Yup. Each year from now on, you have to work hard to be slightly crappier than you were last year.

And when you hit 60, you’ll look back in amazement at how strong you were at 52.

I realy wish I hadn’t opened this thread now 😡

He he, the immortal Mick Ives . . . I remember him commentating on a race at Astley I think, or maybe Bobs Bash, remarking on my strength pushing the big ring 😆 (my Gripshifters were caked in mud and I couldn’t even change down at the front).

Speak to iDave* You need to change your training strategy. HIIT and the rest of it.

*other coaches are available

emanuel no more hard stuff! I do one or two Carmichael sessions on the turbos. A road ride on my own on Saturday if I’m racing Sunday, if not a 100km on Sunday. I should be doing a hard night ride on the MTB as well, but my MTB doesn’t exist.

oldgit,read the book.it’s really really good.
remember:raisins yes,parmesan no,tubs yes.
it doesn’t have to be hard.resting properly is part of good training.
but it’s all there.

Rocking chair, cardigan and Werthers Originals.

Race yourself… Most people aren’t top contenders, by definition, you just have a better excuse than most. Every place is still a victory.

allthepies..I have all 3..and a blanket on my legs when on the rockingchair reading..happy days.

I think you ride too much, actually.

Nah, thats only two one hour turbo sessions, one road steady and a race. And pretty often work puts paid to one or the other. When I’m not racing I ride much more.

Just about to hit 52 and not getting any faster in races. In cross I’m finishing late third or early three quarters of the way down the field.

Just to give you some perspective. Some of us envy you being talented enough to still be able to achieve a performance like that- at 30 never mind 52. You can’t turn a donkey into a thoroughbred and no matter how hard I trained I’d never be able to get near your performance.

Having said that maybe you need to train smarter not harder and also target fewer races. Get some coaching advice and structure your training round fewer races.

race at single speed events, you’ll come 4th with a bit of luck 😉

Speaking as a 54 year old with no competetive spirit whatsoever…

JUST SHUT UP AND KEEP RIDING

Tempted tazzy, rode a lot of 24 solos singlespeed, but racing is so intense and I really use the gears. But very very tempted.

Always liked the Traitor Bikes Crusade CXer

come to the European and UK champs next year, nice booze, good company and some riding. It’s good for the soul if not the liver 😀

Oldgit.

I remember you posted up a ‘Who’s racing’ thread,where you said you had been thinking of packing it in this year. When I read it, I had been thinking the same thing ,but already having sent off entries for 3 events 🙄 , I decided to just get on with it for another year.
Thing is ,it made me think back to when I first started racing and the reasons behind it.
A big part of the racing or doing events for me ,was that I liked having an event to train towards and there was always another target within the event.
Without that I always found it hard to motivate myself and I was never a ‘just take part’kinda person.
Trouble is ,the training miles and effort needed for a decent (my idea of decent) finish was high.
Lately ,I don’t feel the need for any of that,
I just want to spend the time doing other stuff now.

Funny thing is I will be riding my bikes a lot next year,it just won’t be racing. It will be fun though 🙂

Get some decent intervals down you, seriously.

Fasthaggis – you don’t need to commit to that many miles to get quick. Contrary to the saying, there IS a substitute for time on the bike. Or to put it another way, quality over quantity.

OG – the course for Sunday should be good. I’ve not been up there for a few weeks though. If I can compare the course to anything I’d say it’s like the Hillingdon infield. Dunno if you’ve been to Box End before, but it’s a water skiing/wakeboarding lake, surrounded by lots of grass. Before it was grass it’s where they dumped the mud that they dug out for the lakes, so there are plenty of lumps and bumps – nothing steep though. We wanted to run the course so that it took a quick dip into the lake, but water hazards aren’t allowed 😥

Looks like had you been a BC member you would have been 4th in the 50+ cat.

That’s made me feel a bit better. Did you hang around on Sunday?

Probably 5th, but that’s still good going. One of our lads is in his 50s, not a BC member either and finished in the 30s. Rides an MTB as well. We’re trying to work out what his secret is.

Nah, went half way thought the youth race.

See you Sunday.

I don’t know the age limits for your category, is it vets you’re in that start at age 40?

Are there people older than you finishing ahead of you? I know I’d be happy with being the first 52 year old, and if there’s younger people behind you, keep doing it!!

Reminds me of when I ran (at lunchtime) with some guys from work, one of whom beat me in the last 50m sprint (was only a 4 mile run) and seemed chuffed to bits, until I reminded him he was 14 year’s younger

I turned 52 yesterday. Only a few years ago I would be unhappy if I finished outside the top 12 or so in the London league. Now I struggle to get in the top 20 to 30. As races regularly get 100 plus rider I can’t be too dissapointed really. (185 at Hillingdon recently!) I still train as hard but I have accepted this is my fate. I now just look at each race as a chance to beat anyone I haven’t before. I don’t tend to look at beating other v50s as, well, there aren’t that many, probably because it is such a hard discipline it frightens off most of them into the LVRCs where they can hide. 😆
Be happy that you are still in there doing proper racing, more of a race of truth than road racing imho.

Hmmm
Not looking good I’ve gone backwards since the start of my cross season with an almost last place this weekend, and my contempories almost thirty places ahead?

Where did I go wrong?
Not racing at all through the year, just training?
Not shedding weight, stone plus overweight all on my stomach as I have the skinniest limbs you’ll ever see.?
Getting hit by a car in August probably didn’t help.

So for 2012.
Race all year?
Invest in a ‘proper’ race bike and not a budget brand?
Loose the weight?

Somethings is still wrong. Like my mate said, I’m commited. I race and those months following the Carmichael plan on the turbos weren’t for fun.
He reckons I need proper help.?

Just ride for fun ! 30 years ago I was winning races , no chance these days as my head is in a different place.
As long as im in good health and reasonably fit that will do for me.

For me competition is the fun, well not fun but it’s the bit I love.

Racing is weird, I can understand your dilema.

May be find a training plan that suits you better,fits in and around your lifestyle and available time.
Have you recently been to a well man clinic?

I’d imagine the weight has made a difference, strap a 14 lb weight to most people and they’ll be slower over an hours race!

Do you keep logs of all your training? If so, go back and compare this years to 2010 to try and identify any differences.

I do Jase, but most of my results are postion based.
2009 was a good year, but I raced road, xc and cx that year.
Both 2010 and 2011 have been marred by accidents i.e getting hit by a car in August 2011. And being crushed by a 600kg load September 2010

For 2012 I have a 9 to 5 for the first time in twelve years. So I might go back to my old ways of racing every week with endurance training in between?