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Endurance Race to XC Races back to Endurance Races?

1K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  DekerfTeamST 
#1 ·
So a few weeks back I finished the Lumberjack 100, my first 100 miler, in a respectable time of 8:56. I had focused all spring and early summer on this event with only one other race being a 6 hr. solo race 4 weeks before the event which I finished 4th in my division. I've taken a few weeks off from training, but still riding, to enjoy other things that summer has to offer. Now I'm about to return to racing and have two XC races picked in July and two 6 hour solo races picked for August. Leading up to the LJ100 I was doing 2 hr. aerobic road rides, 3 hr. aerobic/endurance mountain rides, and long endurance mountain rides up to 7.5 hr.'s. I was doing no anaerobic work. So my question is how would you adjust your training to accomodate both the short XC races, 1.25 - 2 hr.'s, and the 6 hr. solo races. I want to be competetive at both. Its obvious that I need to include some anaerobic intervals but at the cost of what other work out? There is only so much time in the week.
 
#2 ·
sounds like you have a lot of good quality ride time at your fingertips. i'd recommend taking one of your harder days and making it about short, fast intervals. i think you likely have good power from your training, try to do one day a week of speed work.

hit the road or trail with a friend that may be a little hard to keep up with and force it. force your pace, chase them through the woods, do hard road intervals and alternate pulls with them, etc. it's a different type of riding, but with all your work, it's not out of reach. more of a different mindset and adaptation than anything. the chasing through the woods will help you in many situations. i find it to really help me in shorter, fast rides (or races) and during endurance events, as it makes the handling that much easier when you're not totally on the rivet.

best of luck.
 
#3 ·
7.5

I swap back and forth between long events and XC and find that 3 to 4 hour ides are magic for me. I get endurance benefits, but not so much that I cannot get in 1.5 hour rides with VO2's and other nasty intervals during the week and still achieve high HR's. If I do a fun 8 hour epic, I can see that my power and HR is affected for over a week. If it were me the 7.5 hour rides would probably be cooking me enough that short intense efforts won't be that effective. I'd cut those out. Especially if you are only doing 6 hour events from here on out. I find a good top end translates to good endurance resuls, whereas the opposite isn't as true.
 
#4 ·
I have been doing the opposite this year. January-June has been early season road racing then lots of XC racing. In between I have been doing long endurance rides to get ready for Cascade Creampuff this weekend. I have trained with the belief, if I can make 80% of the race time I can make it to the finish line. The reason being not to totally bake myself but get the endurance and recovery to also handle the high intensity. We'll see how this philosophy works on Sunday?
 
#5 ·
n8rhino said:
I have been doing the opposite this year. January-June has been early season road racing then lots of XC racing. In between I have been doing long endurance rides to get ready for Cascade Creampuff this weekend. I have trained with the belief, if I can make 80% of the race time I can make it to the finish line. The reason being not to totally bake myself but get the endurance and recovery to also handle the high intensity. We'll see how this philosophy works on Sunday?
I think the 80% rule will work fine for you. I used the 75% and it worked out great for me at the LJ100.

Thanks everyone else for the advise. I'm reducing the length of my endurance rides to 4.5 hr.'s per my 75% rule. I'm eliminating one aerobic road ride and replacing it Anaerobic Hill Intervals twice a week.
 
#6 ·
Hill intervals are great, but work on speed as well. Don't be afraid to go downhill, gear up and hold a high pace for 5-10 minutes. Mix it up a bit, maybe one hill ride with one speed workout. But, sounds like a good plan. Also, don't just train in week chunks, string 2-3 weeks together so you're not doing the same thing every week. And don't forget to recover! Most of all, have fun with it.
 
#7 ·
one1spede said:
Hill intervals are great, but work on speed as well. Don't be afraid to go downhill, gear up and hold a high pace for 5-10 minutes. Mix it up a bit, maybe one hill ride with one speed workout. But, sounds like a good plan. Also, don't just train in week chunks, string 2-3 weeks together so you're not doing the same thing every week. And don't forget to recover! Most of all, have fun with it.
I've revised my plan based on yours and some other information I found in an article with Pro Roadie Christian VandeVelde(sp?). He suggests doing pyramid intervals which make sense to me. This should accomodate my speed intervals and I'll do the hills for power alternating between the two. Good point on not training in week chunks. I actually plan a few weeks worth of training on my calender based on my target event and adjust time, effort, type of training according to my target event. What I found is the most important thing no matter what your program is to write it down and then follow the plan being consistent and doing what you've written down. Sticking to it and resting when your calender says rest.
 
#8 ·
Sounds great. To add a couple things to your last couple sentences:

A - listen to your body. This is really important and you'll figure this out as you get into this. But if you're scheduled for a hard day and your body is just saying 'no,' back off and don't push it. Take this tact for a day or two, then get back on schedule.

B - Don't let a missed workout stress you either. I get worked up over this sometimes, but looking at the big picture, it really doesn't hurt anything. An extra day off here and there (don't stray too much) are good to change things up a bit. And it helps your S.O. deal with your hours if you're willing to bend a little.

Sounds like you've got a good handle on things. Cheers.
 
#9 ·
Adjustments paid off.............

Well the adjustments I made to my training must have paid off. I raced Sunday and won my age group and was 6th overall in the category. I've been on the podium before but have never won an event so I was stoked.:thumbsup: I'm doing another XC race from this series in a week with a 6 hour solo following the next week. I think I'm just going to concentrate on Endurance rides and Anaerobic rides between now and then with a small taper before the 6 hr. event. Hopefully I can get the same result in the endurance event as I did in the shorter, 22 mile 1.5 hr., cross-country event.:thumbsup:
 
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