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First race is on 2nd October... base is good but need some speed (and to shift some timber) done the FTPbuilder before but wondering if anyone recommends plans specifically tailored to cross?
I don't do plans but you could see if they do a crit plan ?
If not, add in some (not too many) short crit races into your usual routine
I'd reckon hour power is the most effective for most people - so ftp training basically. Not a consensus opinion from what I've seen from cross training plans - e.g. TR used to have a lot of sharp intervals back to threshold etc - I guess that's useful for vdP v vA but cross races are more of an attritional grind at the amateur level ime. Big engine is more of a difference maker.
Any ftp builder will have a lot of VO2 max work anyhow, so it's not like you'll be training exclusively sub threshold or anything like that.
Any ftp builder will have a lot of VO2 max work anyhow, so it’s not like you’ll be training exclusively sub threshold or anything like that.
Yeah, just do a tonne of over-unders!
A typical race for me is a couple of minutes at full gas when I get carried away with the start, then the remaining 58 minutes remaining as close to threshold as possible, so what Garry_Lager said basically
Don’t forgot to stop the ride every so often to go for a run carrying your bike before jumping straight back on the turbo
Edit: accidentally land on your testicles once or twice too, to add realism
And randomly spike your heartrate by nearly crashing (fall off the trainer maybe?) when you should be grabbing a rest.
And randomly spike your heartrate by nearly crashing (fall off the trainer maybe?)
That'll be why CXers use rollers for training! Random heart rate spikes every time you try to take a drink/ towel off/become momentarily distracted 🙄
58 minutes remaining as close to threshold as possible
That's threshold HR not threshold power?
Power will be up and down with the course.
Typical course will have lots of small sections that you dont pedal, followed by high torque turns out of corners, lots of massive effort steep ramps and rolls down the other side etc.
Its very on / off and your training should reflect that.
That’ll be why CXers use rollers for training! Random heart rate spikes every time you try to take a drink/ towel off/become momentarily distracted 🙄
Or someone turns the light off as they leave the room..
Dirty 30's.
30's pedalling easy, 30's pedalling max output, dismount and 30's run repeat 10 times. 5 Minute break, repeat again.
Do not undersetimate practicing technique and skills. Practice remounts and dismounts, practice hurdles with piles of sticks, pracice cornering in mud, practice starts/clipping in.
Too late now to be doing anything serious about power output really, it'll be a marginal difference. If you're a bit on the chubby side, concentrate on loosing weight.
That’s threshold HR not threshold power?
Power will be up and down with the course.
Ha, yes, good point, I only train to HR anyway and even then my CX sessions are basically as hard as I think I can go with occasional glances at HR to keep it sensible!
Hour long smash fests worked for me last season as I got progressively fitter and faster throughout the winter, that and the ultimate trust that your front wheel will grip.
Don't forget to include running plodding up slight inclines that are totally rideable after 10 minutes but become the North Face after 45 mins.
Also factor in practicing barrel rolls to simulate the inevitable crash on slippy off camber field sides, clearing out of the frame on those carrying sections and swallowing back like bits of mouth sick that always show up.
First race is on 2nd October
Where you racing? My 2nd race is October 2nd at Lochore, just hope they've kept the Death-Spiral!
I tried my first outdoor CX training session the other day. Had forgotten what a difference it makes actually LITERALLY going through the motions of CX racing, rather than e.g. just trying to hold threshold on the turbo.
I tried 6 x 2 minute efforts, each simulating a start line sprint followed by trying to hold a threshold effort for 2 minutes.
As Milese alluded to, it was far more exhausting than just trying to hold an equivalent power on a trainer, and I think the most benefit I'll gain from outdoor sessions between now and first race is just learning how to pace my efforts!
Oh, and a useful insight I gained whilst recovering is that I'm probably smoother and faster through a series of off-camber grassy turns if I don't sprint into them then spend the whole time braking through them and trying to regain the speed again. Going in more easily and staying smooth seemed quicker whilst giving me a precious precious breather 👍