How's everyone's training going? What's working? What's not? You know...fitness. The stuff that actually makes a difference in cross races.

I have been on a steady diet of 2, 6 and 15 minute intervals since July 2, with some tempo thrown in. Not many rides over 2 hours. I don't see any need for 4 hour aerobic rides at this point. Only rides with purpose fit the bill now. 2 weeks till Gloucester. 9 weeks till GP PDX. 11 weeks till KC. Every bit of energy saved and used wisely will pay dividends in December.

How is your engine?

And give away all my secrets?

Well, here's what I've been doing. My fitness is much better than last yr, but I still s$ck, so take this with a grain of salt..
I'd been doing blocks of weeks w/ intervals on mon, thurs, and sat or sunday, usually 3 on 3 off hill repeats, 2 -3 sets of tabata intervals, and 2 x 20, with a cross skills ride on wed. Now that the season is started I'm doing intervals on tues, then an easy cross skill ride on wed, and easy on thurs, off fri, and easy 1 hr ride w/ a few jumps on sat, race on sunday, rest on mon. I'll do this for 2 weeks and take it easy for a week, then repeat, although as the season wears on, I'll prolly skip the interval ride.

All I've been doing is 4x4 min hill repeats (Eastern Ave in Arlington MA) and 3x10 min lactate threshold workouts. Probably only riding 3-4 hours a week outside races now, and maybe 1-2 more hours rollerskiing as base for nordic ski season.

I haven't been doing this long enough to say if it's helping more than just riding my bike at random intensities for the same number of hours per week. Nice to pretend I have a plan, though.

One thing I haven't practiced at all is running. Does anyone out there really think that running workouts are necessary for cross? I'm a crappy runner but I've never felt like I lost ground on runups, sometimes quite the opposite. Has anyone out there ever experienced a dramatic increase in runup speed that they attribute to on-foot training?

Not so much speed but some endurance. I think. This yr (b/f the season started), I'd incorporate a series of 3 runup intervals plus on my loop around the park plus I'd jump a parking wire that's way higher than a barrier. It may not have made me faster, but I AM running the barriers much better and they seem much smaller than they were last yr.:thumbsup:

One thing I haven't practiced at all is running. Does anyone out there really think that running workouts are necessary for cross?

I don't think it helps at this point in the year to run for 30 minutes, but I do think a little 'cross-specific running may help.

Tues mornings I'll do 5x 40 second hard runs on a grass incline in my riding shoes. I go to the park down the street on my bike. I shoulder the bike, run, do a remount, coast to the bottom of the park, and repeat. The whole workout, door to door, takes 20 minutes. I think running in your cycling shoes is key b/c it mimics your stride in a race. Your running mechanics are much different in running shoes.

Any additional running intervals may hinder my afternoon cycling intervals (at that point I think running workouts would negate their benefit), so I don't try to play hero. If I'm dragging one week, this is the workout that I skip.

That's pretty close to what I do. It's also the 1st one I'll skip.

I’ve been racing the weekends then Mid week I enter the pain cave (as eyebob calls it) with 2 sets of 15 minute intervals followed by some power interval work, you know low rpm 53 12 hill intervals. I have been doing those all year and I can feel a big difference. In races I am never out of my 48 unless there is a big climb. I can motor along much faster in the open fields. So far its working and I seem to be going better than last year.

I thought racing was training :D

All I can think of now is finding a cheap pair of tubies. Friggin Amesbury got me obsessing about them. I didn't flat with my clinchers, but I should have. I'm off to eBay.

BT

Tires or wheels? e-ritchie can hook you up w/ Grifo's for a fair price and quick shipping. And, BTW-tubies rule:thumbsup:

whatever my coach tells me to :)

In terms of how the legs feel. September more or less mirrored March/April. Mostly a lot of work with a little hint of things to come towards the end. The last week I started to feel like May.....some promise, but still not quite where it could be. A good result came but still the fitness isn't where it was in june/july. Hopefully it gets there for november/december.

I started riding at race intensity for the last couple weeks for short but increasing durations. two sets of ten minute with drills one day then 2 sets of 15 min with drills a few days later, recover or just be lazy on Friday. I suck at run ups and barriers when I'm exhausted so I get myself to that point then practice the mounts/dismounts, run ups, etc.

Oh, also through in a good hard workout on the rollers in the mix a couple times a week. I've also found the Cyclocross training book to be very helpful as a training guideline.

Usually try to do one skills ride a week, then an interval session and then later on, some kind of ride with some "loose" intervals, like hill climbs, usually for strength, not as rigid about time and heart rate, power etc. Also, fwiw, I got one of those cts videos for something else to watch while on the trainer, and it was really good! Real good work out and makes the time on the trainer fly by!

Speaking of skills, some of the local guys had a little clinic they put on and I saw some pictures from it, man, when I suitcase I'm pickin' the bike up so frickin' high! You'd think the barriers were waist high! Now I know I can save a little energy there...every little bit helps...

I didn't do a real road season, so I can already forget about this cross season, no matter what I do...
Summer season is one of the most important elements.

Right now I try to catch up some things.

1. 1x per week (since end of August) offroad training in a group: intervals, tempo's, starts, ect. Tonight again !!!
2. 2x per week commuting to work and back (<45km one way). Try do do some light intervals, but usually I'm too lazy to do that.
3. A race in the weekend.
4. If no race, then we have a nice alternative: some kind of cyclotourist, between 25km and 60km offroad. Officially it's a touring event (start between 09:00 and 10:30 and just follow the signs; soup, bread, banana and/or drinks halfway), but you can make a good training or even a race out of it. For thos who will come over during winter: you've GOT to try this once.

