I just started racing cross semi-seriously last yr. I did 6 races. I didn't do great and I hate to s*ck, so I decided to really train this yr. I followed our team's coaching plan but about 2 months behind. I did 3 crits to get me used to the intensity of racing. I'm doing the last one on this sat. I've been doing Tabeta(sp?) on tues, cross workout on wed (dis-mounts, remounts, run-up repeats ) and 5-6 intervals of 3 min followed by 3 off on thurs. Fri and mon are recovery days and I'll either race or do 2 x 20 intervals @ TT effort on sat or sunday with the other day an easier 2-3 hr ride. Thoughts? FWIW-I am currently in the best condition (I feel) of my life. I'm 48. I take 3-4 days off every 5-6 weeks just to avoid burn-out.
Thanks.

How old are you?

I'm 42 and that seems like you will burn out or get over trained before cross season has gotten into full swing. I was cutting my recovery short but was making incredible progress earlier this year. Then it caught up to me and I plateaued. When I stopped making progress, I became less likely to take rest seriously -- if I'm not getting stronger, then I must not be training enough. Then I got really tired.

So, I took a week off. Actually, I commute by bike -- a 12 mile round trip -- and continued that at a very pedestrian pace. Then I did a fairly hard week. The next week (which was last week) had some intensity but I only rode 3 days (light running for 30 minutes on two others).

Now I'm starting on a two on, one off schedule. On the off week, I'll only do any real riding on three days (still commute slowly the other two).

Anyway, did some intervals today and I was superman. Fastest times yet. The rest helped me out a LOT.

So don't skimp on the rest.

So you think I'm over-doing it? I feel friggin great. I just did a 100k charity ride and figured my azz would be whipped since it was a bout 20 miles longer than any ride I'd done all yr, but I felt really good. Granted, it wasn't a race, but we didn't let too much grass grow under us. That said, I DO feel strongest after I've taken a few days off. All of July I took it pretty easy. No intervals, just some 2hr rides at PE around 2-4, mostly around 2-3. Maybe I'll cut it back a bit (int 1-2/ week instead) and look forward to cross? I'm 48.

It sounds as though your plan is pretty well thought out. You have built in two recovery days into each week which is good, at least in my short experience.

Every fourth week or so (which is what you mentioned), don't worry about taking 3-4 days off, but instead just cut the hours on the bike down considerably. If you are doing 10 hours a week, try dropping it down to 5-6 hours for the week. This will give the body time to recover, and will still keep the legs spinning.

People have talked about this rest week before, and I'm sure will analyze it even more, but I know it has helped me, and kept me from burning out. Nice to have an easy week where you can just spin and ride.

So you think I'm over-doing it? I feel friggin great. I just did a 100k charity ride and figured my azz would be whipped since it was a bout 20 miles longer than any ride I'd done all yr, but I felt really good. Granted, it wasn't a race, but we didn't let too much grass grow under us. That said, I DO feel strongest after I've taken a few days off. All of July I took it pretty easy. No intervals, just some 2hr rides at PE around 2-4, mostly around 2-3. Maybe I'll cut it back a bit (int 1-2/ week instead) and look forward to cross? I'm 48.

I think you need to schedule more rest weeks into your schedule. Every 5-6 weeks isn't enough. The traditional schedule is 3 on 1 off but Friel mentions that older athletes might do better with 2 on 1 off. I've decided to give the 2 on 1 off a try for the remainder of the season. And the off week should include a couple intensity days but lower volume and easy rides when not doing the intensity.

I started riding lots at the beginning of March this year. I'd been riding and running some since last season though. I progressed pretty well through May and felt like I was flying in June (fourth month). I hadn't been taking any real rest weeks though. In July I definitely felt the plateau. Then at the end of July, I felt the crash. Since the races I want to do best at are in the middle of November and the first of December, I needed to pull back and reset my schedule to account for the long season.

I also had some conversations with one of my tri friends. He was sick off and on during his training phase and had to take more time off than he had in previous years. He had qualified for Worlds in France and he turned out the best performance ever. He attributed it to the extra recovery time. He's sold on the 2 on and 1 off. He's about my age.

Remember, October is a month and a half away. Going fast now may feel great but going fast in October and November is money.

Thanks. As I mentioned July was a fairly easy month for me. After this race (sat) I'll go with the 2/1 sched.