Are you going to do different this yr for training? I made some gains last yr by having a real training program but I found that I prolly did some things wrong. Like starting w/ short, hard, intervals as opposed to longer ones 1st (thanks to iliveonnitro). And now I'm doing pilates (which I plan on continuing thru the season) and may do some plyometrics closer to the season. That and I'm about 5-6 lbs lighter now than I was at the start of the season last yr.

I'm gettin' a new bike for starters!

Nice. Smart-azz.

I'm planning on a lot less structure, a lot more junk miles (and junk food) and a lot less serious-ness about fitness in general. Really.

Rode the cx bike on single track and FS roads for the first time today. Realized I'm pretty stupid for not making technical dirt/mud riding a part of my training. This past season I had the legs and lungs but sucked on the technical stuff. I did a lot of mtn biking in the early 90's and some sports car racing, which definitely help, but those are past tense. Gotta learn the handling limits of 700x34.

Well. I s*cked when I did that and I s*ck less now. So I'll be training. For now, anyway. Until I get sick of it.

More road miles and increased lung capacity.

More racing MTB to be competitive rather than just to be socially active.

I joined a team last fall. I'm looking forward to riding with people who know what they are doing.

Training? Why take the fun out of a perfectly good drinking game?

My training last season was 15-20 miles M-F on the commuter starting in May. I lost 10 pounds over the summer and was in the best shape I have ever been in for the season. Where I let myself down was technical skills and equipment choice. To remedy that, I will be dialing my SS gearing, tire pressures and cockpit set-up before the season instead of futzing around with it between every race. I might also ride my race bike more than twice before the season starts so I have a clue what its handling capabilities actually are :rolleyes:

Why'd ya wanna do that for? take the suspense out of it?

i'm going to build some base miles by riding my cross bike across the country. maybe i'll do some touring bike intervals when i get bored. if i'm not fit after that then i might as well give up.

Oh. I'm also looking for a pit/training bike. And, no, Thor, I'm not interested in a "lightly used" Ridley.:p

The suspense was cutting into my mental game, which will be my focus for next season. I will be 101% focused on finishing races in the shortest time possible. Back to basics!

I bought running shoes today!!!

You better watch out!

I'm doing more base and starting road racing later. Hopefully being a little fresher will let me train harder in late summer coming into cross season. Also more crits.

I'm supposed to start 30 races this summer for my road team, BPG/Montano Velo. That will be different than last year, where I did not race all summer. I'm planning on showing my face around march and racing through the end of may or so and then taking some kind of "break" where I don't race for a couple weeks and go back to base. I'll race hard from late june through cross season. I will be flying for sure at the beginning of cross... If I do things right I'll be able to hold it through nats. Hopefully.

Oh well, road will be fun. My team is great and they're treating me right. Anyway, racing keeps me off the streets, so to speak.

Last year was my first year racing both road and cross so its not going to take much to change my training plans for this year.

Specifically though my entire mentality has changed. Last year I just wanted to race every road race possible and continue through cross season. Now that I love cross, I am going to race road in ways to specifically prepare for cross. I wont race every junk race and I will most likely take a break altogether in the early summer after some road racing in the spring.

I work with a coach so ultimately I just do what he says but I am hoping he has me riding lots of off road stuff during the summer.

Only crashed once!

Doubling my mileage from last year to a still-quite-pedestrian 5000.

Doubling my mileage from last year to a still-quite-pedestrian 5000.

changing the calibration on your bike computer on the commuter doesn't count

changing the calibration on your bike computer on the commuter doesn't count

I ride a wheelie about 50% of the time so doubling the calibration is the only way to get an accurate reading.

I ride a wheelie about 50% of the time so doubling the calibration is the only way to get an accurate reading.

well - take the bike off the fork mounted roof rack and try riding it places instead of driving it places...

that would be a good start

First off the big difference is that I am training. Well ok, during the last month I have been slacking some. I hired a coach, bought a powertap, and set up a Spring and Summer "racing" schedule that should get me primed for CX season.

I'm doing the TransRockies (http://www.transrockies.com/trc/index.htm) mountain bike stage race in Canada in August, right after my 40th birthday. I'm racing as a team with a friend of mine who also races cyclocross. It is seven days, 360 miles, 65,000' climbing. I've never done anything like it, except for a seven-day road stage race way back in 1991 or so. I'm following two training plans from Lynda Wallenfels (http://www.lwcoaching.com/) back-to-back, the Winter Weight Loss and Base Training Plan (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/trainingplans/lyndawallenfels/#WinterWeightLossandBaseTrainingPlan) and then the 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race - Personal Record Plan (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/trainingplans/lyndawallenfels/#100MileMountainBikeRace-PersonalRecordPlan). I start the first one 2/25, but I'm already beginning part of it; it requires I run, which I was already doing for cx, so I'm continuing that, and it has me track my calories in versus calories out and follow the "paleo diet (http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=FUV15a7GZycC&dq=paleo+friel&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=2Zb7kAKChM&sig=X6snv5spMTm1LTocvrT-x0xPMaE)", which is basically a high-protein diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, leaving grains and legumes out, eating only what our ancestors from the paleolithic era would have eaten, but with an exception for athletics of carbohydrates during and post-exercise. Somewhat unrelated, I'm doing an abstinence February (the shortest month of the year) with some friends where we don't drink any alcohol or eat any sweets, which fits with the paleo diet. Tonight will be tough, we're hosting a cx worlds watching party where we'll have lots of Belgian and Italian beers and wine and pommes frites and mayo and Italian food - but I won't have any. I'm riding the road bike on the trainer and commutes, and my single-speed mountain bike as much as I can.

Sorry for rambling, here's some more.

So both training plans will focus on mtn bike, but I'll do road training and racing as well as mtn bike training and racing this summer, all for fun. I'll train with a power meter on both the road and mtn bike this summer, last year it was just on the road bike. I'm a total geek and I put all my stuff in CyclingPeaks WKO+, and this time I'll finally have TSS and IF for mtn bike rides. I have a powertap wheel for cross too, might use it next year. I don't have any big goal races this summer, except for district time trial championships, I'd like to do better there this year. I'll do my favorite races, but for fun.

I will build lots of endurance and core strength this summer. I will have a good TransRockies, hopefully not get injured, I'll come home really tired, race or ride SSWC (didn't get in but hey) and take it really easy for a few weeks in September, then start interval and cross-specific training. Hopefully the training and build up for TransRockies and the race itself will give me a really good base for cx, and the mini-break in September will allow me to recover, and then focused intervals and cross racing and training will sharpen me up in time for mid- to late-season cross in '08 / '09.

Another change I'm going to do is more double-race days at the beginning of the season. That worked well for me, even if it killed me. So I'll race the goal race geared then later the A / SS race for training. That was brutal but I felt much stronger and fresher in my goal races after I did a few of those.

I'll run all year, adding more plyometrics later in the season.

Most importantly, I'll do all this without too much stress or head-cramping. My goal for TransRockies is only to have fun, have a great experience. I'll prepare as best I can so I don't have a miserable race, and so I can keep up with my faster teammate. I finished the '07/'08 season as a 35+ B (men) and I am undecided about whether I'll race some A races next year. I won one later, smaller B race, had a handful of top 3s in smaller races and top 10s in bigger races. I think my best bet is to continue doing B's, at least in the big races, but maybe go the candy-ass route and race A's in the smaller races. I also think I won't race a 5-month cx season, starting later will help me prevent late-season burnout, which I seem to get every December. Goal for next cx season is just better results, inch closer to racing master A's.

Morgan