I am doing a loosely structured 3 week program with 2 harder weeks then a rest week. It includes a mid-week cross skills session, getting out on the road for a day of longer LT intervals and a day of shorter sprint type intervals.

I try to get a day or two of running a dirt road with several rolling hills that takes about 20 minutes. The challenge of keeping to the schedule while we lose daylight, and it becomes colder will make its presence felt sooner than later.

As hard as I can, as intense as I can. 45s to 4 minute intervals.

Running practice: Yes. Just to make sure that I don't injure myself when running. How deep you can go when on a run, and what price you pay to get back on the bicycle is important.

One thing I haven't practiced at all is running. Does anyone out there really think that running workouts are necessary for cross? I'm a crappy runner but I've never felt like I lost ground on runups, sometimes quite the opposite. Has anyone out there ever experienced a dramatic increase in runup speed that they attribute to on-foot training?

at least in NE, there really is a minimal amount of running in the courses.

in mid-july i started running, and did that thru mid-september.
mostly just getting my non-running legs used to it again.

at this point, im really not doing much, if any running.
a little on my tues skill practice... a little on my wed night cross rae....and a little on the weekend's racing.

FOR ME, im too tired on tuesday morning to go for a run... and if i gotta pick between a bike ride, or a run.... the bike will always win.

Every week, there is a 6AM 30min trail run M,W,F with the wife and dogs;

No races this weekend
M-90min active recovery
Tu-30min warm-up; 2x20min w/ 10min rest TT pace; 30min cool-down
W-60min warm-up; 40min practice race;10min cool-down
Th-60min active recovery ride
F-90min Z3-Z4 high cadence
Sat-3hr Z2-Z3 high cadence
Sun-90min Z3-Z4high cadence

Next week
M-90min active recovery
Tu-15min warm-up; 40min TT; 15min cool-down
W-60min warm-up; 40min practice race;10min cool-down
Th-60min Z2 recovery ride with high cadence
F-45min Z1-Z2 recovery with 6x15sec sprints mixed in
Sat-Race
Sun-Race

Lots of rest; massage and stretching

Now that my prep for Iron Cross is basically done (no more loooong training rides), I'll cut back to about 5 hours per week over 4 rides. Typically, something like this:

Mon-rest, maybe a easy walk/hike

Tues or Wed (depending on recovery from the weekend): 60-90 min cross workout, with 3x5 min hard efforts (around LT, with run-ups), followed up by some 30 sec hill repeats at near-max

Thurs: 60-90 min with about 20-25 at TT pace

Fri: easy ride or off

Sat: 60-90 min with about 20-25 at TT pace, unless I'm racing on Sunday, then 60 min z2-3 with a few moderate efforts

Sun: race or easy ride

It's not perfect, but i did ok this past weekend and I'm still building so it should work well enough. I've done very little running---my knees don't like it. It hurts me in races but that's life.

There are three months left in the year. Too early to disregard the aerobic base IMO. Train through the early-season races.

monday, wake up at 4:30 to make it on a flight to interbike, in vegas, sit in conference room for 8 hours. Eat heavy food, don't ride, sleep.
tuesday, miss dirt demo ride, eat more heavy food, get crappy night's sleep.
wednesday: walk around show all day, make it to cross vegas, hoop and hollerl/fan out, then fly home at one.
thursday: active recovery i.e. work
friday, find out my parents are in town and eat a lot more heavy food. continue for next three days.

watch out for this kid!!!!!

not whining, or looking for sympathy, I just felt like a super slacker when I read what everyone else was doing. Darn real life getting in the way of our fun!!!:mad2:

Do you train on the cross bike or the road bike? Obviously the skills stuff on the cross bike but for the interval work does it make much difference, assuming your bikes aren't set up radically different?

Thanks,
wayne

Wayne, I have switched over to my cross bike full time. I just swap wheels. But I know other guys and gals just keep their road bikes going.

I do most of my training on my RB. It's just easier, plus it's usually cleaner:p.
That, and if my wife knew I wasn't using one of my bikes, well, you don't want to go down that road....

Wayne, I have switched over to my cross bike full time. I just swap wheels. But I know other guys and gals just keep their road bikes going.

I'm even worse -- I switch tires midweek to train on the road because I only have one set of wheels!

guys, you're allowed to ride your cross bike on the road. honest. even without road tires!

guys, you're allowed to ride your cross bike on the road. honest. even without road tires!

it's more an issue of having to put on and take off bottle cages constantly than changing wheels/tires...one more thing to take care of before getting out to ride after work...

wayne

it's more an issue of having to put on and take off bottle cages constantly than changing wheels/tires...one more thing to take care of before getting out to ride after work...

wayne

I regularly rock the two-bottles-in-the-jersey domestique look because of this.

I DO ride my cross bike on some training sessions, specifically my cross training sessions. It's only a few miles to the park where I practice. I do this with my cross tires on, too. However, I <3 my road bike, too, and I use it every chance I get.

I DO ride my cross bike on some training sessions, specifically my cross training sessions. It's only a few miles to the park where I practice. I do this with my cross tires on, too. However, I <3 my road bike, too, and I use it every chance I get.

Yeah, I'm on my cross bike maybe 3 times a week... that's if I'm racing 2x. I'm on the bike typically 7 days a week, at least once a day.

There's some things that are just easier to get done on the road bike.

I will say now that I have a PT on one of my cross bikes, it's made it a little more appealing to ride the cross bike when I'd usually reach for the road bike.

I think it comes down to personal preference. I don't find the adjustment between the road and cross bikes that jarring, and I prefer my road position for the road and my cross position for cross.