Cardy George
Piercing rural members since 1981
So this racing thing has taken hold, and I'm annoyingly close to the front of the field. Problem is I don't know what to focus on first to improve my position in the pack. Is it pure strength? Aerobic capacity? Muscle endurance? The only MTB focussed info I can find here, or anywhere, is either 10 years old or hidden behind a broken link.
Hopefully this thread will pool together some knowledge for others to learn from.
So the things I know about me:
• I can stay with the fast guys for the first lap, then I blow up. The next lap is recovering from the start, then I can settle into a sustainable speed/heart rate and can hold that for the remainder of the race, about an hour or so, without losing too much more time. I think that's an experience thing, I'm getting better at moderating my efforts at the start but clearly need to boost something to be able to stay with them.
• I can hold 175 - 180 bpm over the whole 1.5 hrs, and my max HR is around 192 bpm, but that was many years ago. I have seen 190 not too long ago.
• I have decades of long, but not especially fast rides. Not so much now, but I used to ride 100km every Saturday, and then commute 5 days a week. That was reflected in a time trial a week ago, where I lost 40 secs over 6km, but only 50 secs over 10km.
• I ride to work everyday. So I don't have to find time for training. I'm already on the thing anyway.
I know I'm not going to catch the fast guys this year, but I'd like to be closer to them.
Finally my main goal is the longer endurance style multi-hour events. I'm looking at completing our local 3 hour this year as a start, being competitive at it next year and then working my way up to completing a 24 hour in a few years time
Hopefully this thread will pool together some knowledge for others to learn from.
So the things I know about me:
• I can stay with the fast guys for the first lap, then I blow up. The next lap is recovering from the start, then I can settle into a sustainable speed/heart rate and can hold that for the remainder of the race, about an hour or so, without losing too much more time. I think that's an experience thing, I'm getting better at moderating my efforts at the start but clearly need to boost something to be able to stay with them.
• I can hold 175 - 180 bpm over the whole 1.5 hrs, and my max HR is around 192 bpm, but that was many years ago. I have seen 190 not too long ago.
• I have decades of long, but not especially fast rides. Not so much now, but I used to ride 100km every Saturday, and then commute 5 days a week. That was reflected in a time trial a week ago, where I lost 40 secs over 6km, but only 50 secs over 10km.
• I ride to work everyday. So I don't have to find time for training. I'm already on the thing anyway.
I know I'm not going to catch the fast guys this year, but I'd like to be closer to them.
Finally my main goal is the longer endurance style multi-hour events. I'm looking at completing our local 3 hour this year as a start, being competitive at it next year and then working my way up to completing a 24 hour in a few years time