plane from Arizona.

If you’ve done the training, you’ll be right, and the rest will probably have done you good.

8 hours for a half marathon ?

That’s what I thought! You can stroll round in 4.

It’s not so much the rest but the diet of croissants, strudel and beer that concerns me. It’s a 90 min MTB Reg C so surely a sharp turbo tomorrow with an z2 evening ride with a couple of hill climbs Monday would do me better than 4 days of sod all?

Plenty of time.
Do 2 days of 1hr. For the sessions do short, sharp max efforts (30-60seconds) with 1min recoveries between. Divide into sets of around six efforts with easy spinning between. Anything like this will make a massive difference to your sharpness.
Day 3 rest
Day 4 easy spin with a few short efforts thrown in. Max 1hr.

No idea, but your recent diet sounds great.

If I were you, I’d carry on with that 😉

Belgian beer. During the race.

I reckon it was a pogo stick marathon

It’s a 90 min MTB Reg C so surely a sharp turbo tomorrow with an z2 evening ride with a couple of hill climbs Monday would do me better than 4 days of sod all?

Almost certainly, 110% spot on idea (you were just looking for someone to agree with you weren’t you?)

In situations like this I like to think “What would Lance do?”

Sleep well and eat well. Do some cycling but nowt too strenuous.

My work bike tends to agree Wookster 🙂

By definition, “sharpening up” is putting the finishing edge on a block of specific training. If you haven’t exercised for “several weeks” I’d say the only significant change you can make in 4 days is to tire yourself out. Go for a couple of spins and spend your time making sure everything else is ready.

jambalaya – Member
8 hours for a half marathon ?

“A comma, a comma, my Kingdom for a comma!”

Actually I ran 1 hour, 39 minutes and 97 seconds.

Better skip pudding.

😉

Ha, I’ve got 20.5 hours to get fit for my first race of ‘the season’.

The packet pickup is in a brewery.

I’m F’d, aren’t I?

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Better skip pudding

Too late, I had a lovely individual lemon meringue in Brussels midi earlier today.