im 17 weigh about 61kgs and am about 180! so im a relatively smaller set guy!
For me i love riding. i cant ride my bike enough, im very enthusiastic about my riding and about training. Sounds silly but it is fun for me.
I struggle because i tend to adjust how far i ride to how im feeling on the day which isnt helping me build any structure, endurance etc.
For example last week: 10 solid hours on the bike
This Week: 5 or 6
I just need a bit of a plan so i can have something to stick by.
Usually riding XC Wednesday nights for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, racing friday nights and then another xc or road ride on sundays. For the rest of the time i wing it!
If you are seriously looking at proper training I would deffinately suggest you pick up a heart rate monitor and find your heart rate or threshold zones. Working in the right zones really does dramatically improve your training as you can train in the right area to maximize your results for your goals.
Your perceived exhaustion is not a bad thing for judgement, while it's important to be consistent, if your body is getting over worked having a lower volume week isn't bad. You can use a perceived structure for this or a heart rate variability monitor, you can use the hr monitor to find this out. Basically over a week you establish a base line heart rate in the morning, there is a correlation between hr and recovery. If your hr is elevated from base in the morning you are only partly recovered and you can adjust your workout intensity or that day. It just help prevent over training and is another tool for maximizing your training to its potential.
I too am a light weight, I would suggest that you look at your diet, as your work load increase as will your caloric needs, if it's the same deal you have a rocket metabolism too, we eat like a fat person but gain with slowly, this is actually awesome, I used to hate not been able to bulk up but once you get used to eating lots, you dont gain much fat. With food nutrition and exercise you can gain strength and size with little fat gain.
Winging it is important sometimes, having some time with mates or just to go have fun keeps you fresh and helps prevent mental burn out.
I would start with body weight workouts to establish a base line fitness/strength. I would expect at the weight you lack strength as a big weakness, I may be wrong but as a light weight myself its definately a weakness of mine at the moment.
I can't help with the xc distance as im Trying to find the same information for my base training.
Your hours seem good but I would add in some strength training, make sure diet is in check, and get into monitoring your rides to maximize results, sometimes going slower (aerobic) is better. Depending on the adaptions you want you need to train in the right zones.
